Here I Go Again, and Other Fingers Pointing

Post Date:November 16, 2009

Here I Go Again, and other Fingers Pointing


Cycles and patterns seem to give our world shape and meaning.  With the leaves falling and a brusque chill in the air, it does seem like November.  We use our idea of November as a touchstone to create our idea of the real; so with the warm, sunny days of last week, people were saying "It doesn't feel like November."  Now, with the clouds and brisk wind, it "feels" like November.  It is easy to recognize these cycles in the external world, but we are often blind to these same cycles in our own lives.

If we look at the comings and goings of our lives, they  move in circles of sameness and familiarity too, but it is when the cycles are unpleasant that they seem the most pronounced; that is, when the same problem comes up again and again, or the same type of difficult personality reappears.

From the view of Buddhism, each of these things—both the difficult patterns and the pleasant ones—should be welcomed since they are moments that offer a glimpse into our selves.   They are, in fact, the manifestations of karma, the chain of cause and effect that ripple through our entire life or maybe even lives.  

When the pattern of sameness emerges—the same problem, and strangely familiar difficult person or situation—we should welcome them since we clearly haven’t finished with this issue.  We should be grateful that we have the opportunity to bring this pattern to some resolution or maybe even to an end.  It is a unique opportunity to apply the tools of our meditative practice or our T’ai Chi to our world, and to be liberated from the constraints of our selves.

So when an uncomfortably familiar difficult person or arduous event comes face to face with us, examine it closely, embrace it, learn from it, and then, just then, you will be able to step off the carousel of sameness and to see all things freshly and for the first time.

Amitabha!

Comments