Special bows for today:
- Please offer bows of well-being for Rev. Les
Kaye, Misha’s Zen teacher, who is having surgery for bladder cancer
- Please offer bows of well-being for Brendan Haimson, Kate Haimson’s son, who is having surgery for a brain aneurism
During my life I have had my share of natural disasters—floods,
earthquakes, fires—and while these were often hard emotionally and physically, the
kindness and generosity of both friends and strangers during these events has never
ceased to amaze me. Although we are now experiencing
a different kind of disaster, it is still the case that I am witnessing everyday
ordinary people being upright, kind, and courageous in the face of a very
uncertain, even scary, time. Yes, there
are always the individuals who hoard 17,000 bottles of hand sanitizer or buy a
100 rolls of toilet paper at one time for their personal use, but generally
what I am seeing right now are all the small gestures of love and attention—the
offers to bring food to those who may need it delivered, the short visit (6’
apart!) with someone we love, the email or text asking that simple but
important question, “How are you doing?”, the assistance with using technology with
which we may not be familiar but may need in the days to come as we
self-isolate—each one of these acts of kindness more than makes up for the greed
of a few fearful individuals.
Fear is the real disaster. Fear is what separates us from each
other, what causes us to feel anxiety about loss, loneliness, or death. Fear is caused by our ignorance of the actual
state of affairs: that we are completely interconnected to all beings…and
always have been. Once we have an experience of this connection, fear’s
stranglehold on our heart begins to loosen and our innate compassion and
kindness has a chance to flow unimpeded.
Suzuki Roshi always maintained that
the greatest gift a teacher could give his or her student was the gift of
fearlessness. I do not know how this
gift is given or how it is received, but perhaps we can all just take a deep
breath, jump headfirst into this uncertain time, and find it for ourselves.
P.S.--If you wish to make a comment or offer a contribution, click
on the words at the bottom that say 'no comment'. This will open a
comment box and you can add what you wish. I am hoping that many of you
will add your thoughts as the days go by. Thanks!
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