The (not quite yet) Year of the Ox

 

Slow, steady strength

While the Gregorian calendar has us all in a new year, the lunar calendar hasn't quite gotten there yet. I have a connection to the Ox, so it's interesting to me on a personal level. Whether cosmic and natural forces work along the line of tradition or faith, such symbols still help color our human world.
 

The Ox is associated by those who dabble with Buddhism in the West with the Ox Herding Pictures, wherein the Ox is in some ways both (the concept of) Enlightenment and the Mind. Eventually, the Mind is tamed through practice and faith as the herder rides the Ox with ease and joy. Then the Ox vanishes. Then the herder vanishes. Then emptiness comes and beyond it is...

Well, anyway. Cool imagery, eh? 

Perhaps this year such imagery can help those interested in seeking their own peace and strength in the midst of the turmoil the world finds itself in.

I wish you all the best.

The end of another year (2020)

 

Winter blooms and 2020 ends.

In my location we are still not yet to 2021 at the time of this posting.

I have fixed feeling about the tradition of New Year's resolutions. They are often a form of wishful thinking that can actually depress people when the resolution fails, especially if it's made in black and white (giving up this, taking up that).

Fifteen years ago I recall a Buddhist teacher saying to a small group that the precepts cannot be broken. We can take them up or set them down. But the precepts themselves are still there waiting. The same person also compared that to the practice of staying and returning in meditation. If your mind wanders from focus, just return. No judgment. It's all a success. Just stay focused as long as you can and then return when you notice your attention has wandered.

Perhaps more New Year's resolutions would benefit those making them if they were approached in this way, whether it be losing weight or taking up a new hobby or building relationships.

This is a good time for reflection as societies are also reflecting, giving us some momentum. Also a good time to then look ahead. We can't know what will happen, but we can think about who we've been and who we want to be.

If you have any resolutions, I wish you success.