When I was training in grief support, my instructor shared a story about a group of Tibetan monks who had come to study hospice programs in the U.S. They told our instructor that their teachers had shared many profound insights and valuable lessons about dying.
My instructor, who was well versed in Buddhism said, “I am confused. I thought your tradition bound you to just one teacher. How is it that you have more than one teacher?”
One monk smiled and with a gentle hand-sweep down a corridor of hospice rooms, replied, “These are our teachers.”
While in our practice, we may claim to have a “teacher,” I invite you to be alert and aware that there are teachers and teachings everywhere, in everything, all at once! In the old Zen stories, Awakening comes from shit sticks, a bell, the cypress tree in the garden, a sandal on his head … these days from an evening walk, a screaming baby on the airplane, the morning news, a smile from a stranger, a nasty cold, a pile of dirty dishes.
Are we ready to receive the lessons?
In my hospice work, I sometimes sit with people who are alone at the end of life. I remember one client who just wanted me to sit with her without much conversation.
My Buddha nature perked right up and said, “Absolutely!” (“Sitting! That’s right up my alley,” I thought to myself, noting that I should have Buddhist business cards made – ha!)
When my shift was over, she told me, “Enjoy your life.”
As the Kalama Sutra tells us, we are our own teachers, sifting and winnowing, until we experience the truth for ourselves. May you stay wide awake this February and alert for the gifts that life continually lays at our feet.
Eternally enjoying my life,
Reishin Denise Leong
