Red Pine Muse (Newsletter Dharma Talk)

DHARMA TALK:  RED PINE MUSE

By Rev. Taihaku Priest

When I first arrived on this land the red pines were just a little bit taller than me.  Tomorrow we are scheduled to remove all those that threaten the temple and the buildings.  Because of the danger, it seems the only responsible action was to have them cut down.

I never saw them grow.  Some things you notice one day and wonder when did it happen?  They got so big.  Many things are like this.

We hear the teachings that the tree was the rain and earth and will become paper, lumber, and fuel, and that its shape changes.  But there is something else, which is the life process. The trees are living and breathing out there all around us. There is a level of responsiveness to the wind and temperature. There is some level of feeling.  It is not only wood. 

The activities of our life surround us with teachings, if we take the time to consider and appreciate and really look at what is around us.  We pause when a big change takes place. The trees coming down.  We might wonder how much time has passed. Like a dream, we might remember all that has taken place together with the trees growing and my/your life, and the temple; happenings, happenings.  The transient nature of time becomes evident.  It takes a big change usually to have us stop and take stock. 

There seem to be eras that begin and end in our lives.  A certain energetic whirl-force which begins, people come together, things happen.  When you look back at your life, do you see this?

So these trees coming down feels like a significant change.  We have put this off for years.  It is not a change that was easy to accept.  But now we are committed and have all the right reasons.  And what about the people that we have become so accustomed to having in our lives day to day?  And what about the children that have grown up and have families of their own?  And what about our aging bodies?  Look around.  This moment now, appreciate it, remember it.  Absorb the whole wonder of what is right now, very specifically here together, living and breathing together.  Look around.  You are here.  The trees are here, the temple is here, our friends are here.  It is very specific.  The trees surround us today.  They will be gone tomorrow.  What does it take to have us really appreciate? 

Right now it is trees, but in your life is it your children who are growing up so fast?  Is it your old parent who teeter totters in end of life? Is it a precarious job?  What is your life teaching you?  What have you not given enough time to appreciate, what is the whirl of your life now? 

I have previously thought gratitude is important but I have recently come to see that appreciation may be more to the point.  Appreciation is more specific than gratitude – it includes careful consideration and an attention to detail. 

The shock of change gives us pause for a moment and a chance to appreciate.  Timber!