How Generosity Blossoms Into Meditation

Perhaps I could share an example of a more obscure way to share generosity.  Be generous with your time.  To do this, when working through the list of things to be accomplished by the time you return home, leave at least one/half hour earlier.  This will help you be more at ease during the errands.  Then, just as you begin, reflect for a moment to prepare for being present and open to the person-the 'teacher'-you are about to come in contact with, and be the 'student'- be receptive.  Stop.  Give complete eye contact with the person you encounter, and truly listen to their story, if there is a story to be told.  You will be forever changed by seeing someone using all your senses.  The stillness you offer in the ease with which you open your heart will help them notice Love reflected back, like a still lake or a mirror.  Make a plan to do this every day you move about your life.  The opportunities to be generous with your time can be as plentiful as each full deep breath. 

This tiny experiment may be impractical by nature, but then why else are we really here, if not to interact, be present, and give to one another of our own abundance...time, in this case.  Slow down and pause.  This can help you reach a mindful meditative state.

 It is very nice to quote theories of how linterconnected life is, and substantiate with stories of monks that walk through crowds of vagabonds and villains without being harmed, but is that your reality? Because it wasn't the reality of Paramahansa Yogananda, the Hindu Sage, who got mugged whilst walking in New York!  It is momentarily exciting to hear of great deeds by a few, fleeting moments of illumination of some, but as Mother Theresa says: 'we can do no great things, only small things with great love'.  Great love may be felt in Zazen, but can it be transported into reality, when people refuse to listen to your words of love and actions of generosity, because they don't trust anyone?  Do we have the humility to admit we are wrong in front of others?  Do we have the strength to hold our child's head in our arms as they enter their sixth epileptic seizure,and hold the faith to believe that God will be there for them if they die? Can we remain present with our mother and love her, whilst she denies our abusive childhood and not say a word to her in retribution?  Can we understand the actions of our abuser and forgive him?  Do we really think that sitting doing Tonglen meditation, imagining that we are absorbing the world's suffering, will prepare us for real suffering?  There is a vast difference in imagining something and experiencing something.

Yes, all these techniques have their place; however, the way of the monk is more than Zazen, it is also about abstinence, discipline, training, hard beds, cold showers, meagre food, no alcohol, no coffee or drugs - is this the way of the average westerner?  We cannot cherry-pick the bits we want and expect the same outcome as the true disciple.

I am not a kill-joy, I have experienced all of these things that I talk about and I remain resolute in life; I believe that if we are to move through the difficult times we are going through, and keep the faith, we need to face our fears and develop the presence of awareness to transform the trauma of our apparent separation through the practice of dynamic mindfulness.  It will not happen in Zazen alone, it requires dedication to the path of conscious living and a process that allows one to flow with life, even when life isn't flowing the way we want it to flow - that is my definition of generosity.  It is through our real experiences, particulalry the difficult ones, that we can develop meaning, purpose and value for life and test the veracity of our beliefs about who we are and why we are here.  John Anderson - The Art of Being Human:  http://www.beinghumanfoundation.co/.

Generosity…giving…creating space…

Each of us is enough and can show generosity in our own wonderful way.  From the depths of this realization, through the Light within our hearts, springs this generosity.  We connect with this Light by becoming still through meditation.  This stillness is not just physical, per se.  This stillness arrives when we slow our ‘doing’ so that we can listen to the whisper of our heart’s desire.  From this calm space within us, and the trust we cultivate from quieting our human selves, we recognize how interconnected and interwoven this existence is.  Each of us has gifts we have been given, the desire to live our lives sharing these gifts, and it is through this desire we recognize how interconnected and interwoven this existence is.  These gifts cultivate responsibility. 

Some examples of these gifts can be the expression of the Truth (satya) through language by speaking or writing, perhaps inspiring others through action and example, or even always being there-to be counted on by family and friends-with a wellspring of energy and open arms.  Another example can be showing compassion and empathy toward others, as well as ourselves, creating a circle of Love from which generosity rises.  Generosity can be expressed through actual giving; of time, of physical or emotional rest, of food, of money, of shelter, of unique and well as ‘mundane’ skills…

This is the Divine intention of sharing our heart’s desire, our deepest expression of love through the generous giving of who we really are and why we are here at all.   

 Nice words, but out of touch with reality: try meditating whilst all around you are losing their heads and blaming it on you, to paraphrase Rudyard Kipling.  We need to wake up to what is going on around us, meditation has its value, but compassion, understanding and generosity do not come from traditionally-educated, molly-coddled, middle class, do-gooders, sitting around in groups pontifacting their navels.  It is forged in the cauldron of life, by facing our fears, dealing with our demons, by developing the courage to come face to face with our own shadow nature - reflected in those that we judge and condemn, because they are less fortunate than ourselves.

My message is to get off our well-padded backsides, take responsibility for those that cannot do it for themselves and  be accounatble for the sum total of modern-day society's problems - because we are all in this together.  John Anderson: http://www.beinghumanfoundation.co/

The Sun Shines On Everyone, it makes no choices.  As it shines naturally, it ends up giving to so many people.  Giving is like that, you just give without differentiation and without thinking that you are giving or expecting.  Love this from the Talk on Gita by Vinoba Bhave: 

"The sun gives call to no one; yet, when it rises, birds soar in the sky, lambs begin to prance around, cows head for gazing, shopkeepers open their shops, farmers start out towards their farms. The whole world is on the move as it makes its appearance on the horizon. The sun's mere existence is enough; that gives rise to innumerable activities." - Vinoba Bhave