Dear Khaj,
My "Hogwarts" School!
I wrote about the importance of spirit-nourishing last time. Let me share (in a series of posts) when and how I learned this in my life. I went to a boys-only boarding school just shy of my 13th birthday way back in the mid-1970s. I still recall my years there whenever I see or read our beloved Harry Potter stories: After all, Hogwarts is also a boarding school, although one that trained young wizards and witches in magic.
Ours was also a special school because it was for boys who were thinking of becoming members of a religious order in the future. A "religious order" is a group of people who form a community for a common mission. Interpreted positively after all these years, I'd say that it was a kind of school that trained us to be "spiritual warriors" in the future (not of the Warrior Nun type though lol!). Perhaps because of that, we were subjected to a strictly regimented high school life: discipline, fixed timetables to cover all our waking hours, regular spiritual exercises, manual labour, music, sports ... the works! You may cringe even at the idea of such a high school life but I found out that when you got the hang of it, there were lots of positives as well. One of these was: I learned the value of self-discipline early on. And that has served me really well all throughout my life.
Some of the most valuable things I learned in life happened at the start of our daily routine. First off, we, teenagers, got woken up at 5 am (!) to a loud cry from the dormitory assistant saying: "Benedicamus Domino!" (Latin, Let us bless the Lord!). To that we also had to shout our response: "Deo Gratias!" (Thanks be to God!) . Lesson one: Start each day on a positive note of gratefulness: I'm alive! It's a brand new day to live and contribute to the world. Thanks be to God!
We were then only given 15 minutes to make our bed, wash ourselves, get dressed and go down to the study hall by 5:15 am. Needless to say, latecomers were penalized in some way.
I eventually became a pro at that morning routine. In time, I would finish everything in just about 7~8 minutes so that I could go down to the study hall early. There I would start the day with something that I have practiced all my life since then -- it is a kind of spirit-nourishing that is nowadays known as meditation.
Let me share my reflections on two valuable things I learned doing that regimented morning routine all those years ago at the boarding school: (1) the importance of "making your bed" and (2) meditation. I'll tackle the first thing now and deal with the second thing in another note.
Make Your Bed!
Admiral William McRaven, who is a former US Navy Seal, said that you should always start the day with a task completed (yes, like making your bed!) because that will give you a sense of accomplishment and lead to other small and big accomplishments and victories throughout the day.
I learned that lesson well at boarding school: The first order of the day (at 5 am!) was making my bed. Moreover, before we left our desks at study hall later during the day, our desks had to be cleared of everything on its surface so that the study hall when not used would look clean and orderly.
Zen Buddhism: It Starts with Proper "Form"
Later on when studying Zen Buddhism, I would come upon the fundamental Zen idea: 禅は形から（入る）Zen wa katachi kara hairu. Translated: "Zen starts with 'form'." That means, the first step in learning the spirit of true Zen Buddhism is to start by making your external form the proper one (for example, sitting properly).
[TMP] The Main Point
The Little Things that Count
So, you see, the body and the spirit or your outside and your inside are so intimately connected that order/disorder on the outside usually reflects order/disorder within! Translated to life, that Zen principle teaches us that the little things in life (such as making your bed, keeping your surroundings clean, doing household chores, maintaining proper hygiene, exercising, eating properly, etc.) all count in a crucial way to making you feel good and changing yourself and changing your life for the better. And when that happens, you'll be able to change the world as well!
Never forget these little things --- they make all the difference in life!
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