Good Morning All,
Back in the 60's ands 70's, "Becoming" was a popular notion. It felt as if we all were given the opportunity to be re-born into a state of freedom. This freedom was intoxicating. It was delicious. We felt free to explore our personal identity, meaning, and ultimate purpose. We explored our sexuality, our politics, our drugs, our religion and its spirituality. We explored music, dance, and art. It was a scary era in a sense, as we had no idea what the consequences of an unbridled freedom may mean.
I discovered Zen in this mix, being introduced to it through martial arts and "The Way of Zen" by Alan Watts. Through karate i learned of Bodhidharma and the Shaolin temple. I learned about "mind like water." What truly fascinated me, though, was sitting zazen under a willow tree and in public parks. I often sat in the gardens of "Vizcaya" in Coconut Grove. It was a beautiful time, a time filled with hope and anxiety.
I read about a philosophical conflict between "being" and "becoming." Like freedom and determination, I thought there ought to be no reason the two might not be two sides of the same coin, much like samsara and nirvana. What I have come to over the years is this: becoming is like wishful thinking, a delusion; being is all there is.
It appears we are becoming only because we remember prior states. But in truth, each moment is complete as it is. While life may appear to be a string of frames that when looked at together form a movie, We ought not forget each frame is the entire universe within it. The memory of frames make us believe there was a yesterday and, hence, a tomorrow. So many of us are stuck in one or the other, so much so, that we diminish the value of this precise frame, the frame of now.
Instead, might we look more deeply into this present moment frame, this frame of being. May we each in this moment the freedom of our true nature.
Gassho
Back in the 60's ands 70's, "Becoming" was a popular notion. It felt as if we all were given the opportunity to be re-born into a state of freedom. This freedom was intoxicating. It was delicious. We felt free to explore our personal identity, meaning, and ultimate purpose. We explored our sexuality, our politics, our drugs, our religion and its spirituality. We explored music, dance, and art. It was a scary era in a sense, as we had no idea what the consequences of an unbridled freedom may mean.
I discovered Zen in this mix, being introduced to it through martial arts and "The Way of Zen" by Alan Watts. Through karate i learned of Bodhidharma and the Shaolin temple. I learned about "mind like water." What truly fascinated me, though, was sitting zazen under a willow tree and in public parks. I often sat in the gardens of "Vizcaya" in Coconut Grove. It was a beautiful time, a time filled with hope and anxiety.
I read about a philosophical conflict between "being" and "becoming." Like freedom and determination, I thought there ought to be no reason the two might not be two sides of the same coin, much like samsara and nirvana. What I have come to over the years is this: becoming is like wishful thinking, a delusion; being is all there is.
It appears we are becoming only because we remember prior states. But in truth, each moment is complete as it is. While life may appear to be a string of frames that when looked at together form a movie, We ought not forget each frame is the entire universe within it. The memory of frames make us believe there was a yesterday and, hence, a tomorrow. So many of us are stuck in one or the other, so much so, that we diminish the value of this precise frame, the frame of now.
Instead, might we look more deeply into this present moment frame, this frame of being. May we each in this moment the freedom of our true nature.
Gassho
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