(For Podcast, TBD. For ITunes version, click here)
We are continuing a series of talks on the book, Living Beautifully, with Uncertainty and Grace.
“The most
fundamental aggression to ourselves, the most fundamental harm we can do to
ourselves, is to remain ignorant by not having the courage and the respect to
look at ourselves honestly and gently.”
Today, we continue, in Chapter 9, to plumb the
depths of understanding of the third
commitment, the samaya vow, which is simply committing to staying with whatever
arises, not looking for the safe way
out, not always choosing the easy option, the old way of coping. It might at first feel like the worst
possible of choices, but then we can begin to realize that this groundlessness
can be our place of peace and calm, the uncertainty can become our reminder to
stay curious and open.
The Third Vow is called the Samaya Vow, which is
described as accepting the world just where it is—it doesn’t mean we don’t take
action, but it does mean that we respond from a place of being fully present in
the moment. Samaya is the Tibetan word
for binding vow or sacred vow.
It struck me that this direct seeing is what the
Samaya Vow is all about—it is a commitment to not look away from those things
that scare us. We practice getting comfortable with a racing
heart and sweaty palms, and ruminating thoughts.
Pema Chodron’s teacher, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche,
was asked what is enlightenment? He
simplied said “it is to experience the sound of the bugle or the smell of
tobacco, as if for the very first time.”
This powerful process of staying present enables
us to use whatever arises as a tool for awakening. He went on to say, “it’s like oatmeal.” You may love it or hate it, so you feel
strongly about getting your share or avoiding it all together, but imagine the
possibility of experiencing oatmeal as just oatmeal—as if for the first
time. That oatmeal could be an
opportunity for enlightenment!
The two books I’m reviewing, Pema’s and Eckhart
Tolle’s A New Earth, have converged on this single point. We are NOT our ego. I encourage you to see the possible truth in this statement: “I am
not my thoughts; I am not my emotions; I am not my sensations. I am beyond all that. I am in the stillness that
arises when consciousness slows down.”
This third commitment is also about being kind
with ourselves and practicing as best we can in each moment. It’s about being so fully present that you
will hear and see and know what needs to be known, so that you can respond in
the most skillful way, so that the future will take care of itself. We practice not being so sure about our
opinions, not so sure about our perception of ourselves or of the world. We
practice not believing everything we think! We practice having a sense of
curiosity about whatever it is that arises.
Pema Chodron even emphasizes that we lean into it, like a scientist
exploring the details of their experiment without a hypothesis, without a
pre-formed conclusion….hmmmm….what is this?
And lastly, we make friends with whatever
arises. We see ourselves in all our
glory and our not-so-glory, and practice a sense of caring and calm that
embraces the reality of the moment, in order to response in the most skillful
way.
So, let’s
just imagine that we can take this samaya vow and practice seeing all things
and all people and all circumstances, all thoughts and all emotions and
feelings as opportunities for enlightenment.
This is not to say that we must put ourselves in harm’s way to practice
enlightenment. What is being said is
that we can use whatever arises as a tool for awakening. We can practice little by little, opening up a
bit more each day or each week or each month or each year—whatever pace seems
right for you.
We work with our mind as best we can, and then
take action with the goal of looking for the good in each and every person we
encounter.
Today, we will practice the silent chant of
Ham-So, going beyond our thoughts, emotions and sensations, to find the
stillness.
We are continuing a series of talks on the book, Living Beautifully, with Uncertainty and Grace.
--- Pema Chodron
Zen master
Dogen said, “To know the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be enlightened by
all things.”
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