Good morning!
When we commute here every day, even twice a day, we get familiar with everything on the way and here, and we attain freedom. When we sit in zazen, we become familiar with our body-mind-world and attain freedom.
As we attain freedom, we appreciate truth, goodness, beauty, and holiness. When the Buddha knew his last moments, he uttered, “Vesali is pleasant. The old Udena tree was pleasant. The old Gotamaka tree was pleasant. … Beautifully sweet is the world. So is life.”
Our cultivation of our body-mind-world is itself verification of truth, goodness, beauty, and holiness. Goodness in Sanskrit or Pali is kusa-la, (cutting) grass-skillfulness. Skillfulness is goodness. In skillfulness of cultivation all merits are provided.
So, the Buddha said,
Better than the one who would conquer thousands upon thousands in war is the one who would conquer one’s-self. That is the true conqueror.
Conquering oneself is cultivating oneself. Cultivating oneself is cultivating everything. Cultivating everything is conquering everything. Thus we can become skillful and free, functioning fully, living limitless life, enjoying amrita, immortality, ambrosia.
11/9/11
