Take Heed

In the Soto Zen Buddhist tradition, that I began to learn exactly a year ago on a silent retreat, I was so moved by the nightly Evening Gatha. One of my teachers bellowed this in his deep baritone every night before bedtime. I loved the words but thought it was something he made up. He didn’t; it’s been recited nightly by zen practitioners over 2,000 years. There isn’t much for me to say, since the words and message speak for themselves. It’s plain truth; each time we go to bed for the night, our lives are indeed decreased by one day. How did we spend that day? Just getting through it? Doing errands? Did we spend it at a job we love? With people we love who love us back? Did we make the past 24 hours count by widening our impact, even just by a little? There are so many questions but really one answer. We gotta make it count or there’s no point. This gatha is recited to wake us up before we go to sleep. Take heed, don’t squander your life. Just don’t. I love you.