Zen is Life

With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
Zen practice is life practice; life practice is Zen practice. All of life is our way and it offers us many paths upon which to walk. As we wake we might say, "This morning as I wake, I vow with all beings to see each thing as it is and not to forsake the world." This simple vow demands of us that we practice mindfulness with each breath and each step while embracing each thing in our awareness.

Its easy to embrace birdsong in the morning or a gentle breeze through leafy trees. It is much harder to embrace the stench of exhaust fumes or the sounds of loud, drunken people at a restaurant. Yet, each offers us something: opportunity to practice compassion. Compassion for our environment being polluted; compassion for people who want to be happy, but choose poisonous means to achieve their end.

Our practice is the practice of engaged action. We are asked by our opportunities to seek ways to cease causing harm, to do good, and to bring about abundant good to all beings. These opportunities may be direct or indirect. Directly dealing with exhaust fumes may require the use of face masks (as they do in Japan) or through the indirect means of purchasing a car with higher fuel economy and lower emissions, riding a bike, or walking. Directly dealing with loud drunks, a word to the management, might be in order, or leaving the premises with a comment to the management. Indirectly, we might support drug and alcohol education in schools and in our organizations. We might support and encourage disciplined spiritual practices such as meditation, avoiding high doses of alcohol, and increasing our ability to understand deeply the interconnectedness of behavior and environment.

Every time we become annoyed we should feel the annoyance and understand it as an immediate call to practice. Every time.

We should stop, look deeply and listen.

In these ways, life is Zen and Zen is life.

In these ways, we become our practice.

Be well.