Sweeping Up Wood Chips

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 practice as a cleansing mechanism. Our mind is an old farmhouse. And each time we go out into the world we collect wood chips/ defilements that end up scattered on the farmhouse's floor.

The key thing to remember is the defilements we collect aren't proof of a deficiency on our part.

Rather, they're a natural consequence of living in the world and doing the hard work of life. To be sure, they are a problem that must be dealt with; much like wood chips must be swept off the floor.

But the defilements don't diminish the beauty of our minds.

Knowing this, we pick up the "broom" of traditional Buddhist practice, and sweep them away with bowing, chanting, meditation, and sutra study.

We do this with the understanding that more wood chips/ defilements will appear tomorrow and the day after that. But as long as we're consistent in our sweeping, they'll only be a minor nuisance.

Thus, the farmhouse of our mind is kept clean, and we're able to walk freely through the world; going about our work to save all beings from suffering.

Namu Amida Butsu

If you enjoyed this essay, you'll love my books!

Comments

Magic Mushrooms and the Buddha Dharma

You meet all kinds of people on the road. Some of them are clearly running from something; a past trauma or an action they regret. Others are clearly looking for something; a tribe of like-minded people or a safe place to call home. This results in a strange mix of people ending up in strange places and sharing their lives for any where from a few weeks to a few months. You part ways knowing that you'll never see each other again despite your endless promises to keep in touch. But you always remember the people you meet on the road, and your life is usually better for having met them. Case in point, I met a guy named "Fred" when I was farming in Indiana who'd lived an insanely cool life. He did corporate America for a while, and decided it wasn't for him. So, he high-tailed it to Vietnam and taught English for several years before deciding that he wanted to become a shaman. After that, he made his way to Brazil where he wandered fo

Living with Sadness

Today, I woke up feeling sad. All of my basic needs are met. I have a pantry full of food and a warm, safe place to sleep at night. Put simply, my life is going well by most objective standards. I have (almost) nothing to complain about. So, why am I sad? I don’t think there is a reason. I think there is a wellspring of emotion, and when we wake up our cup is filled with whatever happens to be in the well that day. Sometimes, I wake up angry and irritated. Other times, I wake up quiet and contented. But today I woke up sad. I’ve been sad a lot lately. And I’m not sure there’s much that can be done about it. I could explore the tide pools of sadness. I could tie a rock around my neck and and sink into its dark waters; looking for the source. But I’m scared I’d drown. I’m scared I’d fall in love with the dark anonymity of the sandy bottom, find peace in the fullness of my grief until I forsook the surface world and breathed watery death into my lungs. There’s comfort in sadness. And t

The Buddhist Teaching of Oneness

The teaching of Oneness in Mahayana Buddhism is one of the most important, and oft-misunderstood portions of the Dharma. If we understand it, then practices like compassion and loving-kindness naturally become part of our lives. However, if we misunderstand it, feelings of fatalism are the result. One of my favorite explanations of this teaching can be found in the Vimalakirti Sutra. In it, a wealthy Layman name Vimalakirti falls ill, and it soon becomes apparent that he's going to die. In his wisdom, Buddha sent Manjushri to Vimalkirti's home to see if anything could be done. When he arrived Manjushri asked Vimalakirti, "Why are you sick?" And the dying man responded by saying: This illness of mine is born of ignorance and feelings of attachment. Because all living beings are sick, therefore I am sick. If all living beings are relieved of sickness, then my sickness will be mended. Why? Because the bodhisattva for the sake of living beings e

The Same Old Zen

Search This Blog