No finish line. No formula. No method. No path. No guru. No doctrine. No elaborate practices. No conceptual framework. Stripped, naked, and alone. How beautiful. What a relief!
Yes, this all deeply resonates as the essence of spiritual teachings. And...I wonder if there are other parents of young kids reading this, and what their reactions are. The great accomplishment seems to be living this in the midst of all that is evoked in inhabiting the parenting role, and intending to do so with presence, love, attunement...and navigating all of the ways one's heart/being can be suddenly tugged in various ways, often with less conscious understandings about the why... This is the reflection that arises. Thank you Joan.
I'm not a parent, although I took care of a number of children in years past, so you didn't really ask for my response. But I'll tell you that I see parenting as the most important job there is and certainly one of the most challenging, and I bow deeply to everyone who is engaged in that work. One of my Zen teachers, Charlotte Joko Beck, raised 3 or 4 children (I forget how many) as a single mother, while working in a busy office, and that was her idea of real Zen practice. And I think all the teachers I worked with had children (sometimes grown) and often grandchildren. Children are great teachers. And they need many things that the awakening journey may in some respects later dissolve, such as boundaries, discipline, a sense of right and wrong, and so on, and that can be confusing sometimes to people on a nondual pathless path, but it needn't be. And as they grow up and become independent, they need to make their own mistakes and fail at times and find their own recovery, which is a great challenge for parents, to watch them suffer and not be able to save them from the pains of life. So I bow to you and wish you all the best! 🙏
I’m so glad you responded in this way Joan. My two children are now grown and watching them, my Son in particular, navigate life has at times broken my heart. There are ups and downs and I’m finally able to accept that I cannot keep them from the pains of life. Fortunately they both have a connection to the great cathedral…the natural world, where they can learn so much from its resilience as I have done and do.
I love this quote: "[Zen meditation] is radically simple… No matter what you believe or think, this simple practice of sitting down in silence and feeling the present moment will have a powerful impact on your life." – Norman Fischer
Hola ¡en el decreixement ens tornem com nens i nenes per això ens atrauen
Ah ¡la llargària del teu escrit és l'adequada per a mi
En el poema del principi, molt superen i es adequat per nosaltres, Ah i les fulles grogues, quin gust, que estem en decreixement. Però penso quan eren joves ens entusiasmava ballar i saltar, ho podíem fer vuit hores seguides i, era la mateixa sensació de plenitud que el poema aquest
L'entusiasme hi es sempre a disposició falta l'excitant
Yes. Continual arising and falling away, to where we do not know. So much suffering, alongside so much grace. Life. Thank you Joan. You put it all in perspective with such finesse.
No finish line. No formula. No method. No path. No guru. No doctrine. No elaborate practices. No conceptual framework. Stripped, naked, and alone. How beautiful. What a relief!
Relief, indeed. :-)
"Clinging to or chasing after experiences of spaciousness is a great way to avoid them." Great line!
Yes, this all deeply resonates as the essence of spiritual teachings. And...I wonder if there are other parents of young kids reading this, and what their reactions are. The great accomplishment seems to be living this in the midst of all that is evoked in inhabiting the parenting role, and intending to do so with presence, love, attunement...and navigating all of the ways one's heart/being can be suddenly tugged in various ways, often with less conscious understandings about the why... This is the reflection that arises. Thank you Joan.
I'm not a parent, although I took care of a number of children in years past, so you didn't really ask for my response. But I'll tell you that I see parenting as the most important job there is and certainly one of the most challenging, and I bow deeply to everyone who is engaged in that work. One of my Zen teachers, Charlotte Joko Beck, raised 3 or 4 children (I forget how many) as a single mother, while working in a busy office, and that was her idea of real Zen practice. And I think all the teachers I worked with had children (sometimes grown) and often grandchildren. Children are great teachers. And they need many things that the awakening journey may in some respects later dissolve, such as boundaries, discipline, a sense of right and wrong, and so on, and that can be confusing sometimes to people on a nondual pathless path, but it needn't be. And as they grow up and become independent, they need to make their own mistakes and fail at times and find their own recovery, which is a great challenge for parents, to watch them suffer and not be able to save them from the pains of life. So I bow to you and wish you all the best! 🙏
I’m so glad you responded in this way Joan. My two children are now grown and watching them, my Son in particular, navigate life has at times broken my heart. There are ups and downs and I’m finally able to accept that I cannot keep them from the pains of life. Fortunately they both have a connection to the great cathedral…the natural world, where they can learn so much from its resilience as I have done and do.
So very manifest, the incomprehensible. Bless you Joan 🙏
Dear Joan,
Thank you for this.
I love this quote: "[Zen meditation] is radically simple… No matter what you believe or think, this simple practice of sitting down in silence and feeling the present moment will have a powerful impact on your life." – Norman Fischer
Thank you for sharing all of it!
Love
Myq
Hola ¡en el decreixement ens tornem com nens i nenes per això ens atrauen
Ah ¡la llargària del teu escrit és l'adequada per a mi
En el poema del principi, molt superen i es adequat per nosaltres, Ah i les fulles grogues, quin gust, que estem en decreixement. Però penso quan eren joves ens entusiasmava ballar i saltar, ho podíem fer vuit hores seguides i, era la mateixa sensació de plenitud que el poema aquest
L'entusiasme hi es sempre a disposició falta l'excitant
Dear Joan, thank you 🙏
This one bottomless moment--
what an exquisite, clear rendering. Thank you.
Loved, loved, loved this post.
Yes. Continual arising and falling away, to where we do not know. So much suffering, alongside so much grace. Life. Thank you Joan. You put it all in perspective with such finesse.