Hello from the Netherlands

[Ryumon]

Harry,

While my son is older (almost 17) I recall those days of simple games that elicited joy. Can't we just look on them as antidotes to suffering? They don't cancel it out, but imagine if children _didn't_ have that joy? The more joy you can give to your children, the more joy they'll be able to spread when they're older.

Kirk

[helena]

Thank you Harry,

I certainly imagine that it is very special for a father as well. My daughter really resembled her father and that was special indeed. And now that she is a little older, she starts to resemble other members of his family. It continues to be a great reminder of how interconnected we all are, on a very physical level.

It is so great that you bring such joy to your child because I do honestly believe that in making your child smile, on some level, you make the world smile.

Unfortunately, I also recognize the opposite. When my daughter was a baby, I never got angry with her. But now I sometimes do. I don't hit her, or yell at her, but still, I sometimes do feel anger and I recognize that that is the stuff that wars are made of.

Helena.

[Smoggyrob]

Welcome, Helena:

You stumbled into a cool place. Jundo's "online zendo" experiment is fascinating. Treeleaf is a very nice site with very nice people. Almost too nice (honestly, you guys creep me out just a little). There are a wide variety of experiences here to learn from. Jundo's advice above is solid, I'd do well to follow his suggestions myself. I wish you well in your effort to begin a daily practice.

Rob

[Keishin]

hellos from the netherlands

Welcome Helena!

I'm catching up on my reading here and it's quite a bit!

Mensch--thank you so much for posting the link to writings of Kodo Sawaki. I am
just blown away by them--bracing, head-clearing stuff--like standing outdoors in the rain on the ferryboat.

Thank you Jundo for making the quotes more readily available for us here.

gassho
keishin

[Martin]

A rather belated welcome, Helena.

Gassho

Martin

[helena]

Thanks Smoggyrob, Keishin and Martin!