If we are to get the most from our practice in our daily life, which is actually being fleshed out everyday, we need to try to extend our attention to the tasks, experiences and encounters of ordinary living in our daily life, in addition to our formal practice on the cushion /chair.

"Sometimes I'd go to see old religious sites with ancient temples. In some places they would be cracked. Maybe one of my friends would remark, "Such a shame, isn't it? It's cracked." I'd answer, "If they weren't cracked there'd be no such thing as the Buddha. There'd be no Dhamma. It's cracked like this because it's perfectly in line with the Buddha's teaching."

Chapter 1

Although it stands to reason that a samurai should be mindful of the Way of the Samurai, it would seem that we are all negligent. Consequently, if someone were to ask, "What is the true meaning of the Way of the Samurai?" the person who would be able to answer promptly is rare. This is because it has not been established in one's mind beforehand. From this, one's unmindfulness of the Way can be known.

Making things more important than they are is one way the ego keeps us out of the present moment. This is particularly apparent when something truly significant happens, like when we or someone close to us nearly dies or experiences a crisis. Crises and death put the other things the ego magnifies in importance into perspective. The ego doesn't have perspective, which is one reason we suffer when we are identified with it.

Religion's ubiquitous "ism's" often leave me wondering about their relation to spiritual growth. I'm reminded of a famous Chan hua-toa, "If you don't really exist, why am I trying to save you?". Why, for example, if Buddhism and Taoism are merely ways of living in harmony with nature, and nature has us evolving toward enlightenment anyway, do we bother with "ism's" to hasten the progress?