“If you judge others from your own limited point of view, how can you avoid being mistaken? Furthermore, those who had shortcomings yesterday can act correctly today (page 62).”[1]
Yesterday I went to the Pueblo Cooperative Care Center to sign up as a volunteer. Around me were so many people, young, old, black, white, some in tattered clothes and one young man with a huge blanket draped around him to protect him from the chill of the morning. As I viewed them I began to visibly see their “shortcomings” in real life. They were short of housing, clothing, food, medication, compassion, love, help and mostly hope.
Our society will never be empathetic enough or caring enough to get out of their Mercedes Benz or from behind their seat in an elected political office to see what they are doing when they place their priorities in the new “me to movement” above all else. Yes, more for me, less for you—movement. But at whose and what expense?
Move the poor out of my city, hide them away behind the fences, mass incarceration of children at the borders, build the wall. Give myself more bonuses and less taxes so there is no money for universal healthcare, living wages, free education in all areas from trade schools to medical schools. Little or no help to decrease the opioid epidemic which is simply a symptom of the above…
Kaz Tanahashi continues to share Dogen’s ideas: You should understand that there are foolish people who do not take care of themselves because they do not take care of others, and there are wise people who care for others just as they care for themselves (page 63).”[2]
And he finished with this quote:
A teacher of old said:
Two-thirds of your life has passed,
Not polishing even a spot of your source of sacredness.
You devour your life, your days are busy with this and that.
If you don’t turn around at my shout, what can I do (page 63)”[3]
The world is shouting… Who am I today—the wise or the fool? And you—who are you?
Yet who am I to judge—with me and my shortcomings so loudly seen and heard by the world.
[1] Tanahashi, K. (1985) Moon in a Dewdrop Writings of Zen Master Dogen North Point Press: New York
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
Kaz Tanahashi writes about it so clearly. What an “original face” he has! Filled with joy for sure!
A young mother lived in a cabin in the woods. When she journeyed to town she would take different paths so her views might be varied. One day she walked down a path she hadn’t traveled on before and there in the middle of the road was a large boulder. This bothered her and seemed out of place. So she tried hard to move it. But it was too large. So she walked around it and went on her way. Some time later she came down that trail again where the boulder was. This time she brought some colorful chalks with her and tried to disguise the rock with bright colors. It looked better, but it was still there. One summer many years later she happened down that road again, where the disturbing bolder lay. The years of rain and sun had washed away the chalk. A fine layer of dust coated the surface now. As she looked down into its depth more closely, she noticed it had both smooth and rough places. It was actually not an unattractive object. She brushed the dust from it with her hands and noticed some glints of quartz. She sat down on it and rested in silence and realized she really didn’t need to do anything about it. It was and so was she. There was just being with it and that was, or it should be.
The poem is written by Flose Boursiquot and taken from her incredible book Close Your Eyes, Now Breathe.” The picture was taken on July 30th in Delray Beach, FL at the “Families Belong Together” rally sponsored by 
For thirty years no guests came by;
transmission in secret from the fifth ancestor Yuquan Shenxiu. As the story is told the fifth ancestor was getting old and looking for a successor and so a challenge was given to all the students to write a poem to show their understanding of the dharma. One student wrote a poem which indicated that in order to reach enlightenment or awakening we had to continuously be polishing the mirror because it was always collecting dust.
The Secret to a More Fulfilling Life! Part 3 Living your life like Avalokiteshvara the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion
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Avalokiteshvara is known as the person “Who hears the outcries of the World.” There are so many on this earth today who are crying out for help in war zones, from hurricane devastation, earth quakes, in draughts, and famines, through poverty, and more.
As you see in the picture she is depicted with many arms. In other pictures she also has many heads. I know that some of you can relate to her very well. You see her reflection in you. Every time you encourage a child or an elderly person to go beyond their struggles and challenges you are Avalokiteshvara in action. Every time you drop off food at the foodbank, or volunteer with a non-profit organization, or mow the lawn of a disabled vet Avalokiteshvara is moving through you as you. I know sometimes you feel like you could use those extra arms and at least one extra head if you had access to them. But I always say, “Fake it till you make it.”
Joan Halifax and Kazuaki Tanahashi translated the Sutra “Great Compassionate Heart Dharani” in the most beautiful way (pages 138-39).[1] Below is a list of things for you to think about or meditate on. Are these actions appearing in your life on a regular basis? If not, why not? How can you make these actions more alive and present in your life each and every day? If yes, think about a few examples of who, how, and when they appeared.
Make this your project for the year and let me know how it goes!
[1] Tanahashi, K. (2015) Zen Chants Thirty-Five Essential Texts with Commentary. Shambhala: Boston and London
Picture: Avalokitesvara B&W Foundations of Buddhism
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