Mini-Lessons on Contemplative Practice, Sit Firmly in That World

... you know the sprout is hidden inside the seed.

We are all struggling; none of us has gone far.

Let your arrogance go, and look around inside.

The blue sky opens out farther and farther,

the daily sense of failure goes away,

the damage I have done to myself fades,

a million suns come forward with light,

when I sit firmly in that world.

Kabir, translated by Robert Bly

Mini-Lessons on Contemplative Practice, Greet Yourself

The time will come
when with elation,
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror,
and each will smile at the other's welcome,

and say sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.

Derek Walcott, "Love after Love"

Mini-Lessons on Contemplative Practice, Stop Chasing After So Many Things

My hut lies in the middle of a dense forest;
Every year the green ivy grows longer.
No news of the affairs of men,
Only the occasional song of a woodcutter.
The sun shines and I mend my robe.
When the moon comes out, I read Buddhist poems.
I have nothing to report my friends.
If you want to find the meaning, stop chasing after so many things.

Ryokan, eighteenth century

Mini-Lessons on Contemplative Practice, Kneel and Kiss the Earth

Today like every other day
We wake up empty and scared.
Don't open the door of your study
and begin reading.
Take down a musical instrument.
Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel
and kiss the earth.

Rumi

Mini-Lessons on Contemplative Practice, Content with Yourself

Today, more words that are older than mine:

Whoever relies on the Tao in governing men

doesn't try to force issues

or defeat enemies by force of arms.

For every force there is a counterforce.

Violence, even well intentioned,

always rebounds upon oneself.

The Master does his job

and then stops.

He understands that the universe

is forever out of control

and that trying to dominate events

goes against the current of the Tao.

Because he believes in himself,

he doesn't try to convince others,

Because he is content with himself,

he doesn't need others' approval.

Because he accepts himself,

the whole world accepts him.

Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching), Fifth-century BCE, translated by Steven Mitchell

Mini-Lessons on Contemplative Practice, Empty Your Boat

In honor of the World Poetry Day that I missed on March 21, here is today's daily practice.

If a man is crossing a river
And an empty boat collides with his own skiff,
Even though he be a bad-tempered man
He will not become very angry.
But if he sees a man in the boat,
He will shout at him to steer clear.
If the shout is not heard, he will shout again,
And yet again, and begin cursing.
And all because there is somebody in the boat.
Yet if the boat were empty,
He would not be shouting, and not angry.

If you can empty your own boat
Crossing the river of the world,
No one will oppose you,
No one will seek to harm you.

Chuang Tzu (third century BCE), translated by Thomas Merton

Mini-Lessons on Contemplative Practice, Values

The discussion several days ago on intention covered many aspects of the values of practice. You can read or refresh your memory of that post here. But there is one thing to add. As we consider what we are cultivating as a part of our practice of yoga and meditation, we also can give some thought to what we get out of practice. At the end of your next practice session, whether that is a seated practice or a movement practice, ask yourself these questions or questions like them:

What did I learn during practice?
What questions were answered?
What was the best part and why? (Not just "I love doing warrior 2" but dig deeper. What do you love about warrior 2? "In warrior 2, I feel strong and empowered.")
Where did your body respond? Where did it tune out?
Where did you struggle?
What was easy?

In giving these kinds of thoughts to post-practice, we can begin to find the undercurrents, the themes, or our growth. These are some of the values of the practice that we might not notice without this intensive self-study.