“Proper effort is not the effort to make something particular happen. It is the effort to be aware and awake in each moment, the effort to overcome laziness and defilement, the effort to make each activity of our day meditation”.
Kohn, Michael H.; tr. The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen. Boston: Shambhala, 1991
A number of years ago an elderly, deaf, Dominican monastic would come and stay with us and join in the monastery schedule. He was a gracious and quite spoken man and he would tell us stories.
On one visit he told us about his new hearing aid. One day, soon after he had his hearing aid, he was walking past the refractory. With his new device switched on he was shocked to hear the brethren apparently throwing the cutlery at the tables! Of course they weren’t and neither are the people here on retreat, however it does sounds like that.
Every now and then there needs to be a remind to the gathered guests to pay attention to the noise level in the dining room. Invariably, after such an announcement, what happens is people try very hard to handle their cutlery and bowls quietly and there are really loud crashes too, as a plate or knife escapes somebody’s grasp.
Sometimes the harder you try the worse things become, probably because the trying is coloured by anxiety and fear. At least the intention is good though. Some where it is said that Right Effort is the effort it takes for the Buddha to raise his foot. Which is rather different to the straining associated with ‘efforting’.
The matter of studying the self, of becoming thoroughly familiar with the self, is at the core of Buddhist teaching and fundamental to Zen Master Dogen’s teaching and instructions on meditation. The study mentioned in the quote does not result in understanding or knowledge in the normal way of thinking about study. Just sitting, when sitting, walking, lying down… or ‘when ever’, is to study oneself. Great! Simple, yet not easy.
Just in case there is any misunderstanding, studying the self is not to become self obsessed or self absorbed, that’s deliberately thinking about the self. One of the books I have beside me is, The Art of Just Sitting edited by John Daido Loori. Here is a review of the book.
Coffee with a view.
Early morning at Westmorland motorway Services.
This morning I traveled south from Throssel with Iain who, along with his wife, hosted me while I was in Japan last spring. We stopped at the services for a brisk breakfast before going on to a small gathering of lay sangha members in a Quaker Meeting House near Lancaster. The sun was working it’s magic behind the clouds
If you are ever traveling on the M6 motorway going either north or south it is well worth visiting Westmorland motorway Services. It is the only independently run services in Britain and it’s a happy place filled with positive staff.
Now, twelve hours after leaving ‘Englands Last Wilderness’ I’m back again. Good to go and good to return.
I rarely go and look at my Yahoo.ca mail accounts however to-day I logged in and this promotion came shooting across the screen, Can you Beat Karma? Karma the Goat, trimmed out in purple, running through my screen certainly got my attention. As you will see if you follow the link there are a few weeks mapped out with good things to do, presumably so one can ‘beat karma’. It’s a promotion, it’s commercial and it’s a bit of fun too. And here is a bit more fun…
For anybody who has bumped into the TV series My Name is Earl you will know that Earl is on a mission to right wrongs after he discovered the concept of karma. A simplified version for sure however it does seem he understands that intention, in his case bad intention, leads to bad things happening.
Here’s how Earl started on the upward path:
Earl (Jason Lee, “Almost Famous,” “Chasing Amy”) has taken one too many wrong turns on the highway of life. However, a twist of fate turns his life into a tailspin of life-renewing events. Earl wins a small lottery, and, after an epiphany, he is determined to transform his good fortune into a life-changing event as he sets out to right all the wrongs from his past.
Before Earl can begin his journey, his inevitable attraction to misfortune surfaces once again. Seconds after winning the lottery, he is hit by a car and while unconscious; the winning lottery ticket blows away.
While in the hospital, Earl watches “Last Call with Carson Daly” where Carson says that his success is a direct result of doing good things for other people. It is at that moment Earl discovers karma- and in hope of a better life, he sets out to correct every bad thing he’s ever done starting with a grade school geek, Kenny (guest star, Gregg Binkley), who Earl used to pick on.
Earl’s wrote a long list of bad things he has done in his life and in each episode Earl, somewhat assisted by his friends, deals with one of the wrongs by trying to make amends.
So karma is very much in the popular culture. Karma means action by the way, and the reason I was looking at my Yahoo account is directly related to encouraging a good friend in the Sangha to take an action. Specifically, since she is splitting up with her partner, to get her own email address since they obviously will not be sharing the same address, email or otherwise. Yahoo seemed to be a good option.
I wonder if one of the items on Earl’s list is, ‘read Joy’s email’. Just a thought.