At the deli today I noticed a new 8 1/2″ x 11″ piece of paper taped to the wall next to the order counter. On it were printed “The 10 Essential Rules of Zen”.
While waiting for my egg white sandwich, I noticed things were not Zen-like behind the counter. One worker was snapping at the cook. The cook ignoring the snapper.
Meanwhile, it was taking a comparatively long time to prepare orders for the four of us at the counter.
“You gotta speed up and you gotta to two orders at ONCE.” the worker shouted at the cook.
Finally, the cook walks over with an order and sets it on the counter. He looks at the other worker.
With his finger pounding the paper taped to the wall, to emphasize each syllable, he says:
“Shut … up … man. I … am … a … ^&%#& … buddhist … man.”
I took a second to read the sign –
10 Essential Rules for Zen:
1. Do less
2. Do one thing at a time
3. Take time to do each thing you do
4. Breathe
5. Leave space between things
etc etc.