Freedom
Within
“Do
not permit the events of your daily lives to bind you, but never
withdraw from them. Only by acting thus can you earn the title of 'A
liberated One'.”
Huang
Po
My
friend, Harry, and I have had many conversations about this question:
How can one carry the calm, clear mind of meditation into the
boisterous and cacophonous events of daily life? How can we maintain
quiet heart and centered spirit while everything around us is moving
and changing. How can we live through a week like this week and not
lose faith? Life is not for the faint of heart.
Simply
ignoring the events of the week—from the bombs at the marathon, to
the explosion in Texas, to poison letters to our leaders—will not
result in serenity. We will probably wait for the other shoe to
drop for some time. And that is the purpose of terrorism, domestic or
otherwise. It renders the population jittery and paranoid, watchful,
expecting more harm.
We,
Americans, have gotten pretty good at stepping up when tragedy occurs
anywhere. I remember the hordes of folks who came to our aid when
tornadoes ripped through Alabama. The same was true for devastated
New Orleans, and the New York and New Jersey shores, and of course,
at Sandy Hook. We don't run the other way; we move in and care for
one another. But in the midst of confusion, keeping our own calm is
difficult.
That
is the challenge of all who meditate. If you feel free only when you
are sitting in meditation or prayer, you're not free at all. Freedom
does not result from turning your back on your responsibilities, or
withdrawing from engagement in life. In fact, the way to create that
sense of freedom outside meditation, is being fully present in the
moment, regardless of what you are doing. In the words of Ram Dass,
“Don't make meditation a cop-out from life.”
The
feeling of serenity is extended when we lose self-awareness in
engagement. When we are so fully mindful in the moment that we are
not thinking about ourselves, not referencing back to our own
interests, we are creating within us the same mind we feel in
meditation. The mind is quiet, and occupied. It is not
distracted...it is free.
In
the spirit,
Jane
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