Speed, Mobility and Stability
There is a Zen story about a man riding a horse which is galloping very quickly. Another man standing alongside the road yells at him, “where are you going?”, and the man yells back, “I do not know, ask the horse.
Our situation is something like that today. Our five senses are like five untrained, wild horses, which are pulling and pushing us in tremendous speed to self-perpetuate our endless desires, but ending in a state of disarray.
Desires spring from our natural energy which is constantly in flux, so they should not be suppressed. But how and with what direction we channel that energy into is a skillful task that each of us must endeavor to learn. And it is critically important, because our happiness and happiness of those around us much depends on our accomplishment of this task.
Life is short and uncertain, and the speed, level of skill, and directional awareness we develop in our lives is one of the truly consequential choices we make – with or without the awareness of it. When we hurry up to do something, with good intentions, and for a good cause such as social welfare, education, or feeding the needy, then the speed and direction of this transforms the energy arising out of our natural state of desire (pravritti) into a constructive force expanding outwards.
But when the same energy is fixed on self gratification and accumulation, without any concern for others, then it shapes itself into a cancerous force of self-destruction. Our unchecked cravings and desires are behind today’s culture of consumerism. The effect of that can be seen in destruction of nature, violence in society, and in the explosion of mental illness, it also continues to lead our individual and collective self-destruction.
Before speeding up indiscriminately to get something, it will be wise just to stop for a moment, and ponder with a calm mind that what is it that we’re really seeking in life, and how does this moment drive towards that larger goal. When the goal gets clear, then we can put our speedy efforts to find out the best way to achieve it.
If we become little more inward looking and indulge a little less in short term thinking, and try to understand our true nature, we will see that we are all spiritual beings passing through material expressions of our intentions and desires. Our goal should be to realize our inherent divine nature, while playing our respective roles with dignity, sincerity and honesty. Body, mind and senses all are our instruments, those that help us perform our duties towards the greater whole and the endless continuum of life and an understanding of that is the first step in reaching the goal of self realization.But often when ignorance covers up our vision, we think we are alone and separate in this one body, we behave like slaves to our senses and desires. We speed up, and waste our life running after mirages created by our desires, whose promise of excitement is but a fleeting vision that leaves in its wake permanent damage to our material, psychological and spiritual life. Only with proper understanding and with the power to discern subtly, our own life experience can bring balance between mobility expressed through the natural flux of our energy (pravritti) and stability (nivritti). Our skill must match our speed in order to keep control of the direction of our lives. If it doesn’t, it is better to be still and gain that skill before moving further. In being awakened to the wisdom of our true nature, we can still be materially productive and prosperous while being spiritually enlightened. In order to make our brief worldly journey meaningful and peaceful for us and for others whose lives we touch, it is imperative that we stop the world before moving any further. And in that moment, see exactly where we stand and where we’re headed.
We need speed, mobility and stability all in our lives but in the right proportion and for right cause. When that is not maintained, our orientation is skewed and unbalanced and destroys the harmonious balance of life and with it ourselves. And the evidence of this we can find in much of today’s consumerist culture, which is largely fed by endless desire, and causing terminal harm to the individual life force as well as stunting the development of a just, civic society.
A well-known American Buddhist scholar Mr. Jack Kornfield says; “ Ours has been called the Addicted society, with over twenty million alcoholics, ten million drug addicts, and millions addicted to gambling, food, sexuality, unhealthy relationships, or the speed and business of work …with great fanfare our society encourages these addictions”. (A Path with Heart, page 24).
Life full with endless expectations and desires, do not allow us to stay connected with our own selves, then how can we expect to be connected with others with love and respect? So we find, with all material comforts, modern man lives in deep loneliness and inner poverty.
Tragedies come in life to teach us that which we have not taught ourselves. We ‘own’ nothing in this impermanent world, not our car, house or our dear ones, not even our own bodies. So to bring about a stable state of happiness, we have to work on our lives, and with a proper understanding of our true loving and peaceful nature. With will and with discernment, we may channel our energies of desire for welfare of others. By surrendering our big ego, and attitude of “I” and “Mine” at the feet of our creator, we can remain free. We do not have to be ascetics. We can still enjoy the fullness of life and complete our duties and business obligations efficiently without losing sight of what comprises the means to the end and what is the end goal of our sentient lives. Losing ourselves to be the top runner in a rat race, or counting the value of our life in terms of material significance associated with things that we cannot take with us is a manic state, not one that is borne of a clear understanding of the fact that the only resource we have is time, and the only power we have is the power to make choices. This brief transit of life is too valuable to be wasted. As T. S. Eliot said in his poem
“Those who have crossed
With direct eyes, to deaths other kingdom
Remember us – if at all – not as lost
Violent souls, but only
As hollow men
The stuffed men”. (The Hollow Men)
Edited by Prodeep Bose
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