Looking around our 20+ year old house, I see much to love, including the dingy and worn. The beige paint is peeling close to the windowsill. We must replace our gutters – They are unlevel with the roof and becoming more fragile each day. Basho, 17th century Japanese haiku master and a follower of Zen Buddhism, celebrates these qualities in his verse: “spring rain — / down along a wasp’s nest, water / leaking through the roof.” How can a Buddhist view of this imperfect, perishing world and of all things as interdependent help me be more compassionate towards others and kinder to myself?
