Before we sit down we bow to our cushion and bow to everyone.
How so?
In this place of practice, everything has equal and absolute value.
It is not that the person is great and the cushion is menial.
No!
It is not that the cushion, the mat, the floor, the incense, the Buddha are here to facilitate my practice.
No
Everything in this place is conducting this practice.
Because this is so, even though this room is only 12 foot Square, it is the whole universe.