This Dharma thought offered by Karen DeCotis of the Bozeman Zen Group.

As I write and you read this, we are still in the midst of Covid, severe partisan politics, the aftermath of mass shootings, the war in Ukraine past the one-year mark, and a most devastating earthquake in Syria and Turkey. Difficult indeed to imagine the loss of life, of home, livelihood, security and comfort. And let us not be helpless in the face of tragedy.

May we suffuse love over the entire world, above, below, all around without limit, so let us cultivate an infinite good will toward the whole world.

So encourages the Metta Sutta. Offer the merit of your good practice. May we apply our practice diligently; may we also remember that the catastrophic suffering outlined above does not diminish the good efforts we must make to confront our own lives, our families and workplaces, our joys and difficulties – to cultivate self-compassion, energetic discipline and never turn away from our own suffering. 

A Dharma Thought offered by Steve Allison-Bunnell

Another family medical emergency, another hospital in another city. Last week in Billings, where my wife was successfully treated for a subdural hematoma, I found myself almost strangely calm. Being surrounded with support from health care professionals, family, friends, and adequate insurance took away so many sources of worry. But I also had permission to tell the world, “Sorry, I’m not available to do all the everyday things right now.” With this Practice came the gift to experience that time waiting in that space apart as a form of retreat, as Thay says, “nowhere to go, nothing to do.” It was, perhaps in an odd way, comforting. Where do you find unexpected places of quiet in the midst of stress and uncertainty? Can you find others?

This Dharma Thought is brought to you by Karen DeCotis of the Bozeman Zen Group, currently studying the book Training in Compassion: Zen Teachings on the Practice of Lojong by Norman Fischer.

From Norman:

If we could unhook ourselves for a moment from the blaming and the whining and the self-pitying and could look instead at the actual basis of what is in fact going on, what would we see? We would see time passing. We would see things changing. We would see life arising and passing away, coming from nowhere and going nowhere. Moment by moment, time slips away and things transform.

So we really can do less, not more in order to align with life and allow most things to take care of themselves. Especially in practice – what Suzuki Roshi called “effortless effort,” we can ease up on the “shoulds,” and relax as we endeavor to wake up, moment by moment. How is it….now?