Ahh Impermanence

Last night, Phoenix was hit with a major storm. Today, December 8, 2009, there are many people without power. This tree is at the front of my complex. Had it fallen the other way, it would have smashed into my neighbors’ bedroom. I always liked this tree when I walked past it to the grocery store. According to one of the old timers who were gathered around this morning, the tree was planted in 1968. The year I was born. We were the same age. They are cutting it up now and taking it away. It is no longer considered a tree. The police officer on the scene referred to it as a road hazard. It went down around midnight last night. Midnight last night I was asleep in my bed, like my neighbors. I am happy the tree fell in the road and not on their bed. Two people ran into the tree this morning with their cars, one at 4:30am and the other around 6:00am. No one was injured. One car needed to be towed. At 4:30am I was sleeping in my bed. At 6:00am the first bell rang for sitting on our zendo. There is a giant eucalyptus tree hovering behind our house on city land. I have been asking that it be trimmed for three years. If it were to ever fall due west, it would land right on our bedroom.

Today is Rohatsu. On this day, 2,500 years ago, Siddhartha Gautama dropped his hand to the ground, looked up at Venus in the early morning sky, and understood that we are all Buddhas. And so the Dharma wheel turns and our tradition has grown over time to this day of Rohatsu, December 8, 2009.A tradition that Shakyamuni Buddha said would end in 2,500 years, which is right about now.

This tree fell in the the garden next to the clubhouse where we used to hold zazenkais. It will be cut up and hauled away soon too. Hopefully, it will be used to create something new. We no longer use this space for zazenkais.

Today, December 8, 2009, was the first weekday morning the Sitting Frog Sangha sat together in our new space. I anticipate sitting in the mornings as a sangha for many years to come.