Inner Light: Ruminations of a Monk

 

rumination - noun - action or process of thinking deeply about something.

It is possible, albeit improbable considering the nature of human nature, to let go of everything that eats at you from the inside out, anything that causes you inner conflict, everything that obscures the light of your being. I've witnessed the release myself while attending sessions in meditation at the local Buddhist temple. As highly sentient, disciplined beings, the monks there spend a large portion of their lives ensconced in rumination. They concentrate themselves into a blissful state of profound tranquility, which, considering the surrounding chaos that perpetuates itself on a daily basis, is not easy to do. What amazes me is that they seem to exist to inculcate the possibility of peace or light in those who are open to their philosophy and practice. 

To save you a bit of time and effort, I'll share with you this past Tuesday's philosophical, yet practical, offerings from a monk that Zoomed into the temple from his retreat in New York City. Apparently, his mentor had imparted the same practical thoughts to him, and the monk felt it was his purpose to edify the three of us who showed up to chant and meditate. The most salient and sensible statement made was in the form of an observation: "People are so busy making a living, they forget to make a life." Bingo! We have all been guilty of this at one time or another. The business of busyness consumes us whole so that we bypass the roses altogether without being mindful of our intrinsic desire to smell them. Sadly, we don't even notice their beauty because we are so caught up living in advance of the moment. Perhaps what we need to do is compose a to-do list just for making a life as opposed to following a routine shopping list of what is required of us in order to get from point A to point B in our overly scheduled lives. 

Furthermore, according to the monk, we can set the stress and confusion of existence aside and walk and function in a state of peacefulness and illumination if that is our aim. "If you make time to shower each morning, make time to shower your mind from thoughts that keep you from maintaining inner peace." This makes perfect sense because so many of us choose to obsess over the minutiae and allow it to interfere with the calmness that is within our capabilities. 

The last bit of advice he presented was "Strive for inner peace via meditation. Once you find it, hold onto it. Be consistent, not careless." Meditation is the means to the end, the light at the end of the Lincoln Tunnel of turmoil. But you have to be consistent in your practice, which takes a bit of doing. Carelessness, which should probably be an addition to the seven deadly sins right beside sloth, is the opposite of mindfulness. It is avoidance, negligence. If we are serious about walking in the light of peace, we have to circumvent carelessness or obliterate it from our stash of character traits. 

All of the above starts with a serious amount of rumination and then active meditation. To achieve anything worthwhile takes time and effort. If you are earnest about self-improvement, then you will do what it takes to accomplish your goals. 

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