Appreciate your life

Floating_Abu

Just reading this now, thought I'd post -

Anyway, today I want to talk about "appreciate your life." Appreciation. Appreciation for your life or my life. Many people dislike (hate) their lives. (They're always asking) "How come I was born in such and such a family? How come my family's so poor? How come my brain's not so sharp? I want things more peaceful. I want a happier life. I want a better job."

If you keep looking at things from a dualistic point of view like this, you will come to hate each other. But one day you will discover through your zazen or through your daily life the truth of the absolute infinite. (In this way) Automatically you (will come to) appreciate your situation, your condition, your position ... your place ... so-called "in any event, in any moment, in any place." Most times -- me too -- (we're asking) how come things are this way or that. This is the dualistic point of view. But when you truly discover yourself, you will find that everything comes out of yourself and it is a wonderful life, wonderful job, wonderful apartment, wonderful family, wonderful friends ... everything automatically appreciate or thank-you-very-much.

But in this world, only human beings can discriminate and they end up hating. They hate each other. Some people hate themselves. Some people become nihilists. "I don't like life (they say). How come I'm not a respected human being?" Some people wish they were born in some other place or at another time. They want better karma. But you don't need better karma. You were born male. Or born female. This is the superficial point of view. But from the essential point of view, your nature itself, you are not male, not female. From the narrow, egotistical point of view, everything is tiny, tiny. When you look at things from this point of view, everything becomes sad. When you take this point of view, you may think nihilistic. Everything is so sad. You waste time this way, hating people, hating yourself. This is the way to create an unhappy life.

On the other hand, if you appreciate you're born a human being, automatically you will have a happier life, a more sincere life. This is the natural, the essential point of view -- to appreciate.

But some people only have an intellectual appreciation. (They say true) Nature is like this or like that. Compassion is this way or that. This is the intellectual point of view. No-o! In this way the intellectual nature covers over (and hides your true nature. Our true nature is not something that is missing. Everyone has it. Kindness, bravery, wisdom, appreciation, compassion, ten precepts -- everything. But most people cover this up with the ego point of view -- selfish discrimination limits everything. From there, you get more and more lazy and at the same time wish more and more for a happy life. But you can't do it this way. It's cause and effect. You can't do it. Well, maybe you can do it in this life. But it won't work in your entire life. You think maybe your life is only 80 years. But no, it doesn't work that way. It keeps going. Some day you have to pay for this. And also maybe your husband or wife, your parents or children -- maybe they'll be paying for you.

OK, so you do zazen and you get a more and more sad feeling. This isn't real zazen. No. If you do zazen, automatically you get more joyful. More happy feeling. More light feeling. More free and fresh. But many people misunderstand zazen. They think zazen is dull and you're watching and something comes and they sit around watching with a stupid mentality. Then the pain comes and they think something and then, when the pain goes, they fall asleep and think it's paradise.

Full link: http://www.engaged-zen.org/articles/Kyudo.html

Floating_Abu

Anyway, life is getting more and more complicated. We need a third eye (to watch it all), to open here (forehead). But this is the present. August fourth or fifth, I forget. The present. It's the time to be more sincere. More honest. You should do it. All your organs are helping your life -- heart, kidney, liver. Your body is helping your life. You help your body. Don't separate. You have a good life. Don't discourage yourself with your opinions and egoistic mind. "How come this and how come that?" No. These head ideas are all dreams. You think you have to hold onto something -- all these head thoughts. Even when you go out, you hold on to something. All those habits. But the best is an empty hand. Someone asked Dogen-zenji when he came back (from China) to Japan, "What did you bring back?" Dogen-zenji said, "I brought back nothing. I only realized the empty hand." Empty hand is endless. But if I put something into my hand, I can't hold anything else. Open is flexible. Truth. Your mind is also flexible. But most people are holding on to something. They go around dreaming, thinking this and that. Don't blame your life.

When I was young, I blamed my parents. How come my brain is not so sharp? How come maybe my father's not so sharp? Or how come my grandparents are not so sharp? But now they're dead. I can't blame them. Now, it's up to me. Maybe I'm not so sharp, but I take care of myself. Take care. I take care what I get and if possible use it. I can't become Einstein. Yes, we have to appreciate our life. appreciate our surroundings, our bodies -- everything.

Zazen. Today is not so good because of last night. I went to a big party. Tired. Maybe tomorrow you complain your condition isn't so good because you had too much to eat. Another day, it's something else. When you are sincere, you will understand that your situation is wonderful. You don't compare with others. Each one of you, your condition is wonderful. Beautiful, happiest. When you appreciate your life is happier. Then you'll be able to help each other. Don't hate each other. Zazen too. Your nature extends through the whole universe. Don't make any attachments. Don't make your mind small and tiny. Automatically you become unhappy. You'll be discouraged. Please don't waste your life.

Theswingisyellow

"Don't make any attachments. Don't make your mind small and tiny. (this one is so true when we cling and collapse around our own problems or storylines).
Automatically you become unhappy. You'll be discouraged. Please don't waste your life".
Very nicely stated.
About appreciating life I am reminded of the last sentence from the epilouge of "All Things Shining: Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular Age":
"All things are not shining, but all the shining things are"

Sile

Beautiful thoughts! Thanks for these!