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Hope and Prayers

12/31/2020

I now live in an area that is sparsely populated, especially in the Winter. Here, on New Year's Eve, I look out over my neighborhood at night, most of the houses dark and empty, the rest lit but indicative of little activity. This is the last day of 2020, easily the roughest year in memory. One can sense the anticipation, as if we are actually getting rid of something with the passing of an otherwise random day. The pandemic, the isolation, the divisive and frankly childish politics, the uncertainty and fear. I am aware that we are probably not getting rid of anything, at least not today or tomorrow.

Yes, in a couple of weeks we will have a new president, and new political dramas. One would hope that in a short time we will have COVID under control, and will experience a resurgent economy to boot. But I am also aware that the future, now as always, is unknown. We have no idea what is ahead, just as we had no idea this time last year what 2020 would be like.

We can hope and pray. In fact, as far as predicting and/or controlling the future, that is about all we can do. But speaking of hope, I am hopeful that we can can be flexible, adaptive, and optimistic even if we face dire outcomes. The truth is we never know what lies ahead. But we can always adapt and live into whatever we are given. Perhaps it will be a golden year. Who knows? Either way, we can make the most of it.

Peace on Earth...

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12/30/2020

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"The moment that we remove all of the obscurations that cover our primordial nature, all of the enlightened qualities of a buddha just naturally, spontaneously and effortlessly arise."
~ Chamtrul, Rinpoche

All wisdom traditions eventually say the same thing. Your highest nature, Ultimate Reality, is inherent. It is within us. We don't create it. We can't make it any more obvious than it already is by trying harder. What we can do is get out of the way and let it unfold, or in Chamtrul, Rinpoche's words noted above, we can remove the obscurations that hide it. That is yoga. That is why the yogi lives an intentional, engaged lifestyle. But said lifestyle shouldn't be envisioned as work or even discipline. It's not hard to do the right things and avoid the wrong things. It might not be popular. One might not be familiar with such a lifestyle. But it isn't hard. In fact, given the benefits of yoga-dharma, it is much more enjoyable than not engaging.

Yet, so few really follow the path. As a famous teacher said, this path is narrow and the gate straight, and only a few will follow. Yoga-dharma is no mystery. There are infinite volumes on the how and why of it, but they mean no more than the words I'm writing now. It's just ink on the page. It isn't understood until it's directly experienced. We can read, write, and talk, but it doesn't mean a thing till we walk the walk.

This is the way.

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Wuji

12/27/2020

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This morning the sky was clear and blue, a reflection of mid-winter. The water in Currituck Sound was as still as glass. It was almost as if the world was on pause. The thing that came to mind was Wuji.

Wuji is undifferentiated, non-conceptual, pure potential. This gives me hope. At a time of massive pandemic, political uncertainty, economic unease, and general social confusion it is reassuring to know that the Universe doesn't care about all that. The Universe does what it does, it endlessly creates, it unfolds, it is. Here, between the Yang of the heavens and the Yin of Earth, as still as they sometimes appear, is the creative force of impermanence, creation, endless change. What we see as the reality of today is nothing less than the seeds of tomorrow. And we really have no idea what that will look like.

And that is a good thing.

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K.I.S.S.

12/5/2020

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I feel very fortunate that in the two internal arts that I practice I have been able to study under competent down-to-earth teachers with solid lineages. However, what has proven to be even more important as I continue to mature in practice is the insistence that each of them (Roy Eugene Davis; Yang Yang) has on simplicity. And by that I don't only mean the virtues of living a simple life, but additionally, the virtue of foundational practice.

On the surface, this can appear to indicate a lack of deep teaching and/or exposure to the deeper aspects of their respective arts. Not really. Rather it is a focus on the possibilities inherent in and the eternal strength of the foundations. In my experience, each of my teachers has exposed me to possibilities beyond my grasp at the time, but still within grasp ultimately. At the same time they emphasized the very thing needed to reach these new heights was more focus on the basics.

Teaching of this type is a two-edged sword. On one hand, it makes it easier to relate to newer, less experienced students but at the same time possibly boring and not challenging to older long-term students. Negotiating is a skill for teacher and student alike. The teacher must challenge the older student with the depths of the basics all the while acknowledging the lack of limitations. And when appropriate, giving the student the next thing they need. At the same time, the student needs to forgo the flashy for the basic, to do the necessary work. Still, I am forced to admit to at times wishing my teachers would reveal secret invincible fighting skills or mind-altering pranayama exercises. Instead they gave me hours of simple Qigong and Zhan Zhuang (Taiji), and basic meditation and listening to Om (Kriya Yoga). With time I have been able to understand and appreciate the ultimate value of their intentions. And I am now eternally grateful to them for their teaching discipline. In a nut shell it's wax on/wax off.

I recently listened to a fitness podcast where the guy being interviewed was a strength and conditioning coach in the NBA. He told the story of how when he was first getting started he met Kobe Bryant and witnessed his morning training routine. He noted that he was flabbergasted that Bryant spent a large part of this precious time going over basic footwork and movement drills--the same things that are taught and reinforced to young kids and high school players. So naturally, one of his first questions was why did this guy, the best basketball player in the Universe, spend so much time going over basic drills. Kobe's answer was that constantly reinforcing the basics was exactly why he was the best player in the Universe.

Further to the point, it is my impression that in the internal arts--at least the ones I practice--this is where we find Gong Fu and enlightenment. It's not really all that difficult. It is right here in our midst. We are that. When you get down to it, it's really quite simple.

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Hope and Prayers

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Wuji

K.I.S.S.

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