Practice Over Parables
दृष्टान्तों से अधिक अभ्यास -- जेसन गार्नर के द्वारा
एक ज़ेन शिक्षक ने एक बार मुझे कुछ दिलचस्प बताया। हम मेरे घर पर एक साथ ध्यान कर रहे थे जब मेरा कुत्ता भौंकने लगा। उन्होंने मेरे आंतरिक आंदोलन को भांप लिया और अपने समृद्ध तस्मानियाई लहजे में कहा, "ध्वनियों के बारे में दंभ मत बनाओ। वे सिर्फ ध्वनियाँ हैं।” यह शब्द मेरे साथ रह गए हैं। हम ध्यान में शोर के बारे में बहुत सतर्क हो जाते हैं। हम विशेष संगीत, या झंकार, या मंत्रोच्चार को "सुंदर" मानते हैं, जबकि रोजमर्रा की जिंदगी के शोर एक "व्याकुलता" हैं। यह ऐसा है जैसे एक और शिक्षक ने मुझे एक बार ध्यान के दौरान अपनी आंखें खोलने का निर्देश दिया था: "जब हम अपनी आंखें बंद करते हैं तो हम जीवन को बहुत कुछ छोड़ देते हैं।"
आध्यात्मिकता में हम में से अधिकांश के लिए यह एक प्रमुख विषय है - अपने जीवन के उन हिस्सों को बाहर करने के लिए - जिन्हें हम बुरे के रूप में देखते हैं- आध्यात्मिक अभ्यास या विश्वासों का उपयोग करने की कोशिश करना। वास्तव में, अगर हम ईमानदार हैं, तो उन सभी चीजों को ठीक करने की इच्छा जो हमें पसंद नहीं है, आमतौर पर हमें आध्यात्मिकता की ओर ले जाने के लिए प्रेरक है। इसी वजह से मैंने ध्यान करना सीखा। मैं उन छवियों की तरह बनना चाहता था जो मैंने फिल्मों में देखी थीं, जहां आनंदित भिक्षु दुनिया के मुद्दों से ऊपर तैरता है, वह किसी भी चीज से बेखबर लगता है, और स्वर्गदूत उसके कंधे पर एक सुनहरी वीणा बजाते हैं। यह वही है जिसकी मैंने कल्पना की थी कि मैं शाओलिन मंदिर में पाऊंगा, जब तक कि मैं वहां नहीं गया और पाया कि आई-फ़ोन इस्तेमाल करते भिक्षुओं के पास भी हममें से बाकी लोगों की तरह समान आशाएं और सपने और भय थे । उन्होंने इस सब का संचालन करने के लिए सिर्फ कौशल का अभ्यास किया।
आध्यात्मिक दुनिया में विशेष शक्तियों वाले गुरुओं के बारे में बहुत सारी कहानियां हैं। मेरे अधिकांश शिक्षक उन गुरुओं के छात्र थे और बहुतों के पास अद्भुत किस्से हैं जो उन्होंने अपने शिक्षकों के चरणों में देखे … हम उन्हें चमत्कार कह सकते हैं। मुझे वे कहानियाँ पसंद हैं और मैं उनमें से अधिकांश पर विश्वास करता हूँ। लेकिन मैंने इसे अपने अभ्यास का आधार कभी नहीं बनने दिया। मैं कभी भी अपनी आध्यात्मिकता की नींव के रूप में एक शानदार कहानी या जादुई विश्वास नहीं चाहता था। एक घोटाले या ठंडी वास्तविकता के साथ इस सब से विश्वास टूटना बहुत आसान होता है। मैंने इसके बजाय ऐसे शिक्षकों को चुना जिन्हें मैं लोगों के रूप में पहचानता हूं और जो एक कुशल तरीके से जीवन जीते हैं जिसका मैं अनुकरण करना चाहता था। संक्षेप में, मैंने दृष्टान्तों पर अभ्यास को चुना।
मनन के लिए मूल प्रश्न: आप इस धारणा से क्या समझते हैं कि आध्यात्मिकता की छवियां हमें जीवन की सच्चाई से दूर करती हैं? क्या आप कोई व्यक्तिगत कहानी साझा कर सकते हैं जब आपको विनम्र अभ्यास में प्रेरणा मिली हो? दृष्टांतों से विचलित होने से बचने और अपनी आध्यात्मिकता की नींव के रूप में अभ्यास करने के लिए आपको क्या मदद करता है?
Excerpted from here.
SEED QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: What do you make of the notion that images of spirituality distract us from letting life in? Can you share a personal story of a time you found inspiration in humble practice? What helps you avoid getting distracted by parables and stay rooted to practice as the foundation for your spirituality?
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13 Past Reflections
On Jun 6, 2021 Urvi wrote :
The sentence that resonated witm me the most is, " I chose instead to find teachers who I identify with as people and who live life in a skillful way that I want to emulate, In short, HI chose practice over parables."
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On May 28, 2021 Jagdish P Dave wrote :
To me spirituality means relating to life with an open mind and an open heart.It meansfacing life with non-judgmentalawareness. In order to be free from my suffering I need to go through it with compassion. I pay my kind attention to my own suffering without being carried away by distractions. I follow the same way when I relate to someone going through hard times. This is the way we evolve to thrive personally, interpersonally and collectively.
Spiritual evolution tales time. Having someone as a model in spiritual journey has been very helpful to me. In my culture such a person is called a guru. I was blessed to have my parents as my gurus. They not only believedin simple and humble living but they lived that way. Mahatma Gandhi also was model for my father and for me. Seeing people living modestly and humbly and learning from them provided a basis for my spiritual evolution. I am very grateful to them.
Spiritual evolution is an inner work. Reading books and articles like this onewrit... [View Full Comment]
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On May 25, 2021 Merritt wrote :
My mom was a mystic. That is the soup I grew up in. A one on one with a mystic. When I came to her with a personal reality, a problem or challenge her answer was esoteric. “You must change your state of consciousness or this pattern will keep repeating.”
How does one change ones state of consciousness?
” By meditating. By realizing the world is an allusion. By not buying into the world of mind. By connecting only to the divine.”
She had fallen trap of the spiritual bypass or spiritual senile.
It took me 5 decades to figure this out. That’s how brain washed I was. No wonder I went off and studied shamanism & became an herbalist.
How does one change ones state of consciousness?
” By meditating. By realizing the world is an allusion. By not buying into the world of mind. By connecting only to the divine.”
She had fallen trap of the spiritual bypass or spiritual senile.
It took me 5 decades to figure this out. That’s how brain washed I was. No wonder I went off and studied shamanism & became an herbalist.
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On May 25, 2021 Eleanor wrote :
Do images of spirituality distract us from letting the present (life) in? I agree that comfortable images can be used to excludethe parts of life we think of as bad. They can also be used to help get through the difficult parts. St. Paul said, "Test everything, hold on to that which is good." That's what I hope that I do with parables.
I'm eighty with chronic health issues. In the hospital recently I was faced with accepting that I have to give up striving NOW, not later, if I expect to stay alive. Parables about the grace freely available from Christ helped me actually get excited about dropping a ten year project.
I'm sad about dropping that project and others, but hopeful too. I found something else to do that doesn't involve striving. I plan to develop a mindfulness practice.
I'm eighty with chronic health issues. In the hospital recently I was faced with accepting that I have to give up striving NOW, not later, if I expect to stay alive. Parables about the grace freely available from Christ helped me actually get excited about dropping a ten year project.
I'm sad about dropping that project and others, but hopeful too. I found something else to do that doesn't involve striving. I plan to develop a mindfulness practice.
2 replies: Amy, David | Post Your Reply
On May 21, 2021 David Doane wrote :
I often see my thinking or images, be they images of spirituality or whatever, be they created by me or by the other, instead of seeing what is and letting life in. What comes to mind regarding "humble practice" that results in inspiration is efforts to see what is, such as to be in the present, put aside thinking, preconceived notions and created images, and let go of trying to control. When I do that even to a small extent, I find inspiration, surprises, aliveness, intimacy. Such practice is an important part of the foundation of my spirituality. What helps me stay rooted in such practice is the satisfaction I get from it. I like parables. For me, parables aren't distracting and I don't avoid them. Parables aren't about magical beliefs but are fantastic stories containing wisdom and lessons about rightliving. I have learned from parables and they have enhanced my practice. They tend to stick with me and I find myself reflecting on them.
3 replies: Shalom, David, Eleanor | Post Your Reply
On May 21, 2021 Jagdish P Dave wrote :
As I understand meditation is not avoiding distractions but mindfully facing them, processing them with compassion, courage, and commitment. Meditation is not chasing the shadows of pleasure and fantasies to use the word od Jason Garner "parables",but facing pain and suffering. It means not looking away or seeking distractions. It is by facing clouds of suffering compassionatelythatwe we can see the light clearly.
Life gives many opportunities to us for mindfully working on our sufferings. It's a question of turning our face towards sufferings or turning our face away from sufferings. It is easy to turn my face away form all kinds of pain and suffering rather than facing them fairly and squarely. I have used avoidance technique instead of facing them. I have learned from my personal experience that aversion and avoidance do not work for me. I have learned to hear the music though it could be painful. By following thispath I have been able to reduce the noise of music and ... [View Full Comment]