Zen Master Puppydog

Wonderful — the moon of this moment,

Distant, vast – Ryokan

When first learning about Zen and/or meditation, you can get a headache.  In the West, it’s just not a concept that is introduced to us like Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy.  However, one of the best things you can do for your health and to lower your stress levels is to take up meditation.  To learn how to meditate, we all need to learn from the Zen Masters — our dogs.

 The Guard Dog Next Door

We’ve lived next door to this German Shepherd-type guard dog named Bear who always growls and barks at my dog whenever she comes into view.  My poor neighbor has been working hard to get Bear to be quieter but gets exasperated with Bear sometimes.  "You see this dog every day!"  he finally yelled.  "Why do you have to bark!"

"You never know," I said, grinning.  "Bear let’s her guard down for one moment and THAT’S when Pony {my dog} is going to do something!"

We had a good laugh over the ways of dogs, but it did serve to remind me about meditation.

The Moon Of This Moment

In meditating, you are only mentally present in the moment.  There is no past, there is no future.  There is only now.  This serves to not only help you stop worrying, but to appreciate the beauty in everyday things.  But how to do this is much, much easier said than done.  It’s like trying to express the inexpressable. 

However, dogs teach us all about living in the moment.  No matter what happened the day before, they wake up wagging their tails.  When they greet you, it’s as if you’ve been gone for ages because, for them, it has been ages.  When they look out the window or are on guard duty, they are entirely absorbed in watching, taking nothing for granted.  Yes, they might have seen that old white alley cat walk by a million times before, but they are going to track that cat as if it was the first time — because you never know…the cat might suddenly try to break into the house and steal all of the Milkbones!

I’d continue on with even more examples, but my dog Pony is currently staring at me and whining to play ball.  Ah, I guess I have no choice but to obey my guru.  It’s for my own good.