Minister's Post, Fri Apr 8

Dear Ones,

Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem -- where he was found to be a criminal and executed within a week. It's a story that asks us to reflect on whether other people we think of as criminals might actually be living out of a deep and authentic wisdom. Here's how Casey Overton reflected on Palm Sunday:

What would it mean if, instead of chastising rule-breakers among us, we press charges against the rules themselves which have made liberation untenable? What would it mean if we began to hallow not just the political prisoner but the disenfranchised dealer benefiting from an alternative economy and heterodox heretics and other revolutionaries who dare to hold the law in the lowest regard? So here’s to the misfits and miscreants. Here’s to all the people who break the rules because they know those rules break the people. May we reject the colonial category of the “criminal” in governments as well as our interpersonal dealings with the “outlaws” in our communities. May we begin to honor you misunderstood messengers for the wells of wisdom that you are. May our houses of worship be a refuge for you when the empire retaliates.

What do you think?

Yours in the faith we share,
Meredith

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I.C.Y.M.I. (In Case You Missed It)

The Mar 27 worship service, "Biology and Spirituality":



PRACTICE OF THE WEEK: Be Determined

From Norman Fischer’ Training in Compassion. Trainings #15-20 are "Grow the Five Virtues." Specifically, #15 is "Determination."

Yes, it’s good advice not to take yourself too seriously. But do take yourself seriously enough. Take yourself seriously as a dignified spiritual practitioner. You have within you a powerful energy to accomplish the spiritual path. Determination will reveal this to you. At our best we all have high purposes, noble goals, even if we are modest about them.

But we forget them. The daily grind takes us far from our reasons for doing what we do. We get lost in the details, absorbed in the problems.

To practice strong determination is to intentionally stay connected to our higher goals, remembering that we truly are spiritual practitioners. We can do what needs to be done to live a noble life. Don't be afraid to be forthright and resolute about it and to use bold language with yourself. You might say to yourself:

"I am a spiritual warrior, and though this may not be apparent to others, inside it is clear to me. I am a sage in the making. Maybe it will take a long time. Maybe I won't complete the job in the days I have. But there's no doubt that I am on a serious spiritual path."

That's the spirit of strong determination. So compose a speech like that for yourself and repeat it to yourself from time to time – in meditation, on the commuter train, whenever you can.

See the full post: Be Determined

Here it is, your...
MOMENT OF ZEN
#115: Liberation

In #111, Woodpecker asked, "What does it mean to cross to the other shore?" I commented then that Woodpecker should know better than to ask such questions, but Raven answered, "Flowers crowd the cliffs." Nevertheless,  in #112, Woodpecker asked, "What is the Way?"

Unable to grasp the many kind explanations Raven has already given, Woodpecker now asks yet another variation on the same question. Raven, whose compassion knows no bounds, patiently explains.

Case

Helping Raven arrange the flowers before a meeting, Woodpecker asked, "What's liberation?"
Raven said, "Another couple of daffodils on this side, I think."
Woodpecker said "You're not answering my question."
Raven said, "Daffodils."

Verse

The orange five-ball, rolling across the green felt,
Its vector determined by
angle and magnitude of the force that acted upon it:
So utterly free, so totally liberated.
I, watching, cue stick in hand:
Another matter.

Case by Robert Aitken; introduction and verse by Meredith Garmon

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