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Being Peace
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Even though you don't see this now, don't struggle for it. ... So sit down and go deeply into what you already are.
*Dainin Katagiri. The Light That Shines through Infinity: Zen and the Energy of Life.
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Some 13 years ago, I read a humorous story about a little lad called Barry. This story signifies a spiritual lesson for us about "seeing," or what Buddhists call "right view (understanding, insight, wisdom; truth)," which we have shared about the last three days here.
Three-year-old Barry Briggs refused to leave his pennies at Sunday School, notwithstanding his mom's instructions. The fourth Sunday, he returned home with them, as before. His mom said, "That money is for Jesus. Don't you want to give it to him?" "He never comes," explained the boy.
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And wisdom from the Anonymous Sage...
After one of the Sage's talks, he walked up to speak with him. The man said, "I just don't understand the things you share with us in your talks. What's wrong?" The Sage replied, "We see what we are." "Then, what am I to do?" asked the man. "Become that you wish to see," said the Sage.
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We may think of spiritual insight as something we get or gain. We believe it is there for the taking, an object we search for. We can receive it from a teacher or a book, we opine. Yet, spiritual wisdom is not out there somewhere away from you. What you do not see is you; what you see is you.
There is no separation between you and insight or lack of it. The lad sees as he is, so do we. The Sage reminds us, "To see more, we become one who sees more." Katagiri Roshi recognizes we are already all we could see, yet we are caught in the sense of the separate self. We see ourselves as seperate selves seeking separate pieces of information. So, going through our understanding of the self needing to find insight, insight arises, wisdom that we are now. We are the one we are returning to in our love for truth. How could we not be?
Can you see how your views of reality have changed over time? Do you see the correlation between your views changing and you changing? Is there a person who has primarily been instrumental in your growth in receptivity to truth? What about this person did you (do you) find helpful in this regard?
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*© Brian K. Wilcox, 2021
*Story of the Sage is from Brian K. Wilcox. "Meetings with an Anonymous Sage."
*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 consists of poems based on wisdom traditions, predominantly Christian, Buddhist, and Sufi, with extensive notes on the poetry's teachings and imagery.
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