Thich Minh Thien, (Thay Z) Abbot of Budding Dharma
Arlington, Texas thayzzen@gmail.com
What Spills Out…
Imagine you are holding a cup of coffee, when someone comes along and bumps into you or shakes your arm, making you spill your coffee everywhere! And so the question we might ask ourselves is, “…why did you spill the coffee?…” The expected answer would probably be along the lines of, “…well because someone bumped into me, of course!…”
I am sure that would be the common answer if this occurred to any of us. However, expand that thought to recognize that this might not be the only or the most accurate answer. What more succinct answer might be: “…the spill occurred because there was coffee in the cup!…” Had there been tea in the cup, the spill would have involved a different substance; namely tea. Therefore we can surmise that whatever is inside the cup is what actually spills out.
So expanding a bit on that simple example, consider for a moment that whatever comes along in life and shakes us up, and that will happen numerous times during our life, whatever is inside us, could very well spill out. Most of the time we have some modicum of control over our thoughts, prejudices, delusions or emotions, much like we normally have control over our drinking cup when it is full and when nothing spills out.
When this life gets tough and we are getting bumped, shaken or bruised, observing what “spills out” can give us some insight into the momentary change in our demeanor, actions and responses. Would the response reflect compassion, joy, gratitude, humility or loving kindness in what spills out, or could it be anger, bitterness, harsh words, reactions, selfishness or blame? Each of us have all of those positive as well as negative emotions and responses in our characters. Which qualities have the best shot at what shows up can greatly depend on those things that we develop and nurture.
Our ignorance, delusions, greed and hate get stronger and stronger the more we take them for granted as excuses and acceptable reactions to why life is affecting us the way it does at times. Conversely, when our responses to rough patches in life are to focus on the qualities of our better angels and eschew blame and self-pity for loving kindness, compassion and generosity, we break away from the “I” and recognize the “We” in all things.
Thich Nhat Hanh often talks about how all the seeds - both desirable and those that are less so, are part of each sentient being’s makeup; much like seeds in a garden. Becoming a master gardener of our relationships and ourselves, requires us to learn how to become intimate with the garden of our consciousness. Initially the seed of mindfulness develops into a wholesome formation through the repetition of returning to whatever is happening in the present moment. With the lens of mindfulness, it is easier to observe the weeds from the flowers that lie deep in our consciousness, to learn how to water or transform these seeds, and to aerate the soil so there is healthy circulation between the soil and garden of our consciousness. In other words, we become more conscious of what might “spill out” and are able make different choices.
In the final analysis, we each get to choose what “spills out”. As in the beginning example, It is what we fill our cup with. It is in our practice of meditation and mindfulness that we can take the opportunity to fill our cups with gratitude, forgiveness, joy, words of affirmation, gentleness and loving kindness. Let us all be master gardeners.
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhass
