Wednesday

dao attachment


small pagoda, people on bench, in background see signs of city

attachment Chinese characters for "attachment"


The monk shaved his head as a symbol of
renunciation,
But now he goes nowhere without his little cap.


It's funny to see someone who says that he is a renunciate call childishly for his few meager possessions. Why renounce the world when you really cannot? Before you cut your hair, ask yourself if you can afford to give up your attachments. Before you give up your freedom, ask yourself if you can submit to monastic order. Before you say that you are spiritual, ask yourself if you can give up worldly desires.

I am not trying to make fun of monks here. I am observing that every path in life has its own sacrifices and its own hardships. Before you embark on a path, search yourself thoroughly and investigate the path completely. Then you will dispel misgivings. You will also reduce the chance of hypocrisy.

Whomever you are, live your life completely. If you are a plumber, be the best plumber. If you are a saint, be the best saint. If you are common, be common. If you are extraordinary, be extraordinary. People only err when they try to be who they are not.



attachment
365 Tao
daily meditations
Deng Ming-Dao (author)
ISBN 0-06-250223-9

Chinese characters for East tomb south look
View From East Tomb 1961
by Fu Bao Shi

We have received a donation to the Heifer Project of a flock of Geese and a new gift of "three shares" of a goat! I am matching every two gifts.. http://catalog.heifer.org/index.cfm will get you to the main catalogue http://catalog.heifer.org/ducks.cfm is the duck spot. for the folks who would rather not send animals, there is a special gift of knitting basket, trees, or bees!

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