Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Life in the present exists in this activity.

I have read so many books and listened to so many podcasts on Zen that I can't recall which wise person wrote/said this...

"Life in the present exists in this activity."

Everything we do is an opportunity to practice.

I aspire to get better at remembering this...

2 comments:

  1. Like you, I listen to a lot of podcasts and it can be hard to remember who said what. I am pretty sure it was Henry Shukman of the Mountain Cloud Zen Center who talked about the phrase 'wash your bowl'. When one rests in the presence of the activity it's notably quiet and peaceful - iron a shirt, do the dishes, take a shower, kiss....and all the while one is resting in the present moment. I love that.

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    Replies
    1. I listen (a lot) to Koun Franz, he of The Thousand Harbors Zen in Nova Scotia.

      In an old podcast he wonders, and I'm paraphrasing like mad, where does the flow from outside stop and where do we begin?

      The context was around our wants and needs (how we are being bombarded with "buy this buy that") but I find the question to be applicable to "my" wisdom. Is it mine?

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