Kindle Notes & Highlights
To receive everything, one must open one’s hands and give. Taisen Deshimaru
You and I Have so much love, That it Burns like a fire, In which we bake a lump of clay Molded into a figure of you And a figure of me. Then we take both of them, And break them into pieces, And mix the pieces with water, And mold again a figure of you, And a figure of me. I am in your clay. You are in my clay. In life we share a single quilt. In death we will share one coffin. Kuan Tao-sheng holy flesh... sacrament of intimacy; honor the love, and passion that brought us all into the world. Anonymous
The Clay Gate is the only one that is constantly changing, never taking a solidified form. It reminds us of the body’s impermanence and daily changes. Clay is associated with the human body because of its earthly origin and its capacity to be reshaped and transformed. As human life is precious, so is the structure of its em-body-ment. We are as strong and as fragile as the earth itself, and we constantly transform and reshape ourselves. Comprised of moist fine-grained earth, clay is known for its pliability and natural beauty. Working with it is an intimate and sensuous experience.
The Clay Gate is our initiation into intimacy, sensuality, and sexuality. We are first initiated at this gate during puberty, and we continue to experience it in different ways throughout our lives.
To all of them, the gnomes say, “Now you have become initiated, and have entered a great mystery you will never understand.”
At the threshold of the Clay Gate, we release our attachment to our self-image and others’ image of us. Accepting our changing physical reality and learning to unconditionally befriend our bodies are the major challenges at this gate. It reminds us that everything is impermanent.
Accepting the aging process and trusting our body wisdom are necessary for the development of character and the expression of the authentic self.
In his book Walking Words, South American writer Eduardo Galeano illustrates some of the diverse perspectives we have of the body, including views that the body seldom has of itself: The Church says: The body is a sin. Science says: The body is a machine. Advertising says: The body is a business. The body says: I am a fiesta.
