Zen…

“Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while peeling potatoes. Zen is just peeling potatoes.”

~

Alan Watts

i love this quote. i suppose it can be perceived as a bit provocative. some may shutter a bit when first reading it. it shakes you loose a bit, as Zen often does.

but what is provocative about recognizing the sacred in the ordinary?

if we cannot find the sacred in peeling potatoes, in washing the dishes, in sweeping, then where can we find it?

it is easy to find the sacred in what we perceive as beautiful, but what about the things we perceive as mundane? can we find the sacred there as well?

in Zen monasteries, novice monks are given toilet duty, cleaning the toilets. can we find the sacred in cleaning a toilet? there is a reason some Zen Masters continued to do it even in old age.

in the Khuddaka Nikaya, the Buddha stated, “In your seeing, there should be only the seeing. In your hearing, nothing but the hearing; in your smelling, tasting, and touching, nothing but smelling, testing, and touching; in your thinking, nothing but the thought.”

so the question remains, can we be with our life as it is right now? in Zen, that is sacred, not some other place, being some other person, doing some other thing. it IS here and now. it is in the doing, in the being, it is the journey.

when we open to this, when we are aware of the freedom and responsibility of this, we find our balance, we see our interconnection, and we open further and further, embracing this fleeting world and our fleeting relationships with love.

~j

12.24.17

#GOPTaxPlan

possibly both houses of Congress are voting on the #GOPTaxPlan today.
The Tax Policy Center, an independent organization, has stated the within ten years 83% of tax-cuts income will go to the top 1% and the bottom 60% (that’s most if not everybody i know…if it isn’t you, please adopt me) will be paying more a lot more in taxes. Analysis is that we will increase our deficit by $1.5 trillion.
recently both Paul Ryan and Marco Rubio made statements that savings to help pay for this, will likely be taken from entitlements (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid) which would undeniably and adversely hit the poor, the elderly, those with disabilities.
this isn’t a partisan issue. this is a moral issue. how we treat the most vulnerable cuts through everything else and is at the heart of who we are and who we want to be.
there’s a lack of #empathy from those in power toward those not in power. i was listening Chuck Grassley and Orin Hatch recently and as they talked about those on assistance programs, it wasn’t even indifference that i heard, i heard disdain. it was gross, but mostly sad.
this is an issue of the heart and soul, a lack of awareness of our interdependence, a lack of recognition that our destinies are tied to each other. the story will not end with what is possibly passed today, with this tax plan. but, the story will be deeply changed – initially for the most poor and vulnerable, but also and eventually for those in power. we cannot escape our actions, if not outwardly, then inwardly. neither is burden we want to carry as a country.
if this concerns you or speaks to your heart, please call your Senator, your Representatives, send faxes, and use your social media platforms.
may all be well, safe, at peace and free from suffering.

flow like water…

Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is another paradox: what is soft is strong.

~

Lao Tzu

#water #paradox #LaoTzu #wisdom #Tao #Taoism #FlowLikeWater #Zen #Enso #JMWart