Mindfulness On The Ground

It feels supportive to share about what we’ve read or come to understand about kindness and connection. I’m as guilty as the next person of doing that – probably more guilty. Just ask me – I’m happy to share.

But the real wisdom is in walking the walk. If I’m talking about how we belong to one another but in my next move, I’m in a “we/they” conversation, how is that helpful? If I’m not only acknowledging but embracing everyone, things can shift.

This kind of mindfulness “on the ground” feels aspirational. It also might be our only way out of the mess we’ve created.

Transcript

Morning, Everybody. I hope that bell wasn't too loud. Okay. Hi, Everybody. It's Judy Cohen. This is Wake Up Call 531. And today, I want to talk about the last verses of chapter one choices in the Dhammapada, Which if you're just joining the Wake Up Call for the first time is a really it's the teachings of mindfulness in poetry form. It's really beautiful. It's a short book. And I want to talk about, I also want to talk about Artemis, The spaceship and the goddess. So this might be a strange wake up call. The the Thomas Byram Ram Dass translation of the these last verses of chapter one of the Dhammapada makes the most sense to me. And here's that translation. However many holy words you read, However many you speak, What good will they do you if you do not act upon them? Are you a shepherd who counts another person's sheep, Never sharing the way? Read as few words as you like and speak fewer, But act upon the law and in this case is the law of mindfulness. Give up the old ways, Passion, Enmity, Folly, Know the truth and find peace. Share the way. Many of the verses so far have seemed pretty straightforward. And this one seems like that to me too. And I take it to mean, It's one thing to talk about mindfulness or to study it. And it's another thing to walk the talk and to share it by doing that. A lot of times in student journals, In our teacher trainings, I hear how much somebody wants to share what they're learning with their partner or with their family, You know, Tell them how much happier they'll be if they practice mindfulness. And I have that impulse too. And I think of the story Ram Dass used to tell about a woman coming to him and saying, My family, And you could say my family, My friends, My colleagues love me when I'm a Buddha, But they hate me when I'm a Buddhist, Right? And I think this is at least partly what this verse is pointing to, Which is, You know, Yes, Study, Practice, Learn all the things. Excellent. It's good to learn. And, You know, There's some things that we want to know that are fundamental, That this being human is a bumpy ride, That nothing lasts forever, That we're all in this together. So good things to learn, Plus the legal mind wants to learn, Which is a great thing, Right? But in these verses, We're not being invited so much into exploring the depth of our learning. We're being invited to ask about our, What I like to call our portable practice or our life, Really, You know, Questions like, What do I do when I get upset? What happens when someone is hurtful? What happens when I'm in a knockdown drag out fight with opposing counsel, Or when that's happening in front of me in a courtroom or a conference room or some other kind of room? What happens when that conflict arises in a personal setting, An intimate setting, And I'm part of it? You know, How do I handle those moments? And for me, The answer is, You know, Not well, If I'm not practicing on the cushion, And then also practicing in real time, On the ground, In the moment. So, For example, Not well, If I'm trying to bring in patience, And patience is only something I've studied. Mindfulness or patience, In that example, Also has to be what I'm bringing into the moment, And to bring it into the moment, It has to be in my bones first. Which means practicing formally, And in life, Over and over and over. And I think that's largely because, Or at least this is something that I've learned, The difficulty in the situation is so rarely about the other humans. And that's not to say that some situations aren't unsafe, You know, Some situations are unsafe, And in those moments, I need to get to safety, And I need to get those people I love to safety, And you do too. But when it's not about safety, So when it's a paper tiger, Our beloved and late friend, Chastity used to say, Charity, I'm sorry, Charity used to say, When it's a paper tiger, Something that won't really hurt us, Charity Scott, As opposed to a real tiger, Right? Then it's that practice in the moment. It's that on the ground practice that's based on the kind of in the bones understanding that comes from over and over and over again, Coming to the body, Coming to patience. So not to tell others what I think I know, But to be the light, Right? To be the light. And so for me, To be the light, It's always go to the body, Go to the mind, And investigate, Okay, How's the body doing? Where is there tightness? And can I invite relaxation? Where is there grasping or clinging and the possibility of loosening my attachment to ideas or views, Or give them up if it's appropriate? How can I attend to the ideas of others? And then what can I understand? And then how can I help? So when I remember to practice like this, And it's certainly not all the time, And to share like this, It feels like a relief, Actually. Because letting go of tightness in the body, Tightness in the mind, It's relaxing and it's easeful. And it also, It enables me to be mindful through the other sense doors, Right? Especially my eyes and ears, Meaning simply, I'm able to see and hear better. When all that clenching is happening, I'm kind of blind, I'm kind of deaf. I can't see other perspectives. I can't hear what's being said. I can't honor the wisdom in the room. I can't even access my own wisdom. When there's ease, I can, Or I can do that better. So before I sat down to write this wake-up call yesterday, I happen to be listening to The Daily again, That's that New York Times podcast, You probably all know. And they had a segment on Artemis, The spaceship. And in this segment, They'd invited children to ask the astronauts questions and it was in the kids' voices. So it's very sweet. I highly recommend it. If you want to just have a little joy in your day, Just tune into that for a few minutes. And it was good to hear the perspective from outer space again, Even though it's always the same, Right? That an astronaut looking at earth from out there can so easily see that we really are all in this together, Right? And that there's really nothing to do, But be kind and generous and patient and loving with one another. There's really nothing else to do. And they say that, They all said that in their own ways. And they don't say this, But I think they see this too, That there's nothing stopping us from doing that. There's nothing stopping us from being that way other than, And this is the frame of mindfulness, Other than our own minds and the way we let the poisons of the mind, The greed, The hatred, The delusion kind of run amok. Which got me thinking not only about Artemis, The spaceship, But also Artemis, The goddess, Who was Apollo's twin. And I feel like I knew this at one point, But anyway, I was reading about these two gods, God and goddess, And Apollo was the god who presided over the law and could tell the future. I mean, He did a bunch of things, But those were two of the things that he did. And Artemis did a bunch of things as well, But primarily was the goddess and protector of animals and nature and of childbirth. And they were twins and they were Zeus's children, So they weren't lesser gods. And it's inspiring and amusing to me to imagine that some NASA scientists had the wisdom and the sense of humor to name our spaceships after these tellers of the future, These protectors, These presiders over the law. It's almost as if the scientist imagined that an astronaut from way out in space would see exactly what they do and what all of the prophets and sages who've walked on the earth have seen, Which is what this verse is saying, That it's not enough to learn about kindness and peace or to talk about it, That we have to embody those qualities in our lives, That we have to live lives that are not divided from one another and also not just paying lip service to not being divided, But lives that are about caring for each other and protecting one another. So maybe that's not what the scientist was thinking. Maybe the cosmic joke is on us, But I don't know. What if it is? So let's sit. Find a comfortable posture for yourself for the next 10, 9, 10 minutes and settle in and see how your body is doing just right in this moment. Just give a check-in and do that with a lot of kindness, Like, Oh, Geez, How am I doing? Where are my shoulders? Can they drop a little? Can I feel my feet on the floor? Can I unclench my fingers, Toes, What's available to me? And then find the breath in the body, Just the body breathing and begin to gently and lovingly pay attention to the breath. Just that very kind invitation to bring the attention to the breath. And this might be perfect for you for right now. And so if it is, You can just stay with the breath and enjoy that practice. If you would like, Option two, Gently expand the awareness. So letting go of the focus on the breath and expand the awareness without opening the eyes or if the gaze is cast down, Without changing the gaze. Just expand your awareness to the space where you're sitting or standing or walking, Or if you're in a car, The enclosure of the car, Just expanding your awareness to touch into that wider space, Bigger space. And then maybe you can expand your awareness a little bit wider to take in the building where you are, Maybe the city or town or countryside where you are. Just the simple awareness of place and what's happening around you. And then maybe widening the awareness to take in the state or the province, The country, The continent where you're sitting or standing. Just an awareness of the continent, Maybe the hemisphere, Maybe the whole earth. Maybe you can broaden the awareness to take in the whole earth, The beings on top of the earth and underneath the earth and flying above the earth. This beautiful planet and all of her, All of her beings. And then maybe you can broaden your awareness to take in something even bigger than that. Maybe the solar system where we are. Maybe just a sense of being one small human in this big solar system, Or even in this galaxy, Or even among many, Many, Many, Many, Many galaxies. What a beautiful galaxy this is and what a beautiful solar system and planet. How fortunate we are to be here. Maybe wiggling the fingers, Wiggling the toes, Touching into the earth in your imagination, Even if she's 10 stories down. Bringing the attention back to the body, The awareness to the body and fluttering the eyes open. Thanks, Everybody.