Order

With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,

This morning I woke feeling better than I did when I went to bed. Always nice. Our robot went to cleaning; I dusted, made coffee and tea, did the dishes, and picked things up a bit. Order is an important trait.

In Zen, as we enter a Zendo, we remove our shoes, place palms together and bow. We step in on our right foot. We walk in slow, measured steps. We bow to our cushion, bow to the room, take our seat. As the priest enters he or she goes through a set of motions, all prescribed, all measured. Order. We place palms together facing the wall and bow when the bell is offered. We sit in silence and with great concentration. The bell rings, we relax. Order.

Life is a process that has its own order. Sometimes it is hidden, sometimes it is as plain as the nose on our face. Sometimes gentle, sometimes stormy, but know this: there is no stormy, no gentle: we create these in our mind. Become one with the storm, no storm. Become one with gentle, no gentle.

Order is therefore something not related to outside appearance, but rather to our balance inside. We call this equanimity.

Outside order, placing things just so is our way of training ourselves to find stillness of mind and body. Like a reflection in a pool, order is a reflection of ourselves.Choppy water; choppy reflection.

This is a very important point. If you want to find peace, become peace by letting your conception of peace go. As we say, if you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him!

Be well.