Thank You Very Much

It is right in your face,
This moment,
the whole thing is handed to you.
~ Zen Master Yuanwu

“Why did Bodhidharma come from the west? The cypress tree in front of the garden!” At these words Foguo was suddenly enlightened.

“One way to train yourself to be thus is to say to yourself with your whole being,
“Thank you very much, I have no complaint whatsoever!”
Even if you are in a miserable prison of your old stories you say,
“Thank you very much, I have no complaint whatsoever.”

And no matter what you are, you are grateful for the opportunity to be thus. At this moment, in the middle of whatever is happening, you are grateful for the opportunity to care for what is happening, with no complaint. Even if you are complaining, you are grateful for the opportunity to not complain about your complaints. Even if everyone says they hate you and are disgusted with you or that they love you and admire you, you are grateful in the midst of hearing them. You are not grateful that they hate you or that they love you. You are grateful instead for the opportunity to let what you hear just be what you hear. You don’t grasp these words of hatred or love as anything more or less than words of hatred or love. You don’t grasp them at all when you let them just be what they are…

May your body and mind be open and deeply touched… without attachment.

May your heart gratefully embrace all life, free of prejudice and preference, and be filled with the truth of all things.

May your love be purified, and may your wise methods be realized in full.”

~ Tenshin Reb Anderson, Green Dragon Zen Temple
Tenshin Reb Anderson is a senior Dharma teacher and the former abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center.