春有百花秋有月
无门慧开禅师
春有百花秋有月,
夏有凉风冬有雪。
若无闲事挂心头,
便是人间好时节。
Any Minute Can Be a Good Time
By Hui-Kai (a Zen Buddhism Master of the Void Sect)
In spring, there’re flowers in full bloom.
In autumn, the moon is limpidly bright.
When summer breeze rises, – oh, how nice and cool!
And winter snow makes the world a gorgeous sight.
When nothing plagues your mind,
any minute, you’ll find, can be a good time.
Become simple and live simply, not only within yourself but also in your everyday dealings. Don’t make ripples all around you, don’t try to be interesting, keep your distance, be honest, fight the desire to be thought fascinating by the outside world. Daily tea practice and meditation is a path leading from the realm of the mundane to sacredness of our heart where busy thoughts sinks to the bottom of silence. The tea ceremony constrains you to stay at a state of passivity, watching what is going on inside your mind. Peace and beauty arises by itself when the sediments of thoughts get cleaned.
Why is "the mind cleaning to emptiness (空)state "so powerful and inspiring?
The innate power of the nature could give us a good example. The falling leaves turn to soil over a period of dwelling on the tree, the moon waxes and wanes,and the tide rises, the tide falls, life regenerates only by returning back to emptiness. Emptiness doesn't mean nothingness instead it is fullness, which is the source for all the living beings in the universe.
Every moment arises by itself and returns back to nothingness. similar concept can be found in the Holy Bible:
The Old Testament, Ecclesiastes 1:14
“I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”
Savore the tea and let the mind flow in tranquility.