Zen Buddhism and Western Society.

One of the aspects of Buddhism that I enjoy and find most refreshing is how simple yet profound teachings and insights can be. Such as when Sensei Taigen Henderson says in this interview, "But basically there isn't really any difference between spirituality and your regular life" in response to the question of how do you integrate Buddhism with daily life. And that is really one of the great benefits that Buddhism offer us, that every event in our life is a spiritual moment and a learning moment.

Which for me gives deeper meaning to things that I had (before embracing Buddhism) labeled as either good or bad and assigned numbers of importance to experiences/events/people, etc. I still experience this habit energy as most of us but knowing that all is interconnected and spiritual allows me to see the world in a softer, kinder and more accepting way.

And I also love the story he speaks of where people asked the Buddha if he was a god, a sage, a great saint to all of which he said no. So the people asked him what are you then and the Buddha said, "I'm awake." And I have found the state of being awake to be a feeling of "returning to my true home" as Thich Nhat Hanh says after years of wandering in a fog. A feeling of true freedom.

~Peace to all beings~

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