Picking up garbage along Rt. 940 has become my regular route of walking meditation after meals.  Sometimes when the weather gets too hot, I will wear a sun-hat and hold a branch, hapy that I am very much lik an ascetic (who seeks the truth), but with a garbage bag instead of a monastic bag.

A McDonald's french fries paper bag, a Burger King's hamburg container, a straw, and a brown beer bottle.  Sometimes if I am luckly, I may pick up half of a leftover donut.  Smashed under a tree, it then becomes a celebration of the harvest season for the ants.

Delighted by the cool summer night, sometimes I sit on the stone stairs in front of the door to continue my unfinished Evening Service.  Amazingly, in the garden and grass appear sparkling lightning bugs twinkling frequently.  One bug, two bugs, many lightning bugs are flying as a group, racing in their own space and time.  They are truer and prettier than the small light bulbs that decorate the tree during the Christmas season.

Lightning bugs were the dreams in my childhood.  As I grow older and older, I have gradually forgotten them.  Had they been pushed aside by the contemporary products?  Or, had I ignored their presence due to my preoccupied mind?  May be both, just like those cars on Rt. 940 that pass by with a blast to catch one and another endless appointments without noticing these little stars (lightning bus) over the sideways.

A Zen master lived in a mountain cave to practice alone.  One day when he was meditating, a thief entered and searched the entire cave but found nothing to steal.  When the theft was about to escape, the Zen master who had noticed him long ago spoke: "You have come from far away.  It is a pity that you return with empty hands.  Let's do this.  If you do not find them much to your distaste, please take these torn cloths that I am wearing."

Terrified, the thief turned around to catch he cloths and sped away.

The Zen master then said:

"What a pity!  I couldn't also give him the bright moon on the sky."

With nothing to possess, but he is the richest person in the whole universe.  This is the best description of a practitioner.  It is a pity that not everyone could understand how great a fortune he or she has.

A mere little garbage could be the condition for a starting point.  Sometimes, people casually throw garbage while rushing to their destination.  Sometimes, people throw garbage intentionally at that instance.  Or, maybe it has become a habit for some people after doing this for a long time.  Thanks to all of the people who have thrown garbage to give me this good opportunity to practice and cultivate merit.  But, whenever I see that the beautiful environment has been contaminated, I feel very sorry for it each time.

What are you busy about?  What are you rushing for?  Huge as mountain, river, and earth, tiny as falling leaves and flowers, they all are the blessing given by the great nature.  Why can't you learn to treasure and appreciate it?  Why allow habit and ignorance to contaminate your mind and affect others.  What a pity that I couldn't tell you this in person!  Learn to live with a grateful mind.  Take a break in your busy schedule.  Lightning bugs are very beautiful in a summer night.