Now and then it is good
to pause in our pursuit of happiness
and simply be happy,
[De temps en temps il est bon de faire une pause dans notre quête du bonheur et simplement être heureux]
Guillaume Appolinaire, 1880 – 1918
Year: 2017
What cows do you need to let go of?
The area where I live, south Kildare, has some of the finest pasture land in Ireland and it is a lovely place for a walk at the weekend. So it is easy to be reminded of this old story about cows, retold here by Thich Nhat Hanh. Like all parables it can speak to us in different ways at different moments in our lives.
Today it reminds me that I should stop trying to hold onto my idea of what life should be like, and instead move towards what life actually is like.
This can become a simple daily practice – we can repeat the words “let go” – letting go of what we think we need for happiness and the external conditions we believe must be fulfilled in order for happiness to come.
Hopefully it may speak to you in some way today
One day the Buddha was sitting in the forest with some monks when a farmer approached them. The farmer said, “Venerable monks, did you see my cows come by? I have a dozen cows and they all ran away. On top of that I have five acres of sesame plants and this year the insects ate them all up. I think I am going to kill myself. It isn’t possible to live like this” The Buddha felt a lot of compassion toward the farmer. He said “My friend, I am sorry, we did not see your cows come this way”.
When the farmer had gone, the Buddha turned to his monks and said “My friends, Do you know why you are happy? Because you have no cows to lose”
I would like to say the same to you. If you have some cows you have to identify them. You think they are essential to your happiness, but if you practice deep looking, you will see that it is not these cows that have brought about your happiness. The secret of happiness is being able to let go of your cows. You must have the courage to practice letting go.
Thich Nhat Hanh, You are Here
Not trying to get somewhere
The physical universe is basically playful. There is no necessity for it whatsoever. It isn’t going anywhere. That is to say, it doesn’t have some destination that it ought to arrive at. It is best understood by the analogy with music. Because music, as an art form is essentially playful. We say, “You play the piano” You don’t work the piano.
Why? Music differs from say, travel. When you travel you are trying to get somewhere. In music, though, one doesn’t make the end of the composition. The point of the composition. If that were so, the best conductors would be those who played fastest. And there would be composers who only wrote finales.… Same way with dancing. You don’t aim at a particular spot in the room because that’s where you will arrive. The whole point of the dancing is the dance.
If we thought of life by analogy with a journey, with a pilgrimage, which had a serious purpose at that end, and the thing was to get to that thing at that end. Success, or whatever it is, or maybe heaven after you’re dead.
But we missed the point the whole way along.
It was a musical thing, and you were supposed to sing or to dance while the music was being played.
Alan Watts
A bigger container
Wordsworth invited his readers to abandon their usual perspective and to consider for a time how the world might look through other eyes, to shuttle between the human and the natural perspective.
Why might this be interesting, or even inspiring?
Perhaps because unhappiness can stem from only having one perspective to play with.
Alain de Botton, The Art of Travel
Being able to hold
Learn the alchemy which true human beings know:
The moment you accept the troubles you have been given
the door will open.
Rumi
Happy where you are
If you know that – fundamentally –
there is nothing to seek,
you have settled your affairs.
Rinzai Gigen, died 866
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