Originally Posted by
Daizan
Everything I've posted today I've deleted.. .. must mean it is time for a board break. But I'll leave this gentle burp in the church if may, and not delete it..
There is no special wisdom in the subway lady's statement. If anyone said that to anyone else at the kitchen table.. the response would be a mild nod of agreement with the obvious.
There is a really interesting phenomena that was illustrated in a Woody Allen movie called "Crimes and Misdemeanors". Woody plays a documentary filmmaker, and one of his subjects is a professor of philosophy. This professor's output consists of statements like "Everybody needs love". They are perfectly ordinary observations, but Woody is deeply impressed with this man's wisdom. It is not what is being said that makes such an impression. It is the who, the how, and the where, that makes it sound especially wise..... a kind of social context lens. The words were spoken by a professor of philosophy.. with a thoughtful Yiddish accent... in a slow careful way.
So much of Zen seems to be like that.. perfectly ordinary wisdom, the kind that we hear plenty of on a normal day... becomes a dew drop of wisdom when spoken or posted in a Zen context. This is something I have noticed much of lately, online and offline.. and this is not meant as a criticism. It is just seeing and appreciating the magic of Sangha.
All the best to the lady on the subway, and I hope her train didn't take too long.
Gassho
Daizan