bamboo leaves falling

I have just come from the bamboo grove, and there I was watching the leaves of the bamboo falling to the ground. I have already talked about bamboo, and also about falling leaves, but here I want to talk specifically about bamboo leaves falling. For me, watching bamboo leaves falling is possibly the most fulfilling pastime. It is even more fulfilling than sitting and looking at a dead leaf on the ground, and that already is an amazingly rewarding activity.

Whenever leaves are falling, if one really watches them – and I mean really watches, not half heartedly looking whilst one's mind is full of thoughts, but just watching in the space of meditation with a quiet mind, an empty spacious mind – then whenever one is watching leaves falling, they are dancing. And that dance is happening within the space of consciousness. And every leaf has its own individual dance, but this is especially true of bamboo leaves.

Bamboo, more than any other plant, has very individual leaves. And the amazing thing is when they are on the bamboo, they all look almost identical. You had never guessed that there was so much individuality in each leaf. It only comes out when they fall. It's strange, I guess we would think of that moment of letting go from the bamboo as a moment of death. But actually the bamboo leaf is never more alive than when it is dancing its way from the plant to the ground. It is as if its entire life up till now has been merely a preparation for that dance. It has been a child growing, and now at last it has reached maturity, and it is ready to dance.

And every bamboo leaf has its own unique dance. Some float gently backwards and forwards, in a rocking motion. Some dart, quickly, directly to the ground. Some turn over and over, lengthwise. Many spin on their axis, very fast. And of course there are many combinations of these movements. And then the way, the dance flows with the wind is also unique. Even the same leaf, if it were to dance twice, would show a different dance.

And watching these leaves – as they dance their way between bamboo and ground – watching these leaves I am reminded of what it is to become a buddha. When we realise our buddha nature, it is like that leaf letting go of the bamboo. We have reached maturity. Up until now we have been a child: growing, needing the support of society, parents, structure, rules, the feeling of security – just as the leaf has needed the bamboo until that fateful moment. But when we are mature enough, when the moment has come, we let go, and we no longer need all of that for our fulfilment. We can dance an individual dance, a dance that has never been danced before by anyone, a dance with no rules, a dance with no expectations. This is what it is to live as a buddha. We can finally be ourself, whatever that is. And it will be different for every one of us, just as each of those bamboo leaves has its own unique dance.

All of this was the gift of the bamboo leaves this morning, as I sat and watched them in their dance.