Better that we encourage each other

On my drive home last night, I was thinking about the word, "encouragement" and how it is such an integral pillar of Zen practice. After tracing it backwards through my mind, I found it odd that it is not hardly ever discussed, though it is done every day.

When I lived at DBZ, Eido Roshi, Seigan, Junpo, Banzan, Jiun, Renji, Chimon, Chuya and many others extended ceaseless encouragement. It came in many ways. Sometimes it was just sitting Zazen together. Sometimes it was Roshi's teisho. Sometimes it was chanting together while having "fire in the knee." Sometimes it was keisaku (the encouragement stick). Other times it was sitting downstairs in the lounge or at the guest house eating bread, sharing many many stories and conversations. Each of these instances was helpful in guiding my path, while I was there.

In my life today, there are encouraging moments with my wife, children, friends that I practice with, books that I read and listen too. Genjo Marinello Osho podcasts offer amazing encouragement in my daily practice. I too have countless opportunities to give and offer encouragement in ways they are not only obvious but in-obvious as well.

A good example of the in-obvious is yesterday when a co-working was putting together a document that required integrating a spreadsheet. She looked at it for a while, but "just couldn't get it," to use her words. I sat down with her and showed her how to put she could put the information together. after she finished, she said, "thanks you made that really easy for me. I learned something new and feel good about it. I usually hate computers."

As we move through our day, interacting with others, there's a simple question to be asked. "Am I encouraging or discouraging those that I encounter?" If the answer is in the negative, remember that we can start encouraging ourselves and others at any moment that we choose. We have the power of choice, every moment, every where. Jump in, the water is fine.

In Gratitude,

Jaye Morris, Curator
digitalZENDO