BEING IN ACTION (from a talk given at an Open Day in June 2007).
Being in Action may sound contradictory because we commonly think of Being as, well, just being with nothing much happening, whereas Action signifies that something is taking place. So the question becomes how can there be Being in Action? And what has this got to do with an Open Day at the School of Meditation? Let’s see.
It may, or may not, seem obvious that Being has to do with existence, but since we all have a sense of existence, a feeling that I exist now, then Being can be seen as relating to the nature of what you are – and that is a very big question. In fact ‘What, or who am I?’ is generally recognised as being one of the big fundamental questions anyone can ask. Let’s take this a bit further.
One immediate response to the question is that one is a human being. And having said that, one would tend to go on and say ‘Yes, and my name is John or Joan Smith’, or whatever – and then – ‘I live at 57 High St, I am 5 foot 9, brown hair and eyes, born in London on such and such a date and my occupation is as a teacher.’
So is this what you are? These are actually what you might call your passport details; how you are identified at any one time - because some of these details do change with time. This process of identification through characteristics continues and by the time you are at a party or chatting to a new acquaintance you begin to add details about what you have done and what you plan to do, what you like or don’t like...and the story goes on to include what you have and how you see yourself – by then you are talking about what you think you are. And if you are trying to impress someone then a little elaboration and perhaps enhancement with bits of extra colour will come into play. Sometime that is almost expected, at say a job interview. You can easily end up impressing yourself - which is strange when you come to think about it.
All this is part of everyday life and it’s easy to laugh at it. The problem is that if you convince yourself that that’s all there is in answer to ‘Who am I?’ then things become unsatisfactory. So the question becomes ‘Is there a distinction between what you think you are, and what you really are?’ And what difference does that make anyway?
The next thing to explore then is what could be called pure Being – meaning just Being without anything added, as distinct from the egotistical me around which everything seem to happen. And what happens around me can seem unfair, wonderful, tragic, sometimes comic, sometimes exhilarating and inspiring and it’s what we call my life. And we seem to have to put a lot of skill and effort into being this egotistic me as distinct from just Being with nothing added – which requires no effort whatsoever. This pure Being is a given, we don’t do it, and of course most importantly we all share this condition whatever the differences in the extra bits which get added through growth and experience. Seen this way Being is what is before anything else is added. More than just body and mind – more to do with being one’s fundamental self.
Action has some similar characteristics. It seems as though we are doing something all the time; even when we are supposed not be doing anything, we still seem busy doing just that! We are constantly motivated to do this or that in order to get a desired result. To complete some of these actions also requires skills and specific knowledge which we have taken the trouble to acquire. So we move about our world doing things to make ourselves, hopefully, more happy, more fulfilled, more contented, comfortable, better off, satisfied. And we’ll often go to a lot of trouble to avoid future discomfort to achieve what we think will make the ego me - the me built up from experience and acquisition - feel better. In some ways then it seems as though our life is defined by what we do, how we act, and this in turn can define who or what we think we are. So how does that relate being what we really are?
In this organisation, The School of Meditation, we had a friend who gave us lots of invaluable advice over many years. One of the first things he gave us was the profound statement that
‘In order to be what you are, you have first to come out of what you are not’.
By this he meant that what we really are is not our thoughts about ourselves and our lives, the things we do and how we feel. These are always transient and temporary, and, he emphasised, they do not give full and lasting satisfaction.
He went on to say that the satisfaction we need relates to the nature of Being Oneself, truly, and as I was suggesting earlier, that is the pure Being without all those John or Joan Smith, 57, High Street, etc add-ons. It is in understanding this fundamental fact of human being – being human - that it is possible to find the lasting satisfaction we need. Then we’re relieved from the often desperate and stressful activities which we feel bound to follow trying to get satisfaction for who we think we are - the John or Joan who likes this, doesn’t like that , is good at this, hopeless at that and so forth. We obviously have to have this John/Joan persona in order to participate in the activities of life – great or small. But we probably all accept that more and more activity solely in pursuit of acquisition, making things better personally, for me, doesn’t always give the lasting fulfilment we want – often the opposite.
Let’s look again at pure being. In the School of Meditation, to connect with this pure being, this simple existence without a harness of add-ons, we use meditation as the link, the method, the way through all the activity, much of it seemingly unavoidable, to connect with this simple, wholesome uncomplicated condition, which once connected with gives a lasting satisfaction beyond anything we can acquire from ordinary worldly action.
By regular practice of meditation we find relief from the treadmill of activity which pursues satisfaction totally outside of that which does not change when you have a new address or a new role in life - that pure being which is our true self, or true nature. If not careful, or if we fall into difficult circumstances, that treadmill can grind one down to the point where life and existence can seem oppressive, without any sense of rest and sometimes even futile, let alone unsatisfactory. The truth, curiously, is that we can find that satisfaction even in the midst of performing the role of John Smith, Joan Smith, who is good at this and hopeless at that, by understanding that being fully human includes both the relative, ever changing and personal and the pure being with nothing added.
So how could this work?
There are several ways we could approach this but let us take today, here in this house where we have drawings and paintings on the walls, some readings and poetry, music. All the result of action.
Many who have examined the process of doing things, creating things have noticed that at the point where the result manifests and shows itself in our awareness, it seems to rise out of nothing – nothing in particular. There may be ideas about need and intentions but what becomes obvious is that provided you are consciously present, the result can just flow from you, like music from an instrument or writing from a pen, speech from the lips. The writer is present, the pen and paper is there and the intention also, but the final form comes together in some unfathomable way. It is provided. This process holds good equally in gardening or getting a meal together, driving a car or running a meeting. All human action can be done with a certain consciousness of Being, like now, knowing that you are here and now – but it is easy to miss and fall into self-consciousness and concern about how I’m doing. But it is just as easy and simple to let go and just be yourself totally – that includes the underlying pure being plus all the characteristics, skills and so on we need in ordinary life. There is no exclusion of one for the other.
Regular practise of meditation opens up an understanding of this and allows us to be wholly oneself whatever the action one is performing. This gives fulfilment, contentedness and satisfaction not found when the motive is solely to create even more add-ons to who we think we are. In a nutshell, meditation enables one to be completely oneself. In all aspects of Being. Whole and complete.
To be practical for a few minutes, there is a brief exercise you might like to try.
Sit comfortably, feel the body, close the eyes. Keep an awareness of everything … present … now. Be aware of activity in the mind.
Try not to do anything or achieve anything, just stay aware and watch what is happening - and without any judgement, no good, no bad, right or wrong. Just being present. Watching and listening. Silence and sound together – still – and at rest. Trusting. Try this for a short while.
The exercise above is not the method of meditation taught in the School. But if you felt some quiet, rest, stillness, peace – then that’s the direction of meditation. Beginning to just be. Oneself. Like the foothills of the great mountain range when seen as you approach across the plains. To learn to meditate a little more is needed and that is what the School is for. It seems that we exist to provide what is needed.