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Thread: Another one will come

  1. #1

    Another one will come

    If you have ever been on a NYC subway you are bound, at some point to run into a preacher of some type. And this is so common place that no one really pays them any mind. But the other day while I was on my way home a Jamaican lady got on the train and sat directly in front of me. she was quietly singing to herself praises of the lord, while trying to start simple conversations with those around her. She didn't seem to mind that she was being ignore, she just kept on smiling and singing to herself.

    on the next stop she got up and tried to transfer to another train across the platform, but that train pulled away before she even had a chance to get off.

    "oh, Lord I've missed my train" she said with a smile. "That's ok, another one will come. That's how we should look at life. Another one will come."
    She said this as she got off the train.

    If we can stay open to life, without adding or subtracting what we like and do not like, if we just stay open, literally everyone and everything is expounding the dharma. Every moment, every encounter, is It. Whatever It we are looking, or not looking for, or looking to not look, or which ever way we feed it to ourselves.
    no need to put anything down, because there is nothing we can hold on to anyway.

    problems come,
    problems go.

    winters passes,
    spring arises.


    GASSHO
    Humbly,
    清竜 Seiryu

  2. #2
    Wow. Thank you for sharing this! The things you can learn on a NYC subway! She reminds me of someone that helped me along this path and had nothing to do with zen. Again thanks for sharing!

    Gassho
    Kia

  3. #3
    Yugen
    Guest
    This is great. Thank you for sharing it. Teachers are available to us everywhere if we are willig to drop the image/expectation of what a teacher "should be" or "looks like." Spaciousness and openness to all that life has to offer. Nothing to do with Zen.... Zen has nothing to do....

    Deep bows
    Yugen

  4. #4
    What a teacher! I am sure this story will stick with me Thanks for sharing and so wonderful that you experienced that. Teachers are everywhere...


    Deep Gassho

  5. #5
    Mp
    Guest
    What a great post, thank you.

    Spring comes
    Grass grows
    All by itself

    Gassho
    Shingen

  6. #6
    What a great way to practice life...thanks for sharing the teaching.
    Gassho,

    Daisho


    (Jack K.)

  7. #7
    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
    Last edited by RichardH; 03-21-2013 at 10:43 PM.

  8. #8
    The dharma is everywhere. We just have to be still to see it.

    Thank you, Seiryu

    Gassho,

    Kyonin
    Hondō Kyōnin
    奔道 協忍

  9. #9
    No special wisdom in saying it, much special wisdom in living it.
    Gassho, Kaishin
    Thanks,
    Kaishin (開心, Open Heart)
    Please take this layman's words with a grain of salt.

  10. #10
    Love this story, Seiryu, and the great thing is that there is always another train. Sometimes it takes longer to come than we want or is not going in quite the direction we'd like but it always comes!

    Andy

  11. #11
    Yugen
    Guest
    In parts of the world burping and belching is a sign of appreciation for a good meal or serving! I'm glad you saved this post and shared it.

    Deep bows
    Yugen

    Quote Originally Posted by Daizan View Post
    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

  12. #12
    Treeleaf Engineer Seimyo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Yuba City, California, USA
    Quote Originally Posted by Kaishin View Post
    No special wisdom in saying it, much special wisdom in living it.
    Gassho, Kaishin
    Exactly.

    Thank you Seiryu for posting and Kaishin for speaking my mind.

    Gassho.
    Seimyo

    明 Seimyō (Christhatischris)

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Yugen View Post
    In parts of the world burping and belching is a sign of appreciation for a good meal or serving! I'm glad you saved this post and shared it.

    Deep bows
    Yugen

    Thank you Yugen. The meal served is appreciated, but I was also being a bit cheeky at what seemed like a Chauncey Gardner moment. So I don't deserve any bows.



    Gassho, Daizan
    Last edited by RichardH; 03-23-2013 at 08:55 PM.

  14. #14
    I love that story (and the Peter Sellers clip)! It seems to me that often we "know" the Dharma, but we may lose sight of it in the day to day. Sometimes particular, regular circumstances, like the woman on the subway, will jar us back to reality.

    Gassho,

    Eric

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