Workable

When I came out of my hotel on Monday morning at 4:30 AM at the Wyndham Garden Riverwalk Hotel in San Antonio to drive back to Albuquerque I went out to the parking lot to my car and

there it was,

gone.

It’s the first time my car had ever been stolen. I even got to watch the instant replay of it happening on the hotel parking lot security video. I felt mostly disappointed because I had gotten out of bed so early to have an easy escape from the awful San Antonio morning commuter traffic. Guess not. Went to the airport and while waiting for my flight the SAPD called to tell me they had found my abandoned vehicle and apparently it was still drivable. I canceled my flight, took a LYFT across town and there it was. Parked in a mud puddle. Like it had been waiting for me. Naturally, everything was emptied out of it, including all my precious Zen stuff, and my art show display units, jewelry cases….you get the picture, everything. It was vandalized. The rear window had been smashed and the ignition ripped out. I drove 10 hours home with the back window booming and shrieking at 85 MPH all the way. With plenty of solitude to reflect on this occurance.

Don’t freak out… til it’s freak out time. It was one of those things. One of those BIG things. You know, the kind of thing that’s so BIG you don’t even freak out. You just know you’re gonna be dealing with it. Despite the irritation, aggravation and inconvenience of it all, you just know, down deep, that this BIG THING really isn’t such a big thing and you go ahead and deal with it.

I remember something I had read recently by Trungpa Rimpoche about how things become workable. How our meditation practice allows us to be able to work with things that come up. In our lives, in our practice and in our feelings. Sometimes it BIG STUFF. Sometimes its just perception. Sometimes it’s the news we don’t want to hear or a circumstance that is devastating. But what we learn through practice that whatever it may be, it is indeed, workable.

What we often work out is not so much simply the circumstances themselves, but we are able to bring a lens to the situation that allows us to view our inner workings. Our reaction, our emotions around these circumstances. Our attachments and aversions and our feelings. There is a mistaken notion that as a result of Zen practice that we become calm, we react with equanimity in all situations, we’re centered and grounded. But this is simply not so.

What our practice brings to us is the notion that circumstances we encounter in our lives are workable. From the inside out. Reacting spontaneously, anger, frustration and sadness do come up. We may express them quite vigorously. Being in them fully. But we return to calmer waters quite naturally and realize quite readily that there is something here that can be worked with. We can examine the obvious and not so obvious aspects of ourselves as the result of these circumstances.

Zen practice is recognizing that it’s all workable. Sometimes it’s best to just leave karma, enlightenment and emptiness out of it. Don’t get tangled. Whatever happens, recognize that it’s workable.

And get to work!

SCHEDULE  APRIL 30-May 6 

MONDAY, 6:30AM, ZAZEN AT TEA HOUSE, DAVID KEKANSAN OPENING

MONDAY, 7PM, DREAM KOAN AT THE TEA HOUSE OR ZOOM

Drag your body to the Zendo, or Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81182899201?pwd=UVU4MnJhMG1ZUGJaOHhaSndwQ2dYQT09

TUESDAY, 6:30AM, ZAZEN AT THE TEA HOUSE OR ZOOM, WITH ZENHO. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86265616603?pwd=WHZEQWNDQnZPS1VicDl6VVlEdmxFZz09

WEDNESDAY, 6:30AM: ZAZEN AT THE TEA HOUSE OR ZOOM WITH ZENHO 
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89605039197?pwd=VTVubW5pUnBCNFBqQjBieERvNDd5QT09

THURSDAY, 6:30AM: ZAZEN AT THE TEA HOUSE, ANDY OPENING

FRIDAY, 6:30AM: ZAZEN & SERVICE WITH ZENHO AT THE TEAHOUSE  DOKUSAN WITH ZENHO SENSEI

Issan is out out town Thursday -Monday, offering his easy to steal vehicle to the Dark Side in Kansas City.

Deep Peace & Great Love,

Issan

& Zenho

Here’s Noah’s poem:

Agitation 

Into the 

The storm of the 

Universe

Tornados scouring the land 

Plowing towards me

But I 

Stand

And meet it all 

Rising and rising 

In my

Aliveness 

Every moment a chance to yell 

I am 

Every moment a chance to yell 

I am