April 20, 2025
L'une des grandes leçons que je tirai de ces années passées en retraite dans des ermitages de montagne, à méditer et à contempler la nature sauvage, et à l'opposé, plongé dans le chaos de la vie moderne, est celle de la simplicité.
Matthieu Ricard
https://chatgpt.com/share/ae51bd47-b058-409b-ad78-f75d0f156b72
Updated with reminder on Dogen's belief about meditation being the seat of ease and repose:
https://chatgpt.com/share/ae51bd47-b058-409b-ad78-f75d0f156b72
Pema Chödrön that also emphasizes the simplicity of being rather than doing, from her book "The Wisdom of No Escape":
"The most fundamental aggression to ourselves, the most fundamental harm we can do to ourselves, is to remain ignorant by not having the courage and the respect to look at ourselves honestly and gently. The ground of practice is you or me or whoever we are right now, just as we are. That's what we come to know with tremendous curiosity and interest. The honesty and gentleness are essential. And this is the simplicity of practice: just being with ourselves as we are."
Pema Chödrön underscores the importance of simplicity in mindfulness practice by encouraging us to be with ourselves as we are, without rushing to change or fix anything. It's about gently allowing ourselves to be, rather than constantly doing or striving.
"In the quiet of the evening, I sit alone,
Surrounded by the sounds of nature.
The flowers bloom and the birds sing,
And I find solace in their company.
With no ambitions to chase or burdens to bear,
I embrace the ease of a simple life.
The pleasures of a leisurely day are enough,
For I am content in the moment’s gentle embrace."
This poem reflects Su T'ung Pao’s embrace of a simple, unhurried lifestyle. The imagery of flowers and birds symbolizes a harmonious relationship with nature, and the poet’s contentment with a leisurely life highlights his appreciation for the simplicity and ease of being present in the moment.
Lundi, le 26 février 2024
J'aime beaucoup ces mots de Henry David Thoreau : "simplifier, simplifier, simplifier...". Simplifier nos pensées, simplifier nos paroles et simplifier nos actes, ce n'est pas diminuer notre créativité ou retrécir notre existence, c'est apprécier intensément la sérénité sans égale d'une esprit au repos dans son état naturel. C'est déposer le fardeau, si longtemps coltiné, des constructions artificielles et distordues qui ne cessent de foisonner dans notre esprit, de le troubler, de l'agiter en tout sens, de le fragmenter, de le comprimer, de l'enchaîner - en un mot de le tourmenter.
Matthieu Ricard
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/