Here is a stone seat at the top of the field put together by somebody in memory of their mother. A merit bench.

This lunch time I sat up there looking out across the valley. Warm enough to go without hat and coat, sun shining. How fortunate to have open space.

I like to think sitting quietly on this bench invites merit, spiritual merit, to circulate in the world.

Maybe you have a ‘merit bench’; in a park, woodland, bus stop, at home?

Here is a piece by Kitty O’Meara. I thought now is the right time and day to publish here. Many of you may have read this already as I understand it has been circulated widely over the last days and weeks.

And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still.

And listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows.

And the people began to think differently.

And the people healed. And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal.

And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed.

Very many thanks to Julius for sending me the link to this.

It can be said, in fact, that the Mountains and Rivers Sutra is not about mountains and rivers at all, but that the mountains and rivers themselves are the sutra, the true buddhadharma.

These clouds appeared this morning looking for all the world like mountains rising from behind our plain old Northumberland moorland. They spoke of illusion, how easily we can become fooled by what we see, hear, smell, touch, taste. How we can be fooled by our own minds. To believe something is true simply because we want it to be true. I call that delusion coming to the aid of desire.

If you want poetry, take a look at the Mountains and Rivers Sutra by Zen Master Dogen. However to fully appreciate what is spoken there one has forget everything one thinks one knows. Not easy. Not a bad plan, sometimes one sees mountains and sometimes clouds. And sometimes one just sees. End of.

Couldn’t resist! No doubt we have all seen flashmob recordings. The  link to the one below was sent to me by a dear Canadian reader. Thanks Diane it just seems to fit the day and times following on as it does from the frogs yesterday. I went to look at the pond this lunch time and the frogs are still cavorting.

Here a homegrown, home-recorded video of Frogs going bonkers in our pond in the garden at Throssel. Next time I video I’ll use a tripod to cut out the wobbly image, hope this doesn’t detract from your viewing pleasure. Many thanks to my ‘walking companion’ and all-around good person for helping make this less shaky.