Reading Thay's stories in At Home in the world and another teacher in Meditations for the Love of It, I find a recurring theme: Joy. Another underlying theme is the sacramental nature of the ordinary. Recently my Sangha brother Jon Hart, hosting Wake Up Sangha, highlighted a teaching of Thay's, If your practice is not bringing you joy, it is not a good practice. This connected with another teaching from a sweat lodge; "the lodge is not an an endurance test but a teaching for life"
Taking comfort in the Three Jewels; the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha and with the awareness that Sangha and other meditative groups are in practice all over the world, I experience Joy. The persistent practice with awareness of the sacramental and sacre is a powerful act of love.
What are the ordinary things that we love and take for granted that are a spiritual practice or that can become one. We work with what we know and already do. These daily activities are avenues of the holy, of healing, of transformation. These are avenues of joy.
There are the moments the right questions can take us deep. They inspire and challenge us, perhaps move us onto a new direction. My gratitude to Jon and the Wake Up Sangha for these questions.
What does your practice look like? How does in show up in the ordinary?
What are your feelings and insights when you finish? What do you come away with?
Are there others you have not developed as strongly?
I would add,What are the ordinary behaviors and the routine that can be transformed into sacred practice? Wearing a mask, washing the dishes, preparing a meal, building a shelf, taking a walk, holding your dog, checking on a neighbor?
Ponder these things in your practice.
With Joy
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