Zen Seeds
pp 134 – 138

A Parent's Last Words:

Because the story has an end, it is a story.
Remembering that we are finite can help us live an authentic life.

*

The World of Mutual Sympathy:

In real self love, there is no ego. Paradoxically, there is no self.
Peace has been made … with emptiness.
From there we can go on to love others,
Because they are not others anymore.

*

But too many of us do not love ourselves.
This is the ultimate in egotism.
It is indulging in a self-consciousness
That puts a mistaken value on what others think of us.
Our original face smiles,
Unconcerned with the disapproving stares of adults,
As we run around the children's playground,
Laughing.