Hi Lyn, thanks for reading and commenting. Suzuki Roshi is so profound, simple, and poetic. He distills the essence of the essence. Bowing from Tassajara📿
Loved the inside view of a long time Soto Zazen women who wiggles in that pipe waiting to arrive in surrender, like polishing that dang stone again and again.
This might sound strange, but there’s something here that resonates with my experience of working hard blue-collar jobs. The work is unyielding, driving, and physically draining. I’ve found that the only way to really make it work is to yield to it, and practice mindful awareness as I do.
Hi Stephen, thank you for reading and commenting. I agree with you about the physical work. Though I've spent most of my adult life in front of a computer as part of my work, when I first came to Tassajara is was a relief to just clean cabins and toilets, chop vegetables, wash dishes--get out of my analytical mind and drop into the body. Having no responsibility to perform was also helpful. Dropping the striving self. Bowing from the monastery
I'll take this with me in my next seshin kitbag. Gassho!
Sweet!
What a great quote from Suzuki Roshi! And thank you for this clear explanation of a difficult thing.
Hi Lyn, thanks for reading and commenting. Suzuki Roshi is so profound, simple, and poetic. He distills the essence of the essence. Bowing from Tassajara📿
Loved the inside view of a long time Soto Zazen women who wiggles in that pipe waiting to arrive in surrender, like polishing that dang stone again and again.
Hi Lizbeth, thanks for reading and commenting. My mantra is "always surrender, never give up." Bowing from the monastery📿
This might sound strange, but there’s something here that resonates with my experience of working hard blue-collar jobs. The work is unyielding, driving, and physically draining. I’ve found that the only way to really make it work is to yield to it, and practice mindful awareness as I do.
Hi Stephen, thank you for reading and commenting. I agree with you about the physical work. Though I've spent most of my adult life in front of a computer as part of my work, when I first came to Tassajara is was a relief to just clean cabins and toilets, chop vegetables, wash dishes--get out of my analytical mind and drop into the body. Having no responsibility to perform was also helpful. Dropping the striving self. Bowing from the monastery
Thank you so much for sharing. Yeah, that kind of labor can be weirdly medicinal.