Yearly Archives: 2013
Still
walking in Wales.
Evening Walk
Ah, an evening walk in Wales.
Making Offerings
Today, this afternoon. Jill’s Funeral. And then the interment of a portion of her cremated remains. It is hard to let go of good friends, a good sangha friend. Attaching and detaching flow together through out our entire life. (Quote attributed to Zen Master Dogen). Knowing this to be true does not make living it any easier. It does show that we are human.
Here words at the end of the interment of the ashes spoken on a windy hillside in Northumberland.
We pray that the Pure Mirror of Wisdom will share its light with you and that the True Wind will cover you with the coloured halo so that you can be enlightened in the Garden of the Bodhisattvas and work in the Waveless Sea that is Immaculacy Itself. We pray that you may receive our offerings as we say farewell to you, Jill, within the clouds that hide the heavens from our sight. We bow before the Holy Bodhisattvas and we offer incense to them.
Looking up. Pointing to faith. Bowing to the Bodhisattvas. Grateful that the rain held off long enough for us to all get indoors and have a cup of hot tea. And chat. This is all letting go, moving on.
Always an honour to officiate on such occasions.
Productivity
The plumber came early this morning, his second or possibly third visit to fix a boiler problem. A recent visitor diagnosed the problem and left me with a drawing and the magic words – pressure chamber. But somehow it didn’t seem right to be telling a professional how to do his job. But as it turned out, and with a number pointed questions from me after he’d failed first time around, my visitor had correctly diagnosed the problem. Nothing’s terminal the plumber said as he good-naturedly set to work on that – pressure chamber!
So a successful outcome. Problem fixed. But from past experience that which seems fixed doesn’t stay fixed. Which phone number do you prefer me to use, I asked as he was packing up, just in case err…the problem comes back again. You can have faith in it Reverend, he said. Then he left. Out into the pouring rain to his next job. So I guess we learnt something from each other today.
And the photograph of the daffodils? They reminded me of a much valued aspect of our lives – productivity. Producing goods and services to create wealth. With warmth and all this rain the land is once again growing green. It is becoming productive. Indeed being productive. The lambs are avariciously eating grass. They grow rounder and less bouncy by the day. Soon they will go to the market, get sold and then…eaten! Some may live on to have their own lambs next year. And so the process goes on. Thinking about it I believe I appreciate the flowers and the lambs in equal measure. I’d hope we can appreciate all beings that way, productive or not.
Plumbers, I have to say, hold a special place in my heart.