Talk: “The Bowl”
Ladera Community Church, August 2015
CHILDREN’S TALK
There was a monk who had been a monk for a long time. Part of his practice was to journey out each evening with his begging bowl, to wait patiently for dinner. Over time, he discovered which street corners were near which cooks, and over time, he found his way to different parts of the city based on what he most felt like eating that night. His bowl was always clean, his robes modest, the way in which he stood while he waited was just as he’d been trained to do: hands outstretched, ready for nourishment he could not get any other way. As the years passed, another thing happened. Sometimes the cook had a bad day and the dish he wanted was not prepared, or not prepared to his liking. Sometimes the cook was late and kept him standing there, holding his bowl outright, waiting for what felt like way too long. Over time, he became grouchy and very few meals were to his liking. Sometimes, when he’d been kept too long, he’d stay home the next night rather than wait again like that, or when the food wasn’t what he wished for, he’d throw it out once he was out of sight—yes, he made all of these choices even though something deep inside him was truly hungry. Finally, thin and worn, he was noticed by a senior monk who approached to ask him what was wrong. And our monk let it all out, telling him everything, the disappointing meals, the unbearable waits, the way in which the townspeople had no respect for him. There was silence.
Do you not remember, the older man asked, why it is part of our practice to bring our empty bowls to the corner in the first place?
Oil Painting, Courtesy of Jane Tracy
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