It is a simple fact:
whatever you resist
will persist.

by Dennis Genpo Merzel¹

I

Tuco sat on a rock reading a book while his horse mowed grass.
The book perplexed him, "We sometimes have the fear that if we really let go
of what we are always holding on to, the goal of becoming special,
and fully accept that the practice is to be ordinary,
then we will lose our drive and determination and finally give up our practice."¹
That he understood but then it goes, "Even if we never sat on a cushion again,
practice would go on. How can we give up our very lives?
Life and practice are one,
on the cushion
and off the cushion."¹

So this rock is my cushion? Tuco considered.
The saddle is my cushion too?
The kitchen chair? The window sill?
The car seat,.. the bed,.. the toilet?

...even the desire to clarify at some point
will become a hinderance.
So go one step beyond that:
Don't try to get rid of confusion or delusion;
don't try to understand or seek enlightenment.

by Dennis Genpo Merzel¹

II

Ah, the bed as a seat to clarify without getting rid of confusion or delusion.
What a marvel how Arlu finds clarity amid his confusion as well as her own.
She had quoted this very book to him once:

Emptiness here, Emptiness there,
but the infinite universe stands
always before your eyes.¹

Tuco marveled at her practice.

And at her patience with his imperfect, wobbling practice.
If only it was as easy to sit as it is to ride a horse, he thought.

He calls the horse quietly
and they begin the ride home
surrounded by confusion, delusion
and practice,
always, the opportunity for practice.