notes from Zuihan's Home Hermitage

When Jay and Isabella went to Kristy's overnight birthday party last weekend I decided to stay home to do a hermitage retreat. How glorious to tuck myself onto the cushin and sit with my Sangha friends: Wind, Cricket, Floorboard, Falling Leaf, Green Grass and Setting Sun. I took a lovely walk through the forest bustling with thoughtless activity, to which I added the crunch of leaves under my feet. When I returned I fed the horses. I like to set a lawn chair in the barn aisle and sit as they chew--such a crunch of utter satisfaction. As usual I brushed the dirt off their coats and onto my face and clothes. Generously, the tub let the water take it all away while I sat there all wet and happy.
And so it went with more sitting, more walking, until it was time to stop.
I decided to go shopping. As I was proceeding through the check out counters I noticed a tightening, a sharpness, an impatience, a contraction in myself. It was surely heightened by the contrast with the serenity of my hermitage. I held it in loving awareness, breathed in, with and through it. This usually cools things out but not this time.
When I got to the meat counter at Andersons and took number 96 as I heard the clerk yell out 76 I knew I would have plenty of time to work with this! I joined the mass of customers milling about the floor and added a gentle mantra: the peace of the world stands, the peace of the world looks, I am the peace of the world. The folks around me seemed to come into sharper focus. I could actually feel the vibrations of their thoughts. It became obvious that the contractions I was feeling were in fact not just mine but in the hearts and mine of them as well. Here was Our Pain Body. Our Cry in the World.
It came to me to simply address each person I saw: You are the Peace of the World, You are the Peace of the World.( This was done in my interior voice so the crazy lady wouldn't get thrown out of the store.) It was very specific to each person- holding them in this awareness. Now I am not one for 'seeing stufff' but I will tell you it was like the 'peace body 'of each person woke up and acknowledged our shared graciousness. The vibration around the meat counter got lighter, more golden, happier. It totally brought a smile to my face. And I swear some of those folks smiled back.

Here is a small offering of thanks: Fall
A flame red leaf
on autumn breeze
passes through
this heart.