My favorite personal Zen story
I was reading an essay re: Zen just a moment ago and got to thinking about my own favorite personal Zen story:
A few yeras ago, I had borrowed the book Understanding Zen from my dad. In the prefece, the book talked about how this book was specifically designed for us overly-intellectual Westerners to use our intellect to step outside our heads a bit to better grok Zen. In my Comparative World Religions studies, this would have been termed using the "Way of Reasoned Inquiry", or using the Mind to find it's end so that we may go further...
I was on my way into work one day--quite drained from the night before--when I went into Quizno's to get one of my favorite sandwiches, Understanding Zen clasped under my arm for reading whilst eating. As I sat down, the book got set to the side as I arranged my meal on the table. I proceeded to slowly eat my meal, bite by bite, enjoying the first food I'd had since the night before. Every bite truly seemed like manna from the heavens above--it was thoroughly engrossing.
So much so that only after finishing my meal did I notice my "Understanding Zen" book sitting neatly undisturbed to the side. I looked over at it and--having been wholly focused on eating my meal--laughed as I said, "Thanks--I think I do now".
Agape!
A few yeras ago, I had borrowed the book Understanding Zen from my dad. In the prefece, the book talked about how this book was specifically designed for us overly-intellectual Westerners to use our intellect to step outside our heads a bit to better grok Zen. In my Comparative World Religions studies, this would have been termed using the "Way of Reasoned Inquiry", or using the Mind to find it's end so that we may go further...
I was on my way into work one day--quite drained from the night before--when I went into Quizno's to get one of my favorite sandwiches, Understanding Zen clasped under my arm for reading whilst eating. As I sat down, the book got set to the side as I arranged my meal on the table. I proceeded to slowly eat my meal, bite by bite, enjoying the first food I'd had since the night before. Every bite truly seemed like manna from the heavens above--it was thoroughly engrossing.
So much so that only after finishing my meal did I notice my "Understanding Zen" book sitting neatly undisturbed to the side. I looked over at it and--having been wholly focused on eating my meal--laughed as I said, "Thanks--I think I do now".
Agape!