AT THE EDGE OF THE PRECIPICE – December 2022 BLOG
Dear Reader,
As the year is coming to an end (as all years
do), I feel like I am standing at the edge of a precipice wandering what is at
the bottom. Such image generates a lot of fear. The end of a relationship,the
end of a job, the end of healthy body and mind. I am curious about the image
and wander what is at the bottom?
Over the millennia, most people felt fear and
asked a god of some leader or spirits or magic powers to answer the question as
to what is at the bottom of this precipice. Religions emerged that promised a
relief indicating the existence of a Heaven (if you are good and obey) or
horrible Hell for those who do not ‘believe’ of are ‘sinners’. Therefore, most
people followed a dogma or a system that promised them peace and happiness.
I am now reflecting on the ideas of the Zen
masters. They seem to have the vision of what is at the end by observing in the moment their awareness. The practice is basically sitting and noting the flow of thoughts,
feelings, wants, desires, wishes, etc - we seek happiness. We then discover
that we are sitting at the abyss of illusions and that at the bottom is LIFE –
life as it is. Life is not “over there “ found in some wise god or wise leader
– Life is living in the here and now. Living each moment as we are, using our
senses of seeing, smelling, hearing, touching, tasting, thinking and so on.
Yet, life as most of us experience, is split into two aspects: What is here and
what is over there. That split creates many difficulties. Therefore, sitting at
the edge of the precipice without any understanding what is going on is a life
of troubles that will never go away.
Zen master JOKO teaches the way of
understanding this illusion we all create and how to overcome it:
“Practice is about understanding the razor’s
edge (the precipice) and how to work with it. Always we have an illusion of
being separate, which we have created. When we’re threatened or when life doesn’t,
please us, we start worrying, we start thinking about a possible solution. And
without exception there is no person who doesn’t do this. We dislike being with
life as it is because that can include suffering, and that is not acceptable to
us. Whether it’s a serious illness or a minor criticism or being lonely or
disappointed—that is not acceptable to us. We have no intention of putting up
with that or just being that if we can possibly avoid it. We want to fix the
problem, solve it, get rid of it. That is when we need to understand the
practice of walking the razor’s edge. The point at which we need to understand
it is whenever we begin to be upset (angry, irritated, resentful, jealous).
So, I want to encourage you to understand,
difficult though it may be. First we have to understand with the intellect: we
must know intellectually what practice is. Then we need to develop through
practice an acute awareness of when we are separating ourselves from our life.
The knowing develops from the base of daily zazen, from many sesshins, and with
the effort to remain aware in all encounters from morning till night. Since we
are most unwilling to know about the razor’s edge, this wisdom is not going to
be presented on a platter to us; we must earn it. But if we are patient our
vision will become clearer and then we will see the jewel of that life,
beginning to shine. Of course, the jewel is always shining, but it is invisible
to those who do not know how to see. To see, we must walk the razor’s edge. We
protest, “No! No way! Forget it! It’s a nice title for a book, but I don’t want
it in my life.” Is that true? I think not. Basically, we do want peace and joy.
Beck, Charlotte
Joko: Everyday Zen (pp. 148-149). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.
WISHING ALL
READRES A PEACEFUL XMAS CELEBRATION AND A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR!
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