Meditation

 

After confusion intensified to breaking point in the life of Reverend Red Gunn (Red is short for Fred), Red stumbled across a copy of the Zen classic translated by Thomas Cleary, The Blue Cliff Record, and opened it at random to Case 87, "A clear-eyed fellow has no nest..."

Fred grabbed a coat, walked down the street and listened as cows hopped around in the branches under a gray February sky and swooped down to collect food scraps. Take a clear look. Look for the crow's nest. Climb the mast to the crow's nest of the sailing ship while navigating the high seas of hope and fear.

Nest in the tree, nest in the mind, making a nest, a nest egg, bogged down in a collection of things, hungry for more, what would a clear-eyed fellow do about such a state of mind? It's neither good nor bad, neither here nor there. Cross the street when the light turns green. Walk to a cafe in the strip mall. Line up to be served. Sit down. Drink coffee. Listen to people talking in various languages. Read case eighty-seven, even if it's hard to understand. Empty the nest.