TRY TO BE HERE AND NOW

TRY TO BE HERE AND NOW

 

A travelling group of foreigners, much interested in spiritual matters, visited during their stay in Japan the Zen Master Fudushi. Much impressed by his strong vibration, his equanimity and wisdom, one of the visitors asked him about his secret in attaining his spiritual state.

 

Fudushi answered, "When I sit, I sit: When I stand, I stand: When I go, I go; when I eat, I eat and when I speak, I speak."

 

The visitors were very much surprised by his answer. "That may be all right," they said, but besides that what else are you doing?"

 

They expected to get some unusual answer, something truly secret. For their simple minds could not believe that truth could be so simple and obvious. However, Fudoshi replied again: "I do nothing else. When I sit, I sit, when I stand, I stand, when I go, I go, when I eat, I eat and when I speak, I speak."

 

Then visitors became impatient because Fudushi's answer did not satisfy them. They thought that the Zen Master did not take them seriously, "We are all doing the same thing, but we have not attained Liberation," they retorted.

 

Then Fudushi answered, "No, no, you are all doing everything differently from what I said. When you sit, you think already about getting up, when you get up, you are almost running, when you are running, you are pushing a hot dog between your jaws and while you are swallowing it, you are talking about what happened yesterday or what will happen tomorrow. You are not where you are. That and only that is your problem."

 

With that Fudushi made it clear what meditation means in the day-to-day life; in everything one does, whether it is sitting, standing, walking, eating, speaking, - in everything the same presence. Here and now.