Dear All,
Are you gathering energy to your tanden?
“This elixir field, located in the sea of vital energy, the lower back and legs, soles of the feet –
it is all my true and original face.
How can that original face have nose holes?
This elixir field, located in the sea of vital energy, the lower back and legs, soles of the feet –
It is all the home and native place of my original being.
What news or tidings could come from that native place?
This elixir field, located in the sea of vital energy, the lower back and legs, soles of the feet –
It is all the pure land of my own mind.
How could the splendours of that pure land exist apart from my mind?
This elixir field, located in the sea of vital energy –
It is all the Amida Buddha of my own self.
How could Amida Buddha preach the Dharma apart from that self? “
(by Hakuin Zenji)
Gathering the energy in the tanden, especially during times like these, to gather the energy is most important.
There was a transmitted to student of Baso Doitsu Zenji called Kiso Jijo Zenji. He would come from his room to the kitchen where the monks were turning the stone mill, Kiso asks them, “what are you doing?” It was obvious to see what they were doing. Still he asked. The monks answere: “We are milling white beans and making bean flour. We are milling rice to make rice flour. We are milling wheat to make wheat flour – and with that we cook.” Kiso Osho responded: “Great work! When you move the milling stones, do not move the central stick.”
A stone mill consists of a stone on the bottom, another one on top and through the central whole a stick is placed, so that the top stone can move well on the bottom stone which stays fixed. The top stone can actually only moved because there is this central stick.
Just like the milling stone moving, it is natural for us to be moving along with the happenings in the world. Moving along with our work, with meetings in our neighborhood, with gatherings of family. All different encounters are our daily life. Yet if we get moved around by them and lose our center, that becomes a big problem. In the end we do not know anymore where we are standing neither do we know how to settle our state of mind.
This is our present situation in the world, this coronavirus is putting so many restrictions on us. So we get anxious and confused. That is what Kiso Osho was pointing at. We never know what will happen next, yet if we get moved around by these changes, we lose our center. We cannot lose the serenity of our mind but need to preserve our clear seeing eye or else we end up in huge confusion.
Please in your daily life do not lose your center. A balanced and centered essence is most important.