but I’m in total harmony with them.
I don’t hold on to anything, don’t reject anything;
nowhere an obstacle or conflict.
Who cares about wealth and honor?
Even the poorest thing shines.
My miraculous power and spiritual activity:
drawing water and carrying wood.
The Story of Layman P’ang, Reluctant Monk and Family Man.
My daily activities are not unusual,
I’m just naturally in harmony with them.
Grasping nothing, discarding nothing.
In every place there’s no hindrance, no conflict.
My supernatural power and marvelous activity:
Drawing water and chopping wood.
-P’ang
Layman P’ang is considered a model for the potential for non-monastic Buddhists. He lived in the 700s. He was a bureaucrat, working for the Chinese government. He got married and had two children, a daughter and then a son. One day, he just grew to become interested in spiritual matters. He built a little hermitage on his property and started spending time retreating there with his kids and meditating. His daughter Ling-chao was especially interested in the Dharma and studied it with him throughout his life.
P’ang studied with a Zen teacher named Sekito in a monastery called Nan-yueh for a year. Sekito put him through monk training, but ultimately P’ang refused to become a monk. He did not want to be ordained and to become part of the monastic structure. He was interested in the Dharma, but he wasn’t interested in being a monk. He left the monastery.
There is a famous dialogue between P’ang and Sekito.
Sekito asked, “How have you practiced Zen since coming here?” and P’ang replied, “My daily activities.”
https://www.reddit.com/r/zenbuddhism/comments/9njpuh/an_ordinary_affair_layman_pang/
