Underpinning

We all know that having a good foundation is important if the structure you intend to build is to remain standing. It is even more important if your structure is built over the sea, where it will be swept by continuous tidal changes, waves, surges and irresistible brooms of solid ice. Key, for instance, to the underpinning of a dock is to have a strong heavy durable "crib", as in the picture. The enclosing timber structure is filled with large rock (usually granite around here, it being in super-abundance) to hold the dock firm against the motion of the ocean. I would like to suggest, as my message to my friends for today, that Dharma study and practice provides the underpinning we need for the very troubling times we find ourselves in, which often threaten to sweep us away. Because it is our thoughts and emotions, disturbed by appearances, that destabilize us. But when we can see that those appearances are empty of any way to actually force us to do anything, we can remain steady like a mountain. Knowing our own mind in that way is the essence of Dharma study and practice. So, there you have it, just a little bit of news you can use. <3

26 March 2021
Texas Jim
Prospect, Nova Scotia
www.granitecoast.ca