The Zen Master's Dance - 5 - Fukan Zazengi (p. 23 to p. 29)

[Seishin]

OK guess another dog story, in the painful and sad arena.

Our aging German Shepperd is 12 1/2 years old and gradually deteriorating over the last few years. She was a big 45kg girl but has lost quite a few kilos, mainly muscle mass in her rear legs. Its is painful to see the decline but we have been through this many times before, as she is our 5th dog and perhaps the most loyal. To see her slowly withering away, there is no better expression, obviously is hard to accept without sadness.

Despite all this, she is still really excited about her daily walks. She perks up at the word "car" or "walk" eyes bright and shining. These days she needs to take a run up to get into the back of the car when leaving the house. Hasn't quite made it a few times but still not needing to be lifted but that will be done when needed (plus we have a special ramp, that we got for our passed Collie X who had life long leg problems.

As the EuroKiwi crew will know she sits with me ever morning without fail and does Zazen better than I. Without fail, unless it is heavy rain, we walk on a path that leads up to Mont St Michel here in France. It is always tranquil and peaceful but busy with tourists most of the year, until now. From November to February its pretty much our own and I can let off the lead with peace of mind. Despite frailty, she get caught up sniffing some odour but puts on a burst of speed (well I guess a trot these days) to catch me up. And seeing her free, eyes shinning and mobile in this way give me so much pleasure and joy.

She is sleeping at my side as I type. Still bringing me joy as she does a "doggy dream" obviously running in her mind.

So despite the sadness and pain, I can accept that there is nothing I can do to ease the situation and accept the decline will continue until she is no longer with us or the time comes to do the "right thing".

We enjoy each day as it comes. It is what it is.

Suchness.

Sat

[Risho]

Much metta to you Seishin; I know your pain unfortunately, but having those little pets is so worth it. Shepherds are so magestic; my parents had one named Blitzen, who used to stand guard by my crib as a baby and, when I got older, they had one named Dutchman. They were beautiful, loyal and very intelligent and loving (if they approved of you; otherwise watch out! lol)

Gassho

Risho
-stlah

[Seishin]

Kind words, deep bows.

Sat

[Nengei]

I can face the oncoming winter with a fair degree of dread, faced with months of snow, freezing temperatures, a shut-up house, shortened days, feeling cold, shoveling, driving in bad weather... everything is a mess. The anticipation lessens my enjoyment of or peace with the present moment. Being in the dark hours of winter makes troubling things more troubling. It can make pain more painful. Winter can be emotionally restricting, and make it easy to see things negatively.

There is nothing to do about it. There is no other place to be. Each moment is whole and complete. This moment is what it is, and nothing else is anything at all. This is what this time is for. The cold comes. The snow falls. I can gripe and it will be winter. I can smile and it will be winter. My zafu is the same.

Zero control.

Winter makes it nice to read by a fire. Comfy winter clothes. Deep blankets. Sunlight on fresh snow. My vehicle looks cool with snow tires.

Gassho,
Nengei
Sat today. LAH.

[Gregor]

Picking up my children's toys. I used to feel very frustrated with the mess and hated having to get down on the ground to clean them up each night.

More recently since returning to practice I approach it with a samu/shikantaza type approach. Not doing it for another reason than doing it for its own sake.

I actually enjoy doing it now with this perspective.



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[Tomás ESP]

Having some nights of insomnia. It feels frustrating, because until recently I had never had problems to fall asleep. And then I start thinking about how to solve the problem. Of course, by thinking about it, it only gets worse. When I come back to Shikantaza while lying down, nothing to do, just being, feeling that everything is ultimately OK no matter what is going on, things have gotten better. And the days that I can't sleep, it still feels much better because I embrace what is happening and the resistance simply dissolves.

Gassho, Tomás
Sat

[Chikyou]

I wouldn't say it's tedious, because I love food, but I'm going to use eating as my example because it's the best one I have and an area of life where I've experienced a profound change since beginning to practice Buddhism.

For most of my life, I haven't truly enjoyed food (or even tasted it). I have always spent my mealtimes doing something else. When I was in school, I was forced to eat as quickly as possible much of the time (due to very poor planning on the administration's part) and if I wasn't eating as quickly as possible, I was reading a book or working on homework. As an adult, I have a tendency to eat while looking at my phone. Before I know it, my food is gone and I scarcely remember having eaten it!

As I started to practice Buddhism, this changed. I was reading Bringing the Sacred to Life and I read about the meal gatha, and I decided to start practicing it. Giving thanks to all beings really made me contemplate each part of my meal. I found myself putting my phone down and just tasting the food on my plate. Each ingredient really came to life for me. Even a can of blueberry pomegranate seltzer, which before would have just tasted vaguely purple, sprang to life as I contemplated each blueberry and pomegranate seed within. With my morning coffee I contemplate each bean, and truly taste it (and the sweetness of the sugar, and the richness of the cream).

I certainly didn't start out studying and practicing Buddhism with the idea that I would develop profound new appreciation for food, and I am pleasantly surprised!

Gassho,
SatLah

-Kelly

[Meian]

I can relate to this. I was raised with the Christian concept of "giving thanks" for food, gifts, etc, but as Kelly pointed out, meals often had to be rushed or multi-tasked due to our fast-paced society, and still do.

I deeply appreciate the practice of giving thanks, but prefer some methods over others. I have difficulty remembering gathas (haven't found a solution to this yet). However, a Japanese student I've been working with has been creating presentations about Japanese culture and history. Through our sessions, I started picking up some phrases that I now use regularly or frequently.

One such phrase that I use daily, as a prayer of gratitude and respect for meals and otherwise, is 'Itadakimasu' -- which I will not attempt to translate into English here, due to its multiple layered meanings. My understanding is it's humble gratitude and respect, and something like a verbal Deep Bow all in one -- and much more. It also has the effect of 'pausing' my mind and my mouth, and presenting a single focus. If I don't pause, then I am disregarding that which I just gave thanks for, which would be disrespectful.

Gassho2
[st-lh]

[Chikyou]

I can relate to this. I was raised with the Christian concept of "giving thanks" for food, gifts, etc, but as Kelly pointed out, meals often had to be rushed or multi-tasked due to our fast-paced society, and still do.

I deeply appreciate the practice of giving thanks, but prefer some methods over others. I have difficulty remembering gathas (haven't found a solution to this yet). However, a Japanese student I've been working with has been creating presentations about Japanese culture and history. Through our sessions, I started picking up some phrases that I now use regularly or frequently.

One such phrase that I use daily, as a prayer of gratitude and respect for meals and otherwise, is 'Itadakimasu' -- which I will not attempt to translate into English here, due to its multiple layered meanings. My understanding is it's humble gratitude and respect, and something like a verbal Deep Bow all in one -- and much more. It also has the effect of 'pausing' my mind and my mouth, and presenting a single focus. If I don't pause, then I am disregarding that which I just gave thanks for, which would be disrespectful.

Gassho2
[st-lh]

This is beautiful! I had to look it up: https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/itadakimasu-meaning/

I love the concept and I may start using it!

Gassho,
SatLah
-Kelly