by Donna Quesada: Have you ever had the opportunity to observe the Japanese tea ceremony?
In tranquil presence of mind, the host attends to the multifarious ritual with deliberate attention to every detail. Nothing is overlooked or disregarded as inconsequential. The tea ceremony is a meditation in motion whose every movement beckons our awareness so that mind and movement are one.
Japanese Haiku poetry provides another opportunity to contemplate the respect given by the Japanese to the fine points, never glossed over for being plain and commonplace; it is, after all, the ordinary business of life, the everyday rituals, and the innumerable sights and sounds that reveal the essence and spark of life.
In this haiku, the poet hears the cuckoo’s voice, as if for the first time:
Hidden among the roots
of grass I hear
a cuckoo
—Otsuin 1807
Nourished on the same tenuous island lands, both traditions—the tea ceremony and haiku poetry—flicker with the sober light of Zen and its gentle nudge to not only stay present, but also to be interested. For in this fly-by-night, capricious thing called life, we have nothing to do but cherish the impermanence. A hundred years are but a flash in time.
Being interested means dropping the distinction between the spectacular and the mundane. It all just is. Beholding the sight of a gorgeous waterfall is not “better” than taking the dog out in the morning. For, consider all the times you’ve completely missed the marvel of what was supposed to be a spectacular moment because your mind was preoccupied. And conversely, recall those moments when the most trivial thing brought absolute exhilaration.
The difference lies only in our mindset!
The only essential is to come back to this state of awareness when in the midst of the everyday chores that we tend to rush through, in order to get to the “more interesting” stuff. Be curious about the present moment! When we rush, our awareness is deadened, making it impossible to recognize and seize the charm in the repetitive chores that are an inevitable part of everyday life.
How much of our lives will we throw away for disregarding the importance of the little things, and for neglecting the splendor of it all?
*This article was inspired by my 2011 book, Buddha in the Classroom; Zen Wisdom to Inspire Teachers ~Donna Quesada
