Zen Words for Everyday Life Vol. 5

The Zen phrase 知足 (chisoku) means “to know how much is enough,” and can also be translated as “to be content with what you have.”

Have you ever caught a cold and thought how blessed you were when you were still healthy?
The healthier we are, the more we forget how precious it is to be in good health, and we begin to pursue external desires.

Or perhaps there are moments when you were separated from your family, and you realized how much they meant to you.

When they are always close by, we can begin to take them for granted and fail to appreciate the ordinary love and support they give.

Your health
...
Your family
...
The fact that you are alive right now
...

It can be difficult to recognize the importance of such ordinary, everyday things that are right in front of us. So, what are we to do?

In my opinion, the best thing to do is to go to a temple, put your hands together in prayer to the Buddha, and take some time for self-reflection.

When the world is overflowing with interesting and desirable things, then we tend to direct our vectors outward and start desiring one thing after another. When you stop, put your hands together, and pray to the Buddha, you cut yourself loose from these desires and create some time for the inner self. Doing so will refresh your heart and mind.

When you put your hands together in prayer, reflect on what you have taken for granted and simply give thanks. Think about what it is that you really want to do. You may find the answer—or at least a clue—within yourself. You may learn that what you really want is not something external, but internal, within yourself.

To put it another way, we live in a time of great material abundance. We tend to limitlessly pursue what we want, but many people these days have grown tired of that. What they desire is some time to stop and stand still. Perhaps gyms and yoga are so popular these days in part because they allow people to face themselves without thinking about anything else.

I hope that you will take this opportunity to spend some quiet time in nature or a place that is calming to you and reflect on yourself.

Saihoji　 　 FUJITA Ryuko