Alexandra
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Yes, isn’t it amazing to think of all those who came before us and how many did not survive and how lucky and random it is that we were born at all. It is overwhelming to think about. thank you.
Our circle group has been studying the lojong slogans and I really enjoy listening to Norman Fisher’s book about them. I didn’t know about Green Gulch or that he was a teacher there. I’d love to go someday. thank you.
My inspiration and lineage draw from activists, writers and songwriters, those who have suffered and been harmed and become shining lights of moral clarity and dignity. Frida Khalo, Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, Barbara Kingsolver to name just a few. Journalists bearing witness and the First Amendment itself; Archbishop Oscar Romero, MLK, Ghandi, those who conquered their fear to stand up for justice and peace and other beings, and my own teachers who I have encountered at various stages on the Buddhist path and the path to sanity. And the lineage of women in my family: my cousins, mother, aunts, and grandmother, Rebecca, the matriarch of our family, and the oldest living relative I’ve known.
thank you for your words. Learning to take comfort in not knowing – yes! when it feels like the opposite should be true.
Powerful experiences indeed. I love your term “celestial math.” So true. Same with meditation. When I sit, I try to think about the people meditating all around the world at the same time.
I was raised in an atheist/agnostic family – no one talked much about God or religion, but I went to an Episcopalian school. I don’t think I’ve ever had a personal relationship with a God of an established religion. I grew up around some religious people, but I’d say the overriding culture (in Washington DC) was facts, science, information – those kinds of truths.
So, it’s hard for me to talk about ‘God’ outside the frame of the established religions which look untrustworthy, abusive and divisive to me (Catholic priests, indigenous boarding schools, etc). I haven’t had a personal relationship with a “God,” but I do have the feeling of being judged, a strong sense of good and bad, morality and ethics. But judged by who? I am not sure. I understand why people would turn to God and eternalism to feel less alone in the world, to make it all make sense, to have a framework to live by. I have empathy for that. But I have not been drawn in that direction.
They say “God works in mysterious ways.” But is it God or is it just impermanence and perhaps karma? Many athletes credit God when they win. Do they blame God when they lose? Does God prefer one team over another? I can’t make sense of this.
Grief and sadness and numbness feel like nihilistic feelings: Nothing matters, there’s no point to any of this. It would be depressing to live a life without surprises, mysteries, sunsets and sunrises. I have experienced so much magic and beauty in nature. It sounds like for nihilists, magic is a bug, not a feature.
There is such a huge universe we know so little about. I can’t imagine there being nothing greater than a mind, especially when we know there are so many addled minds. It is challenging to question our own beliefs. But it does make sense to me that they are obstacles, and that the only thing we can ever be sure about is what is in front of us in the present moment right now.Thank you for your description of the detailed instructions that allow us to “relax into the container.” So true, and very helpful!
I’m with you! “Exploration not expectation” has been a mantra for me ever since I heard it. So helpful on so many levels of life.
In my family and work life, knowing the right answers/information was and is very important. When I realized some years ago that it was okay not “to know,” it was a big learning for me, and a huge relief. Moreover, I am more comfortable “knowing” from a place other than my mind. I loved the instruction “do not take refuge in your own knowledge.” I think this is so important. This path is about helping everyone connect with their own wakefulness. So I think it has nothing to do with teaching anyone what is in our own minds, and certainly not our opinions.
So, to me, supporting discovery means: Explaining the meditation technique clearly and simply, while doing it myself, including some helpful tips/imagery, and beginning and ending the practice clearly and with intention (ring the bell, make offerings/request blessings, dedicate the merit). This is creating the container for discovery. Then, when it comes to questions, giving the student my full attention and presence, listening to their questions and trying to assist them to answer their questions for themselves.
