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STUDENT H I 133you. This morning in your lecture you spoke about the necessity ofhaving one's enlightenment con£rmed by one's teacher because onlyin this way could correct Zen be transmitted. I don't quite understandthis. Why is it necessary to be authenticated by anyone?ROSHI: Starting from the time of the Buddha Shakyamuni, correctBuddhism has been transmitted from teacher to disciple. Wherethe teacher's enlightenment has been authentic and sanctioned by histeacher, he has been able to sanction the enlightenment of his owndisciples by using his own experience of enlightenment as a guide.You ask why this is necessary. It is necessary, first of all, in orderto insure the transmission of true Buddhism from teacher to disciple.If this hadn't been done, there would be no authentic Zen today. Buthe truth is, you can never be sure by yourself that what you take tobe satori actually is satori. With a first experience it is quite possibleto misjudge it.STUDENT: But isn't enlightenment self-authenticating?Rosm: No, it isn't. In fact, there are many examples of personswho became teachers without having enlightenment at all. It is likea person searching alone for diamonds in the mountains. If he hasnever seen a real diamond, he may think when he fmds glass orquartz or some other mineral that he has fo und a genuine diamond.If he could verify his find through somebody who has had experiencewith diamonds, he could be sure. Failing that, he could easily makea mistake regardless of how brighdy his stones glittered.STUDENT: This business of the transmission from the Buddha downto the present time-it isn't really true, is it? It's myth, isn't it?Rosm: No, it is true. If you don't believe it, that's too bad.8 I STUDENT H (W OMAN, AGE 37) I STUDENT:I am pregnant and probably won't be able to attend any more sesshinuntil after the birth of my child a couple of months away. Howshould I continue to do zazen in my own home during the rest of mypregnancy?Rosm: Continue to concentrate on your present koan. When asolution comes to you, put it on the shelf, so to speak, as you did withthe other koans, and go back to shikan-taza until you come before me