Meeting What the Moment Asks of Us

This morning I saw a trash can beside a drive-through. Someone had turned it in such a way so that no one could use it. While it fulled the requirement of having to be there, it didn't fill the reality of the need of those who might need to use it.

It occurred to me that it wasn’t there to receive anything anymore. It was simply there because a trash can was expected to be there.

How often do we do the same with our lives?

We meet the technical expectations …

but quietly don’t meet the true function.

We can attend the meeting without meeting the people in the meeting.

We can recite the sutra without feeling its meaning.

We can apologize without opening our heart, performing the ritual without sincerity.

We can hold the pretense of meditation posture without honestly being-present as the posture.

Form remains.

Function disappears.

一Function Before Form