Constance started by sharing that she found the book to have the most lucid explanation for Emptiness that she has ever run across. This was echoed by others as well, and we began a discussion that led us through insights into Impermanence, and the importance of practicing with all dissatisfactions that arise in everyday living.
We discussed the negative aspects of having expectations/preferences, regarding our life with other people, places, and things. We discussed at length the teaching that Beck made quite clear in her talk, i.e. having preferences and expectations is not the real problem but rather, our attachment to them. The search for what we want is not the problem - rather it's not being able to let go of the dissatisfaction we experience when our wishes, hopes, and dreams do not come forth as desired.
Other ideas addressed were as follows:
-pain comes from the pinching of our ego, and suffering is created by our mental
-dialogue about the various disappointments that arise;
-that in fact there is no "right" way but rather simply "the way it happens to be;"
-that our grasping after imagined scenarios creates the suffering we normally attribute to life or the unexpected changes we don't appreciate;
-clinging to expectations is always subject to dissatisfaction because, while we can't stop our contact with this material existence, we can become more quickly aware/mindful of how it is that we create our pain and suffering (in the Buddhist sense);
-we create greater negativity in our own lives simply by not being present to our inner experience "as it is," sans the mental chatter, preconceived notions and expectations about what we want it to be.
There were personal annecdotes supporting these ideas and examples of the various ways we have grown as a result of the study and practice of our Practice.
Once again, I am pleased to share another of Mary Ann's beautiful and poetic writings.This time it was a dedication to Nadine's comments at our last meeting and our reactions concerning the neighbor's lawnmower starting just as we began our pre-discussion moment of meditation. We all agreed that this one is definitely publication-worthy. Thank you Mary Ann.
Lawnmower moments
Summer takes top billing for lawnmower moments.
Lawnmower power stirs up the gnats, fills the air with grass scents.
After the noise of the engine shuts off, the lawn looks like freshly shaven legs.
Or I have often thought a vertical quilt with lines running north and south.
The noise of the lawnmower while it is trimming the grass
Drowns out the bird calls, the fanning of blowing tree branches full of leaves.
Lawnmower noise rains through the outdoors
Resembling a ruckus of a million bumble bees buzzing around a honey comb.
The noise swarms, chugs, backfires, and revs up the human's peace defences.
Mowers, like loud mufflers, might create thoughts of aggression, disorientation,
and a dragging-the-ground weight.
Just too much distraction to center one's thoughts, mower moments scatter thoughts
like pieces of torn paper.
The task might be to imagine a word on each torn piece of paper.
Love could be one; Joy another.
Serenity perhaps: Concentration for sure.
Enlarged vision moves to a simple phrase on one of the pieces:
All things pass.
A giant leap can transport one to the ocean
To lay verticle on the sandy beach,
A front row seat to the blue fleeting sky
Where a bi-plane rumbles low enough to give you a view of
A streamer ad that reads:
This engine noise uplifts.
It's just a giant soaring bird with a motor in it's belly.
It sure beats the heck out of a lawnmower motor!
(August 20, 2011)
Next Meeting: We will meet a Elisabeth's again and I will send out "directions" reminders in the coming weeks.
Date: October 30th.
Reading: Section number one, (pages 1 though 20) in Everyday Zen.
