What We Do?

What We Do?

When we are detached, it is easier to practice kindness consistently. When we are attached, it is harder to practice kindness consistently.

When we say detached, we do not mean disassociated. We mean we are autonomous and fully engaged as selfless kindness.

When we say attached, we do not mean interdependent. We mean we are clingy and needy in a self-oriented way.

Perhaps you have always been a sensitive spiritual being but have experienced life in a society whose center of psychic gravity is disassociation and attachment. It is strange to think that disassociation can go with anything but it goes with nearly anything pathological. And if you are naturally detached, autonomous and fully engaged as selfless kindness, life within such a developmentally arrested society can be absolutely life-taking. What to do?

One reason the spiritual journey has been so difficult for so many sensitive people throughout history is precisely because of ubiquitous social attachment and disassociation. Radically reduce these negative conditions, and many Buddha would arise without much difficulty.

So, how do we manifest the Buddhas within us, the Buddhas we really are naturally, despite our largely unenlightened societies and families?

What we need to do is transform attachment into detachment, as well as clinging into autonomy. It is very difficult.

It is very difficult because we almost always have to do this completely alone, through a process of trail-and-error, and without any role models outside of books and stories by or about the masters. Walking into the zendos, you will see many hungry ghosts. Walking into the churches, you will see many hungry ghosts. Walking into the temples, you will see many hungry ghosts. Walking into the synagogues, you will see many hungry ghosts. It’s ubiquitous.

Disassociation and attachment being ubiquitous, we must first accept the reality of our aloneness on our spiritual journey. Seeing this reality as it is, this is actually our first lesson in detachment. The seed of detachment being watered within us through our awareness of things as it is.

So, at first we say, “I am completely alone except for the spiritual icons within me.” This is a very difficult thing to admit and do because we want tangible icons around us, not insubstantial icons as ideas. Yes? So, we are very alone except for abstract thoughts at this stage of our journey.

Internalizing our aloneness, allowing ourselves to deeply feel it, we unexpectedly start meeting the Buddha within us … the one we buried long ago in our innocence simply because s(he) was so devastatingly alone. Remember?

Seeing our pure nature as the potential it was, it radically starts growing once again but there are still things that interfere. At this point, if we are lucky, we find vehicles of transformation and healing. These vehicles can be such things as … psychological regression, gestalt, meditation, mindfulness, exercise, nutrition, and various other practices. Over time, we develop a complex of practices that form a single evolving practice.

The acid test of our level of development is kindness. This entails not only expressing kindness but also deeply feeling it. As we progress, kindness increases. This is another difficult thing to admit and accomplish.

Growing in aloneness, autonomy, and detachment, our loneliness diminishes because of growing autonomy and detachment. And rather than internally and externally seeking a master or teacher, we become the icon itself as something containing what it is pointing to – suchness: emptiness beholding and knowing its non-self.

This entire journey to enlightenment is strange because through most of it we are blind while seeing. Also, we seek and too often grovel to externally acquire what has always been there from the beginning as our self-non-self: sacred heart-Mind.

Slowly removing the barriers around us and the rubble within us, we evolve rather effortlessly, and transformation takes place as a series of mindfully and slowly acquired quantum leaps.

To arrive at kindness, we must also arrive at happiness, deep happiness – happiness that is there regardless of good or bad conditions.

Monk Bob recently wrote about sun-faced Buddha; moon-faced Buddha. We can think of sun-faced Buddha as being long-lived, healthy, and not burdened, and we can think of moon-faced-Buddha as being short-lived, unhealthy, and burdened, but both of them are Buddha and as such can be happy on a depth level independent of conditions. Happy sun-faced Buddha and happy moon-faced Buddha is one non-thing as active detachment and autonomy.

There is much confusion about what a master is. We have been conditioned to think that a good maser acquires many disciples and students. I no longer think this. I feel a good master nurtures many masters. There is a single line entering a door in the master’s room and leaving through another door at the same time.

To produce disciples, to produce followers – how life-taking!

Embracing our aloneness, deeply feeling it – now we are on the Journey! Subtracting, subtracting – taking away the rubble – autonomy and detachment arise. Practicing kindness – happiness is. Happiness is; icon is. Icon is – behold the master!

Much love to all of you!

Silent Temple