Thanks for coming. I think it's good to acknowledge the effort it took to get here this evening. May your sitting meditation meet your expectations, and more importantly may we be aware of our expectations as we sit and walk.
One of the ancestors for this practice is Chuang-tze, the famous Daoist master; I noticed a quote the other day: To a mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Chuang Tzu
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I think most of you enjoy poetry, I imagine most of us do ....
Working on a text that Warren brought to the Sangha on a couple of occasions: the text is the 'Song of the Grass-roofed Hermitage'. An hermitage is of course a refuge of sorts, a place of retreat.
There are many, many lines and verses in this poem which I like: one sticks out tonight:
Just sitting with head covered, all things are at rest.
Thus this mountain monk doesn't understand at all.
Living here, he no longer works to get free.
Who would proudly arrange seats only to entice guests?
Turn around the light to shine within, then just return.
The vast inconceivable source cannot be faced or turned away from.
Meet the ancestral teachers, be familiar with their teachings,
Bind grasses to build a hut, and don't give up.
Let go of hundreds of years, and relax completely.
Open your hands and walk innocent.
Thousands of words, myriad interpretations
Are only to free you from obstructions.
If you want to know the undying person in the hut,
Don't separate from this skin bag here and now.
