interbeing
we all paddle around
on the ocean of pratityasamutpada
some reading from texts
others meditating
still others painfully unaware and in denial
that all of us coincide with and impact each other
there is no day without night
no long without short
no this without that
no "I" without "you"
no death without birth
no seeing without eyes
no hearing without ears
reality only confirms your concepts in as much as your delusions are strongly fixed
waves in the ocean of reality
we imagine ourselves to not be made of water
we fantasize that we are self-contained and separate little islands
(little fantasy islands)
since no man is an island
no "wave" is really separate from any other wave
it is even absurd to point out this basic fact
fools dream up heaven and hell, nirvana and samsara
and seek ways to trade existence for something imagined
escape is impossible
for when does a wave stop being water?
we fools think about "to be or not to be"
or we imagine "I think therefore I am"
forgetful of nature,
our minds' radiant clear awareness clouded over with conditional garbage and emotionally transmitted disease
the difference between the wise and the fools:
the wise know we are fooling around
the fools think our games are of great import
how does a "wave" become liberated, awakened, or [insert your favorite spiritual terms here]?
anamnesia!
in the mean time, while you are learning to remember,
a little kindness goes a long way
the central path of contingent reality
is experienced directly in kindness
our true measure is in our relationships
though you may think you must get this or that and accomplish this or that
though you would rather live one hundred years as opposed to one year
at the moment of death it matters little how long your "past" was
since it is all a quickly forgotten memory
much like waking from a dream in the morning
so you had best live in the moment, no matter the moment,
neither the past nor the future give this moment any meaning
nothing can add to or take away from this moment
the dysfunction and forgetfulness is simply your projection
when we "waves" stop trying to reify ourselves as separate little knots of delusion
(a futile endeavor regardless of what you believe in)
we may experience that ignored truth about "the kingdom of heaven" being in our hearts
(wherever those "hearts" are)
when we experience clearly this ocean of existence
we can be of some use in alleviating suffering
and in finding the root of happiness
the trance of identity, of identifying,
is our greatest addiction
and society, culture, and each other -
we enable the whole mess
simply
we are afraid of living life outside of the cocoons we have built up around ourselves
we see the "waves" while choosing blindness towards the ocean and forgetfulness about water
but our being distracted is only another part of the dancing water
there is no delusion without clarity
no ignorance without wakefulness
no spirituality without doubt
no fear without hope
no kindness without others
- at least in a conventional sense
as for unconventional senses or experience
you already have that ground to stand on
so long as you remember the ground is groundless
and identity is a contingency, a coincidence of interacting conditions
all concoctions, compositions, aggregates,
all of these are in constant flux while conditioning further phenomena
rising and falling
merging, dissolving, becoming
transcending, growing
if you want to find your "soul"
look at the entirety of this endless change and inter-relationship
and you will snap suddenly into remembering.
anamnesia!
"we" cannot be without each other
"I" doesn't exist without "you," "she", or "he", or even "it"
if the "soul" isn't found in this relationship,
it doesn't exist.
(December 14th, 2006)