“From the withered tree, a flower blooms”
If these words conjure up visions of the ‘Phoenix rising from the ashes’, trust me, you’ve had too much of an occidental education by now. For this Zen saying does not have anything to do with a miraculous comeback from the dead.
Now for the Zen master, it might be the obvious 'life and death being one and the same'. Like two states of the same underlying reality or something. I must admit, I have not evolved or liberated enough to see it as they see.
Actually, I wanted to talk about my little other observation.
See, there is a difference when we adults catch cold and when our little ones catch them. Say, you catch one and you start blowing your nose every ten seconds, cursing yourself silently about the AC or cold drink you had earlier that day or was it that stupid friend who ‘deliberately’ sneezed. And now, you start to worry about not being able to make it to the office. Not because you love to work. But, because you have very little leaves left. Then again, you dread your child catching it, though, you don’t mind your colleague catching the same. Well, those are feelings we all are too familiar with.
But haven’t you noticed how it starts to affect your moods, your judgments, your conversations. Say, you are doing some interpersonal task like doing an appraisal or an interview. Or maybe you have been programming or doing some report. You just want to get over with it. You just stop with what you can get away with. You do not do justice to that extra review you would otherwise have.... It is not purposeful. It is just because you honeslty feel you should not ‘over-exert’ yourself. You just feel down and out. Gloomy and dull than usual. Ready to snap. Man! .....it is just a cold and we make mountains out of it.
Now, look at your child. Sure, she has a running nose but she is jumping. All around in wild abandon! And she is hardly bothered. She still needs her ice creams and she loves to cough at you. No manners. No etiquettes. Nothing breaks her or worries her. Yes. It’s just a cold. That’s perhaps why my pediatrician always say, as long as they appear happy and energetic, the temperature or whatever, it is fine.
Now read “From the withered tree, a flower blooms” once more.
Look at the tree. One part of it is busy dying while the other is busy living! One does not affect the other. It is like, every part and cell is supposed to do what it is supposed to do. Just being. That could be, just living or dying. It is the same.
We adults, make a mess of things. See, we as human beings cling to the past and all the ‘good things’ of the past. So, you are healthy and you do not have cold. And then one day, you have cold!... Now, you start to compare with your healthy state and Lo! behold, you are pissed. Suddenly there are 10,000 things that are affected by this cold...
And now, besides being cold, you are also sad. Congratulations!
Well, there are great souls like Gandhi, who is supposed to have asked for book to read instead of taking local anesthesia for an operation. Concentration. Being in control. That is another thing all together.
If these words conjure up visions of the ‘Phoenix rising from the ashes’, trust me, you’ve had too much of an occidental education by now. For this Zen saying does not have anything to do with a miraculous comeback from the dead.
Now for the Zen master, it might be the obvious 'life and death being one and the same'. Like two states of the same underlying reality or something. I must admit, I have not evolved or liberated enough to see it as they see.
Actually, I wanted to talk about my little other observation.
See, there is a difference when we adults catch cold and when our little ones catch them. Say, you catch one and you start blowing your nose every ten seconds, cursing yourself silently about the AC or cold drink you had earlier that day or was it that stupid friend who ‘deliberately’ sneezed. And now, you start to worry about not being able to make it to the office. Not because you love to work. But, because you have very little leaves left. Then again, you dread your child catching it, though, you don’t mind your colleague catching the same. Well, those are feelings we all are too familiar with.
But haven’t you noticed how it starts to affect your moods, your judgments, your conversations. Say, you are doing some interpersonal task like doing an appraisal or an interview. Or maybe you have been programming or doing some report. You just want to get over with it. You just stop with what you can get away with. You do not do justice to that extra review you would otherwise have.... It is not purposeful. It is just because you honeslty feel you should not ‘over-exert’ yourself. You just feel down and out. Gloomy and dull than usual. Ready to snap. Man! .....it is just a cold and we make mountains out of it.
Now, look at your child. Sure, she has a running nose but she is jumping. All around in wild abandon! And she is hardly bothered. She still needs her ice creams and she loves to cough at you. No manners. No etiquettes. Nothing breaks her or worries her. Yes. It’s just a cold. That’s perhaps why my pediatrician always say, as long as they appear happy and energetic, the temperature or whatever, it is fine.
Now read “From the withered tree, a flower blooms” once more.
Look at the tree. One part of it is busy dying while the other is busy living! One does not affect the other. It is like, every part and cell is supposed to do what it is supposed to do. Just being. That could be, just living or dying. It is the same.
We adults, make a mess of things. See, we as human beings cling to the past and all the ‘good things’ of the past. So, you are healthy and you do not have cold. And then one day, you have cold!... Now, you start to compare with your healthy state and Lo! behold, you are pissed. Suddenly there are 10,000 things that are affected by this cold...
And now, besides being cold, you are also sad. Congratulations!
Well, there are great souls like Gandhi, who is supposed to have asked for book to read instead of taking local anesthesia for an operation. Concentration. Being in control. That is another thing all together.
Comments
Post a Comment