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scrubbing tiles -
the mind focused on
mold and haiku
Mildew, mold (kabi)
and the rainy season
focussed mind
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. . . Read my Haiku Archives 2009
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Once a student asked, What is Zen
ReplyDeleteThe Master answered.
That brick on the ground.
At times one marvels at the height of Hollywood audacity/arrogance and tinsel tower superficiality eg; American idol, Marry a millionaire etc... and the likes of New Age Master this and that when in reality life is cleaning your dishes or kitchen basin of mould.
The mastery is in being able to make this moment meaningful, full of truth and even joy.
This begs the question, what is sacred and what is mundane? What is
special and what is trivial.
Someone has to lick those stamps, carry the night cans in the old days before we had flushing toilets. Who made this or that job more important than the other? Those who seek to divide and who are divided themselves.
I remember in India meeting street cleaners or biddhi sellers(a type of local cigarette made from rolled leaf) or Paan sellers (betul nut) sellers whose joy, calm and sense of poise /grace was palpable and equal to a Russian ballerina or grand pianist. These were ordinary people in a nation of millions of other people. Enlightenment is nearer than,YOU Think.
Maybe in the west where we 'have everything' and are made to believe in our individual rights, privileges, demands, etc that giving up the ME the I, the self and the YOU is so so hard.
Thanks Gabi for reminding me of my duties and where to keep that wandering monkey mind. The sign of a true teacher is self effacement.
Ordinary everyday Zen
Carrying water and hewing wood
it's really quite pretty if one can see it purely aesthetically. but that might be hard whilst scrubbing it off the tiles every other day!
ReplyDeletethe WKD, a great site gabi, it must have taken an age to set up.
s.
Did the Shiki Kukai bring this one to you, Gabi? Yes or no, it's lovely!
ReplyDeleteＳ．
I love this Gabi Made me smile. I thought of the Shiki kukai right away.
ReplyDeleteM.
black grit
ReplyDeleteresisting soap and brush
words bloom
Jim Grossmann
I admire your equanimity, Gabi.
ReplyDeleteI hate scrubbing mold. It never transports me to better places.
J.