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'The Road Home'
Presque Isle, Maine - Aroostook County
Joy is the gateway to Nirvana.
*The Buddha
I [Jesus] have told you these things, so my joy might remain in you,
and that your joy might be complete.
*Gospel of John 15.11
It is a crazy experience, but not exactly ego madness. It's wisdom that has gone crazy. The element of wisdom here is its playfulness, humorousness, and its sybaritic quality. Even though you are irritated and naked and completely exposed without your skin, there is a sense of joy or, more likely, bliss.
*Chogyam Trungpa. Illusions Game.
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During Gautama Siddhartha's - the Buddha's - time, he chose monks to carry Buddhism's message from place to place. Those chosen had to be in good physical condition, completely honest, and with excellent memories. One such monk was Sadhonna.
Sadhonna was returning to the Deer Park, where the Buddha was staying. He encountered a monk practicing asceticism - self-denial. The self-denying monk resembled cobwebs stretched over a skeleton. He was sitting on an anthill in the Lotus position. He did not even twitch as ants pulled at his flesh. Sadhonna called, "Fellow monk, I'm on my way to see the Buddha. Is there any message you would like to ask the Buddha?" The self-denying monk grimaced and said, "Ask the Buddha, how many more lifetimes I will endure before attaining Buddhahood." Sadhonna assured the monk that he would ask, and he walked on.
Just before nightfall, Sadhonna heard someone singing a little off-key. He could see someone dressed in monk's clothing, clumsily dancing in a small clearing in the woods. He called, "Fellow monk, I'm on my way to see the Buddha. Is there any message you would like me to share with him?" The dancing monk thought for a moment and said, "Yes, ask him when will I reach my enlightenment." Sadhonna assured the dancing monk he would ask, and he walked on.
A few months later, Sadhonna returned and encountered the self-denying monk. His flesh was so thin that his bones were visible. "The Buddha answered your question," Sadhonna said. "How long until I reach my enlightenment?" whispered the self-denying monk. "Four more lifetimes," replied Sadhonna. The self-denying monk grimaced.
Sadhonna traveled on and met the dancing monk. "The Buddha has answered your question," he said. "How many more lifetimes until my enlightenment?" asked the monk. Sadhonna pointed to a large tree with thousands of leaves shimmering in the sunlight. He said, "As many as the leaves on that tree." The dancing monk laughed and received enlightenment instantly.
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Prayerfulness introduces us to a joy native to ourselves: not apart from, not an object to get to, to deserve. Joy arises spontaneously when the conditions inwardly are aligned with our true nature. This joy is not pleasure or happiness.
Joy is interior contentment and gladness arising from our true nature, not from self as a person, or personality: in this sense, joy is never personal, though it is intimate; it is not personal, also for it is transpersonal, so universal.
Joy comes from nowhere and goes nowhere. This joy is not the opposite of sadness; it is not the opposite of anything. This joy is a quality of the Whole, of God, Goddess, Life - so, you.
* * *
The late Zen master, Kobun Otogawa Chino, in Embracing Mind -
When you breathe, it feels like you are doing it, but, actually, the whole universe is breathing each breath with you. So when you do not make a special effort, but let the breath be, let it breathe as your body responds, you feel perfect.
In natural breathing, rather than thinking "I" am breathing, we learn about Life's qualities, like joy. Joy happens like breathing happens. You cannot locate either breathing or rejoicing, yet they are there. To say "breath" is to say "breathing," and to say "joy" is to say "rejoicing."
When you are joyful, the universe is joyful. Like breathing, you know joy through it arising spontaneously - this is why it is pure, primordially so.
This is a reason to be joyful. You want the universe to be joyful. Nature can be deeply wounded, thoroughly sad, and it can rejoice at the same time; we can, too. We can be sad with the universe but blissful with it, holding both in a single, timeless moment.
There is no reason to say, "I'll be joyful later when I'm able to be, when this sadness leaves." Joy and sadness are not opposites, as many think. What are you waiting for?
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*(C) Brian K. Wilcox, 2021
*Brian's book, An Ache for Union: Poems on Oneness with God through Love, can be ordered through major online booksellers or the publisher AuthorHouse. The book is a collection of poems based on mystical traditions, predominantly Christian and Sufi, with extensive notes on the poetry's teachings and imagery.
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