Natalie Goldberg: "But, Roshi, it is so lonely."
Katagiri Roshi: "Is there anything wrong with loneliness?"
Natalie Goldberg: "No, I guess not."

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Natalie Goldberg: " But, Roshi, you have sentenced me to such loneliness. Writing is very lonely."
Katagiri Roshi: "Anything you do deeply is very lonely. There are many Zen students here, but the ones that are going deep are very lonely."
Natalie Goldberg: "Are you lonely?"
Katagiri Roshi: "Of course. But I do not let it toss me away. It is just loneliness."