Tricycle's Daily Dharma
A Different Stream of Consciousness
The Buddha described his teaching as "going against the stream." The unflinching light of mindful awareness reveals the extent to which we are tossed along in the stream of past conditioning and habit. The moment we decide to stop and look at what is going on (like a swimmer suddenly changing course to swim upstream instead of downstream), we find ourselves battered by powerful currents we had never even suspected--precisely because until that moment we were largely living at their command.
-- Stephen Batchelor in The Awakening of the West
from Everyday Mind, edited by Jean Smith, a Tricycle book
I've been receiving a lot of flack lately. The above Daily Dharma may explain why.... There is also something about this in _Eat Pray Love_ by Elizabeth Gilbert. She's living the way she wants, and everyone is critical. Because for the first time, she has made some space for herself and allowed her inner-voice to guide her.
Switching topics, I got a hug from Amma last night. I spent the whole evening thinking about how I should approach her. Needlessly. When I moved up to kneel in front of her, she just held me. She blessed me and Jon at the same time, and blessed the pictures of Elliot and Amory that I held in front of me. Then she pulled me back, looked in my eyes and smiled--Amazing. Like a warm grandmother smile-- and pulled me in again. There is NOTHING that compares to a hug given out of pure compassion. Everyone needs to experience this. I hope I can share this with the next person I hug.
