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Zen and the active world
May. 28th, 2013 08:57 amStill thinking this morning about discussions last night. We're praised in most cultures for energy, for involvement, for taking an interest (intellectual and emotional) in things, and yet for so many of us that involvement often ends up paralyzing rather than freeing us, the poison of Too Much thickening in our veins.
And yet, to "let go" of all that means a certain and significant abandonment of responsibilities and self-determination - letting others determine the shape of your life and your world. That's a hard thing to do and I'm not sure it's a good thing, either. The world is an active place. I'm a part of this world, I choose to engage with it, as a citizen, as an artist, as a social creature. I'm not ready or able to accept the Four Noble Truths of Zen Buddhism just yet, because discontent leads to positive change as well as suffering, and desire can be beautiful and enabling... pain is not always bad. But yes, I see the wear that engagement leaves on our minds, our hearts, our souls.
Can we be passionate about life, actively engaged in our world, and still disengage from the things/emotions/thoughts that bind us? How to remain involved, but not be overwhelmed/owned? Still working on that.
There may need to be a longer post with meanderings on this, eventually...
(and, not coincidentally, I'm seeing these themes in much of what I'm writing these days. The self-aware writer cannot hide from herself. This is yet another reason why we drink.)
And yet, to "let go" of all that means a certain and significant abandonment of responsibilities and self-determination - letting others determine the shape of your life and your world. That's a hard thing to do and I'm not sure it's a good thing, either. The world is an active place. I'm a part of this world, I choose to engage with it, as a citizen, as an artist, as a social creature. I'm not ready or able to accept the Four Noble Truths of Zen Buddhism just yet, because discontent leads to positive change as well as suffering, and desire can be beautiful and enabling... pain is not always bad. But yes, I see the wear that engagement leaves on our minds, our hearts, our souls.
Can we be passionate about life, actively engaged in our world, and still disengage from the things/emotions/thoughts that bind us? How to remain involved, but not be overwhelmed/owned? Still working on that.
There may need to be a longer post with meanderings on this, eventually...
(and, not coincidentally, I'm seeing these themes in much of what I'm writing these days. The self-aware writer cannot hide from herself. This is yet another reason why we drink.)
