Read Not The Times. Read The Eternities.

Vol. 2. April 13, 2020

Thoreau (d. 1862) once wrote: “Read not The Times. Read the Eternities.”

I live in the city. I’m a city mouse, not a country mouse. I prefer the hustle and bustle. But every once in a while, I like to cut out of the city and walk alone in the woods. I’ll sit beside a stream and ponder the eternal verities. Being alone in nature, the stress of society evaporates. It’s nice to breathe.

Today, however, during our societal shutdown, you don’t have to sit alone beside a pond pondering like Thoreau. Just walk out the front door, or drive down the street. Society is gone. Stores are open. Buses keep running. Society still functions, but there is no society.

It’s been quarantined.

In strange times like these, it’s natural to draw within. Meditate.

Why think out other people’s thoughts? Why study other people’s concepts? In neither case will you arrive at a true perception of your true nature.

Your true nature is Buddha-nature.

Buddha-nature embraces all things, from the most sublime god to the meanest belly-crawling creature.

As zen master Dogen once said, “When you look into the cheeks of a donkey or into the mouth of a horse, you’re looking at Buddha-nature.”

Buddha-nature

Buddha-nature is all around us. Buddha-nature is us. Buddha-nature makes us one. We are temporary. Buddha-nature is eternal.

As soon as you recognize your transcendental self, you are no longer your self. You’re greater than your self. You are Buddha-nature.

Only give up the error of intellectual thought processes, and your nature will reveal its pristine purity.

When we read the times, we create divisions and get caught up in newscasts, press briefings and health alerts. When we read the eternities, we create harmony and congratulate each other on the ever-glorious morning.

Wise advice from the Wizard of Walden: “Read not The Times. Read the Eternities.”