July 27, 2023
Principle 8. Comprehended Action. Week 1
You Will Make Your Conflicts Disappear When You Understand Them In Their Ultimate Root, Not When You Want To Resolve Them
Last time: Reveries
This time: A story
This Week:
We start off this month by looking at the basic structure of the principle of comprehended action. We will consider its general meaning and broad implications.
Along with the meditation on this particular principle we are always trying to see how all the principles interact. We want to turn the principles into a dynamic and permanent meditation. lives. In that way we go on shaping a style of, or way of, engaging with life.
General Considerations and Personal Reflections:
Here are some personal reflections. I offer them in the spirit of dialogue and exchange, and look forward to hearing your thoughts about, and experiences with, this principle.
It has been said that when facing difficult or conflicted situations this principle encourages us to avoid actions that are not thought through. It doesn’t say we should do nothing about problems, but rather that we should try to more thoroughly understand the difficulty itself and our actions (our proposed solutions). It’s normal to become anxious when facing conflicts and to compulsively attempt to solve them even before comprehending their roots. In this way problems are made even more complicated and in a chain reaction generate more problems.
Here’s an old story that illustrates the situation.
A young shepherd suffered through the cold nights because of his blanket. It wasn’t that the blanket was too thin, or badly made. As he told himself: “Since I was a child this blanket has protected me from wind, ice and snow, but now the cold passes right through it. Sure, it has some holes and tears. But I could patch it. After all, it served me as a child, and it can serve me now.” So, he patched the blanket and sewed up the rips.
The next night he noticed his feet were uncovered and almost froze. He took the blanket and pulled it down. Of course, that left his neck and chest uncovered. Because the blanket was too short he passed night after night cold and uncomfortable, with either his chest or feet uncovered.
Now he thought to himself: “I had this blanket my whole life, and as a child it comforted me and kept me warm so it should keep me warm now since I fixed it up so carefully. I will just have to curl up when I sleep.”
The next morning found him tired, cramped, and cold and he thought: “In all this time the blanket has not grown, nor can I make myself smaller. How then shall we continue together.”
Consider:
We are trying to change or strengthen our mental direction. We want to move from a situation of internal conflict to one of internal unity, i.e. agreement between what we think, what we feel, and what we do.
Worth Repeating:
Some forms of meditation require that you sit down and close your eyes, but that’s less than half the story.
Coming up:
Next week we’ll consider principle 8 (Comprehended Action) in the light of our past actions.
Note:
Thanks to Rafa, and Mani and an unknown photographer for the illustrations and photo.
These notes have been posted on Facebook and sent to our email list, and, on my website www.dzuckerbrot.com
Next Week…
