Walk The Way: guided zazen Walk gently . The earth is patient beneath your feet. Each step is a question; Each breath, an answer. When the heart delight’s in another’s stumble, It shows that it has forgotten it’s own balance. The wise do not rise by the fall of others, They rise by stillness. Do not feed on shadows, Though know shadows have their purpose. They cover what is too harsh to see, and they guard treasures not yet ready for the light. Whithin their coolness hides both pain and value. Honor them, But do not make them your food. When the gaze rests too long upon itself, The path disappears. Yet some mirrors can walk. Some reflections have their own breath; Some do not. Some move in rhythm with your breathing to convince you that you are each other.. Look softly, And you will know which lives, and which echoes. Can you see the world by looking into your own eye? First see the eyes through which you look. Perception is not the truth, It is a gate that the truth walks through. See gently, And the world softens to meet you. Accept yourself without grasping. Accept others without judgement. When the heart no longer measures, It becomes vast, It holds all things in quiet balance. Without its banks, the water of the river cannot sing. Hold your own banks with care, And honour the banks of another. Then all waters may flow clear. Reason is a lamp in the dark, But not the dawn. It shows the path, But not the mountain. When logic ends, Understanding begins. Love is the root that feeds itself. When you give it, you receive it. When you receive it, you give. Thus all hearts are nourished. Cultivate virtue in yourself, and it becomes whole. Cultivate it in the family, and it overflows. Cultivate it in the village, and it endures. Cultivate it in the nation, and it prospers. Cultivate it in the world, and it becomes universal. Walk gently. The Way moves without hurry, And nothing is left undone. Kisho Shindai
