Morning Meditation

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Imagine a pool of turbid, stirred up and muddied water. Then, a man with a vision might stand upon the bank. He could not see the oysters, the shells, the pebbles and gravel on the bottom or the fish moving about. And why? Because of the turbid state of the water.

In the same way, it is impossible for one with a turbid mind to understand either his own benefit or the benefit of others, or to realize higher states. And why? Because of the turbid state of the mind. Now, imagine a pool of clear, tranquil and unstirred water. A man with vision might stand on the bank. He could see the oysters, the shells, the pebbles and gravel on the bottom, and the fish that move about. And why? Because of the untroubled state of the water.

In the same way, it is possible for one with a tranquil mind to understand his own benefit and the benefit of others, and to realize higher states. And why? Because of the untroubled state of his mind.

~ Dhammapada, Verse 149

I consider the presence of this verse in my RSS feeds this morning a kind of synchronicity. I've been thinking about how I want to conduct myself in the world, and by extension, in this blog. I don't want to create a turbid, muddy pool of water in this space, nor in the rest of my life.

Over at Zaadz, Jay recently suggested a quick meditation/dedication that he wants to employ before posting something. I like that idea. Here is what he wrote:

I'm commiting myself to the following exercise for at least the next week. Every time I blog, I'll start with a short one-minute meditation, then recite to myself:

May this post emanate from loving kindness and compassion for all who suffer. May every word I write come from the highest, most embracing wisdom available to me at the moment.

If I had done this meditation and dedication, I would not have entered into the recent dust up about Zaadz, or at least not in the way that I did. I regret that post not because I think I was wrong in the facts, but because I didn't enter into it from a place of compassion of loving-kindness. It was ego-driven, and therefore, it could do nothing but muddy the waters.

It is so easy to allow ego to run the show when something we value is under attack, or when we feel someone is misrepresenting the truth. The natural instinct of the mammal mind is to fight.

What is more difficult is to remain centered in our own clarity and to try to see the other person's point-of-view through his/her own reality lens. This is the true test -- to be able hold our own place and still take the other's position, to hold two divergent positions in our minds at the same time.

I didn't do that. As a result, I have felt sad about the way things played out in that discussion (though much of it was beyond my control). If I had entered into the discussion with a clear mind, and with compassion in my heart, things might have played out differently.

So I am going to employ Jay's suggested dedication, or some variant that feels right for me. I want this blog to be a clear lake of reason, compassion, and kindness, not a muddy pool of confusion, bitterness, and animosity.

I will still take on things that I feel are wrong or hurtful, but I want to do it from a clearer perspective and in the absence of anger or bitterness.

I've borrowed this from Nancy, with slight modifications:

May this blog strive to be in perfect alignment with Spirit, and for whatever flows forward to be a co-creation between me and the Eros of the Kosmos.

Peace.

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