A Zen garden, an Oak Tree, and Reincarnation
Cinorjer
Veteran
I might have mentioned a bad summer storm knocked over my huge old oak tree in my back yard, which took down my privacy fence and landed on the roof of the house next door. Fortunately for me, but I imagine the guy who owned the house next door had a different view.
Anyway, after paying someone to cut and haul most of the tree away, I was left with a stump tipped over but half the roots still in the sandy ground. I decided to leave the stump to be a feature of the Zen garden I'm creating next year. By the time I had my privacy fence repaired, the stump of this 180 year old tree (I counted the rings) had thrown up new shoots. Life strives to survive. I have a lot of work to do on the garden next year. Paint the fence, put in a path and water feature, etc. But this tree will be an important fixture somehow.
So in meditation yesterday, I was looking at the stump and realized this is an illustration of reincarnation and I'm calling this the Reincarnation Tree. Look at the picture, and ask yourself, as the new shoots turn into branches and then a new trunk:
Will it be the same tree, or a different tree? What's your answer?
The old oak sends out new shoots, heedless of the coming winter.
Comments
Not same and yet not completely different. The old is a condition for the new. They all arise and cease. That is the nature of conditioned things.
When I was younger, and people would die, I'd get annoyed at the things they said like, "He will always be with you." because they seemed so platitudinous. (
I didn't think that would actually be a word) But really, it's true, because we always carry their genetics, and what they offered us, within us. We are utterly changed by their love and security and kindness. Trees aren't all that much different, though of course their experience isn't the same. But their vast networks of roots do connect, apparently, with other plants and communicate in some sense. Pretty fascinating. Bringing in the new always carries with it aspects of the old. And when you think about humanity in that sense it's pretty amazing. Or even water. The very same water we drink was on the planet when the dinosaurs were here. It's not quite the exact same, but it carries all those eons of "stuff" with it. The more we nurture what is up and coming, the better it all is, for all of us.
I love your garden idea. Enjoy creating it!
Never underestimate the power of a Tree.
(http://newbuddhist.com/uploads/editor/go/464tnlubbhqj.jpg "")
It will be the same as in a "tree" but different as in the recycled materials that will come together to regrow it...
Just as "I" am every other "I" that has ever lived, "I" will to be the same "I" as "I" always have been...and "I" will continually be "recycled"
"Consciousness needs an "I" to spy upon itself-but this elusive "I" (like the oak tree) is cloaked in stealth !"
When an oak falls in a forest, do its friends hear it scream?
How wonderful. A zen garden grown from an event.
A zen garden, an oak tree and reincarnation walk into a bar, The oak tree says to the bartender, "I'll have a six pack of fence posts and some well planed boards". The bartendender says, "That's not how it works". Reincarnation laughs and elbows the zen garden, who seemed not to be interested.
Lovely story, although from a practical standpoint I have to point out that the new oak tree shoots seem to be intent on either becoming part of or growing through the privacy fence. You might want to consider where you want your new tree...
It's the perspective, mostly. The stump itself is touching the fence, though. But yeah, once I'm gone the next owner of the house will probably take one look and have the stump removed completely. I like it there, but then again I get strange looks when I tell people it's staying. And the dogs like to climb on the root ball and look over the fence and bark at the neighborhood.
A different same tree.