I was doing push hands in my Tai Chi class tonight, I’m starting to understand what they mean when they say you can get in your own way. Slavish adherence to the form and the idea of a set of rules tends to get you pushed over.
It reminds me of a couple of quotes, first it Bruce Lee “The man who is really serious, with the urge to find out what truth is, has no style at all. He lives only in what is.”, the other is an old Zen quote “If you meet the Buddha on the path, kill him”. It’s gotten me thinking, can slavish adherence to the Buddhist scriptures in fact get in the way or progress?
We all know the old line about the flexible reed bending in the wind but the tree breaking, I think this is something we need to be reminded of from time to time in our practice. We need to move beyond orthodoxy in order to really fulfill ourselves as spiritual seekers, I know there are many paths that claim to have all the answers, I don’t think that that claim can be made and the claimant expect to keep any real credibility.
I personally think that the best attitude is the one my Tai Chi teacher takes, that he too, for all his very considerable prowess, is still a student.
January 11th, 2008 at 7:49 am
All the seekers seem to be coming to a time of questions right now.
It’s probably a good thing.
January 11th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
I’m glad I’ve seen this. At 45, having resisted ‘religion’ all of my life (I hate ‘rules for rules’ sake’ so much) I find I have a need to learn to live my life in a spirit of acceptance (for a change!)
I’ve read about druidry, Taoism and now I’m reading about Buddhism and I am seeing people on forums asking, “What should we believe about reincarnation/rebirth/the soul?” They are asking what they should think. I just can’t cope with it. I have had moments of total ‘one-ness’ and clarity that surely nobody else can explain for me? Who are these present-day ‘Taoist masters’? I wish someone would tell me why we can’t find our own way of being. The best thing I’ve read so far about Buddhism is the Buddha likening practice to a raft which you use to get to the other shore but then abandon. Amen to that!
Sorry to rant. It’s hard when you are looking for a Way but then instinctively want to fight the System.
January 12th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
Hiya,
Donna, I think it’s something in the air. I read about upcoming changes, look at the news, I kinda of sense that a big change is coming, I feel our questioning is part of that.
Mab, I used to resist religion in my atheist phase, but as I wander into Taoism and Buddhism I find Zen with it’s lack of reliance on scripture and orthodoxy to be more alive. Ultimately, the Buddha told us to be a light unto ourselves, we should ask ourselves what we think and remember we are the final authority.
A lot of people will ask what they should think, it sounds harsh to say, but a lot of people need that. I think they’ll question when they’re ready, like you lead a horse to water but can’t force it to drink. I’ve read the raft analogy as well, it made a lot of sense to me.
On my journey, I’m finding I need patience more than anything, but I think insights will come when I’m ready.
I too have had moments of clarity, but how can another person explain them? These things are unique to your and your psyche. Or it was (to quote Morpheus) “For you, and you alone”.
Feel free to rant away.
January 13th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
Nothing teaches like experience. And I think that a lot about what those enlightened fellows have said comes from where they are in the journey. If you’ve been down the road, and round the block, you could say what that tree looks like, and if someone has been there too, they’ll probably know what you’re talking about. But if we haven’t been where these people have gone, we might not get it. And that doesn’t make what they’ve said incorrect.
What’s that quote: “We see things not as they are, but as WE are.”
February 17th, 2008 at 12:12 am
Good Write up!
Well written, enjoying your blog and Ill check back to see any of your updates. You know I tend to disagree with a lot of debate about all of this as well.
What you said made sense.
Thanks
Martial
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