Yesterday I drove past Faith47’s Chants which she left all over Johannesburg a couple of months ago as part of the preparation for her, now postponed, major solo exhibition in South Africa.
Her description of chanting as “a traditional means of preparing the mind for meditation within the Chaotic world.” turned out to be prophetic.
I love that I could connect these inner city Chants to the wisdom coming from Poplar Grove Zendo in the middle of the Karoo veld. In their weekly Lockdown Letter Antony & Margie Osler take a closer look at the meaning of the Chants that are part of their daily Zen practice and how this applies to our lives in these days of COVID-19.
In their words: “embodiment of the Refuges Chant means a total acceptance of the position we find ourselves in, and an undertaking to do whatever is necessary to honour this. Naturally, then, we concern ourselves deeply with the manifold forms of suffering in this pandemic and, naturally, we look after each other.”
A clear call to action that I’m reminded of every time I pass Faith47’s work
