Who turns this into that?
Sound into noise?
Aroma into odor?
Taste into pleasure or disgust?
Who turns yes into no?
Grace into disgrace?
Who turns the present into the past?
Who turns the now into the not-now?
As-it-is into as-it-should-be?
Silence into restlessness?
Stillness into boredom?
The ordinary into the menial?
Who turns pain into suffering?
Change into loss?
Grief into woe?
Woe into the story of your life?
Who turns stuff into sentiment?
Desire into craving?
Acceptance into aversion?
Peace into war?
Us into them?
Who turns life into labor?
Time into toil?
Enough into not-enough?
Who turns why into why not?
Who turns delusion into enlightenment?
Who thinks?
Who turns?
All practice is the practice of making a turn in a different direction.
by Karen Maezen Miller
Hmmm… who indeed? and why??
The American Zen teacher Maezen added on her website that according to Buddha, “The only difference between a buddha and a sentient being is upside-down thinking”. I found a lot of treasure in her words there, which have left me a bit speechless. Time for living with the questions…
Photo by Daniel von Appen on Unsplash