WONDER
An Incantation
The wonder of this precious human life we have been given
The amazement of a body with eyes and hands, skin that heals when it is cut, the gain and loss of pounds on a frame that grows and then shrinks, the sensational language of touch
The wonder of finding compassion right here in this room, on this zoom, without having to do anything special, no masks or achievements, just being ourselves
The remarkable thread of neighbors and families, the children and grandbabies, the redwoods and coast live oak, the gray whales and sea turtles, the Pacific and Atlantic meeting face to face, the Gulf of our togetherness
The surprise of our common goodness, the realization that we, too, are aging – is this my face in the mirror, my crooked back, my used-to-be crystal clear mind?
The curiosity of what will survive this extinction, this AI revolution, revelation, re-creation of how the world arises and falls away
The wonder of feeling each other’s heart in the room, in a square on a screen
The wonder of studying the Paramitas in The World Could Be Otherwise
The wonder of an old tenzo monk buying mushrooms in How to Cook Your Life
The wonder of picking Serviceberries and Braiding With Sweetgrass
The wonder of Dirt and Pink Hopi Corn, of writing Odes and election postcards
The doubt of what happens when an election shatters belief in the law, in justice, in peace
The remarkable practice of kindness, assembling shards of wisdom, pieces and possibilities of how to live in community, a weave of relationships, a gift economy much larger, more generous, more magnificently entwined than ever before
The wonder of sitting, beholding breath, the connective magic of inhale and exhale, the simple, the medicine, breathing in, breathing out,
The something in flow so intimate, so free and wild, reassuring of how the world turns
The wonder of soft belly, deep laughter, the forgiving mind that cannot remember the grudge
The wonder of reciting the Metta Sutta, the Heart Sutra, Maylie Scott’s Timeless Metta Prayer .Hymn to the Perfection of Wisdom….The Four Vows, and All Buddhas, ten directions, three times
The wonder of friends holding dharma hands from Point Reyes and Inverness to Florida to Quebec to LA to New York to Santa Cruz to Los Osos to Oakland to Berkeley to San Francisco to Muir Beach to Mill Valley to Woodacre to San Anselmo to San Rafael to Eureka and all across the mountains and rivers and oceans all the way to Germany
The wonder of bowing and chanting and ringing bells, of just sitting quietly, nothing to do, no one to be
The something so beautiful in turning and being turned by a life of spiritual study, and practice of curiosity, of growing plants and flowers of intention, consciousness, a bouquet of the five remembrances
The wonder of spiritual friendships, deepening widening and whispering wondering who will I love next, who will love me, and when will we know the wonder of no I and no me?
The mystery of when and how will our next sip of lemon verbena wonder-tea be served in heart of compassion cups?
The awe of the wisdom, the direction of our next Wonder Walk
The measurable wonder of Avalokitesvara walking beside us, hearing our cries in the world, blessing our hearts, guiding us right straight ahead
Her compass of loving kindness
Her clear bright illuminated teachings
All the gifts of this wonder
This Heart
The Heart of Compassion Zen.
— Jaune
