Not Simply Mowing the Lawn...

Not simply mowing the lawn, knee high and home to some frogs.
But raking away and then thinking, 'What can I write in my blogs?'

Something that's very mindful, first rake one way, then the other
watching my breath as the grass piles up, piles up like cattle fodder

Mind starts to wonder, as does my rake, jumping from thought to thought
I'm raking the grass, but I've got a feeling I'm not doing something I ought.

And so on and so forth, in the heat of the Sun  - thinking that maybe
my day's just begun....

Or something along those lines anyway - actually my day had begun much earlier with morning service, which always presents many chances for learning, whether it's in the reflective practice, or in simply meeting your own foolish nature - The recent psychotherapy course block was called One Foot in the River,  the idea that you have to keep a part of yourself outside the flow of events, in order to process what's going on. The same is true of the Bell Master's role in morning service - it's all to easy to get caught up in the rapture of the service and loose count of the number of prostrations, or which line of the liturgy you're supposed to recite next. Excellent training in many ways.

I remember when I first took on that role a few months ago, being absolutely terrified of making a mistake, ringing a bell at the wrong time or forgetting an offering verse.  Each of which I did, (and still do although less frequently).

Part of the training is in learning how to run a service, with the correct attitude and style, essential when it comes to big events like the recent wedding, but a big part of the training for me has been in learning and accepting that I'm not perfect, and that I'm unlikely (impossible I suppose, but I still don't like to admit it) to ever be; I'm simply bonbu an ordinary foolish being.

But I can look to and be inspired by perfection, I can sit at the feet of Amida, the infinite Buddha, trying, and vowing not to mess up, and then messing up and still feel loved and accepted. This is the life of faith.

This afternoon I worked on the Running Tide website, our order's journal. And I emailed an Erhu (Chinese Violin) player, who I'd like to play at an event we're holding later this year - partly to celebrate the release of two new books, Who Loves Dies Well, and The Other Buddhism.

I'm just about to head over to the main house for dinner, where I hear Dr Elizabeth Harris (Methodist Secretary for Inter-Faith Relations) has arrived, so I'm sure the dinner conversation will be interesting. Dr Harris and our Rev. Dharmavidya are co-hosting a seminar day in June, a Buddhist/Christian inquiry into faith.

二泉映月

China Central Chinese Orchestra perform Er Quan Ying Yue (二泉映月) with erhu soloist Song Fei (宋飞) conducted by Chen Xieyang (陈燮阳).