This morning, as rain and dark clouds conspired to enhance the quality of light gracing leaves, grass and all living things in my backyard, a sky-wide double rainbow transformed the neighbourhood into a world of magical possibility.
The striking beauty of rainbow and bright green leaves against an uncannily dark sky pierced my heart. The altered light allowed me to see simple things in a new and hopeful way. So too, zen practice allows me to begin to see how my awareness colours my life.
These discoveries can be really subtle, like seeing for the first time that I鈥檓 hard on myself. Or they can be huge, like understanding that the vague disinterest I felt about anything indigenous, was in truth, a sign of entitlement and subtle racism. Seeing this somehow unlocks the issue for me so that I can begin to unlearn the habits of thought and action that add up to unconscious racism on my part.
So zen practice has been an incredible tool for waking up and seeing things as they are.
The beauty of it is that to do zen practice there鈥檚 actually not a lot to do, plus there鈥檚 not really anything I have to give up. No down side.
I just show up for daily meditation, whether in my living room or at the meditation hall, and follow the instructions. Breathe, be present, notice the breath on the way in, notice it turning, notice it on the way out. Chant in the same way, being fully present, do walking meditation in the same way, one step, then one more step. Work with a koan in the same way. All I have to do is notice when I鈥檓 not present and gently come back.
People may think that zen meditation is hard work. Westerners have images of people being hit with sticks, of twisting into unnatural sitting poses and staying that way for painful hours. But no. It鈥檚 so simple. Somehow, in spite of, or maybe because of the black robes and bells and drum, it speaks to me without needing words. The religious trappings quietly invite me to just take a moment to sit, to notice, and to be free.
Like icebergs calving, huge chunks of old emotional baggage fall away.
I feel lighter and happier. In our messed up world I do this for my own sanity. But I also practice for the greater good, because in a world of diminishing resources, happier people don鈥檛 feel the need to over-consume. Happier people can find beauty, awe, and a harmonious place in the natural world.
Soshin McMurchy聽is a junior priest with Zenwest Buddhist Society,聽, and serves as the Buddhist Chaplain with the University of聽Victoria Multifaith Services. She works part-time at the Greater Victoria聽Public Library and lives in Victoria with her partner of 38 years.
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