i have arrived

I was deeply concerned that I made the wrong choice this morning. I had eschewed my usual responsibilities at Church with the intention of spending the day at a local Buddhist monastery. Thich Nhat Hanh and the monks and nuns of Plum Village were scheduled to lead a Day of Mindfulness concluding their week-long Colorado retreat and I wanted to be there. However, I was alerted that he was also supposed to be teaching at Naropa and the conflict of interest had me worried that I missed an opportunity to be in the presence of such a venerable and celebrated practitioner.

I had been anticipating Thay's visit for months and despite a grave tiredness from yesterday's intensive activities at the U.S. Pro Cycling Championships, drove up to the mountain center. Convoluting a myriad of scenarios along the way - if he's not there, I'll do such and so - trying to convinced myself that whatever the outcome, it wouldn't be a waste of time. But the reality was that I had my heart set on hearing the master speak. If he was gone I would be sorely disappointed. And even though I didn't hear it in person, the morning's gospel was clearly audible in my ears.

As you may recall, Jesus had just anointed Peter as the head of the Church in last week's reading, and today, three verses following, the Christ is rebuking him for short selling the institution out. Peter has legitimate concerns of course. If the veritable teacher is gone by submitting his will unto death, then it's up to him. And Peter knows all too well that he's no savior. So he tells Jesus that this must never happen; he's got to stick around at least a little while longer.

Don't we all feel that way? What shall we do when our leader, teacher, friend, lover, (fill in your codependency) is no more? Ananda, weeping before the dying Tathagata, is much the same as Peter's admission. In the same vein, I, too, was worried about the teacher's absence. But when I arrived at the monastery's parking lot, I witnessed hundreds of followers streaming up the hillside. I was assured in my hopes and thus regained my spiritual footing. But the ground was paved by what Jesus was trying to tell Peter, and in fact was also the same as the Buddha told his closest disciple.

Each of the unawakened chooses to live in the unreal future confines of "what if." In a two hour dharma talk, Thich Nhat Hanh consistently emphasized living in the here and now as the way to freedom. My happiness is not dependent upon being in the presence of a master, even less about satisfying my own desires. As the Buddha said to Ananda, "Each of you should be an island unto himself, with himself and no other as his refuge." Jesus' rebuke to his closest disciple, "Get behind me, Satan...for you are setting your minds not on divine things but on human things," echoes this sentiment. Two thousand years later, we translated this message beginning the day joyously singing "I have arrived." In walking, sitting, and eating meditation I repeated:

I have arrived, I am home

In the here, and in the now

I am solid, I am free

In the ultimate, I dwell

And by the time I left, I felt as if I surely had.

These writings are now being collected at: http://lovealways-pisa.blogspot.com

a different way of seeing

Advertising is ubiquitous. Beyond the billboards, TV spots, and internet banners, shout outs can't be shut out. Everywhere we look some interest is trying to positively define itself in the consumer's mind. Over the years, branding, as it's now called, has become very sophisticated in the hope that when company communication is seen or heard, an advantageous Pavlovian response will be blindly triggered. Coca Cola used to be "delicious and refreshing," soon it became "the real thing," and now it simply "opens happiness." From long ago crisp description to today's vague promise, each allure affects our emotions and ultimately our buying decisions. In a not so subtle way, corporate America is invading our consciousness in an attempt to create alchemical desire out of fictional grounds.

As a graphic designer I have done a fair share of image creation. In my corporate identity work I usually endeavor to impart meaning beyond that which is readily apparent. My hope is that through the clever use of form, memorable impact will be created while accurately defining the client's product or organization. Most, if not all, of the company logos that you can think of, successfully employ this technique. The hidden arrow in the FedEx logo denotes movement, speed, and efficiency; Infinity automobile's vanishing roadway is a disguised arrow taking you far into the future; and the not so discreet arrow in the Amazon.com mark implies that the company carries everything from A to Z, are just a few examples. 

Branding attempts to create meaning beyond itself. With pervasive and persuasive contact we are easily deceived. Gullible, we readily believe what we're told. Soon we are not seeing for ourselves but that which we are conditioned to see. Though Coke may be delicious and refreshing, can it open happiness any more than the real thing - the real world - can? How is it anything more than a sweet carbonated beverage? We must open our eyes to see things truly for what they are. 

And this is Jesus' test in the gospel reading this morning. What do you see when you encounter the Christ he asks. Is there more than meets the eye? Answers are contrived from the collective consciousness but finally Peter declares only what he alone has perceived. He has seen the infinite in the finite. He has seen the real thing. William Blake, in the Marriage of Heaven and Hell, notes that "My senses discover'd the infinite in every thing." Through the senses we see only the finite reality, yet we sense the infinite through reality. If we look closely enough, the divine is seen in everyday life.

Does that make the mundane special? In one sense, no - a Coke is still a Coke no matter what the behemoth propaganda tells you. The physical phenomena has no meaning beyond itself. But then on another level, there is so much more. And this is what branding attempts to tap into and what Blake infers: That behind every physical thing there is a spiritual element waiting to be discovered. Jesus commends the often daft disciple because with deft comprehension he sees beyond the blinding rhetoric. His message: See not with the eyes, hear not with the ear, but understanding with the heart. In the finite lies the potential for the infinite. No one needs to tell you otherwise.

love, always,
pia

These writings are now being collected at: http://lovealways-pisa.blogspot.com

see what a tree can do

Late winter, when the snows begin to recede and the daytime temperatures rise above freezing, is the brief sapping season at the Convent. The surrounding woods is a veritable sugarbush so there is no shortage of trees from which to choose from. Small and medium sized trees are bypassed until years later, but the large ones are targeted and tapped. Over time some proved to supply more sap than others, yet there are one or two on the far side of the school's basketball court that readily flow far greater than the others. Although the Sisters were grateful for all the trees in the vicinity, these specimens were dubbed Grandfather and Grandmother Maples, perhaps because of their girth and long life, but also because of their unconditional generosity. They were accorded genuine respect and they are still loved to this day even when they are occasionally outdone by their neighbors.

A tree can do that. When you come to know it, not solely for the visceral value it provides, but simply because of it being a living being, that relationship can change you. It only requires an adjustment in perspective. It's important to remember that it's not the tree that changes, but only our perception. The tree is always there, quietly doing its tree business, it is we who become aware that there is more life than just our own limited physical presence. As such, our reality becomes just a little bit larger than it was before. We become more than ourselves and our natural compassion extends beyond our own needs.

This is what Peter, James, and John experience at the transfiguration of Jesus. We are told that the appearance of Jesus' face changed and his clothes became dazzling white. But somehow that can't be what happened. The Master was always such - he did not change, only those who saw him were. Luke continues; "Suddenly they saw," and as their eyes were opened to the majesty of god in man, they became aware of a new possibility. Even though the classical Christian interpretation is to reveal the divinity of only Jesus in that moment, I believe that the understanding of the divine indwelling in all humankind is what truly broadened their worldview and thus changed them forever. The disciples became a part of a greater whole, one which they could not see before, but once the potential was revealed it became indisputable.

As I was driving to my parent's house Wednesday night, I noticed for the first time a statuesque sight. Two houses down from their driveway stood a tall pine tree which stood out from the rest of the hillside. I have driven this road perhaps thousands of times in the 30-plus years they have lived there, but never once had I seen this beauteous giant. Its twisting shape revealed patches of spare limbs and smooth reddish bark. The green-needled branches stretching horizontally struck me with awe. How could I have missed this tree all these years? Of course, it was always there, it didn't change, but now it is a part of my reality. Just like Peter, James, and John, the future will look different because of the recognition of the gracious divine presence dwelling among us. This tree will remind me to be grateful, not only of its individual existence, but for the landscape in which it dwells and all who live thereby. It's simply amazing what a tree can do.

love, always,

pia