Alone.
- clearstreamzendo
- Jun 8
- 2 min read
This week’s topic for reflection is alone. Feeling alone, not noticed and that no-one cares is heart breaking. The other day, driving up Interstate Five we pulled over and stopped at a rest stop. Off to one side sat a woman with a sign reading, “Anything will help.” Senkei asked if I was going to give her anything and I said, “Yes.” Bending over to give her a dollar bill, she looked up. Reaching up to take the dollar she said, “Thank you.” I was surprised to see how completely sad and in pain her face looked. She appeared to me as if she had nothing. Perhaps she had even given up hope. She was all alone sitting there with a steady stream of people walking by not noticing or at least not reaching out to say I see you. In the midst of her pain I could see she was grateful for the dollar.
I have plenty of dollar bills to share, that’s not the problem. I just prefer to pretend I”m separate from the suffering around me and not see let alone reach out and care. How hard is it after all to see and care and for my hands to respond? To not look away.
In the conventional view of the world and my place in it, I’m separate from others and not responsible for them. It’s enough for me to take care of me, myself and mine. I’m considered generous if I give something to others without getting anything in return. In truth this conventional view is upside down. In Zen we have an expression, “Giver, receiver and gift are one.” There is no separate giver or separate receiver or separate gift. Alone becomes all one. This all one is inclusive with no inside or outside. This is when love your neighbor as you love yourself makes sense.
Life is sometimes difficult and painful. We turn this into suffering by resisting and trying to separate ourselves from it and by turning away. Facing the pain whether it’s inside oneself or outside takes courage and it’s also opening and liberating. The reason we’re here is to get better at sharing or loving our neighbor and loving ourselves.
Please join us for morning Zoom zazen from 7:00 to 7:30 Tuesday and Thursday, and Sunday morning Zoom zazen and discussion of the topic for reflection blog from 8:00 to 9:00 Pacific Time. Here’s the Zoom link:
Meeting ID: 811 6100 3357
Passcode: 278259
Gassho,
Futai
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