Seeing the Light

New Eyes

“...I waited a long time and searched
for an authentic translation, as if
anything this far down could
resemble his voice, and as I read
in the sun, the soft breeze
unraveled the tensions of my life
and I fell asleep and heard
the lull of an ageless surf,
and he himself came out of the ocean
and we bobbed beyond the breakers,
hardly saying a word, and he merely
ushered me back into my life...”
Mark Nepo (excerpt from “The Feather Never Lands”)

In his poem, “The Feather Never Lands,” Mark Nepo writes of his dream encounter with the Divine. This dream of being face-to-face with the Source was a turning point in his life. I believe Mark is Buddhist. What is important here is not the WHO of the encounter, but the effect of an encounter with the Holy, and how it changes us forever. In later verses of the poem, he speaks of how we humans go along blindly until such an experience wakes us up.

Jesus' disciples were a good example of this. They scattered like rats from a sinking ship when he was taken for execution. They denied even knowing him. Except for the women, of course—they followed him right to the cross. And even though Jesus had told them repeatedly in as many ways as he could muster that he would be back, that he would arise on the third day, they did not expect the ressurection to actually happen. Instead, they hid away behind locked doors, and didn't believe Mary Magdalene when she told them she had seen Jesus with her own eyes that Sunday morning. Even after spending three years watching Jesus teach and heal and miraculously feed crowds of people, they were mind blind to what it all meant. It took their individual encounters with the risen Christ, to turn them into believers.

Around these Southern parts, people talk about being “saved.” They believe this happens because Jesus “died on the cross for my sins.” I'm glad such belief works for them, but I have to tell you, I don't believe that. I think Jesus was crucified because his spiritual power threatened to up-end the established authority of his time. He stirred people up, broke the religious laws, defied the religious hierarchy, even called them hypocrites and vipers. I think we are “saved” when we meet eye-to-eye with that which is holy and allow it to change our hearts. Suddenly the teachings of the Buddha, or Jesus, or Mohammad, or Martin, or Gandhi, or the Tao click into place inside us, and we have a V-8 moment! Oh, so that's what they meant! I'm supposed to love my enemies, bless those who curse me, walk the four-fold path, be kind to all, respect and not judge! And, now that my heart is open I understand how to live by their teachings. The divine encounter ushers us back into our own lives, only now with new eyes. Eyes that have seen the light.

In the Spirit,
Jane