Let’s have a cup of tea! – Zen

This post contains a bit over two pages from the book “Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind” – the Chapter “Single Minded Way”  by Shunryu Suzuki.

At the bottom of this post please find the YouTube video of this chapter read by Peter Coyote.

 

SINGLE-MINDED WAY:“Even if the sun were to rise from the west, the Bodhisattva has only one way.”

The purpose of my talk is not to give you some intellectual understanding, but just to express my appreciation of our Zen practice. To be able to sit with you in zazen is very, very unusual. Of course, whatever we do is unusual, because our life itself is so unusual. Buddha said, “To appreciate your human life is as rare as soil on your fingernail.” You know, dirt hardly ever sticks on your nail. Our human life is rare and wonderful; when I sit I want to remain sitting forever, but I encourage myself to have another practice, for instance to recite the sutra, or to bow. And when I bow, I think, “This is wonderful.” But I have to change my practice again to recite the sutra. So the purpose of my talk is to express my appreciation, that is all. Our way is not to sit to acquire something; it is to express our true nature. That is our practice.

doors – Clarissa Pinkola Estes

“The doors to the world of the wild Self are few but precious.

If you have a deep scar,

that is a door,

if you have an old, old story,

that is a door.

If you love the sky and the water so much

you almost cannot bear it,

that is a door.

If you yearn for a deeper life, a full life, a sane life,

that is a door.”

~Clarissa Pinkola Estes

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