Open Heart

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,



We bow to buddha. I find this practice to be a pathway to right understanding. When I place my palms together, I am reminded of several things simultaneously: the fact that my left hand does not work and I have to work at it to get it to align with the fingers of my right hand; the fact that I am but a human being no better or worse than any other; and the fact that I need to let go of my ideas about everything. When I a bow, my heart relaxes and who it is that stands in front of me is allowed to enter as they are.



Bowing in this way, the Buddha way, is a gate for releasing the self and opening the heart/mind. When stepping through this gate a synchronicity of body, heart/mind, and environment forms: it is within this alignment that I consider Right Understanding to be possible.



If we are not in proper alignment, if our heart/mind is not synchronous with our environment, for example, distortions arise, as we are not seeing what is immediately in front of us, rather we are taking a side trip through our assumptions and see with the resultant skew. We do not see a cup for itself, but rather a cup, with all of our assumptions about a cup clouding our mind’s eye. From Right Understanding, then, clarity of mind arises and all of the other aspects of the Path can be walked freely.



For me placing my palms together slowly, and with mindful attention, then bowing creates an opportunity for selfless clarity, the clarity that comes with a seamless view.



May we each create conditions for our heart to open.