Having chewed on the great big questions in different ways for as long as I can remember, I've noticed some things about how answers (or, if you like, helpful insights) tend to reveal themselves. Two things Ive learned are Everything Is a teaching. Nothing Never Happens. My husband, a Buddhist, would argue that Nothing Happens. I know, I know, its all an illusion, but until we understand that fully, in the meantime most of us tend to ignore, forget, or discount whats right in front of our noses. From that perspective, its helpful to me to remember that Something is always happening, that its intended for my spiritual education, and that I learn more by paying close attention. If we do nothing else but adopt an asking attitude, waking and sleeping, great value will come of it. If we acknowledge that Everything Is a Teaching, if we inquire into our experiences, then whether or not we would describe them as spiritual, the very moments of our lives will lead usone by one, now by nowinto the heart of wisdom. I learned this by following the urgings of my meditation teacher. Now I realize that paying this kind of inner attention, asking the great big questions, chewing on them day in and day out, is a fundamental expression of our humanity. Why Nothing Never Happens The reason why nothing never happens is that even when nothing is happening, if you look deeply into that nothing youll always find something. The refusal to believe that nothing is nothingthe insistence that nothing never happensis the heart of all contemplative inquiry, the springboard for ecstatic spiritual experience. This nothing is the ground of all true knowledge. We would all do contemplative inquiry naturally, I think, except that (at least in the West) were taught from an early age to ignore our inner promptings, these leanings toward the Divine. We fear that if we follow where these inner mysteries lead, we may lose the love of our family and friends, we risk becoming an irresponsible citizen of the world, or worse, we may somehow go irretrievably crazy. For most of us (though I can really only speak for myself) this kind of letting go into the moment comes only after we meet a worthy spiritual mentor, one who has traveled much further along the spiritual path than we have. Such mentors assure us that the path is safe, that at our core essence we are unassailable, even eternal. They assure us that if we pay ever closer attention to the still, small voice within, our steps will be guided. Better yet, our mentors promise well discover the secret of real happinessthe kind that makes the poorest monks and priests and sadhus rich with laughter and light that dances in their eyes, the kind of happiness that seizes your heart and changes your life. |
