Just as they are?

[Jinyo]

You just described why I avoided the path for many years. It was my misunderstanding of just this.

Doshin
St

That resonates with me Doshin - and I still fall into a resistance/misunderstanding from time to time. I think our minds are so wired to a binary opposites way of operating - (this thing is bad, or good, or nice, or horrid,etc ) that its difficult to adopt a spacious response that encompasses 'nothing to change/ action needed'. I think its hard to express that spaciousness in words and it can only really be experienced/understood by sitting.

Gassho

Jinyo

ST

[Jundo]

I experienced this radical acceptance today myself. It arose within me like a flash of insight. I’ve been quite miserable with my job situation as being a school educator during the Covid era has been quite taxing, and along with family members experiencing health issues, the socio-political issues in SA... it’s been a bit of a rough time, and I’ve been feeling an intense inner resistance. I became acutely aware of that inner resistance today in a flash and felt all the tension and anger and upset melt away and I smiled as I felt a deep sense of inner peace arise.

Yes, problem is still there, and yes, on some level we still don't like it at all ... and yet, the world is seen in new light, and it is just not the same problem as before ...

Gassho, J

STlah

[Kaishin]

... when you think things shouldn't be in a certain way a light should go on that tells you to stop and practice ...

I have a snarky quote from Sawaki Roshi* tucked away that I always remind myself of when I fall into that trap of thinking "it shouldn't be like this!" or "this isn't right!":

There is no reason to expect the reality of immeasurable and unbounded life to satisfy your puny little thoughts

But, once you've accepted that the universe is not designed to fulfill your expectations, as Jundo notes, you can clear away that unhelpful mental clog and get to work fixing it! (Not that I'm skilled at doing so...)

-satToday

*I find myself going back to Sawaki's writings more than anyone the longer I've been practicing. He has a way of cutting through so much hogwash in making his points

[Jundo]

There is no reason to expect the reality of immeasurable and unbounded life to satisfy your puny little thoughts

But, once you've accepted that the universe is not designed to fulfill your expectations, as Jundo notes, you can clear away that unhelpful mental clog and get to work fixing it! (Not that I'm skilled at doing so...)

Ah, but if ya can't beat em, join em!

If the universe as it is does not please one's personal likes, one can change one's personal likes to be pleased by the universe as it is!

Oh, I don't mean that we need to like the ugly parts, such as war, sickness, cruelty and such. That is not my meaning at all.

But we can see through the world's ugly to the grand balance and harmony of the entire dance, beyond small earthly war and peace, sickness vs. health, beautiful and ugly. There is this which sweeps it all in as just acts of the grand show.

And here on earth, we can do what we can to end the war, cure the disease, replacing the ugly with something beautiful.

Gassho, J

STLah

I am reminded of this song ...

https://youtu.be/8LSmaNsVL0s