Deep longing

Action

Keeping going 

Am I still going in the right direction? 

What a privilege to be part of a  group exploring the Iddhipadas!  This teaching is so active and relevant to us in every moment of our lives. Reflecting upon life it can be seen that everything we have done or achieved is a result of this process. 

They greet you every morning, it’s just after 5, I have already got out of bed, made a cup of tea, started writing this and a few other things besides. On reflection we can see them in the things that are the long haul, lifetime achievements, in  work, in raising  children, in meditation.... the things we do week after week, month after month, year after year, sometimes we are ‘successful’ but  ‘done/doing  the very best we can’ is enough.

They are present in the small day to day things we do. I have a favourite aubergine bake recipe that I have been making for a couple of years now. It’s very simple, and I still use the same ingredients. Every time I make it it is better than the last time. I started by following a recipe but it’s now been tweaked it so much (proportions, cooking time, choice of particular ingredient) that it is no longer just a meal but a feast! In the times when you may be able to visit my house again, I may even cook it for you! 

During the time of the group the bare rooted raspberries arrived to be planted, for the third time. There were raspberries here when we moved in, so they will grow here, but they needed replacing. They have been replanted twice and failed, not sure why. This year we have tried a different supplier, made sure there is plenty of grit, enough water, not too much, spoken encouraging words to them. We won’t know till next summer whether they will produce the canes and the fruit we long for... perhaps if you visit in a couple of years you may have a bowlful after your aubergine bake!

We see the process in others too, the course ran over the time of the American election of Joe Biden.... what an interesting example! The period of the search for a coronavirus vaccine.... not quite there yet....

In our meditation practice as in every other part of life, we have a goal. However,  we need to put most of our attention on the path, keeping the love we have for the practice alive, attending to the small steps, just sitting down every day, being creative and open to what we need to do next, making those small adjustments and then looking at the whole picture, taking a step back and reassessing. Aubergine bake is lovely but perhaps I need to have a curry!  Feeding the practice as we do ourselves with delicious meals along the way.

I will not say how the individual iddhipada relate to the image but you could gently bring each one to mind while looking at the image.

The only thing that I felt was missing was a feeling of connection with other groups working on the same material. Looking at the notice board gave that connect. 

A great idea!

I think another way round that lack of connection would be to hold a short meeting at the start and end of the seven weeks, just to practice together. Everyone would not be able to make the meeting but they could practice at that time or keep the meeting in mind. The meeting could even be recorded and put here on the notice board for a few weeks.

Maybe something to think about if this exercise is to be repeated. 

Chanda -
Starts me off, 
Motivates
And shows me the way.

Viriya -
The engine room,
The power house,
Persevere,
Stick it out,
But know when to turn it off!             
Citta -
Concentrated,
Clear,
Unambiguous,
Decisive.

Vimamsa -
Dig and delve -
What’s happening?
Surprising results -
Shining a light on habits,
Embedded over decades; 
Challenging me 
To forge new pathways,  
Better and fresher
To new successes.

Thank you 
To my wise companions
On the path!

 

Chanda

 

Kitchen – I knew it had to be done, and determined when and how I would tackle it from the time I was drinking my first cup of tea of the day.

 

Garden – I only resolved to do this job after lunch, when I observed the border looking rather scruffy as I sat at the kitchen table.

 

Viriya

 

Kitchen – As usual the task required some energy, such that I became warm while working even though I was dressed in my shirt sleeves in an unheated house.

 

Garden – I went at this in a rush, cutting back whole areas of the border. I reflected afterwards that it might have been more mindful to have used the time to remove just the brown leaves from a few plants. However, I generated a pleasing amount of waste for the green bin.

 

 Citta

 

Kitchen – Listening to Radio 6 Music as I worked, I was entranced by a track they played by Brian Eno from a newly-released album of his and resolved to buy it.

 

Garden – I was pleased to encounter a frog at this late stage of the year. I also noticed that the leaves on my Sisyrinchium were forming a perfect fan shape, and the Chaenomeles had a few very delicate pink blooms.

 

Vimamsa

 

Kitchen – There is not much to investigate about this task, except for a feeling of pleasure that the job is done, and won’t have to be thought about again for some days.

 

Garden – As I hung around watching a nice sunset, I decided to investigate the behaviour of green parrots on my neighbours’ oak tree, whose noisy squawks I always hear about this time of day. Huge numbers were perched on the highest branches, and more kept arriving from nearby trees. They were not eating or fighting: it seemed to be a purely social time for them. Then over a period of a few minutes they departed in separate groups flying together like bullets, the last two individuals leaving just as darkness fell.