Someone who knows little about « Zen » asked today whether I « practiced » everyday.
Well… I thought of saying, « I’m practicing right now. »
But I didn’t.
I asked him, « Do you mean formally? » Which was not really what I was thinking, but it was what he was thinking.
Launching into something about nonduality and not creating artificial separations between « everyday life » and some special « practice life » would not have been helpful. Instead, I told him something about regular sitting and also something about trying to be aware of whatever is at hand, moment to moment, and acting freely, selflessly, in accord with that.
I don’t know what he thought. But he was smiling brightly when we parted.