Saying Enough!
By Sean Weaver
Stillness cultivates clarity. When we are clear we can see our inter-being vividly. We identify with suffering. We identify with the causes of suffering. Not because we are merely connected to suffering and its causes but because we are these. In this interconnected world there are no solid or fixed boundaries. There is no separation at all – never has been, never will be. When we take away our name, achievements, and reputation we are left with something much vaster than we could ever imagine or conceptualize. That is why we cannot know our true nature. But we can experience it, realize it.
In this experience of thorough interconnectedness, compassion naturally arises. When we identify with suffering we are compelled to act to alleviate it. This is an invisible drive (Bodhichitta) that takes up residence when we cultivate clarity from stillness. Then we act. In this action we make compassion real. We realize compassion only when we act upon a compassionate impulse. The more we clarify, the more we are compelled to act. In this realization of compassionate action we realize our true nature because it is our true nature to act compassionately. This is an act of enlightenment. Enlightenment practice. Just as sitting meditation is enlightenment practice. It is not something to wait for in some distant future. It is something to practice right now. It is incredibly accessible.
A central motif in Zen is an image of two arrows meeting in mid air – one is great stillness, the other great action. They meet in the explosion of the present moment intertwining as to become indistinguishable in the great reconciliation of opposites that we sometimes call the Buddha Tao. When there is not enough stillness these two arrows are out of balance. When there is too much stillness these two arrows are out of balance.
Bursting with enthusiasm we bring forth the mind of our truest self. In this explosion of the now we act to look after the place. We make mistakes, we feel anguish, we fall into conflict, we suffer too. But we also apply our training.
To be free from anxiety is to give it our full attention. To be liberated by mistakes is to embrace our mistakes openly and fully. To be thrown into unexpected conflict is a great opportunity to practice in the lion’s mouth. “I accept this situation is real. I am grateful for the teaching it brings, and I forgive its causes openly and fully”.
What teaching do we gain from our mistakes, from conflict? One: the full and intimate experience of anguish as a physical sensation of body, stripped of any narrative. We breathe into this sensation, and feel its texture, its edges. This is a Dharma Gate – an opportunity for experiencing our true nature and to pass freely through the Gateless Barrier of enlightenment because it was never there in the first place. Two: we can ponder the underlying causes of the situation and consider how we can shift those underlying conditions. Three: we reflect on what we would do differently next time. Four: we feel gratitude for the learning and self-growth opportunity presented by this episode and its aftermath. In this sense of gratitude we relocate our enthusiasm and drive to continue with wild abandon.
In conflict we notice that it is a conflict. Take four deep breaths. Notice the sounds, the colour of the sky. In this gap that we create with mindfulness we regain our clarity and then choose how to act rather than let the autopilot of a fight or flight reaction take over. We can transcend this natural fight or flight programming and recruit ourselves into a more advanced form of human nature by remaining open and listening intimately to the sounds of conflict. We offer a free shot to the voice of criticism, insult or abuse. We rummage through the quarry of criticism to find and accept gems of great value to us and our endeavor. We are enough just as we are, right here, right now, and need not defend this “enoughness” because there is nothing to defend. This gives us the emotional energy to remain compassionate with our opponents, and not see them as enemies but as valued and respected parts of our great community.
Beyond our name, reputation, achievements we are much vaster than this little defensive self. We include the blue of the sky and it is not defensive. We include the weight of the mountain and it is not defensive. It is. We are. We are also the criticism that is flung at us. This too is nothing but our true nature presenting itself to us in this form and presenting to us an opportunity to crack open our heart-minds into the mystic. We can be grateful for this opportunity to be all-weather practitioners of kindness. This is the territory of mastery. This is where black belts get worn. When the going is easy, sitting beside a tranquil river alone in the vastness, it is easier to gather a sense of clarity. This is important work. When we carry this sense of clarity and ease into the raging torrent of conflict - then we have stillness in action – then we have recruited ourselves into mastery and become a stream entrant, surfing the natural energies of human drama. So we are not afraid of such encounters, because we are not afraid of our true self.
© Sean Weaver
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In this experience of thorough interconnectedness, compassion naturally arises. When we identify with suffering we are compelled to act to alleviate it. This is an invisible drive (Bodhichitta) that takes up residence when we cultivate clarity from stillness. Then we act. In this action we make compassion real. We realize compassion only when we act upon a compassionate impulse. The more we clarify, the more we are compelled to act. In this realization of compassionate action we realize our true nature because it is our true nature to act compassionately. This is an act of enlightenment. Enlightenment practice. Just as sitting meditation is enlightenment practice. It is not something to wait for in some distant future. It is something to practice right now. It is incredibly accessible.
A central motif in Zen is an image of two arrows meeting in mid air – one is great stillness, the other great action. They meet in the explosion of the present moment intertwining as to become indistinguishable in the great reconciliation of opposites that we sometimes call the Buddha Tao. When there is not enough stillness these two arrows are out of balance. When there is too much stillness these two arrows are out of balance.
Bursting with enthusiasm we bring forth the mind of our truest self. In this explosion of the now we act to look after the place. We make mistakes, we feel anguish, we fall into conflict, we suffer too. But we also apply our training.
To be free from anxiety is to give it our full attention. To be liberated by mistakes is to embrace our mistakes openly and fully. To be thrown into unexpected conflict is a great opportunity to practice in the lion’s mouth. “I accept this situation is real. I am grateful for the teaching it brings, and I forgive its causes openly and fully”.
What teaching do we gain from our mistakes, from conflict? One: the full and intimate experience of anguish as a physical sensation of body, stripped of any narrative. We breathe into this sensation, and feel its texture, its edges. This is a Dharma Gate – an opportunity for experiencing our true nature and to pass freely through the Gateless Barrier of enlightenment because it was never there in the first place. Two: we can ponder the underlying causes of the situation and consider how we can shift those underlying conditions. Three: we reflect on what we would do differently next time. Four: we feel gratitude for the learning and self-growth opportunity presented by this episode and its aftermath. In this sense of gratitude we relocate our enthusiasm and drive to continue with wild abandon.
In conflict we notice that it is a conflict. Take four deep breaths. Notice the sounds, the colour of the sky. In this gap that we create with mindfulness we regain our clarity and then choose how to act rather than let the autopilot of a fight or flight reaction take over. We can transcend this natural fight or flight programming and recruit ourselves into a more advanced form of human nature by remaining open and listening intimately to the sounds of conflict. We offer a free shot to the voice of criticism, insult or abuse. We rummage through the quarry of criticism to find and accept gems of great value to us and our endeavor. We are enough just as we are, right here, right now, and need not defend this “enoughness” because there is nothing to defend. This gives us the emotional energy to remain compassionate with our opponents, and not see them as enemies but as valued and respected parts of our great community.
Beyond our name, reputation, achievements we are much vaster than this little defensive self. We include the blue of the sky and it is not defensive. We include the weight of the mountain and it is not defensive. It is. We are. We are also the criticism that is flung at us. This too is nothing but our true nature presenting itself to us in this form and presenting to us an opportunity to crack open our heart-minds into the mystic. We can be grateful for this opportunity to be all-weather practitioners of kindness. This is the territory of mastery. This is where black belts get worn. When the going is easy, sitting beside a tranquil river alone in the vastness, it is easier to gather a sense of clarity. This is important work. When we carry this sense of clarity and ease into the raging torrent of conflict - then we have stillness in action – then we have recruited ourselves into mastery and become a stream entrant, surfing the natural energies of human drama. So we are not afraid of such encounters, because we are not afraid of our true self.
© Sean Weaver
Back to Articles List