A monk told Joshu, “I have just entered the monastery.
Please teach me.”
Joshu asked, “Have you eaten your rice porridge?
The monk replied, “I have eaten.”
Joshu said, “Then you had better wash your bowl.”
At that moment the monk was enlightened.
Most Zen stories,such as one above, as abstract as it may
sound have a profound meaning. The basic meaning is that we would need to
immerse our self into an activity however mundane as it may be. In the current
age where computer generated “To-Do” lists
rule the roost, we perform the current activity with an eye already on the upcoming next
activity. At the end of the day, even if
you may have completed the entire To-Do for the day , there is a feeling of
emptiness. The emptiness is due to the lack of mindfulness as we were going through
the motion of activities.
So what is the solution? As Leo Babauta calls it, we need to
make the current task as an “Universe” by using the following steps:
Step 1: The purpose : Why am I doing this ?
Say you got to do the physical exercise for…but you woke up
a bit late (as usual !) …you feel you don’t have enough time to get ready for
the office if you do the physical exercise. Now think of the benefit that even
a 15-minute exercise routine can bring to your day…the freshness & the
energy ….this should be the real motivation to do the exercise …is it not ?
Step 2: Notice The Fear…
Many a time we go through the motion just for the heck of it…For
example, take the case of running with music on…you fear boredom during the jog
and mostly switch on the music …while I have
nothing against the music, you are not immersing yourself into your running
with your earplugs…Am I jogging on the
ramp? Do I need to slowdown ? Has my breathing pattern set-in? How far should I
continue running? How is the sun-rise today?
Step 3: Make the task your universe…
Imagine somebody walking up to your desk and asking for a important
document and gives you only 30-minutes to prepare it…what would you do ? Clear
up your table literally to just focus on the current task. Close all the
browsers on the computer…close the email program…focus on just the document
that you wish to type now…Is it not? So bring the same level of focus to every
task you want to do !
Step 4: Wash the bowl , when done…
What does your computer do when you shutdown ? It purges the
memory and clears the cache so that computer can continue to perform efficiently
! just pause and reflect on the activity just completed…make a note of jogging routine …be amazed that you
can produce a 3-page document in 30-minutes…Let a smile bloom ! this is
infinitely better than rushing off to the next task !
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