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Best,

Markeu

Reflections

It has been exactly one year to the day that I returned back to Japan after my sojourn in Jersey, and the birthplace of Channel Zen.

A lot has happened within that year, much which is already fading steadily into the past. Change is reflected in the steadily falling leaves as nature prepares again for rest, and it is in that vein that I contemplate this "now-ness" that marks today.

Like all of us, I have my good days and bad, days and moments that I would as soon as possible like to forget, but some of these moments marking and changing me ultimately for the better.

I gradually learn to rest within myself and deal with each moment equally, not obsessing too much about the past or future. Life goes by in the blink of an eye.

I find that practice is much like peeling an onion: one layer comes off only to reveal another underneath, but we keep on peeling…

Peace.

Deriving joy from the ordinary

When you first wake up in the morning, do you joyfully wiggle your toes to ready yourself for the day?
Do you give thanks in your own way for the chance to be alive and to make a difference, however small?
When you make your way to the shower, where are you? Awake or still asleep?

Riding the train or bus to work, do you have any sympathy fro the angry faced man or woman next to you?
Do you take the time to stop and ask your neighbor at work how they are, and do you really listen?
When you eat your food, do you revel in how good it tastes?

How do you wash the dishes afterward? Is it a chore or a joy?
When you finally go to sleep, is it with a feeling of accomplishment, or dread for the future?

Cut Bamboo

We strolled around the the Japanese garden at Nanzenji, listening to the sounds of wind blowing through leaves and the occasional splashes of lazy carp in the pond. It had been more than two years since I last saw my teacher, and he had called me suddenly out of the blue, telling me to come and meet him in Kyoto.

Two and a half hours later by super fast trains, and I was strolling along the ancient paths of Higashiyama.

It was beautiful, a stark reminder of how easily Tokyo can slip into being a daily trek through uninspiring concrete forests and how much I generally crave a more natural surroundings.

But this is the path I have chosen for myself.

The morning and afternoon were spent walking, temple to temple, meandering here and there and stopping along the way for a cup of coffee or snack, then treading on.

We stop in the middle of the garden under the generous shade of a plentiful stand of bamboo.
My teacher looks around and speaks to his small group of guests, but looking directly at me.

" Isnt it so beautiful?"

I smiled and laughed to myself, realizing that even such simple pleasures were abstract in my jaded perception of life..

We continued our gentle stroll through the garden, but, alone for a moment, my teacher asks me what I was laughing at.

"My own negativity."

Lesson learned.