Futility of Search
The disciple looked at the Master. So calm and peaceful while he himself was so agitated, restless and confused.
He asked the Master, “What do you know that I don’t know?” And the Master simply replied, “I know nothing.”
“But you understand something that I don't.” The Master said, “I have understood that there is nothing to understand.”
The disciple persisted, “But I see that you have reached.” In a matter of fact tone, the Master added, “Yes I have reached where I was.”
“Yet, I can see you have become extraordinary.”
Master: “No, I have become very ordinary. I only accepted things as they are.”
The disciple was frustrated now. “Master, don’t speak in riddles. Just tell me what I should do?”
Master: “You have to do nothing, just be. Just allow life to flow, don’t interfere. Rest in your beingness.”
However, the disciple was lost, and even more frustrated. His mind wanted activity while the Master kept pointing out that there is nothing to do, just rest.
Finally out of compassion, the Master suggested, "Watch your breath, watch the rising and falling of your stomach, focus on your third eye, on the bottom of your spine, chant your mantras and all that. They are basic activities to quiet the mind. When you give a tree to a monkey, the monkey goes up and down till he become tired. Then he finally rests. In that resting, insight finally awakens. "
--Author Unknown
What do you make of an ordinary accepting presence being an extraordinary accomplishment? How can one engage in an insightful rest? Can you share a personal experience when an authentic rest awakened insight?
Very beautifully written and explained. Thanks for posting an article on this topic. and good information. I really enjoyed reading this article which explained everything in very easy manner.
This is really very nice blog and so informative, I would like to thank you for all the information you give.
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An ordinary accepting presence is an extraordinary accomplishment given that we are trained to not be satisfied and to seek more out there and then, not here and now. We can engage in an insightful rest by being present, being aware of what is happening now inside of me and outside of me, in me and between me and others. Simply being present is underrated. And it is restful in that it simply is being aware, not analyzing or striving or interpreting or trying to get to a particular outcome. It's restful in that it is being, not work, and it generates insight. I sometimes am in that state, and when I am it is enlivening as well as restful.
For a beginner calming down the mind is a herculean task. He gets confused. Naturally he might feel frustrated and may conclude that the meditation and the search are futile. This is the stage where he should not lose faith. Scriptures say that having practiced austerities and asanas to purify mind and the body, it requires SADHANA (Practice) for several years. Even BUDDA had his enlightenment after seven years of stringent THAPAS. One has to go step by step. Concentration is having only one thought, while meditation is having no thoughts at all. It is in this state of stillness one can experience insightful rest and the consciousness move higher and higher and one becomes more and more intuitive and insight truth will be revealed. Thanks.
Hi T. I think you mistook the word searcher for the word seeker. Watch out for 'faux amis' (false friends in French).
Is the searcher different from that which he/she searches? Won't its findings be thought projected? Can thought reach beyond itself? When thought observes its own process it comes to see its limitation and then, logically, comes to a standstill. Not to another conclusion. If it is a conclusion then it is just another production of thought. The observation of the thought process reveals that thought is not the proper instrument. This ends the search but creates space for something unknown to manifest. Not that it will! Or, as amy says, once seen the necessity to keep the restless seeker alone, let That come to you if That will. Supremely free.
Clear and effective communication is so important. Knowing where people are at and how to assist them in leading themselves. Many teachers miss this most important aspect of expression, because sometimes they have lost the ability to relate to others.
A professional musician, for instance may or may not be a good teacher. He has to be able to relate to a five year old who has never picked up an instrument. This is what separates many, and many can talk the talk, this is easy, but to assist others, actually assist them. Very few can do this, and they certainly are not "Masters", they are people like us who've worked a little longer.
Keep well and in good health.
to be ordinary us to be extraordinary, trying to be extraordinary is to be ordinary..as long as the i-disease is there , there is no peace, I-me-mine is the obstruction..one can be aware f it, not get rid of it or anything, witnessing consciousness is all there is..all the rest are concepts..its a conceptual cosmos emerging out of the void!
There is two things which i would like to add one i play tennis etc and my monkey mind awakens at the end of it,second i do meditation for the body which is my favorite it gives me many a times the same feel as per above blog. but i find it difficult when i dont feel good .
The only One I know to be "Extraordinary" is God/Jesus/Holy Spirit. The rest of us fall in the category of "ordinary". As "an ordinary", I have the opportunity (or not) to connect with "The Extraordinary" (G/J/HS). Insightful rest for me is the occasion I wait in hope that He will come. Most often, His Presence experienced in stillness . . . sometimes, too, He wakes me from sleep. "Take note (when God speaks to our hearts) He has something "extraordinary"for us to do!" I really appreciate the way God uses ordinary people to do great things. He gives us the task and the tools . . . to give us a taste of "extraordinary living". "Stay low" is my personal mantra . . . God finds me here.
An ordinary accepting presence is an extraordinary accomplishment in that few people accomplish it and it is difficult to accomplish in that it is not what we are taught and encouraged to accomplish and it is not what our culture promotes and values. We are taught to strive and seek, accumulate, be goal and future oriented rather than allow and develop an ordinary accepting presence. One engages in an insightful rest by learning to be present, "rest in your beingness," as the author states. Attention to breathing, meditation, or an experience in being present may help achieve this state. As for a personal experience, there are times that I allow myself to be or rest in the present, whether alone or with another, noticing what I am experiencing, attending to my perceptions of the other, and in the process insights about myself and the other occur. Such experiences are very satisfying.
Thanks for the opportunity to respond. I thoroughly and strongly believe that one's ordinary accepting present experience is an extraordinary accomplishment. I have been practicing for over 20 years and only on a couple of ccasions have I felt highly insightfully peaceful while just sitting. Insightful restfulness is peaceful. This peace precedes happiness and I find I do not need to be happy in order to be peaceful. I am also reminded of a mental stem learning which states: "Increase the tendency to allow things to happen rather than make them happen." By noticing what is, one has a greater chance of accepting what is. When I accept what is, I desire less and I am more peaceful. This brief passage from an unknown author is an excellent summary of wonderful, peaceful living. Warm and kind regards to everyone.
This article reminds me some one asking lord buddha I WANT HAPPINESS and lord replied just drope wants first then I ,whats left is happiness our true nature,restless mind has meny desires ,our senses are always going out ward ,.we need to turn them inward,sun is always shining behind cloud[want-want-want] we hear multi tasking is what people are lost in,and thinks that we are keeping up with modern world, we are connecting,shri krishna explains in geeta mind is our enemy and mind is our best friend.only quite mind can experience peace,happiness all positive virtues.lord shiva with close eyes gives knowlege to those whose I[ego]and wants are 0,when I am absorbed in nature of sunrise or sunset or starrey night it comes natural to be peaceful happy,may we all exp.this moment to moment always love navinchandra
