Everyday Zen Unnecessary Biases
A couple of months ago, we had a tragedy next door. It must have been 9pm when our doorbell rang. Before answering, I peered through the door-phone, and saw two policemen. I was hesitating because I was alone at home that night; husband was abroad and daughter had gone out with a friend. Seeing the police, I became very nervous – I don’t know why. Meanwhile, the bell rang again. Barely hiding the tremor in my voice, I asked who it was. One of the policemen said that he wanted to meet the owner of the house.
I went down to open the gate, picking up my mobile, ready to call friends in case of trouble. There were two police jeeps, an ambulance, a couple of other cars and a crowd of people talking in hushed tones. On the whole, the scene was nerve-wracking. As I was taking it all in, still trembling, one of the policemen told me that my next door neighbour was found murdered. Before I could recover from the shock of hearing such news, he asked me further if I had heard any unusual noises that day from that house. Of course I hadn’t.