Raven 178: Zazen for the Young Ones

178 of 183

"Tomorrow, after my death, some men may decide to establish Fascism, and the others may be so cowardly or so slack as to let them do so. If so, Fascism will then be the truth of man, and so much the worse for us." --Jean-Paul Sartre

Maybe no one's watching. Maybe you're not modeling anything for anyone. Maybe the Fascists take over, and your own child supports them. Even if no one is watching, that you bowed, that you practiced, that you sat and chanted and studied sutras, that you glimpsed your nature -- these will be eternal facts. They will be written in the book of reality, even if no one ever reads your page. Now, bow. Just bow in the knowledge that at that moment nothing else matters.

Case

One evening Badger asked, "Do you encourage the young ones to do zazen?"
Raven asked, "What happens when they see you sit down to practice?"
Badger said, "They go out to play."
Raven said, "Well?"
Badger said, "Maybe I can do something now, and later they will remember and take up the practice."
Raven said, "Bow."

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