Tuesday, July 22, 2003

Zen Mind, Zen Schmind

This came to me from my friend Lori, who knows I’m into the ju-bu thing.  It’s that magical intersection of koan and kvetch, the Tribal Tao:

Take only what is given. Own nothing but your robes and an alms bowl.  Unless, of course, you have the closet space.

Let your mind be as a floating cloud. Let your stillness be as the wooded glen. And sit up straight. You’ll never meet the Buddha with posture like that.

There is no escaping karma. In a previous life, you never called, you never wrote, you never visited. And whose fault was that?

Wherever you go, there you are. Your luggage is another story.

To practice Zen and the art of Jewish motorcycle maintenance, do as follows: Get rid of the motorcycle. What were you thinking?

Learn of the pine from the pine.  Learn of the bamboo from the bamboo.  Learn of the kugel from the kugel.

Be aware of your body. Be aware of your perceptions.  Keep in mind that not every physical sensation is a symptom of a terminal illness.

If there is no self, whose arthritis is this?

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.  Forget this and attaining Enlightenment will be the least of your problems.

Drink tea and nourish life. With the first sip, joy.  With the second, satisfaction. With the third, Danish.

Be patient and achieve all things.  Be impatient and achieve all things faster.

To find the Buddha, look within. Deep inside you are ten thousand flowers. Each flower blossoms ten thousand times.  Each blossom has ten thousand petals. You might want to see a specialist.

Be here now. Be someplace else later. Is that so complicated?

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single oy.

Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness.  And then what do you have? Bupkes.

I feel a bit more enlightened already but it might be the All Bran.