"If you know that fundamentally there is nothing to seek, you have settled your affairs."
-- Rinzai
Zen masters have a way of just cutting to the chase, don't they? No seeking, no attaining, just is-ness.
And yet, even as the truth of Rinzai's statement reverberates within us, we find ourselves time and time again back in the role of seeker. We dupe ourselves with trumped up desires, with thoughts that we need this or that thing, relationship, accomplishment or experience in order to be happy, fulfilled, enlightened or whole. I guess we need something to fill the days, hours and years. But that something can, of course, be creating, sharing, loving rather than seeking.
The problem with being caught in the seeking cycle is that separates us, at least mentally, from Reality. Instead of reveling in what is right before us, we jones after fantasies of the good life. This is the good life! Or, as Carly Simon sings, "these are the good old days." Nothing need be added because nothing is missing. Nothing. Very Zen!
When lost in the cycle of seeking, when tossed by waves of desire, breath is a lifeline. Focus on the rise and and fall of your stomach -- breathing in, breathing out. You don't have to seek to breathe; breathing just happens. As does your life. As does Reality. Right here, right now the breath of life, all of life, all in this moment free of seeking. Who could ask for anything more?
Showing posts with label breathing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label breathing. Show all posts
Equal Acceptance for All
"The ultimate plateau of civilization is that we would all accept each other equally."
-- Julie Harris
And, might I add, "unconditionally."
Why do we fear acceptance so much? Is it because we feel that if we accept others we are condoning their behavior, and lots of times they're doing stuff we really don't approve of? Is it because we confuse acceptance with weakness or dishonesty? Do we not accept because we like to discriminate between good and bad and right and wrong, and we're afraid that unconditional acceptance will ruin that delightfully delicious game?
To accept someone doesn't mean that you have given them the Nobel Prize, your daughter's hand in marriage, or the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. It simply means that you are no longer in a battle with reality. Acceptance is coming to the realization that everyone is as they are in this very moment and your acceptance, or lack thereof, does nothing to change that. Each moment of acceptance is a minor satori, a mini form of enlightenment.
To truly accept means, though, that you must lay down all external standards of judgement, at least in relation to each and every individual's right to be. Acceptance doesn't mean that you have to give up your preferences. It does mean, however, that you don't use those preferences to make others wrong.
Acceptance is an understanding that each of us is a child of God, a child of the Universe, a child of Life. None of us are bastards or adoptees, or step children; each of us are co-equal in claiming our divine inheritance.
One of the best ways to practice acceptance is to look at each person and breathe them into your heart. Don't know what this means? Try it and you soon will. Looking with eyes open, breathing with heart open, smiling with mind at ease -- acceptance comes. And with it, maybe even love.
-- Julie Harris
And, might I add, "unconditionally."
Why do we fear acceptance so much? Is it because we feel that if we accept others we are condoning their behavior, and lots of times they're doing stuff we really don't approve of? Is it because we confuse acceptance with weakness or dishonesty? Do we not accept because we like to discriminate between good and bad and right and wrong, and we're afraid that unconditional acceptance will ruin that delightfully delicious game?
To accept someone doesn't mean that you have given them the Nobel Prize, your daughter's hand in marriage, or the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. It simply means that you are no longer in a battle with reality. Acceptance is coming to the realization that everyone is as they are in this very moment and your acceptance, or lack thereof, does nothing to change that. Each moment of acceptance is a minor satori, a mini form of enlightenment.
To truly accept means, though, that you must lay down all external standards of judgement, at least in relation to each and every individual's right to be. Acceptance doesn't mean that you have to give up your preferences. It does mean, however, that you don't use those preferences to make others wrong.
Acceptance is an understanding that each of us is a child of God, a child of the Universe, a child of Life. None of us are bastards or adoptees, or step children; each of us are co-equal in claiming our divine inheritance.
One of the best ways to practice acceptance is to look at each person and breathe them into your heart. Don't know what this means? Try it and you soon will. Looking with eyes open, breathing with heart open, smiling with mind at ease -- acceptance comes. And with it, maybe even love.
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