Monday, August 1, 2011

A koan for our meditation groups

While walking in a light rain while on retreat recently, this koan emerged:

Sometimes it rains.
Sometimes rain drips from trees.
Buddhamind stays dry.

We often talk, in our groups, about life's circumstances being like weather - that various weather patterns will travel across the background of a vast, clear sky. We can forget that the sky above is clear, if we focus on the storms themselves.

And memories can be experienced emotionally as if they're occurring now (as rain drips from the trees).

Can we maintain our faith and equanimity in the face of whatever storms life presents?