Just listening, just seeing...

I have just come in from my garden on a warm summer Sunday evening. There were half a dozen starlings showering in my fountain, a greenfinch sitting on a bush of yellow broom and a slug had left a silver trail on the stone path. I could hear traffic in the distance and children playing in a nearby garden, as well as the sound of a dove and baby sparrows in the hedge.

What is your world like on a day like today, away from the computer screen and the room it is in?
What is it like to be in China, or Tenessee, or Washington or Ontario? We share what it is like when we sit, our various ideas about Zen and shikantaza, but not our surroundings. Uchiyama tells us that
"Zazen is practising the Middle Way with our own bodies. This Middle Way is itself true life.
This can be seen in our daily lives as well."

Just a "thought"!
Jenny :D

I'm sitting in the (barely) covered part of the outdoor section at a brewery in Ypsilanti, Michigan. I've just watched a tremendous thunderstorm roll through after an oppressively hot and humid day. The wind bent some of the larger trees sideways and blew a constant light mist into my face; the rain was heavy enough to cover the ground beyond the tenting with water. It feels like we've shed 20 degrees in 40 minutes. Now I'm listening to a light drizzle and snippets of strangers' random conversations, and occasionally pretending to read, while waiting for a friend to arrive. Hopefully his car wasn't blown off the road.

The beer is fabulous, as is the wireless signal.

--Charles

Thank you Charles! Such a different, descriptive and interesting dip into coming to your senses in Michigan. I can perfectly visualize it and almost feel I am there as I read it.
Jenny :D :D

Usually I reserve my sittings for the late evening, after everyone else has gone to bed, 11:00 pm or so.
I try to leave the window open and sit with my surroundings. Behind the house is a creek. In the summer, the fireflies signal the evening's arrival. Our day winds down with dinner, emma's bath, three books read by momma or papa then some quiet time to ourselves. Later the dog and I go out to take in the night, and then I make my way up stairs trying to maintain the silence.

(.)