Doing, Undoing, Being
There are two basic modes of existence: doing and being. We are experts at doing, but we need to remember how much we love to just be. How do we integrate these two modes? Awareness of activity is the key, just watching yourself engage the world. This is easiest in simple, physical times such as household tasks or exercise.
The Strength of Vulnerability
We tend to think of vulnerability as weakness, but it is actually one of the pillars of strength. On the spiritual path, we necessarily encounter vulnerable states such as fear, shame and longing and we learn to stay open and kind in their midst. This strengthens us by knowing ourselves as we really are and accessing hidden treasures of energy, wonder, and love for the world.
Meditation is the Discipline of Spontaneity
It is ironic that the more disciplined we are with meditation practice, the more spontaneous we become. As much as we need to follow the heart, we also need to train the heart. Training in the freshness of the present moment leads us to creativity, spontaneity, and a fuller sense of our authentic self.
Relative and Absolute Truth
The Buddhist tradition posits a helpful distinction between relative and absolute truth. Relative truth is an artifact of conceptual mind, which artificially lumps together or splits apart aspects of reality because it is useful to do so. But concepts cannot capture the ultimate reality of phenomena. Absolute truth is revealed through non-conceptual awareness and cannot be experienced through or described by concepts. Absolute truth transcends while including relative truth, and the two fit together without friction when understood clearly.
The Paradox of Acceptance and Change
The internal work of meditation generally means a profound acceptance of one’s experience. Yet this troubled world clearly needs changing. How do we integrate the need for both acceptance and action? It turns out there is no conflict, as acceptance is the foundation of change. To act effectively, one needs to see a situation clearly, and to see a situation clearly one needs to accept it just as it is. Wisdom unifies acceptance and action into effective engagement with the world.
Integrating Dual and Nondual Spiritual Practice
How do dual and nondual practices fit together? Some nondual traditions hold them in opposition, in the belief that meditation practices with effort and focus reinforce the dualism of a self apart from the world. In fact, dualistic practices such as insight meditation, when held with the understanding of the nondual, create the stability of mind to allow penetrating insight into the nondual nature of experience.
Emptiness and Fullness, Wisdom and Love
Emptiness and fullness, wisdom and love, you don’t exist, you truly belong – these seeming opposites are, in fact, saying the exact same thing. Awakening is both the perfection of wisdom and the perfection of love. When we are empty of a separate self, we are full of the world.