Good morning!
Yesterday was the autumnal equinox. The middle of its five days we call and celebrate o-higan (yonder shore, nirvana). It is the day with equal parts day and night, in perfect weather – neither cold nor hot – because the earth’s axis is upright in a right angle to the sun.
So, when we sit with our backbones upright in total balance leaning neither to the left nor right, there is neither heat nor chill as if we are beyond them in the yonder shore. In eastern countries people remember those who have passed into the yonder shore and invite them to their homes.
So, let us sit upright and enjoy holy harmony, health, and happiness, just like those tall trees standing upright, high into the sky and deep into the ground, living thousands of years. As they breathe with all parts of their bodies and share water, wind, the sun, and stars, let us also breathe deeply and enjoy it.
9/23/12
(at our family sitting)
