I wrote this note to people who are doing the 10-week practice period at
Clouds in Water Zen Center. I thought others might be interested in
Katagiri-Roshi's quote and encouragement for daily committed practice.
We are at the halfway point in our commitments lasting until the Rohatsu Celebration on Dec 9th?
Many of us committed to meditating every day. How's it going? Last
week, I wrote about the doldrums and connecting with others to encourage
our ability to be steadfast and follow through. Find a way to
encourage yourself this week. Re-energize in some way.
If you feel that it's impossible to follow what you originally set out
to do, then, sit down with yourself (and another person if you want)
and refine your commitments to something doable. Even a smaller
commitment steadfastly done will reap some fruit.
I was inspired this week by studying Katagiri Roshi's book for the Wednesday Time class. He writes:
"Busyness has the great power to emanicipate itself. That’s why you
want to find a way to be free from busyness and just be present quietly.
This is quietness, tranquility. When you are calm, tranquil, and
still, twelve hours of time returns to no-time or timelessness. Can you
stay with quietness? No, quietness has the great power to act. You
cannot stay with timelessness or you would die, so timelessness must
become twelve hours again."
What I take away from this quote is
Time emancipates timelessness, and timelessness emancipates time.
Which means to me that I need everyday to go into quiet, calm, stillness
to liberate the burden of my schedule and my "To do" list and free
myself of the fatigue of samsaric life. We can't or don't even want to
stay in timelessness because we don't want to dismiss our one precious
human life but rather to seize the day! This quiet place inspires us to
come back into our life; refreshed, concentrated and mentally clear.