No Insignificant Weeds

Once up at the monastery I got an ear-wigging for my weeding. The monk has asked me to weed a short stretch of gravel path during the work period and knowing no better having pulled all the significant weeds out of that bit I continued on my way helpfully pulling out all the bigger weeds on the next stretch too. That wasn’t what I’d been asked to do of course. I should have taken the job more seriously, stuck to the bit I had been asked to weed and pulled up all the tiny weeds too. They were the insignificant problems that were going to become significant in another week or two if they didn’t get attention.

From a posting on Little House In The Paddy.

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2 thoughts on “No Insignificant Weeds”

  1. Reverend Mugo

    There was a strong resonance for me with this passage on weeding.It does seem that nearly all of the meditation period is spent observing the seemingly thousands of “impressions” of the day being held by my mind. One by one they get released. Sometimes in the last few moments there is a wonderful deep stillness. I will keep weeding – if I do not the weeds become trees and then forests. At that point it is back to the beginning, and I have to just start by putting my shoes neatly together.

  2. There is no path to weed,
    Nor small weeds to remove.
    Since all is what is not
    Where do the weeds take root?

    With a bow to Hui Neng

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