Posted by chumbawumba on May 11, 2009, at 22:00:14
In reply to Re: what this world needs is more....., posted by Sigismund on May 11, 2009, at 21:04:53
> >For better or for worse, as human beings, the secret of life is will, the secret of life is willingness; the willingness to take one step is what grows and develops our faith.
>
> So perhaps faith can come from the preparedness to take the risk of being vulnerable?Well thats the great and frustrating thing about these Zen masters. You can interpet what they say many different ways. JUST GIVE ME A STRAIGHT ANSWER DAMMIT!!!
The way I interpet that section (in the context of despair and depression) is to just not give up. Take the next step no matter how small. Maybe I can't get out of bed I'm so depressed. So maybe I can just take an arm out from underneath the covers. Or get up and brush my teeth and go back to bed. Just be willing to do something about yourself. And then do the next thing. But don't do something thinking of the next ten things you have to do. Just do one thing.
No quantum leaps, no sudden enlightenment, just the willingness to take the next step.
And it doesn't matter how small the effort. Because for me sometimes just getting out of bed might as well be Neal Armstrong's first step on the moon. It's a heroic effort, at least for me.
I remember at my worst it was all I could do not to kill myself. And I suppose I started to recover when I just became willing to live.
To take one step is enlightenment.
I like this story:
The Buddha was to give a Sermon to his adherents but instead just held up a flower. One of his disciples smiled. The Buddha picked that disciple as one who truly understood him and who was worthy to be his successor.
poster:chumbawumba
thread:895085
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20090421/msgs/895276.html