Sitting quietly, doing nothing

Sitting quietly, doing nothing
Spring comes and the grass grows all by itself

- Zen saying

Zen Buddhism is interestingly different from the Christian devotion.  The point is to challenge the mind with questions (called koans) that are right-brained, not left-brained.  The assumption at the core of Zen is that you cannot reason yourself into Heaven.*  Not a bad assumption, really.

The challenge of the koan is to cause the right-brain to break through to a spontaneous moment of enlightenment.  Perhaps the nearest Christian analogy is Saul's moment of realization on that road, so many years ago.  He didn't reason himself into that flash of understanding, he realized it.

Lots of folks are pretty tightly wrapped right now about the election, with justification.  But if you vote, and get those you know to vote with you, you've done what you can.  Your left-brain obligation is paid in full.  All that remains in driving yourself crazy dwelling on something entirely beyond your control.  As it turns out, Humans are pretty good at that.

Zen in general, and today's koan in particular is aimed precisely at this tendency to go nuts:

What is this saying telling us? It is simply pointing out to us the futility of fretting, worrying and agonising over something which we have no control over or in which we can do nothing to change its outcome. We humans are very good at bringing sufferings upon ourselves.  We are master in turning problems into worries and anxieties and allowing them to fester inside us. We are amateurs, poor amateurs, at that, in letting go of things.

We'll know in a couple days.  Do what you can, do what you should, and then sit quietly.  Do nothing.  Spring will come and the grass will indeed grow entirely on its own.  That grass has a lot of wisdom, for those who will listen.

* OK, "heaven" is not a Zen concept.  Work with me here.