Climb the Joyous Mountain (May 2022)

We have a duty to find meaning in this very life, this present existential situation. And this requires a disciplined mind. 

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The Japanese sense of beauty … usually relies on delicate understatement. What is left out is just as important as what is put in.

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All one can do is bring the palms together in a salute to all beings. May they lose the attachment that makes for suffering. Life can be good – if we plant the proper seeds. The way of joy is best. Climb the Joyous Mountain.

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A solitary plant growing insanely from seemingly barren rock expresses a great and indomitable Life Force. To be aware of such Life Force, to walk serenely beneath the awesome blue sky, and to listen to the spring raindrops on the over-hanging eaves of the old temple building – these are all meditative experiences if we merge with them.

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To live each day with some contemplation, and to try to feel gratitude for the really countless blessings we take for granted, will lead us to treat others as we wish to be treated.

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May I be properly grateful for this food,

which is the result of the work of others

and the suffering of other forms of life.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

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The aim of Zen is to free oneself from all conditions – however pleasurable or painful – while living in the midst of conditions. To do this means living in the here and now while transcending the here and now.