the size of awakening?

Greetings Friends,

Happy Solstice! Here in the northern hemisphere it is the longest day of the year, one of two days of the year where the sun appears to stand still on the horizon. I feel interested in that teaching, here in what sometimes feels like the most active or busiest of seasons—what is stillness? where is stillness?

What does it look like to let your inner sun rest, or to recognize that it’s already still, shining brightly—no matter what.

This week’s koan from the Hidden Lamp is about big and small enlightenments. I’ll let you listen to the podcast for the case and reflection this time.

In celebration of the solstice, I would like to share a passage from Dogen Zenji’s Genjo Koan, sometimes translated as “the way of everyday life.” The Mud Lotus Sangha has been exploring this teaching over the course of the last month. Sitting with the different images and passages.

Gaining enlightenment is like the moon reflecting in the water. The moon does not get wet nor is the water disturbed.

Although its light is extensive and great, the moon is reflected even in a puddle an inch across. The whole moon and the whole sky are reflected in a dewdrop in the grass, in one drop of water.

Enlightenment does not disturb the person just as the moon does not disturb the water. A person does not hinder enlightenment just as a dewdrop does not hinder the moon in the sky.

The depth of the drop is the height of the moon.

I invite you to spend sometime today in stillness. Take a moment to open your awareness to the entire moon, the entire sky. Remember that you are one dew drop among many, reflecting vastness. You can not hinder awakening, it is your nature.

As one teacher said, “so get used to it!”

As always, I would love to hear your reflections!