Difficult and Effortless Practice
by Jim Little
On the bike trail, I make a practice of observing what is on the road in front of me. I mean directly in front of me. The lizards lie out on the asphalt to keep their temperature up, and scurry away as bikes and runners approach. Some lizards are better than others at recognizing on-coming threats. My practice is to be aware of them (and ground squirrels, and smaller insects, and caterpillars) and avoid them, which I find to be fairly effortless.
In addition to the wild-life, I share that same trail with other humans. Humans that are riding their bikes, humans that are running, humans that are walking on the wrong side of the trail, humans that are walking their dogs with leashes that extend THE ENTIRE WIDTH OF THE TRAIL, humans STOPPING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TRAIL TO HAVE A CONVERSATION. Ugh! And this is MY difficulty to practice with. I announce "Rider up!" as I approach, and say "thank you, good morning" as I pass.
I guess for me, the effortless practice is one where I don't feel much friction between what I am trying to do and how I handle the unexpected. Animals are doing what they do, and I am happy to make way for them. Humans are also doing what they do, but for some reason I am just not as equanimous. My small mind wants to have a nice uninterrupted ride, when “just riding” should be happening. The gap between what I have and what I want. Luckily I can keep practicing.
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Our ZHS on-line schedule
- Mondays: 7-8:30pm - zazen, short service, lecture/discussion
- Tuesdays-Fridays: 5:30-6:10pm - zazen, offering of merit/bows
- M-F: 7-7:30am - zazen
- Saturdays: 8:00-10:15am - zazen, short service, tea, discussion/study
- For more information: www.zenheartsangha.org)
Special bows for today:
- Please offer bows for all those at Ashland Zen Center whose families have lost their homes in the recent fires in Oregon
- Please offer bows for Takiko Kawakami, Fumiko Arao's mother who died 9/2/2020
- Please offer bows for Jacob Blake, shot and paralyzed in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and for the protesters shot and killed in Portland, OR last weekend
- Please continue to offer bows of well-being for:
- Phyllis Merrill, Misha's mother, who is dying
- Rev. Les Kaye, Misha’s Zen teacher, who is recovering at home undergoing chemotherapy
- Zen Heart Sangha website: resources about COVID-19: www.zenheartsangha.org
- From our dharma sister, Misha: incredible graphics and information about COVID-19 https://informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/covid-19-coronavirus-infographic-datapack/
- From our dharma brother, Bill: Buddhism in women's prisons: https://tricycle.org/magazine/buddhism-in-womens-prisons/
- From our dharma sister, Nancy: Spirituality and interconnectedness through time https://www.brainpickings.org/2018/04/19/lynn-margulis-talking-on-the-water/
- From our dharma sister, Camille: an important commentary on race, riots and society to help us understand from Trevor Noah https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4amCfVbA_c
- If you would like to leave a comment on this blog: Here is a quick video on how to--it's from 2017, but should work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8T4RflO5Wgg
Many thanks to those of you who are sending me articles to share, links to helpful information, and for making comments…it is a gift beyond measure. Please know that you can either leave a comment on the blog itself, or send something directly to me and I will be happy to paste it in.
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