The Empty Mirror
Receive the World
Hello, today I would like to take a look at the purpopse of Zen Buddhism - the idea of being an empty mirror. The ability to be completely spontaneous, to be fully receiving, to shed one’s hesitations and burdens of individual personality into the identity of the Self of the surrounding world. This idea blends into the Tao philosophy and breaks free of purpose driven life, into more of a beautiful purposeless being.
I find the idea and concept beautiful and I simply wanted to share.
However, this concept can be delicate to describe in words, therefore I will be using a couple of different sources to relate the idea. I hope you enjoy the photos, music sources, calligraphy, and the writing!
With love and gratitude,
Awe
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Music
Journey into Satchidnanda - covered by Ganavya.
“There is so much beauty and comfort in being”
I find this to be a wonderful rendition of Alice Coltrane’s instrumental song showcasing her journey into “Satchidnanda” - a sanscrit word broken down meaning: Sat-existence/truth. Chit-consciousness. Ananda-bliss.
Ganavya adds lyrics: “there is so much beauty and comfort in being.”
Ganavya sings about finding the way home. In her KEXP interview Ganavya says, “It is almost like a mother singing to her child. And she is saying, ‘you know, you can’t see the way but there is a light in the distance drawing us there. All of this earth that is spread here is for you, my little one. Every single divine, person, thing, god you see is for you my little one. Sometimes you have to fly even before your feathers are fully there.”
Empty Mirror - Kenneth Rexroth
As long as we are lost
In the world of purpose
We are not free.
I sit In my ten foot square hut.
The birds sing. The bees hum.
The leaves sway. The water
Murmurs over the rocks.
The canyon shuts me in.
If I moved, Basho's frog
Would splash in the pool.
All summer long the gold
Laurel leaves fell through space.
Today I was aware
Of a maple leaf floating
On the pool. In the night
I stare into the fire.
Once I saw fire cities,
Towns, palaces, wars,
Heroic adventures,
In the campfires of youth.
Now I see only fire.
My breath moves quietly.
The stars move overhead.
In the clear darkness
Only a small red glow
Is left in the ashes.
On the table lies a cast
Snake skin and an uncut stone.
“He watches as a gardener watches the growth of a tree, and wants his student to have the attitude of the tree the attitude of purposeless growth in which there are no short cuts because every stage of the way is both beginning and end. Thus the most accomplished master no more congratulates himself upon “arriving” than the most fumbling beginner.
Paradoxical as it may seem, the purposeful life has no content, no point. It hurries on and on, and misses everything. Not hurrying, the purposeless life misses nothing, for it is only when there is no goal and no rush that the human senses are fully open to receive the world. Absence of hurry also involves a certain lack of interference with the natural course of events, especially when it is felt that the natural course follows principles which are not foreign to human intelligence. For, as we have seen, the Taoist mentality makes, or forces, nothing but “grows” everything. When human reason is seen to be an expression of the same spontaneous balance of yang and yin as the natural universe, man’s action upon his environment is not felt as a conflict, an action from outside. Thus the difference between forcing and growing cannot be expressed in terms of specific directions as to what should or should not be done, for the difference lies primarily in the quality and feeling of the action. The difficulty of describing these things for Western ears is that people in a hurry cannot feel.”
-Watts, Alan. The Way of Zen. Pantheon Books, 1957. p. 176
The Empty Mirror
What would it mean to be an empty mirror - to be an easy and spontaneous reflection of life happening around you, to no longer identitify with thinker nor thought, to fall into the universe and be consumed entirely?
It would feel like comfortable true belonging, purposeless being, inherent worth, and infinite boudless love.
Instead of hurrying, there would be graceful meandering. Instead of comparison, there would be true compassion. Instead of individual tension, there would be universal laughter. Instead of relentless striving, there would be relaxed growth and natural unfurling. Instead of celebrating one’s individual successes, there would be the celebration of universal successes which surround all of existence. There would be the sudden realization that you are creating and consuming everything~ everywhere~ all at once.
There is no wrong way to live life. We all have the ability to enjoy this journey how we find most to our liking. Enjoy it as you please.
Journal Entry Transcribed:
Life ~ this beautiful, cosmic, and diaphanous dance ~ created for relentless enjoyment graced awareness and endless good fortune to Lovers of experience. Through this being human, a door opens for grace to come into full essence ~ surrounding and imbuing Every~Thing into existence.
Being awake to the Self’s True Nature gifts confidence to wayward and wandering souls. Experiencing whatsoever fulfills purpose ~ witnessing the infinite ocean ~ participating endlessly through Consciousness ~ laughing with Life’s inherent beauty ~ becoming satisfied at the threshold of Creation ~ uniting mirrors within centered separateness ~ shrouding the joyous game of Love with just one decision.
Every~Thing within Life is a Creation formed for experience ~ all living as pure Loving~kindness graciously coloring the Self’s no~thingness. Reflecting compassion like moonlight off a pond or a sunrise off clouds.
Openness lets silence dance beyond limitless perceptions of reality’s glittering presence ~ across the doorway of both words rests the empty mirror. The Eternal Gift.
Another Journal Entry:
An authentic doing from God’s Lion is not concerned with personal gain.
It is done out of loving~forgiving~kindness. It has no intention except to expand in beauty and Love. Inspiring and encouraging others through sharing courageous innocence. Integrating each isolated success into the whole of consciousness. A movement of identity from one into the identity of All- from singular into Collective.
Turning the key within the lock to release true beauty into the reality of true beauty. Intuition guiding the master between temples. Adventuring with childlike wonder and awe as his rainbow~heart~light illuminates his way through the unknowable~undescribable~indelliable Love~Self that he traverses and consumes~creates in joy.
Not rebelling within this Love but fully integrated as the mirror. All colors are his, and in this way, all successes are his. The one who finally identifies as all.
I don’t know for who nor why I find beauty, compassion, love, and laughter In your eyes Bright without worry A light without hurry Shining wisdom from the chest Break apart the bindings Climb in and find me I see colors of rainbows strewn Across clouds and ridges bridges being beauty and comfort mirroring Be a beautiful you Open to millions of things Remove yourself from the dream of separateness, of failing~achieving You are success A beautiful being A star of light- brilliant and beloved You are a hotspring, simply being Allowing those tired souls to find rest and comfort in your waters Asking not for recognition but simply transmuting earth water fire into clouds.
Thank you for reading,
I hope you enjoyed!
With love,
Awe World Experiencer
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