Be here, now

-=:+:=- -=:+:=- -=:+:=- -=:+:=-
(This paragraph is from the essay "Wash Your Bowls" by Norman Fischer as published in The Sun magazine, June 2005. The essay was reprinted from the anthology Hooked! Buddhist Writings on Greed, Desire, and the Urge to Consume published by Shambhala.)

Over and over again throughout Zen literature, we read of students approaching their masters with complicated matters, only to be brought down to earth. "What is Buddha?" a student asks. "The cypress tree in the courtyard!" the master replies. "What is the Way?" "A seven-pound shirt!" Like the teachers of old who saw that their students' existential concerns could best be met here on earth rather than high up in the clouds, my teachers grounded me and helped me to keep my balance. "It's right here in front of your nose," they told me.
-=:+:=- -=:+:=- -=:+:=- -=:+:=-

But if you know what life is worth / You will look for yours on earth. -Bob Marley