A Blackened Nose

With palms together,
Good Morning Sangha,

There was once a nun who carried a gold leafed Buddha everywhee she wandered. She would light her incense offering each day, but did not wish to share it, so she created a devise which kept the incense from moving about, instead it was funneled in the the Buddha's nose. Over time, the gold leafed Buddha became particularly ugly with a blackened nose.


When we practice our lives, we are practicing for all beings, not for Buddhas and ourselves. Our practice should be for the benefit of others. To practice othewise is not the Buddha Way.

So, when we eat, we eat for all beings, recognizing the many lives that went into the food before us, the sharing of so many hands in creating it and bringing it to us. When we drink, we drink with all beings, refreshing ourselves, and thereby all others. When we work, we work for the benefit of all beings, and when we sleep, we sleep with all beings restoring our bodies, rebuilding muscle, resting our minds, and soothing our hearts.

When we live this way, there is no self. Just living this way. Attempting to keep life for ourselves blackens our nose.

Be well.