The gesture
is as follows:
A series of
diagrams are drawn here that suggest the following movements...
Sunflower
breathes in deeply and forms her right hand into a fist, centering it
at her chest, the left hand comes to cover it and is flat. Sunflower
exhales as she bows, her eyes meeting the Bushi's as she does.
I would like
to share my thoughts on three aspects of this gesture.
The first is
the covering of the fist with the palm. That movement both prevents
using the fist in anger, and hinders the ability to defend oneself. I
see this as a show of trust. It also suggests a period of peace to
come, without conflict or argument.
The second
aspect is the breathing. Breathing both cleanses the body and empties
it. By releasing the breath as I bow I feel it symbolizes a clearing
and opening of the mind, ready to be filled by the lesson to come.
The third part
is the meeting of eyes. I see this is signifying a meeting of equals,
not equals in knowledge but equals in a desire to learn. As Kulthesu
explained, both teacher and student must participate in the process of
learning, be open to one another and approach the attainment of
knowledge with equal humility.
Those are my
thoughts on the gesture. Thank you for reading them.
Sister Sunflower
"Let your heart guide you. It whispers, so listen
closely."
|
