“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.
As I continue to read this awesome book, I am awakened to the power of it right now today in my life. Dogen quotes from the Regulations for Zen Monasteries about the rules and tips on how to serve the assembly.
In Buddhism one of the major positions in the monastery is the person called the Tenzo. The Tenzo is in charge of the food. Dogen in his book, How to Cook Your life: From the Zen Kitchen to Enlightenment, gave specific directions for those who would become the Tenzo.
n uses the image of a dewdrop reflecting moonlight to describe the state of meditation. He suggests that just as the entire moon is reflected in a dewdrop, a complete awakening of truth can be experienced by the individual human being (page 12).”
It is one thing to read something and another thing to remember what you’ve read. How often do we read something at work and quickly forget what it said? When we are studying the texts and the writings of Buddhism we really want to absorb what we’re reading. We want to understand the meaning behind the words. We want to embody the teachings in such a way as they make a palpable difference in our lives. In such a way that we generate an aura of peace, love and compassion for all things and it is evident in our thoughts, words, and deeds. We do this through contemplation of the Buddhist teachings.
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The Secret to a More Fulfilling Life: Part 10 The Practice of Letting Go
Posted in attachment, BUddhism, cause and effect, clinging, fears, happiness, illusions, love, meditation, Mindfulness, self-help, suffering, Uncategorized, wisdom, Zen, tagged Buddhism, dualism, faith, feelings, inspiration, Kazuaki Tanahashi, learning, letting go, life, questions, relationships, thoughts, Truth, Zen Chants Thirty-Five Essential Texts with Commentary on July 22, 2018| Leave a Comment »
I love this quote by Kazuaki Tanahashi from his beautiful book Zen Chants. It brought to mind what often happens when I sit down to meditate. Up come all the nodes and knots that I’ve experienced throughout the day or the week. I focus on how hard they were to surmount or maneuver around. When I catch these thoughts arising I think to myself, I need to let this go. It is disrupting my meditation! And thus, the simple thought of letting go is now the catalyst for more thinking, self-recrimination, and more.
Round and round on the merry-go-round I go until my head is spinning and I’ve made myself dizzy. So how do I “pass through the barrier of dualism?” How about becoming one with the barrier? One with the thought, feeling, or idea. To give it the freedom to be, to go, to sustain, or disappear without judgment, fear, or insistence.
To breath into it slowly, lovingly, and kindly. We are so quick to provide loving kindness to a friend or family member in need. To hold back recrimination or judgment. To give them space to find themselves to live their life as they need to. To respect their boundaries, dreams, and desires. Yet, how often do we not give ourselves the space, advice, room, or love?
How often do we give ourselves permission to let go, to make mistakes, to get up in the middle of a sit when we have a cramp in our leg? I recall some time ago when I was sitting in dokusan with one of my favorite teachers, Lou Mitsunen Nordstrom, and I told him I was going to start my own zendo and name it “If it itches, Scratch it.” I may go to the fictious “Zen Hell” for that idea. Luckily the only hell I have is between my own ears! And for sure I need to “let go” of that idea!
Wow! Maybe I should start my new adventure by letting go of the idea that hell is between my own ears! What a great ending for my workbook on The Secret to a More Fulfilling Life.
Definitely THE END!
[1] Tanahashi, K. (2015) Zen Chants Thirty-Five Essential Texts with Commentary. Shambhala: Boston and London
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