Handle even a single leaf of green in such a way that it
manifests the body of the Buddha.
This in turn allows the Buddha to manifest through the leaf.
– Dogen
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
by Robert Frost
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of the easy wind and downy flake.The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
Thanks to the Reverend who introduced me to this poem this evening.
If what I say resonates with you, it is merely
because we are both branches on the same tree.
– W.. B . Yeats
It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon
our hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air that
emanates from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews
a weary spirit.
– Robert Louis Stevenson
Here starts Tree Fortnight – two weeks of pictures with poems and quotes about our trusty friend, the tree.
Morning Service. That’s a ceremony. It happens after morning meditation. It happens every day of the year. And it is more or less the same, every single day of the year. For people new to our practice who maybe come for an introductory retreat ceremonial can be a bit of a challenge. It was for me when I first started going to Throssel as a lay woman.
To cut a potentially long post short the answer to the challenge is simple. Firstly one is not required to adopt a particular attitude of mind, or feel a certain way while taking part in a ceremony. For example it is not a requirement to be devotional while singing or grateful when bowing or feel wonderful or uplifted. Or even like it. Morning service, any ceremony, is an overtly religious activity within which one sits still and acts in concert with others. Singing, bowing, chanting, turning, sitting, standing. Doing the best one can.
As with participating in overtly religious activities such as morning service so it is with seemingly mundane daily activities. The inner aspect or quality of mind (sitting still) is exactly the same what ever is happening. That quality of mind is not a practice or quality as such it is simply our True Nature which does not come or go, nor does it need perfecting. The deeper challenge of ceremonial (or whatever) is to accept that. Deeply. Trouble is we imagine there is something lost to find and something broken to fix or improve upon. Tah!
There is a certain something in repetition, a blessing really, that propels one through to acceptance. You could call that faith I guess.