Noesi

I wish to share this beautiful and useful wisdom; I believe we all need to be reminded of it.

A Zen Parable That Puts Everything into Perspective by Andy Murphy

Kevin Kelly once wrote:
“To clean up your city, sweep your doorstep first.”

His words remind me of a wonderful passage from Lao Tzu:

“If there is to be peace in the world,
There must be peace in the nations.
If there is to be peace in the nations,
There must be peace in the cities.
If there is to be peace in the cities,
There must be peace between neighbours.
If there is to be peace between neighbours,
There must be peace in the home.
If there is to be peace in the home,
There must be peace in the heart.”

It is so beautiful and concise and it turns the attention inward instead of outward.

A wonderful Zen parable highlights this further. It goes something like this:
Two men come to visit a Zen teacher to inquire about moving to his village.
The first man enters and says, “I am thinking of moving to this village, how is it here?”
The teacher replies, “Well, how is your current village?”
The man responds, “It’s terrible, I hate it there.”
The Zen teacher answers, “This village is the same, you won’t like it.”
The second man enters and says, “I am thinking of moving to this village, how is it here?”
The teacher replies, “Well, how is your current village?”
The man responds, “It’s wonderful, I love it there.”
The Zen teacher answers, “This village is the same, you will like it.”

The harsh but liberating lesson here is that our internal reality creates our external reality. So, a quick reminder for the day: If you want a beautiful and fulfilling external world, first turn inward and create a beautiful and fulfilling internal world.
To clean up your city (or wherever you find yourself) sweep your doorstep first.

“The only Zen you’ll find on mountain tops is the Zen you bring up there with you” — Alan Watts