moonshadows

Yesterday morning at the Zen dojo I have been attending, the teacher gave a brief talk that included a few poignant metaphors. He was saying that in the normal progression of our meditation practice we can become discouraged, thinking that the mind is not improving or even worsening, when many thoughts arise. We might characterize these thoughts as bad, or as reflecting our inability to meditate properly and make progress. This metaphor struck the chord of the appropriate response perfectly:

L'intensité de l'ombre des pins dépend de la clarté de la lune / The intensity of the pine trees' shadows depends on the brightness of the moon.