Blade of Grass Temple

We've started to sit on Sunday evenings in our new home on Grand Avenue, in the midst of the dust and debris of ongoing renovation.

Last week we sat with this koan.

The Buddha was out walking with his sangha. He pointed to the ground and said, "This spot is good to build a temple."
Indra, the emperor of the gods, took a blade of grass, stuck it in the ground, and said, "The temple is built."
The Buddha smiled.

A blade of grass is so transient, it will only last a brief time.

This temple we sit in together with tarps on the floor and construction equipment in the next room is just as transient; next week it will look different.

Each time we come together, to meditate, to learn, we construct a temple. Right now, that construction is vivid to us as it is mirrored by the construction outside.

In a few weeks, the temple will be complete. It will look like a solid, whole, reliable space for us to use for our practice. That can make it harder to remember it's blade of grass nature, the transience that is inherent in everything. So, for now, we celebrate this time of flux.

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