Waking up in the morning
I vow with all beings
to be ready for sparks of the Dharma [Natural Reality, or God]
from flowers or children or birds.

Sitting alone in zazen [meditation]
I vow with all beings
to remember I'm sitting together
with mountains, children, and bears.

Looking up at the sky
I vow with all beings
to remember this infinite ceiling
in every room of my life.

When I stroll around in the city
I vow with all beings
to notice how lichen and grasses
never give up in despair.

Watching a spider at work
I vow with all beings
to cherish the web of the universe:
touch one point and everything moves.

Preparing the garden for seeds
I vow with all beings
to nurture the soil to be fertile
each spring for the next 1000 years.

When people praise me for something
I vow with all beings
to return to my vegetable garden
and give credit where credit is due.
With tropical forests in danger
I vow with all beings
to raise hell with the people responsible
and slash my consumption of trees.

With resources scarcer and scarcer
I vow with all beings
to consider the law of proportion:
my have is another's have-not.

Watching gardeners label their plants
I vow with all beings
to practice the old horticulture
and let plants identify me.

Hearing the crickets at night
I vow with all beings
to keep my practice as simple -
just over and over again.

Falling asleep at last

I vow with all beings
to enjoy the dark and the silence
and rest in the vast unknown.

quoted in Dharma Rain,
by Stephanie Kaza & Kenneth Kraft, Shambhala, Boston, 2000,
pages 471-473