With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
Last night I began to re-read a book near and dear to me, "The Compass of Zen". This text, written by Korean Zen Master Seung Sahn is both humorous (thank goodness) and incredibly clear as to what Zen practice is all about. The thing about "The Compass" is that you are never quite sure when you will be taught a lesson.
In introductory pages I read something that caught me like a fish on a hook.
"The most important thing to be clear about is your direction. If your direction is not clear, you will wonder for years and years...You will be easily lost."
I often feel this way. In between this or that, Stumbling along in the external world. I know where my heart/mind is, it is right here, right now. And most of the time this is just enough.
When in Temple I am a Jew; When in the Zendo, I am a Buddhist. Or for others it might be, at home I am a husband, at work an employee. As Master Sahn is prone to ask, "are they the same or different?"
A Clear Mind says, 'don't know, only go straight'.
When you are stepping off a hundred foot pole, what direction do you take?
The direction of what is needed in the moment.
Be well.
