Dear hearts and gentle people of the Jikoji sangha, hoping you are all well and safe, I offer here some timely thoughts to share with you:
Among the benefits of being at Jikoji now is the opportunity to become more familiar with the library resources, including various books of sutras, commentaries and teachings such as Dogen’s writings. My thoughts have been stimulated by my explorations of these teachings, as well as from numerous Jikoji dharma talks and discussions, thankfully being shared “live” now through technology.
Following Mothers’ Day for all Mothers, who are ever aware of the welfare of other beings, and always providing, without hesitation, in so many ways -- nurturing, guiding, teaching and loving---(acknowledgements to Doug for this phrasing),
Ceanatothus at Jikoji.
We all share our Essential Mother, our Mother Earth, and we must touch Her, with all our senses, as the Buddha did with his very first action under the bodhi tree upon becoming awakened. Much later, in the last times of his teaching, he taught “When entering a village or town, monks should be like bees gathering nectar from flowers, only taking the flavor, without destroying the color and fragrance.” (Mahaparanirvana Sutra)
Dogen comments that these flowers are the Ten Thousand Things, everything and all that we can experience, including all our experiences themselves, through which all teachings manifest.
So that’s how we should touch our Mother Earth, taking only what we need from Her flavor. Just imagine (!) what a light and loving touch this would be to take only sustenance while destroying not even the ephemeral color nor the wafting fragrance of all the Ten Thousand Things.
Speaking of the Ten Thousand Things, it’s still springtime here at Jikoji, and notably the ceanothus bushes are radiant with their vivid blue composite flower blossoms. The dark green leaves have virtually disappeared within the blue mass of bottle-brush shapes. Each finger-long spongy bottle brush is made up of hundreds of tiny individual flowers, exquisite universes of flavor, color and fragrance.
Back to the garden.
But wait! There’s a symphony of buzzing sounds rising, the bees and many other insects, small, medium and large, hovering, alighting and trundling all across those flower-universes, taking what they need--the flavors, without destroying the color and the fragrance.
And that’s happening throughout these woods, hills and mountains as wildflowers blossom abundantly--blue lupine, golden poppies, purple, yellow and white wild irises, and many, many smaller gems of a whole palette of colors.
My heart aches in appreciation for the beauty as I touch our Mother on my hikes or while working on Jikoji’s landscaping; walking down the crunchy path to the big zendo; going up to the vegetable garden with buckets of kitchen scraps for the compost pile; returning with sustainable colorful, fragrant and flavorful harvests of onions, chives, lettuces, kale, spinach, chard, celery and more…
And you, dear Sangha, are all part of this. We deeply appreciate all your shared practice and support. Please believe when I say that we here frequently share how we long to have you all here again.
Deep bows,
John
