Meditation and Adventure

  We don't often associate meditation with a sense of adventure.  But when I step beyond the confines of what I expect to happen, I start to acknowledge that there is so little I know about what will happen. Stepping out of one's comfort zone is not so bad when one becomes aware that nothing has ever been certain. When I recognize this, I let go of the craving for comfort and try to open up more to the sense of "what is". And this can be quite an adventure.

   During the talk this past weekend at U of T, Venerable Chang Xing talked about being flexible like bamboo. Bamboo embodies the sense of being both strong and flexible at the same time. Another analogy he used that is derived from the plant world is the "leaf in the wind", which is open to whatever circumstances happen to arise in the moment. This kind of approach requires an attitude of "no assumptions"-- or at least putting all assumptions aside to embrace what's happening in the moment.  On a more subtle level, it may imply begin able to see the perfection in every moment and embrace it. With a spirit of gratitude, I can recognize that not everything is "falling apart" and some things do support us as needed.

  When all else fails, we can always go back to the method of contemplating wants vs needs, and recognizing that our attachment to having things a certain way comes from confusing wants with needs. We may want things to go in a certain way, but is it truly a "need"? If we don't get it, are we able to safely let go of it, accepting that it's only a kind of desire that is arising in the mind? 

   These types of attitudes require a lot of hard work, especially the sense of anchoring and grounding to know that we don't need as many things as we imagine. But when we embrace that sense of not requiring a lot of things, our hands become open to carrying new things and having new adventures.