{"id":2778,"date":"2020-08-15T20:08:33","date_gmt":"2020-08-15T20:08:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zatma.org\/?p=2778"},"modified":"2020-08-15T20:15:04","modified_gmt":"2020-08-15T20:15:04","slug":"cultivate-wisdom-dogens-7th-awareness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/?p=2778","title":{"rendered":"Cultivate Wisdom, Dogen’s 7th Awareness"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Years ago, when we moved to our house, we had a front lawn.\u00a0 Slowly as the grass didn\u2019t grow well, I began to plant flowers and bushes.\u00a0 Now there is no lawn just plants\u2026a small herb garden, a blueberry patch, and lots of prairie plants\u2026cone flowers, bee balm, and other plants whose names I have lost.\u00a0 It is a hodgepodge that has a certain beauty of abundance.\u00a0 But I\u2019ve noticed that there are some plants that seem to be very pushy and if because they have been left on their own, they are taking over the entire garden.\u00a0 So, this year I decided that a little cultivation was in order\u2026a little thinning and pruning and removing\u2026allowing all the plants to have a bit of space\u2026and putting in stone walkways.<\/p>\n

And I find, as I work on the garden, I cultivate Wisdom.\u00a0 How is this so?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Well, first of all, Wisdom isn\u2019t a thing.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t something one can get or buy at a store or find on the internet.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t information.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t something one can hold on to or save or store away.\u00a0 And a garden isn\u2019t a thing either.\u00a0 I can call it \u2018my garden\u2019 but it really doesn\u2019t belong to me.\u00a0 I\u2019m not in charge of what makes some plants thrive and others die out.\u00a0 The plants are gifts that for whatever reason have chosen to spend sometime in the front yard.<\/p>\n

And so it is with Wisdom.\u00a0 I can call it \u2018my wisdom\u2019 but it doesn\u2019t belong to me.\u00a0 It is a gift, a grace that can only be felt or known.\u00a0 Again, Wisdom is not a thing.\u00a0\u00a0 It is a knowing, an understanding that I am not the doer.\u00a0 I cannot make Wisdom happen.<\/p>\n

Back to the garden\u2026this summer I\u2019ve taken to heart the hard work required for cultivation and discipline.<\/p>\n

The garden needs the discipline of order, transplanting tall plants further back and transplanting short plants in the front.\u00a0 The herb garden needs pruning.\u00a0 The Thyme is pushing against the Oregano and the chives want the entire garden.\u00a0 The garden needs walking space, so plants are not stepped on and can be carefully watered.\u00a0 To do this takes daily effort\u2026careful attention to the transplanting and watering.<\/p>\n

My mind, my thoughts, like the plants, need discipline or they run wild, are scattered not focused.\u00a0 My mind needs quiet places for silence and concentration.\u00a0 My thoughts need pruning\u2026letting go of old worn out thoughts\u2026remembering being teased because I loved my second-grade teacher\u2026remembering being told I was cold and aloof by colleagues\u2026remembering getting so angry when I was told my job was redundant.\u00a0 Future fears and worries also need pruning.\u00a0 The dandelions of \u2018What-Ifs\u2019 produce and multiply not leaving space for anything else.<\/p>\n

When I cultivate the garden to make space for everything; when I cultivate my mind and thoughts there is space for everything.\u00a0 Wisdom is this space.\u00a0 It is this place without words. It is the inconceivable source that can\u2019t be faced or turned away from.<\/p>\n

And a bit more about Wisdom.\u00a0 I hope, as I walk on the still to be set-in pathways to ponder Sirach\u2019s words:<\/p>\n

Happy those who meditate on Wisdom, and fix their gaze on knowledge;<\/p>\n

Who ponder her ways in their heart, and understand her paths;<\/p>\n

Who pursue her like a scout, and watch at her entry way;<\/p>\n

Who peep through her windows, and listen at her doors;<\/p>\n

Who encamp near her house and fasten their tent pegs next to her walls;<\/p>\n

Who pitch their tent beside her, and dwell in a good place;<\/p>\n

Who build their nest in her leaves, and lodge in her branches;<\/p>\n

Who take refuge from the heat in her shade and dwell in her home.<\/p>\n

 <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Humming<\/h1>\n

Author: Lao di Zhi Shakya<\/p>\n

Old Earth<\/p>\n

Zen Contemplative Priest of the Order of Hsu Yun<\/p>\n

ZATMA is not a blog.<\/p>\n

\u00a0If for some reason you need elucidation on the teaching,<\/p>\n

please contact editor at:\u00a0yao.xiang.editor@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Years ago, when we moved to our house, we had a front lawn.\u00a0 Slowly as the grass didn\u2019t grow well, I began to plant flowers and bushes.\u00a0 Now there is no lawn just plants\u2026a small herb garden, a blueberry patch, and lots of prairie plants\u2026cone flowers, bee balm, and other plants whose names I have… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":1767,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[184],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-essays-by-old-earth"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2778"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2778\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2790,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2778\/revisions\/2790"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}