Verses1
Good reasons for choosing
So it’s not as good as
Because of attachment and rejection
harmony with the Way is lost.
The dualistic nature of our perception conditions our experience of reality. An untrained mind continually divides the world into categories of opposites.: good and bad, me and the others, pleasure and pain… This unconscious way of acting, it disconnects us from reality as it is, distorting it with our mental projections.
Losing touch with reality, we move away from the state of harmony with the environment and with ourselves. This forgetfulness causes a sense of separation and lack, which manifests itself as a constant internal restlessness. This dissatisfaction, that is at the root of our suffering, It is not always easy to recognize because it is rooted in actions and habits formed by past experiences.. Our personal history shapes how we experience this lack: For some it may appear as anxiety, for others as a relentless pursuit of achievement and for others most likely as a feeling of emptiness., of lack, that we are missing something.
Since this dissatisfaction is part of our conditioned being, We tend to develop defense mechanisms that prevent us from fully recognizing it.. These mechanisms include external distractions (various entertainments, overwork, consumerism, addictions) and emotional barriers (denial, projections). All of this causes us suffering so deep that it operates on an unconscious level., but that manifests itself in our thoughts, everyday emotions and behaviors without us being able to clearly recognize them.
So one of the main tasks for those of us who seek the realization of the Way of the Buddha is to identify this dissatisfaction, with the suffering that it causes us, and recognize it as an inherent part of conditioned human existence. Our task is not simply to get rid of this suffering, hide or deny it, inner work with this sense of lack requires deep acceptance, an honest recognition and not a fight to reject or suppress any aspect related to it. Once we become aware of these states, We must do it with the greatest possible equanimity, observe our experiences without being carried away by them, without identifying ourselves and without rejecting absolutely anything.
Instead of rejecting this dissatisfaction, the practitioner of the Way observes it, accepts her and hugs her, allowing it to be transmuted, naturally, without intentionally intervening. This attitude is in itself profoundly transformative.. In our practice, It is through recognition, acceptance and equanimity that we can release suffering and find a state of calm and harmony with the Way, with the Cosmos, with reality as it is.
This state of equanimous acceptance should not be confused with passivity., quite the opposite, It is an active and profound task of self-knowledge that requires a great development of mindfulness and compassion towards oneself and others.. Naturally, without violating or forcing anything at all, walking step by step towards a fuller and more harmonious life, in connection with the totality of existence.
- From the work Xìn Xīn Míng Song to the Heart of Trust,
of the third Chan ancestor Jianzhi Sengcan.
Translation and comments by Dokushô Villalba.
Editions i, 2008. [↩]