The other day, after coming out of meditation, I randomly opened a favorite book of mine. The book is “Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living,” by Pema Chodron. It addresses 59 Buddhist slogans that make up the lojong mind training teachings, and I just happened to open to page 19.
“Self-liberate even the antidote.”
To explain the meaning of this requires reading what came before, so I’ll jump right to the part that grabbed my attention. “There was a crazy-wisdom teacher in India named Saraha,” Pema writes. “He said that those who believe that everything is solid and real are stupid like cattle, but that those who believe that everything is empty are even more stupid. Everything is changing all the time, and we keep wanting to pin it down, to fix it. So whenever you come up with a solid conclusion, let the rug be pulled out. You can pull out your own rug, and you can also let life pull it out for you.”
It’s about actively accepting and even courting change.
“This is how we begin to wake up to our innate ability to let go, to reconnect with shunyata, or absolute bodhicitta," says Pema. "... this is how we awaken our compassion, our heart, our innate softness, relative bodhichitta.”
The analogy of the rug reminds me of the “rude awakening” I wrote about in a previous blog. One day I thought I had things figured out. Then the rug was pulled out from under me. But this time, instead of struggling to keep the rug from moving, I let go. And the rug took off with me onboard, like a magic carpet ride.
I've landed in a very nice place.
"Toto, it doesn't look like we're in Kansas anymore..."
I like it here. But I know it won't last. And that's okay. If we can just remember that ALL our rugs will eventually be yanked, we can give up trying to prevent it from happening. We can relax and enjoy the ride. No matter how bumpy, it's still a safer place to be. As I said in my “rude awakening” blog, “It’s like climbing to the top of a very beautiful, high cliff, opening my arms wide, and feeling completely safe because I’ve already fallen and survived.”
Oh, and by the way. If no one has knocked you off balance lately, you can do it yourself. “One way to pull your own rug is by just letting go, lightening up, being more gentle, and not making such a big deal,” says Pema.
In other words, knock yourself out.
Posted by at December 16, 2005 03:54 PM