“Regulations for the Auxiliary Cloud Hall at the Kannondori Kosho Gokoku Monastery”
“You should make the present moment your true source, having compassion for later generations by giving emphasis to the present. … No-one knows where and when this dew-like existence will drop from the grass. Not recognizing impermanence is truly regrettable … Do not be concerned with the faults of others … The Buddha prohibited unwholesome actions but did not tell us to despise those who practice unwholesome actions … Be sobered by the fact that the work of the way is not yet mastered. Regret the subtle passage of time, which is eating away this opportunity for practice of the way.”
I have been just here in this season of lent, still, and waiting for my distracted mind to quiet. I continue waiting, watching the world go by and participating when it appears to be my turn. Intermittently I wonder when things will change in my mind … I wonder when things will change … as if they are the same. They are not the same, but my responses repeat, like a skip in the record. Today, not yesterday, and not last week, but today, I have stayed just here and still, waiting my turn. Staying still I am transfixed by how the arrow has hit me, and it seems to be that of course it is not one arrow, but a succession of them; they come and go. This truly is my life.
thespacebetweenbreaths 