Tag: enlightenment

The Lesson of Epiphany.

This morning’s reading included a passage on epiphany – a sudden lifting of self-complexity yielding a brand new awakening.

For some, a single, substinative event – a birth or death resonating so deeply that it forever changes the aperture of our awareness. Our world, once muted, now flourishing with new light and color.

While others experience a far more a gentle shifting – like a flame dancing at the end of a wick, leading to ‘flashes of bliss and clarity’.

“Sooner or later it’s going to happen,” author Andrew Holecek shares. “It might be the very first time you meditate or only after years of dedicated practice, but someday you’re going to have a spiritual experience.”

Indeed, the epiphany – it seems – is inescapable; an unavoidable progression of path. Something intended to break us open, while simultaneously making us whole. The lesson, of course, is to always remember – everything we experience is both a beginning and ending. Infintity reflected in an aspect of one.

Whether we are moved to tears or overwhelmed by an unimpeded sense of wonderment and gratitude – someday, we will be forced to explore the upending of our own personal glory.

In peace, my boundless friends…

Namaste ❣

The Enlightenment Within.

American spiritualist Adyashanti writes, “enlightenment is a destructive process…a crumbling away of untruth.”

Though, in that process we expect something grande – to feel that ages old shell finally yielding.

But the truth is our awakening is quite ordinary. As we release the burden of our clinging, our hearts begin to rest as the senses open. In this way, the reference of experience deepens.

We see through our pretense and into that which is extraordinary.

“As I often tell my students,” he writes, “the person you’ll have the hardest time opening to and truly loving without reserve is yourself. Once you can do that, you can love the whole universe unconditionally.”

This is our liberation, my loves. This is our freedom. For it is only through the mind’s eye that we may finally connect to spirit.

And, reminding us that enlightenment has been here all along.

A little something to consider on this beautiful blessing of day.

In peace,

Namaste ❤️

A Buddhist’s Awakening: The Story of the Moon Upon a Single Blade of Grass.

[blockquote source=”Dōgen Zenji”]”Enlightenment is like the moon reflected on the water. The moon does not get wet, nor is the water broken. Although its light is wide and great, the moon is reflected even in a puddle an inch wide. The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in dewdrops on the grass, or even in one drop of water.

Enlightenment does not divide you, just as the moon does not break the water. You cannot hinder enlightenment, just as a drop of water does not hinder the moon in the sky.”[/blockquote]

Perhaps, one of my most favorite passages from the Genjo Koan, one which speaks directly to the very nature of enlightenment.

That is to say, at any given moment in time – we are both a reflection of the entirety of this universe, and yet still our essence is unchanged. Like the dew drop, we are enhanced by the gloriousness of the moon, enriched by the striking beauty which pierces the evening sky.

But, never once do we attempt to become the moon – rather, we are somehow ‘greater’ as a result of having experienced it.

An awareness such as this is effortless once the obstruction of ego is removed.

[blockquote source=”Unknown”]“If you succeed in freeing the moon hidden inside you, it will light-up the sky and he earth, and its light will chase away all the shadows of the universe. If you realize that one thing, you will understand everything. You and all will be as one.”[/blockquote]

Can you feel its simplicity? This gentle reflection which neither impacts, nor modifies all that is pulled into view?

And, allowing us to become ‘one’ with the limitlessness of our experiences.

In peace, love and equanimity, my dears – and on this day, I wish you all of the blessings contained in a single moment of ‘waking up.’

 

How Long Do You Wait for the Flower to Grow?

“Our life is an endless journey: the practice of meditation allows us to experience all the textures of the roadway, which is what the journey is all about.” – Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

It seems rather easy, doesn’t it?

Sitting alone on our meditation pillow with only our thoughts to accompany us. We view it as a catalyst to deepened awareness, a means to discover our place within the vastness of this world.

It’s intended to liberate; to help us disentangle ego from our current ‘view.’ But, sit for longer than 10 minutes on that pillow ~ and, we begin to feel an overwhelming urge to run.

Enlightenment isn’t easy. There’s no light bulb that goes off, no ‘earth shattering kaboom.’ It’s a slow and gradual, transformative process ~ and one, in which we must move at our very own pace.

Why, even Prince Siddhartha sat in meditation for 49 days before he reached enlightenment.

As for me? I struggle to make it past 20 minutes…

So, why is it so darned difficult?

According to Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, the idea of meditation is ‘really about changing our perception of the world.’

And, that can be a terrifying experience – to relinquish our ‘truths.’ We feel we may be changed by the experience, perhaps even fearful. We equate the act of letting go with the suffering of loss.

None of us thinks, “Maybe I’m going to be totally different. Maybe my process of engaging the world will be so different I won’t even recognize myself.”

Perhaps a silly analogy, but I like to think of meditation as the literal act of opening a door – as, we never quite know waits for us on the other side.

Behind one door, there could exist a spa-like oasis…

And, on the other?

The absolute disaster my daughter refers to as her ‘thinking zone.’

sigh…note to clean my daughter’s bedroom.

But, as shocking as the latter may seem ~ you can’t just force your way in, to simply toss everything out. As difficult as it may be to see through the piles of unfolded laundry…the stacks of papers strewn about the floor…the half-eaten bean burrito…

oh, what a mess….

We must trust that the clutter can never diminish the value of the treasure waiting to be found.

As beloved Buddhist nun Pema Chodron would say,

“Meditation practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It’s about befriending who we are already. The ground of practice is you or me or whoever we are right now, just as we are. That’s the ground, that’s what we study, that’s what we come to know with tremendous curiosity and interest.”

Sitting alone on our meditation pillow? Easy.

Developing an unconditional friendship with ourselves and the world around us? Not so easy.

There is a famous Zen saying, about change – that it is much like taking a flower, and holding it next to a rock.

Hopefully, the flower will take root and flourish. But that, my dears, must happen in its own time. Our minds are very much like the rock, and awareness…is the most beautiful flower.

The question then becomes…

How long do you wait for the flower to grow?