Sublime

Our body is a masterpiece of the cosmos.

Following our breathing, we can say: All phenomena are impermanent. They are subject to birth and death. When the notions of birth and death are removed, this silence is called great joy. This meditation sums up all of the Buddha’s teaching.

The Buddha also ate, walked, and went to the toilet. But he did so in freedom, not rushing from one thing to the next.

Lay disciples living in the world can follow the principles of the teaching to foster true happiness. First of all, do not let a desire for wealth cause you to become so consumed by your work that you prevent happiness for yourself and your family in the present moment. Happiness is foremost. A look filled with understanding, an accepting smile, a

If we focus on what’s going on inside ourselves—sensations, emotions, the patterns of our thoughts—a wealth of material can be found. Our inner world is every bit as interesting, beautiful, and surprising as nature itself. It is, after all, born of nature.

Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the whole earth revolves—slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.

We need to feel the dream with the wonder of a child approaching a threshold of discovery. When we rediscover our childlike nature, we enter into a world of gentle possibility. Consequently, we will find ourselves more frequently at the place of ease, delight and celebration. The false burdens fall away. We come into rhythm with ourselves.

Alan Watts, Zen and the Beat Way. Boston: Charles E. Tuttle, 1997.