Times To Act

 I am impressed at the way, in my recent learning of Silent Illumination method, I am no longer thinking of it as a passive practice which involves only sitting and "observing". In act, Silent Illumination offers many affordances for activity. Why or how so? Rather than being a method of focusing on a simple object of awareness, this method encompasses real action, because it is responding to continuous changes. If I am not sticking to my thoughts all the time, I have much more space to do things productively, perhaps not getting so stuck on different meanings I assign to things. In that sense, as long as I am doing things that are benefittng others, then there is no reason for regret.
    But this "doing" is a bit tricky, isn't it? It's tricky because in today's world, there is a tendency to equate doing with speed, with results, with doing things quicker and walking faster than those around us. When I equate doing with quantity, I have a tendency to let go of the silent aspect of Silent Illumination, and then doing becomes a way to block contemplation. One can also do by non-doing. How so, you might wonder? When I choose to refrain from doing something that is harmful to myself or others, then this non-doing is a form of doing. It's often the case that we equate doing with something tangible, but mindful non-doing is also a kind of clear doing.
    Knowing what kinds of "doing" to engage is central to the Silent Illumination practice. When I am clear, the two terms, do and not do, are just coming from the same principle and energy, so there is not even a need to prefer one over the other. Even one's mistakes or failures, when seen from the perspective of mirror mind, are not obstacles to peaceful being.  This is because I am not attaching a tangible identity to what I do or don't do.