[AUDIO AND TEXT]
This is the third talk given by Nona Strong Roshi at the August 2023 East-West meditation retreat at Mercy Center Burlingame.
We’ve seen that we have a broad field to play in when we come to any silent practice, whether it be Christian contemplation, Zen meditation, or some other tradition we have embraced. In whatever practice we adopt, we are sure to face distractions. These can be favorable distractions, or they can lead us down the proverbial garden path. Teachers and practice leaders in all traditions offer guidance about how such distractions might look, as well as how not to let them knock us off our stride.
Many of you are experienced practitioners, so you already know this stuff. But here, on “hump day” in the middle of this retreat, it might be a worthwhile exercise to look at some of what you (as well as I) may come to face during your practice – this week and going forward in your life after retreat.
We’ll start with St. Teresa of Avila and her notion of “consolations.” In what she terms the Prayer of Quiet, which is her name for the practice of contemplation, or objectless meditation, God sometimes gives the dedicated practitioner a little encouragement. She writes of such consolations in her book, The Interior Castle. (I won’t give a particular publishing attribution for this work; you can find a version you like just about everywhere. I’ve even seen a free PDF download on Google Books!)
I haven’t read this book closely in a while, but as I recall, by consolations Teresa means sweet joys and insights, sometimes visions and previews, things that soothe or expand the heart during contemplation. An ease of sitting and light of clarity that we all might envy. And taken together, these consolations can serve as an impetus to continue and deepen one’s contemplative practice, bringing one closer to God.
But she issues a useful caution, which we all should take to heart, no matter which practice we have embraced:
Those who do not receive these consolations may feel a despondency that is uncalled for, since perfection does not consist in consolation but in greater love; our reward will be in proportion to this, and to the justice and sincerity of our actions.
She’s telling us that as with so many actions and attitudes, the reward is enhanced with and by the action itself, as in “justice is its own reward.” We need not and indeed should not look for a “treat” after successfully performing the trick. If we start looking for this kind of payback, we are starting to toy with idolatry. We mistake the flavor for the nourishment that the fruit wants to provide.
But of course, when we are graced to receive this kind of positive payback, we can certainly appreciate it. And without clinging to the joy we’ve experienced, we can carry its content and its impact out into our daily living and possibly benefit someone else who may or may not be following a similar path.
Okay, there’s much to be found in the practice of St. Teresa of Avila. If you’re expressing a Christian bent at one time or another, share her work and let her enliven and deepen your own practice. Just take care not to cling to what you are graced to experience in your practice; don’t hold on for dear life. And for goodness’ sake, don’t delude yourself that you have “arrived.” Remember, you are continuously being created, emerging moment by moment, within the boundless field of Original Nature, True Nature, Essential Nature. Just as the Universe is. Coming from and through the Source of everything!
In Asian Buddhism, the great “consolation” is probably the enlightenment experience – that hallelujah moment in which you experience the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Or so you think. Not surprisingly, the same joys and perils are to be found in this Eastern flavored experience as we saw in Teresa – and in the other Western mystics we may encounter during our journey. And the same cautions apply.
It may come suddenly or gradually. Either way, don’t cling to the experience in a way that closes you off from new possibilities. Remember, just as you are an ongoing “happening,” so is everything else. You do not and cannot know what else is out there (wherever “there” is for you or for the world).
Don’t use your enlightenment experience to lord it over other people who you think haven’t yet “gotten it” yet. And don’t look at others’ experiences as being superior to your own. In other words, don’t bother with comparisons; they are hazardous to your spiritual health. That’s one reason why teachers advise extreme caution in sharing experiences among students, and a teacher with integrity never, ever shares one student’s experience with another.
Now of course, we have books that describe certain people’s enlightenment experiences. Philip Kapleau’s Three Pillars of Zen is a good example; he contributes people’s own descriptions in order to suggest what is possible for his readers, wherever they are on their journey. But remember, these are contributions solicited and offered for the benefit of others. This in fulfillment of the first Bodhisattva vow, to save all beings. Whatever helps…
In Zen the other East Asian traditions, there exists the notion of meditation being interrupted by demons and monsters and other unpleasant creatures. (I guess this is what we imagine when we in the West see paintings of that red, horned Satan surrounded by all these little critters with swords and spears poking at the skin of unfortunate beings.)
In Japanese, these manifestations are called makyo, and they can show up in the strangest places during meditation. People see them as real figures on walls; on the floor in front of them; in the air. They can even show up as thoughts or fears or obsessions or other mental interferences. Altered states, and not always fun or enjoyable ones.
The best way to meet these kinds of interferences is just to notice them and allow them to pass. Don’t let them take over and push you off into some kind of cave; don’t let them knock you off your stride. Just come back to your meditation with the assurance that we all can have, both on the cushion and off: This, too, will pass. It’s like the verse from Teresa of Avila in our prayer booklet: “Let nothing disturb you … All things are passing.” This may be easier said than done, but it can be done.
Well, I think that’s enough for now. Just always remember, as Teresa says, God never changes. Essential Nature is True Nature. And it is us.
EMPTY CLOUD ZEN 