Much more mu today: a very slow haircut, mindless work done mindfully at the retreat center (filing, etc.), a sunny drive with a friend to bring our other friend (recovering from the flu) some Jewish mother chicken soup and an applesauce cake.
Mu moment: clearing leaves from under the orange tree by hand. I noticed everything from crisp green leaves to wispy skeletons. No poetry, no interpretations, no similes or metaphors, just leaves. This is hard work for me.
Showing posts with label nature. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nature. Show all posts
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Beautiful Moments at the Zendo
Frost sticking to our socks as we walked our morning kinhin on wooden planks around the zen garden.
An orange tree, glossy green-leaved, with one single orange remaining.
The perfect chair, old and oaken, found at a second hand store. It holds my back straight, keeps my legs at the right angle, resulting in four consequetive days of almost no pain.
My first experience raking the zen garden.
Walking down from a tall hillside, seeing a cliff face of petroglyphs on the right, two hot air balloons floating silently on the left, city lights remaining from the previous night spread all across the valley below, and the dark purple mountains arising behind.
A beam of light from the oil lamp, streaming across the room from the flame to me, visible only because of the tears in my eyes.
Our ears, finely tuned by silence, hear the deep vibrations of the zendo bell as it is rung at closing, forcefully and long.
An orange tree, glossy green-leaved, with one single orange remaining.
The perfect chair, old and oaken, found at a second hand store. It holds my back straight, keeps my legs at the right angle, resulting in four consequetive days of almost no pain.
My first experience raking the zen garden.
Walking down from a tall hillside, seeing a cliff face of petroglyphs on the right, two hot air balloons floating silently on the left, city lights remaining from the previous night spread all across the valley below, and the dark purple mountains arising behind.
A beam of light from the oil lamp, streaming across the room from the flame to me, visible only because of the tears in my eyes.
Our ears, finely tuned by silence, hear the deep vibrations of the zendo bell as it is rung at closing, forcefully and long.
Monday, February 4, 2008
A Winter Treat
I started the day grumbling at the cold, but got the winter treat that only Tucson has ever shown me. When a wet Pacific storm passes through, and the temperature hovers just above freezing down here in the valley, a magical thing happens in the mountains which are so very close by.
The dark storm cloud passes over, and while it rains (or sometimes even spits snow), we cannot see the mountain peaks. Then as soon as the cloud is gone, those mountains appear all covered with bright white snow just above the five or six thousand feet line. It happens so suddenly, and so dramatically.
To see that process happen on such a huge scale affects me so much more than seeing it happen around the house, or out on the street. It puts things in their place, and takes the bite out of the cold.
The dark storm cloud passes over, and while it rains (or sometimes even spits snow), we cannot see the mountain peaks. Then as soon as the cloud is gone, those mountains appear all covered with bright white snow just above the five or six thousand feet line. It happens so suddenly, and so dramatically.
To see that process happen on such a huge scale affects me so much more than seeing it happen around the house, or out on the street. It puts things in their place, and takes the bite out of the cold.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Bobcat!!!!
We were sitting having lunch, and out of the corner of my eye, I see a cat hop up on the brick wall. It moved like a cat, but then, WOW! It was very much larger than any cat I have ever seen, and immediately I recognize it is a BOBCAT!!
The most unexpected things happen around our desert home! Last year I peered over the fence expecting to see birds bathing in a puddle formed by the neighbor's irrigation leak. Instead I saw four perky coyote pups hopping and romping in the mud, obviously cooling themselves in the 100 degree heat. Very endearing to watch.
In the same moment my heart is both warmed and chilled, because these animals are cunning preditors, and sometimes in the night, we are awakened by the shrieking of a coyote pack celebrating a kill, or by the screaming of an animal caught by another. There are days when this is more truth than I really want to experience, but today, the surprise entrance of the bobcat was just a delight.
The most unexpected things happen around our desert home! Last year I peered over the fence expecting to see birds bathing in a puddle formed by the neighbor's irrigation leak. Instead I saw four perky coyote pups hopping and romping in the mud, obviously cooling themselves in the 100 degree heat. Very endearing to watch.
In the same moment my heart is both warmed and chilled, because these animals are cunning preditors, and sometimes in the night, we are awakened by the shrieking of a coyote pack celebrating a kill, or by the screaming of an animal caught by another. There are days when this is more truth than I really want to experience, but today, the surprise entrance of the bobcat was just a delight.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Crystal Clear
Spinner dolphins splashing around and playing in a beautiful Hawaiian bay. Awesome enough, but then...snorkeling in deep crystal clear water, I find myself suddenly swimming with a school of yellow fish. And then, when I thought it not possible to be more amazed, I look up and there glides before me a huge, graceful honu. It is flying, yes flying, just as I am in the water. I follow it until I cannot without going out to sea.
There is no saying mu to this. Better to say nothing.
There is no saying mu to this. Better to say nothing.
