Cleaning our heart like a welcoming home

What is purification?

Dear friend, 

How are you doing today? I hope that bunnies are visiting your garden… 

In the last letter, I shared bits of my mother’s wisdom. 

Now I must share bits of my father’s wisdom. 
He is a world traveler and especially likes African proverbs. 

"When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you."

Different cultures all point to the same wisdom. 

ART

“Senshin, Purified Mind” by Maden Fura

Guide to a Wrinkle-free mind 

Calligraphy on thin paper can be tricky. 

The water in the paint reacts with the paper's fibers, sometimes causing wrinkles as the fibers retract unevenly. 

To recover from those wrinkles, we can gently re-wet the paper and press it flat as it dries again. 

It's a bit of a process, and I'm still figuring it out with what I have at home, so my current painting still shows some water wrinkles.

However, I found an interesting parallel between this technique and the Zen method. 

Just like we re-wet the paper to smooth it out, 
Healing from emotional knots requires emotions. 

Can you allow yourself
to feel those emotions fully?  

The press is our iron determination to be present.  
The practice of meditation is "straightening" the mind. 

Letting go of our emotional contractions, 
The heart, the spirit, the mind, are purified

We are becoming again 
a smooth and wrinkle-free paper.

ZEN

Story of the monk carrying a bag of horse shit. 

A monk is traveling from temple to temple. Wherever he goes, he is carrying over his shoulder a big bag of horse manure.

At each temple, he stops at the entrance and puts down the bag next to his feet. Then he exclaims: "This place stinks! This place stinks!"

He would then continue on his way without ever entering the temples.

The quality of our life is determined by the quality of our inner experience.

A clean house

I like this very visual story of the monk and his heavy bag.
Is it how I go in my daily life? 

Over the past ten years, I had a lot of different life experiences but kept being dissatisfied. 

I couldn’t find a place of peace. I was bumping into the same difficulties created by my mind.

I still spend a lot of time searching for a nice holiday stay or a fruitful retreat place. 

But no place will bring me peace until I bring peace in me. 

The best time I ever spend is the one cleaning my mind like a beloved house. 

Purity in Tea Ceremony

We don’t often use the term “ to purify” in today’s speech. 

But the Tea ceremony embodies it simply.

Serving tea is cleaning the tea house, caring for the guests, and offering our full attention in each action. 

Gradually our inner experience starts to be fresher and fresher.

We purify our heart.

Begin morning tea ceremony as the birds stir and start to sing. 

Heat the teakettle to prepare it. 

The alcove scroll should be hung as evening falls the night before, 

just as the garden is watered during the evening prior. 

Rinse the wicket gate, the washroom, and under the waiting bench,

sufficiently until all the leaves are fully wet. 

( From The practice of Rikyu-style Tea Ceremony) 

FOOD

Coconut miso chickpea

Coconut and miso?  This recipe by Vegan recipe for beginners got us curious.

We adapted it at home by thickening the soup for a comforting sauce and rice dish. 

Ingredients:

• Chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• Coconut cream, full fat

• White miso paste

• Ginger, grated

• Carrots, diced

• Celery, diced

• Lime and lime zest or Lemongrass or kaffir lime leaves

Instructions:

1. In a large pot, heat up some oil over medium heat.

2. Add the carrots, celery, and ginger to the pot and cook for about 5 minutes until the vegetables are soft.

3. Pour coconut milk into the pot and a little bit of lime. Stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the miso paste with a bit of the broth to make a smooth mixture. Stir the miso mixture back into the pot and let it simmer.

5. Add the chickpeas to the pot and warm them for a few minutes.

   Serve the hot gravy over cooked rice and enjoy!

Takes action today: 

Take a pen and draw a big bag. What do you have in it?
When are you going to commit to clean it? 

See you,
Maden

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