Here’s another story about Bankai. One day he’s sitting there with his disciples just quietly teaching. Having a moment, maybe a cup of tea. When a disciple of another sect comes walking up and he says, “Bankai. My master can stand on one side of the river with a brush in his hand and write a holy name on a piece of paper being held by another disciple on the far side of the river. Can you do that?”
Bankai looks at him and says, “I can only do one miracle. I can eat when I’m hungry, and sleep when I’m tired.”
This is the greatest miracle of all. When you are just an ordinary participant in life, when you are just a simple part of existence, moving and changing along with the flow; then every simple moment becomes a miracle. The sun, the moon, the trees, snowflakes, flowers, birds, mountains, clouds, houses, lovely yards, gardens – everything becomes a miracle!
And look at the possibilities this opens for you!
If you must become magic before you can be enlightened, before you can feel you’ve arrived at the ultimate, before you can simply relax and enjoy life – then let’s face it, you have a long way to go.
But . . . if all you need to find your enlightenment is become yourself, be ordinary, be totally what you already are . . . then this is available to you right now. You don’t have to wait lifetimes; you can be this very moment. In fact, you can only be in this moment.