Not By Bread Alone

With palms together,
Good Afternoon Everyone,

This day was full. Rising this morning, I studied the Torah portion for the week and was delighted that it was a wonderful teaching: "...man does not live by bread alone..." Deut. 8:3. Within this Torah portion God reminds us to be mindful and respectful, but mostly to keep our minds and hearts open. The Jews had left Egypt, had wandered in the desert forty years, leaving all that they knew. They are now about to cross over into the promised land. God says to them, to paraphrase, 'you'll have everything you will need.'

Very Zen. Wherever we are, we are complete and have exactly what we need. Nothing to eat? No problem, a little hot water, some flour, a little salt: bread...well, matzo. Master Dogen teaches us to treasure every bit. God asks the same. Moreover, the Infinite is present in every bite, every sip, every breath. We should pay homage to this reality.

When we leave what we know, everything has the potential to nourish us, because we are without assumptions about what is good or bad. A hot sun is neither hot or cold: a glass of water is the same as wine. Each breath, a blessing. Everything is an offering. And there is no trash.

This afternoon I visited two friends in the hospital. One just lost her leg; another was subject to a stroke. There I am. We are one in the same. I sit with her, I stand and walk with him. Each breath, each step, a blessing.

My one friend wants help dealing with the pain. Together we practice meditation, placing our attention on our nose, pain? Breath in. Pain? Breath out. We can have pain, but not suffer. Pain is just pain, it is a feeling in the moment. It is and is not. Suffering is our desire not to experience what we are experiencing. Cut it. Experience. Breath in, breath out, nothing more than that.

We should be thankful we are born human beings, thankful we are encountering the dharma, and thankful for the opportunity to practice. It is all that is asked of us, as in this practice, is the Heart of Being, call it Buddha, call it God, call it Nothing.

Be well.