Ryokan, an 18th century Zen monk wrote:
"Without a bit of ambition left, I let my nature flow where it will. There are ten days of rice in my bag, and by the fireplace a bundle of wood Who prattles of illusion or nirvana? Forgetting the equal dusts of name & fortune, listening to the night rain on the roof of my hut, I sit, at ease, both legs stretched out."
So, the other day I was musing how it might be easier if we just got euthanized at 50 (I'm 52) - you know, something like Soilent Green is People! I mean, a few thousand years ago, (and in some places, much more recently) I would most likely be dead by now anyway. But as humans we have this incredible attachment to living. I'm not sure why, really. We tend to treat death as if it's something to be avoided. You do know it's inevitable don't you. In fact, much of the difficulty is the great struggle to resist death in all its forms. Much of this looks like "There's something wrong!" Our day to day experience is often seeped in "there's something wrong." We can't necessarily get a grasp of what it is, but there's something wrong!
THERE'S NOTHING WRONG!
As I lay there, with nothing particular arising to be done, it ocurred to me that as long as there is a sense of something wrong, there will be an inclination to do something about it. Now, 'WHO' wants to do something about it? To whom is such an idea arising.
There is an old saying, "DIE to LIVE." In order to really experience LIFE, one must Give Up The Struggle - yes, that's right, it takes G.U.T.S. - - - Giving Up The Struggle - The struggle to live, the struggle to know, the struggle to correct what's theoretically wrong, all the struggles. Now, some would call this resignation, but resignation suggests that I want it to be different, but I can't have it different so I give up. This is more akin to surrender, which says, it's perfect as it is. All the struggle is really just resistance to what is, and the resistance comes from the sense of a localized individual that is somehow separate from the whole. Often this individual considers themselves as searching. So guess what? G.U.T.S. can also mean Give Up The Search. And who is making this search? Why the Seeker. So, once more, the answer is G.U.T.S. - Give up the Seeker.
As long as one is seeking, one can not find. The cost of freedom is EVERYTHING. You must give up all beliefs and concepts and BE the Absolute free from limitations. How do you do this. Well, it takes GUTS!!
With Infinite love & gratitude,
and Without a bit of ambition left
Aja
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1 comment:
HI Aja,
Well, that's an interesting idea you have there. Personally, I'm not for euthanasia at 50. Having just turned 51, life is just really getting interesting. I don't know if I'm necessarily 'attached' to life, but I'm not in any hurry at all to give it up. I'll be dead when I'm dead and in the meantime, there's some interesting things going on and people to see and friends to be with, and some really interesting work to do. I guess for me, one of the great things about being older is that I have long since realized there is nothing wrong to be 'fixed.' That doesn't mean there isn't interesting work to do, and that I can't work to help move things in a particular direction. Struggle comes from being attached to a particular outcome and resisting the natural movement of things. While I may move in a particular direction, I've learned to always be open to something new coming in that could change everything and never let myself hold onto my ideas about things or people or whatever. That includes being alive. I'm very much enjoying being alive, especially now that I'm in my 50s. If I'm dead tomorrow, then, oh well. I'll be dead and that will be too bad for those I leave behind, because they'll be sad. But I'm in no rush. I'm here and if I'm gone tomorrow or the next day or next year or in 50 years, then that's when I'll be gone. Euthanasia seems just as forced as trying to control being alive. I like your term 'surrender.' Surrendering to what is seems to be at least one of the lessons of living a life this long. As the saying goes, "resistance is futile" (borrowed from another bit of science fiction).
Be well,
Alexandria
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