Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Place

With respect to each of you,

This evening I sat out under the stars, or what stars I could see since it is a cloudy evening here in Southern New Mexico.  Seeing the stars is unnecessary, we know they are there and, if we had studied them, we know what they look like.  Still, the act of sitting quietly out of doors is an act of mindful attention and love.

We should love our home, this tiny speck of a planet in an infinite universe.  It allows us to live, provides for us, and offers us a place in the vastness of space itself.  Having a place is very important and is something we in the United States rarely consider, as we are Americans and don't necessarily see ourselves as needing (or having) a "place."

Yet a "place" is one of the things in life we each seem to seek.  We want to know who and what we are, as well as, where we fit in.  We resist because we don't want to be "defined" by our sociological standing.  We want to define ourselves and do so in a liquid way.  Good for us, as that liquidity takes back to Zen where everything is understood to be liquid.  Every being and everything is in a state of constant change.

Personally, I am comfortable with my place, a place I have settled into and feel incredibly warm in.  Sitting outside this evening I drew myself near to the edge of the universe.  An edge that is just one breath away for each of us.  To get there, just let go what what you think you know and open yourself to your greatest teacher, the universe itself.

Be well,


3 comments:

jason said...

Mr. Hilbert, how did you end up in New Mexico? What kind(s) of job did you hold whilst living there?

I hope to one day have the chance of living in the south.. Maybe NM or AZ. Could you recommend me some nice places to visit?

I'm a young man still, and so I'm trying to figure out what my career will be. I'm thinking it will involve computers, and more importantly I hope it involves me living in a naturally scenic place.

Daiho Hilbert-Roshi said...

Longish story. I had retired and was traveling, writing, and an old friend offered me a job running a mental health center near the Navajo reservation in Window Rock. I was promoted a few times and ended up being the director of outpatient operations for the hospital I worked for. From there, private practice for a few years, then was offered a job as the consulting mental health therapist for a school district. I was then ordained and gave up clinical practice. I fell in love with the state and its culture. That's about it.

jason said...

I was looking at Las Cruces myself, maybe one day not too far away! I'm sorta sick mentally and physically of living on Long Island (ny suburb).

Featured Post

The First Bodhisattva Vow

With palms together, On the First Bodhisattva Vow: "Being are numberless, I vow to free them." The Budd...