In the deepest forms of insight we see that things change so quickly that we can’t hold onto anything,
and eventually the mind lets go of clinging.
Letting go brings equanimity. The greater the letting go, the deeper the equanimity.
In practice we work to expand the range of life experiences in which we are free.
U Pandita
photo brookie
In our meditation and insightful understanding of the way things are, we see that beauty, refinement, pleasure are impermanent conditions — as well as pain, misery and ugliness. If you really understand that, then you can enjoy and endure whatever happens to you. Actually, much of the lesson in life is learning to endure what we don’t like in ourselves and in the world around us; being able to be patient and kindly, and not make a scene over the imperfections in the sensory experience. We can adapt and endure and accept the changing characteristics of the sensory birth and death cycle by letting go and no longer attaching to it. When we free ourselves from identity with it, we experience our true nature, which is bright, clear, knowing; but is not a personal thing anymore, it is not ’me’ or ‘mine’.
Ajahn Sumedho, Mindfulness, the Path to the Deathless
I was once told that certain spiritual masters in Tibet used to set their teacups upside down before they went to bed each night as a reminder that all life was impermanent. And then, when they awoke each morning, they turned their teacups right side up again with the happy thought, ‘I’m still here!’ This simple gesture was a wonderful reminder to celebrate every moment of the day.
Susan Jeffers, Embracing Uncertainty
When the stories of our life no longer bind us, we discover within them something greater. We discover that within the very limitations of form, of our maleness and femaleness, of our parenthood and our childhood, of gravity on the earth and the changing of the seasons, is the freedom and harmony we have sought for so long. Our individual life is an expression of the whole mystery, and in it we can rest in the center of the movement, the center of all worlds
Jack Kornfield, A Path With Heart
These are the first days of autumn, my favourite season. This has been a good Summer in Ireland, and the leaves are very slow to reflect a change of atmosphere. However, inevitably, the seasons evolve and have their own rhythm, with periods of growth and periods of rest. As John O Donohue’s quote yesterday suggests, there is something in our being that is linked to the changes in nature. We can instinctively feel that all things change. That gives birth to the understanding that there is only suffering to be had when we try to hold onto things, like the long days of summer, or elements of life that have passed. However, I realize how much I like permanence and continualy rehearse a story of a solid, single identity. So I will try and walk in nature and learn that, like the seasons, I too change, things come and go in my life. Nature lets go and moves on. So should we. We all have need for different tempos in our lives.
In contrast to our frenetic, saturated lives, the earth offers a calming stillness. Movement and growth in nature takes its time. The patience of nature enjoys the ease of trust and hope. There is something in our clay nature that needs to continually experience this ancient, outer ease of the world. It helps us remember who we are and why we are here.
John O’Donohue, Beauty: The Invisible Embrace
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