The universe is always speaking to us. It is a language we have forgotten how to speak, though we have always known it. We have taught ourselves many other languages, complicated and beautiful languages but we have forgotten how to speak our mother tongue, the language of reality. Reality tells us just what it is. Roads tell us that they are roads. Flowers that they are flowers. They use the words of the Buddha. The rain in the mountains has the sound and form of the Buddha. The roar of the traffic on a shopping Saturday is the roar of the Buddha. The smiles of our friends are the smiles of the Buddha. The wind in the grass is the Buddha whispering as grass. Reality speaks to us in our first language. When we sit quietly, striving for nothing, we remember our first language. We can hear it again and we can speak it. In the silence, the truth of our life unfolds.