Good Morning Everyone,
We should have faith in our practice. As we sit in serene reflection meditation or manifest the precepts through mindful living, we trust that the fruit of these practices is actually in the practices themselves. Each time we recite a mantra, a sutra, or a prayer, we affirm our faith in our practice on the one hand, but actually manifest it, on the other hand. This is ' instant Zen.'
People new to Zen sometimes have the understanding that they came to Zen for their health, to reduce stress, or to learn to manage their lives better. These may be accomplished through our practices, we think, eventually, but it takes a skillful and open eye to see that they take place immediately. It requires faith on the one hand and a great deal of diligence on the other hand. Yet if we relax into the practice, let go of the worry, and forget the search itself, we see that it is right there before us.
When I place my palms together, bow, and then look directly at the person in front of me, I am revealing both my faith and my knowledge that each person holds Buddha's heart. The person may not behave in a way we typically understand as being Buddhist, but any behavior is one or another side of the dharma. .
I encourage each of you to take up the practice of Zen, whether you are a Buddhist, a Catholic, a Baptist, a Muslim, or a Wiccan, it really doesn't matter: each path is an aspect of the Infinite.
_________
Tripper is nestled in on my side as I sit writing. He is a cockapoo, one of those terribly cute "designer" breeds being created of late. He looks for all the world like a small "Benji" and behaves in the most loving and energetic way I've ever, in my sixty years, seen a dog behave. This morning after Talmud Torah, after Brunch at the Clubhouse, after sitting streetZen at the Environmental Center, Tripper goes to the beauty shop to get beautified. He really, really needs it.
____________
May you each be a blessing in the universe.
Rev. Dr. So Daiho Hilbert-roshi
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2 comments:
I took refuge as a Buddhist last July through a Tibetan lineage right before I had back surgery... my practice has been dreadful...I am a disillusioned Christian, a disillusioned self, a child in an old person's body -- once I was an old person in a child's body -- since surgery i've been on leave (and may have, perhaps should have an ankle replacement) from a horrible job in retail...Each time I read your words, I verge on tears as though I've glimpsed a shore of home -- your praise of the practice pierces my heart, and harpoon-like drags me through tides of will and wandering to the sit before a blank wall.
I am grateful that we are connected by a small thread of the Divine. If you're like me, curling up on the sofa with my notebook computer and the abundance of mindful messages, it sooths one's soul!! It is the best of times.....
Ghesso
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