The Cracks in Our Life

This morning when I got in the shower and turned on the water, I noticed that the water seemed under pressured. Upon closer inspection, I found a crack in the connector and it was shooting water out the other side. How or who broke the shower head didn't matter. The question was, how was I going to deal with the problem.

I have to admit that I took this as a wonderful Dharma lesson. The cracked shower head represented the cracks that I have within myself and my own life. It was ego deflating when I realized that shower and I had exactly the same solutions. Personally, I thought I was far more sophisticated that a shower head.

1. Leave the crack as is and try to ignore it. Yes it would probably get worse over time, but I and the others in the house could probably live with it a little longer.

2. Try to patch it up. Perhaps putting tape around it would be enough. That might hold the water in and restore full pressure, but in the end this kind of patching up would fail and I'd be right back in the same spot.

3. Genuinely repair what was wrong. This means sometimes it will be a repair. Other times it will require throwing out the defective part and bringing in something new.

In this case that meant, removing the shower head and replacing it with another. At first I thought, "May I can put this off until tonight. I'm not sure I have time right now." But then I heard that other voice say, "If not now, When? Don't put this off for the convenience of your family."

I located the original shower head, inspected it and made sure that it was in proper condition and then fixed the shower. It was about a 5-10 minute job. Now Deb and the kids could take normal showers and not worry about the water flying everywhere.

With regard's to myself. I have known times that I have tried to get by with one (two or three) of my cracks or fractures in my personality. These "cracks" or "fractures," are better known as "character defects." I thought that I might be able to so-called "live or get away with it," for a while. But when I tried to go on that way, I just suffer more.

In dealing with my personal cracks in my character and personality, there has been Zen. As I have said here many, many times I translate Zen as "Unification." In fact when I was living at Dai Bosatsu Zendo, Eido Tai Shimano, Roshi would sometimes say "Purify (e.g. unify) your heart." In everything that my own teacher, Genjo Marinello, Osho has taught me thus far, it has been exactly the same thing.

Every sitting, kinhin, Dokusan (private interview with the teacher), work practice session, letter that Genjo Osho writes to me, he is always the same thing. Unify my heart, by the unswerving practice of "This Great Way."

As I practice and train, making renovations within myself, I do what I need to do (albeit sometimes after procrastinating). Often that has been to follow the instruction, "Sit (do Zazen) some more. You can always sit some more." True is true. And by practicing Zen, I have the opportunity to heal the cracks in my life and come to the truth of myself.

May Your Life Go Well,

Jaye Seiho Morris, Curator
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