A monk told Joshu:
“I have just entered the monastery. Please teach me.”
Joshu asked, “Have you eaten your rice porridge?”
The monk replied, “I have eaten.”
Joshu said, “Then you had better wash your bowl.”
At that moment the monk was enlightened.”
— ‘Now wash your bowl’, from The Gateless Gate Kõan collection.
Wash your bowl.
This is life as it is.
Live it.
Breathe it.
Eat it.
Wash it.
All of it is life, each moment of it, unfolding naturally, as each branch unfolds on a tree. As each leaf unfolds on a branch.
If you’re seeking enlightenment, what is it for? If not to live life?
You are life.
Life is you.
Life breathes for you.
Life dirties the dishes.
When you wash your bowl, life washes the dishes.
Life is in the details, life is in the mundane, life is in every breath, with us wherever we go.
“simple.
a bowl of tea.
— dawn meditation.”After you meditate on your cup of tea, wash your bowl.
That’s life.
That’s Zen.
Living Zen.
It’s simple, like this.
Now, wash your bowl.
Love,
Bhagavati
Note : The Quiet Letters are written spontaneously published on Sundays. Unless otherwise credited, all words, quotes and poems are by Bhagavati.
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