Every time I offer incense or prostrate before the altar in my hermitage,
I do not do this as an individual self but as a whole lineage.
Whenever I walk, sit, eat, or practice calligraphy,
I do so with the awareness that all my ancestors are within me in that moment.
I am their continuation. Whatever I am doing,
the energy of mindfulness enables me to do it as “us,” not as “ me .”
When I hold a calligraphy brush,
I know I cannot remove my father from my hand.
I know I cannot remove my mother or my ancestors from me.
They are present in all my cells, in my gestures,
in my capacity to draw a beautiful circle.
Nor can I remove my spiritual teachers from my hand.
They are there in the peace, concentration, and mindfulness
I enjoy as I make the circle.
We are all drawing the circle together.
There is no separate self-doing it.
While practicing calligraphy,
I touch the profound insight of no self.
It becomes a deep practice of meditation.
~
Whether we’re at work or at home,
we can practice to see all our ancestors and teachers
present in our actions.
We can see their presence when we express a talent or skill
they have transmitted to us.
We can see their hands in ours as we prepare a meal or wash the dishes.
We can experience profound connection and free ourselves
from the idea that we are a separate self.
rog note:
For those aspiring towards a Spiritual Path…
Note this part:
“There is no separate self:”
Once this experientially learned…
All pain & suffering caused the ignorance & confusion
of mistaking our True identity as our ego-mind-body
is removed by making all those concerns obviously …
not a concern at all.
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“Zenfully Quool Quotes”…
Currently featuring “The Art of Living”
By Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh
My aim is to present
a deeper, higher, wider, non-theological perspective
into common sense Spirituality
that most of us folks raised in the ‘west’ never get introduced to,
to fulfill life’s most intriguing questions…
