At our Sunday gathering, some of you asked about the first vow in Great Vows for All -
"The many beings areanumberless, I vow to save them."
How can I save the many beings?
Susan Murphy Roshi in her book "Upside- down Zen" tells us that the translation word 'save' could also be rendered 'wake'. What is it to wake the many beings? Can we wake them if we do not acknowledge them and welcome them in our world? Awareness, then, has something to do with saving the many beings. When 'We put down our sticks' as Susan Griffiths shares in her poem; wow, here we are, and the many beings are numberless.
After sitting this morning, I went for my usual walk around McLaren Dam - just a pond really-and I noticed the ducks- 2 different species- the swamp hens and the cormorants all enjoying the early sun together.…
A strange and not so poetic collection of words following my sit with sangha this morning:
"Put down your sticks
the earth has come to a standstill
nothing is asked
the next line of this poem is emptiness"
Thank you sangha for arriving each morning, thank you Dave, thank you Jazz, thank you Deborah x