If one were to visit my home in the wintertime, they'd see wood chips all over the house. They end up on the floor, and on the chairs, and I've even found them in my bedroom. I use the wood chips in my chicken coop to provide nesting material and warmth to the birds. They're effective, but the downside is the wood chips stick to my pants when I enter the coop to collect eggs and feed my feathered friends. Sometimes they even get into my boots. And when I come into the house after doing chores, the wood chips come with me. I've tried everything imaginable to keep this from happening. I take my work boots off before entering the house. I brush off my pants as best I can when chores are done. But it can't be helped. The wood chips follow me like flies follow poop. As far as problems go, this is a minor one; nothing that can't be solved with a broom and dustpan. But it gives me a bit of perspective on life and Buddhist practice. We can think of the pract
The Same Old Zen
by Sensei Alex Kakuyo