Getting to the farther shore and being where we are is one thing, not two. Doing what is called for in each situation as it arises is all that is asked of each of us. No opinions. No expectations. No plan. No agenda. Just seeing-knowing-doing/being—one thing, not four. “Without hope, without witness, without reward— Virtue is only virtue in extremis. Only in darkness are we revealed. Goodness is not goodness that seeks advantage. Good is good in the final hour, in the deepest pit.” (Steven Moffat, writing for Nardole in Doctor Who, Season 1001, Ep. 6, “Extremis.”)

Zen is that way, like virtue. If you are going to be anything, be Zen-like. Buddhism without Zen is all stiff and rule-bound, the right way to sit, the right number of chants to chant. All Dharma and Karma. Zen threw Buddhism off around 200 BC and Zen is actually much more Taoist than Buddhist. It should be “Zen Taoism” and not Zen Buddhism. Ray Grigg’s book, “The Tao of Zen,” is a helpful resource if your interest carries you in that direction.

Peaceful abiding here, now.