Recorded at Upaya Zen Center, November 23rd, 2006
Roshi Joan Halifax gives her annual Thanksgiving Dharma talk beginning a poem by Billy Collins, Aimless Love:
This morning as I walked along the lakeshore,
I fell in love with a wren
and later in the day with a mouse
the cat had dropped under the dining room table.
In the shadows of an autumn evening,
I fell for a seamstress
still at her machine in the tailor’s window,
and later for a bowl of broth,
steam rising like smoke from a naval battle.
This is the best kind of love, I thought,
without recompense, without gifts,
or unkind words, without suspicion,
or silence on the telephone.
The love of the chestnut,
the jazz cap and one hand on the wheel.
No lust, no slam of the door -
the love of the miniature orange tree,
the clean white shirt, the hot evening shower,
the highway that cuts across Florida.
No waiting, no huffiness, or rancor -
just a twinge every now and then
for the wren who had built her nest
on a low branch overhanging the water
and for the dead mouse,
still dressed in its light brown suit.
But my heart is always propped up
in a field on its tripod,
ready for the next arrow.
After I carried the mouse by the tail
to a pile of leaves in the woods,
I found myself standing at the bathroom sink
gazing down affectionately at the soap,
so patient and soluble,
so at home in its pale green soap dish.
I could feel myself falling again
as I felt its turning in my wet hands
and caught the scent of lavender and stone.
- Billy Collins -
She introduces the poem reminding us that the Buddha and all teachers since have used the things of daily life and immediate circumstances as the source of teachings. She moves from the poem into the experience of appreciation and then into the story of the original thanksgiving, reminding of us Squanto, who helped the pilgrim-refugees who were struggling to survive. She touches the themes of betrayal and resilience, suffering and gratitude, as she weaves her talk.
She then offers the Koan: Case 6 from the Blue Cliff Record, Every Day is a Good Day, and finally completes this wonderful talk with a reread of the Billy Collin’s poem.
(Nine Horses) with the theme of appreciation.