Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Practice by the Day, Week, Month, Year....

Calmness in quietude is not real calm; when you can be calm in the midst of activity, this is the true state of nature. Happiness in comfort is not real happiness; when you can be happy in the midst of hardship, then you see the true potential of the mind.
          From: Back to Beginnings: Reflections on the Tao by Huanchu Daoren, p. 34
After a super busy day at the library I'm back at home and ready to settle in for a quiet night. First, though, I performed my T'ai Chi Chih practice with my quiet reflection staring back at me from the dark window glass. I've discovered that even though I may prefer to do a morning TCC practice I'm often greatly helped by a practice that follows--and transitions from--busyness in order to stimulate relaxation and rejuvenation.

Daoren's quote (above) reminds me of Justin Stone's definition of Seijaku (advanced TCC) which he calls "Serenity in the Midst of Activity." Maintaining calm in the middle of noise and activity is a real challenge (I realized today what a different workday Wednesday is after experiencing this morning's storytime for children and receiving and processing three full crates of books, CDs, and DVDs from other libraries in our system).

It is wonderful to achieve calmness in quietude but I usually don't feel the same dramatic effects as when the mind and senses are overwhelmed, overstimulated, or overloaded. Going from calm to calmer is nice; feeling deep stillness in the dead center of frenetic noise and activity is heavenly.

As usual, it's all about practice. First the mind must realize that it is busy. Then the mind must learn to detach from its whirl and swirl of thoughts and feelings. Day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year.

As the Dalai Lama says in this quote from The Mystic Vision for November 16: Now is the time when your action is practise.

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