June 11 1977
From behind, a little voice, "Hey, mister, aren't you unbarrassing yourself?" We keep bowing. Again, "Hey, mister, what are you doin'?" "We're Buddhist Monks. We're praying," I answer him. "What are you doing?" "Watching you be dumb," he answers without hestitation.
Looking over to my left I see oodles of people in swimming suits playing vollyball, sunbathing, swimming, surfing, sailing, eating - just plain old Saturday afternoon good times at the ocean. I start looking pretty "dumb" to myself sometimes. Baking in this hot sun under T'ang Dynasty robes, picking glass and gravel out of my hands and forehead . . . that water looks so inviting though, and we still look "dumb". Then I remember my vows and how clear and happy my heart was when I make them; and suddenly the bowing and the gravel and the broken glass feel right at home. Never been happier, never looked more "dumb". The Avatamsaka says, " . . . all happiness in the world is suffering." We are finding the converse is just as true: all suffering of cultivation is happiness.
Disciple Heng Ch'au
bows in reverence
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