The Castle of Mind

 Castles represent fortresses where our best things are kept. I am reminded of the Rook in chess--a very powerful yet seemingly innocuous piece that has almost as much power as the Queen, even though it stands in the back and at the corner of the board. Castles also represent home--an impregnable place where nothing can really enter, at least without risk of intrusion.

   I think about all the ways in which Buddhist practitioners (and spiritual practitioners in general) need to ration their energy and time, so that their practice does not dissipate or become muddy. Worry is one way that we dissipate our energies: thinking that something needs to be solved in one day or a catastrophe will ensue, for instance. This attitude only drains one's energy, in addition to leading to a frantic pace that becomes exhausting after awhile.

   One way is to treat every single moment as practice, rather than sitting on a cushion to "wait" to practice. Another is simply to do something with a still, unmoving yet faithful and alert attitude. Simone de Beauvoir referred to this waiting as a kind of faith that God will give us the words, the insights, the proper actions, if we put our awareness and faith first before the deed itself. Rushing into an action often leads to inattention, or at the very least, energies that remain dispersed and uncollected. Having a moment to reign in one's energies in a focused way is certainly a good way to develop self-compassion. This might be summed up as: rather than rushing toward things in a desperate bid to attain them, wait patiently for the conditions to ripen, with an attitude of stillness and non-grasping.

  The mind can be compared to a kind of castle. It stands solidly as long as we are not lowering all the bridges and draining the moats. A castle is only as powerful as we are willing to keep it that way, and truly treat it as our home.