Source: http://zenhabits.net/tsukubai/
By Leo Babauta
There is a famous stone water basin (or “tsukubai”) outside of the even more famous Ryoan-ji Temple in Kyoto, with four characters that read: “ware tada shiru taru.”
This is a Zen saying that can be translated in a number of ways, all to do with contentment. But my favorite translation is:
“All you need, you already have.”
I think it’s such a lovely way of looking at life.
As you sit here reading this article, pause and take an assessment of your life right now. Chances are, you have enough food, clothing, shelter, and other basic necessities in your life. You might also have loved ones, people who care about you. You are (mostly) comfortable, without any desperate needs. All you need, you already have.
And yet we don’t see life this way … we are dissatisfied, looking for more comfort, more love, more knowledge, more certainty, more possessions, more food, more entertainment, more validation. I do this too — I’m not criticizing anyone. We don’t often embody the idea that we already have enough.
If we remember to do so, we can give thanks for what we have. We can appreciate the beauty, the preciousness, of every moment, of being alive. It is a miracle, and we don’t have to take it for granted.
So to me the question is: how can we learn to embody this idea?
“All you need, you already have.”
Learning to Embody Enough-…