With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
It is Saturday and our day off so the Temple is closed today. Already this morning in our residence’ Zendo we sipped espresso coffee, did contemplative yoga, and completed a light dumbbell workout. I then took Suki for a short walk to the park and back, and am just now ready to sip some regular coffee. Soon, I will go into what we are calling, “the Art Room” (oy, soooo pretentious!) and take a long look at the canvas I am working on.
It is an Iris. I wanted it lit by moonlight, but fear that will require a dark sky and darker ground. Maybe some artistic license will help. I think I’ll just let my heart/mind do what it do.
Sitting in the Art Room is a good practice, as I see it. I have a stool in front of the easel and a large window to the right. On a table in front of the window is a hibiscus and a bougainvillea. The latter is in bloom. On my left is a table with paints, brushes, sponges and water jars. Of course paper towels are scattered about and often litter the place. I enjoy this spot and sit here often with no real intention to pick up a brush. But I look at the empty palette and the lovely colors and, well, I just can’t help myself. Its rather like writing, I suspect. I sit here in front of this little notebook and there it is, keys to be touched, words to be written, thoughts to be composed. I just do.
Yesterday at the Zen group, as we explored the Four Noble Truths, I asked what, if anything, connected the last truth to the third truth. I mean, how, exactly, does following that forth path end suffering? Rather, what is the operant mechanism? The easy answer is it’s the Middle Way. But that really doesn’t satisfy. I like to think that the word for “Right,” that is, “Samma,” is key. This word means “complete” or “perfect” as in seeing something completely as it is without desire to alter a thing. When we are in a place where we can appreciate what is for what is, we are able to let go of expectations. Every cherry blossom, pear, life, is perfect and complete as it is. So, I think the way these eight paths connect to the cessation of suffering is through a deliberate opening of our grasp on shoulds, coulds, and oughts. As things change, which is what everything does, we can begin to appreciate change itself.
How bright is a full moon?
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
It is Saturday and our day off so the Temple is closed today. Already this morning in our residence’ Zendo we sipped espresso coffee, did contemplative yoga, and completed a light dumbbell workout. I then took Suki for a short walk to the park and back, and am just now ready to sip some regular coffee. Soon, I will go into what we are calling, “the Art Room” (oy, soooo pretentious!) and take a long look at the canvas I am working on.
It is an Iris. I wanted it lit by moonlight, but fear that will require a dark sky and darker ground. Maybe some artistic license will help. I think I’ll just let my heart/mind do what it do.
Sitting in the Art Room is a good practice, as I see it. I have a stool in front of the easel and a large window to the right. On a table in front of the window is a hibiscus and a bougainvillea. The latter is in bloom. On my left is a table with paints, brushes, sponges and water jars. Of course paper towels are scattered about and often litter the place. I enjoy this spot and sit here often with no real intention to pick up a brush. But I look at the empty palette and the lovely colors and, well, I just can’t help myself. Its rather like writing, I suspect. I sit here in front of this little notebook and there it is, keys to be touched, words to be written, thoughts to be composed. I just do.
Yesterday at the Zen group, as we explored the Four Noble Truths, I asked what, if anything, connected the last truth to the third truth. I mean, how, exactly, does following that forth path end suffering? Rather, what is the operant mechanism? The easy answer is it’s the Middle Way. But that really doesn’t satisfy. I like to think that the word for “Right,” that is, “Samma,” is key. This word means “complete” or “perfect” as in seeing something completely as it is without desire to alter a thing. When we are in a place where we can appreciate what is for what is, we are able to let go of expectations. Every cherry blossom, pear, life, is perfect and complete as it is. So, I think the way these eight paths connect to the cessation of suffering is through a deliberate opening of our grasp on shoulds, coulds, and oughts. As things change, which is what everything does, we can begin to appreciate change itself.
How bright is a full moon?
Be well.
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