Thanks for this. It made me chuckle as I compared it to my own - loosely kept- list. For the record- I think your neighborhood walks count as exercise. The long chat breaks could just be the “something kind…” because as we all know, everyone is always fighting their own battles. They may just need that greeting, from you. ❤️
I like this by Alex Kakuyo. The link that follows is to the complete article. It just takes a couple more minutes to read the whole piece.
“There was an old Buddhist priest who ran a small temple at the top of a hillside. He’d spent several decades chanting, praying, and providing spiritual support to his community, but the time had come for him to retire. Sadly, the priest did not have any children that he could give the temple too.
So, he put together a small wooden sign, and placed it in from of a withered, crooked tree that was growing outside the gates of his temple. The sign said, “Anyone who can tell me how to fix this tree can have my temple and the land that it resides on.”
Word spread quickly about the sign, and monks came from all over the country to offer advice. Some told the priest that he should cut the tree down. Others suggested the use of wires and ropes to straighten its branches.
The old priest listened patiently to each person, and when they were done he grabbed a frying pan and chased each one from the temple grounds.
Many years passed, and it started to seem like no one would be able to answer the priest’s koan. Finally, a Buddhist nun appeared at the temple. She’d been traveling for many days, and she needed a place to rest. She knocked on the temple gates, and after a few moments the priest came out; frying pan in hand.
“I’m very tired,” the nun said, “May I sleep at your temple tonight?”
“No, you can’t sleep at my temple tonight,” the priest replied, “But you can have my temple and land it resides on if you can answer one question.”
“Okay,” the nun replied calmly, “What’s your question?
The priest pointed at the the crooked tree with his frying pan and said, “How do I fix this tree?”
Upon hearing this, the nun looked at the tree for a long time. She noticed the trunk was so bent that it almost ran parallel with the ground. She saw the gnarled branches that twisted in strange directions, and the dead leaves that surrounded the tree’s base.
Eventually, the nun turned to the priest and said, “Just leave it alone, the tree is fine the way it is.” As soon as the nun finished speaking the old priest smiled broadly, and dropped his frying pan. He bowed deeply to the nun, and said, “Follow me, this temple belongs to you.””
The rest of the piece unpacks the story and, I think, is worth the time but let me just quote one more bit.
“She understood that the tree could not be fixed because the tree was never broken.”
I have to add this, one of my favorite songs about the passage of time. We were lucky enough to see Big Al perform this last week which, I have to add, included a transcendent solo by Jim Chapdelaine on guitar, truly special. Jim is not in this video. This is the e-town house band.
To continue to be cool, after all what’s better than that.
Thanks for this. It made me chuckle as I compared it to my own - loosely kept- list. For the record- I think your neighborhood walks count as exercise. The long chat breaks could just be the “something kind…” because as we all know, everyone is always fighting their own battles. They may just need that greeting, from you. ❤️
I like this by Alex Kakuyo. The link that follows is to the complete article. It just takes a couple more minutes to read the whole piece.
“There was an old Buddhist priest who ran a small temple at the top of a hillside. He’d spent several decades chanting, praying, and providing spiritual support to his community, but the time had come for him to retire. Sadly, the priest did not have any children that he could give the temple too.
So, he put together a small wooden sign, and placed it in from of a withered, crooked tree that was growing outside the gates of his temple. The sign said, “Anyone who can tell me how to fix this tree can have my temple and the land that it resides on.”
Word spread quickly about the sign, and monks came from all over the country to offer advice. Some told the priest that he should cut the tree down. Others suggested the use of wires and ropes to straighten its branches.
The old priest listened patiently to each person, and when they were done he grabbed a frying pan and chased each one from the temple grounds.
Many years passed, and it started to seem like no one would be able to answer the priest’s koan. Finally, a Buddhist nun appeared at the temple. She’d been traveling for many days, and she needed a place to rest. She knocked on the temple gates, and after a few moments the priest came out; frying pan in hand.
“I’m very tired,” the nun said, “May I sleep at your temple tonight?”
“No, you can’t sleep at my temple tonight,” the priest replied, “But you can have my temple and land it resides on if you can answer one question.”
“Okay,” the nun replied calmly, “What’s your question?
The priest pointed at the the crooked tree with his frying pan and said, “How do I fix this tree?”
Upon hearing this, the nun looked at the tree for a long time. She noticed the trunk was so bent that it almost ran parallel with the ground. She saw the gnarled branches that twisted in strange directions, and the dead leaves that surrounded the tree’s base.
Eventually, the nun turned to the priest and said, “Just leave it alone, the tree is fine the way it is.” As soon as the nun finished speaking the old priest smiled broadly, and dropped his frying pan. He bowed deeply to the nun, and said, “Follow me, this temple belongs to you.””
The rest of the piece unpacks the story and, I think, is worth the time but let me just quote one more bit.
“She understood that the tree could not be fixed because the tree was never broken.”
https://medium.com/@sameoldzen/a-buddhist-take-on-new-years-resolutions-bc24a76af84c
Really envious that you can still tie your own shoes. I had to switch to slip-ons.
I have to add this, one of my favorite songs about the passage of time. We were lucky enough to see Big Al perform this last week which, I have to add, included a transcendent solo by Jim Chapdelaine on guitar, truly special. Jim is not in this video. This is the e-town house band.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=APki0jL-bDE