Being Awake

With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,

The morning air is a little chilly. I did my evening practice period with my home zendo window open and as I entered the room this morning, it was pretty nippy in there. I have a penchant for fresh air, I think, and this gets me into trouble at times. I almost always would rather have a window open than closed and really dislike air conditioning systems as they require closed windows.

There is something exhilarating about crisp morning air. I recall at the Mountain Refuge stepping out onto the deck at night feeling the crisp, cold air or in the early morning facing an early mist in the meadow below. These were special moments that grounded me in space and time.

Zazen is like that. The practice of seated meditation can be thoroughly grounding, not just emotionally or psychologically, but literally in space and time. This is because when we practice zazen, the moment is completely alive, vibrant and very, very real. When done properly, we sit erect, upright, with complete attention to the present moment as it is: air cold, air hot; breeze, no breeze; sounds, no sounds, just as it is.

Air conditioning, closed windows, enclosed spaces, these are the same as putting a headset on during zazen and taking a magical mystery tour. Pleasant, but not zazen. Artificial environments need to be as unobtrusive as possible. Open space, free flowing air, the sounds and sights of our environment, even if its a city environment link us to our actual reality.

We say, 'who wants to smell bus fumes, or hear car horns, or ambulance sirens.' I say, 'I do.' If this is my environment I need to confront it. Live in it. Appreciate it. Know what needs to change. If our world is to get better we should not escape from it and live as if it is otherwise.

One of the reasons I support Zoos is that we humans are far too easily able to forget we share this globe with myriad other creatures. I support fresh produce because we are too easily able to forget where our food comes from. I support walking and running because we too easily forget how dependent we are on machine transportation and how far away from being in-touch with our actual bodies we are.

Today, consider walking someplace rather than driving; consider opening windows rather than closing them; consider making something from scratch rather than taking something from a package. Smell life, taste life. Wake up.

Be well.