March 27, 2025
Principle 3. The Principle of Timely Action. Fourth Week
Do not oppose a great force. Retreat until it weakens then advance with resolution.
Last time: In Your Own Words
This time: Death and Taxes
To do list for this week:
-consider the principle in the context of how you see the future
-play the game of Explain It!
This Week:
We are continuing to explore the “The Principle of Timely Action” the third of the principles of valid action (chapter 13 of The Inner Look).
With few exceptions not much can be said with any degree of certainty about what the future holds in store for you. No surprise then that imagining the application of this principle in my future is an undertaking filled with doubts and guesswork. Nonetheless, I worry and make plans so if nothing else, I certainly think and act as if I know what will happen in the future. It seems worthwhile then to think about one or two of the most pressing of these imagined situations and consider what fruit my application of this principle might bear.
Especially, in these perilous times — or times when the perilous nature of life is more apparent, I think it is especially worthwhile to meditate, if only occasionally and briefly, on those few future events that we believe have a greater degree of certainty.
All of us live embedded in various and changing situations. Consider the future situations you foresee in the different ambits in which you live: friends, family, co-workers, neighbours, etc.
Can I think of one situation I believe is going to happen where applying this principle could be a positive thing? What might be different if I ignore it?
At our next meeting we will discuss and compare our reflections.
Personal Reflections:
Here’s some raw material that I hope you will find useful in your own.
A First Approach:
Leaving taxes aside, we still have suffering, and death on our list of certainties. Fun, right? Clearly, focusing on all that doesn’t sound like a meditation to lower your blood pressure, and increase productivity! Among the more certain themes are those connected to the central questions of “who am I and where am I going”. That is: illness (very probably), old age (if I’m lucky) and death (certainly). And if I’m
not planning to reach old age that seems like a bit of problem in itself.
I should note that Silo considered these questions as central to his teaching and he dealt with them directly but very gently, especially in writings or talks destined for a general audience.The axis of the book (The Inner Look) is the problem of meaning in the face of our mortality, and The Path asks us explicitly to think every day about where we are heading. Nonetheless Silo was careful to not push people to confront these themes as he felt that for many it is simply too painful and confusing. Instead, as in so many things he counted on “the magic of the copresence,” time, and a gentle approach. Like water the most yielding of elements wearing away the might mountain. And indeed, for most of us our resistance to connecting to the deep registers around these questions (not necessarily to the abstract ideas) is indeed a mountain.
Is it too harsh, to point out that, ‘no one escapes alive’? It certainly seems that by the time I go, or with my going, I will lose everyone and everything I care about. Furthermore, everyone I love, and everyone I loathe, along with all those to whom I’m indifferent — are all in the same boat. And it’s a vessel that way too often feels very small, and adrift without a map or compass on a vast uncharted, and stormy sea.
So, what does it mean to not oppose a great force when that force is relentless time itself, with all the inevitable problems and questions that accompany its passage? In front of that force how will I find a way to retreat and what could it possibly mean to advance? How wonderful to encounter, in the face of that implacable future, a source of meaning that can ground the resolution I need to advance!
The Game Explain It!
The idea is easy, come up with an alternative name and wording for the principle. It should express your understanding of a central aspect of
what this principle means for you, at this time. As in the following example, these personal takes on the principles generally only capture an aspect of the original. Still, like stories, jokes, and anecdotes they seem worth considering.
The rules for this week’s game are simple, and summed up in the name of the game, Explain.
Here are two possible approaches (there could be many others). Like with the game of Ask! we need to engage another player (or players). If I can manage to talk to someone that’s great but if I can’t, whether because of my personal circumstance, shyness, etc. I can write down my thoughts in a brief email — whether I send it or not is another matter. The point is to put my thoughts, and intuitions into a form that is suitable for sharing.
Of course, just as with other games, I might find myself with no one to play with. For example, in this case, no one whom I can either ask their opinion, or tell mine. Such a situation might well be an opportunity to reflect on what that absence implies, and perhaps even take measures in enrich my social environment.
Another thing this game has in common with that one of Asking another’s opinion, is that it’s a game! In this game our interest is on engaging and communicating. Convincing, preening, recruiting, etc. are outside of the goals of the game. Rather, you are simply sharing your interpretation of something you find interesting.
At our next meeting we can discuss our discoveries about, and our difficulties with this week’s reflections.
Worth Repeating:
Learn to treat others in the way that you want to be treated.
Learn to surpass pain and suffering in yourself, in those close to you, and in human society.
Silo, The Path
Remember:
A valid action, is unitive, is aimed at improving the well-being of others and feels like something you want to repeat again and again.
Coming up:
Next week we’ll begin our considerations of April’s principle, four the principle of proportion. It says: “Things are well when they move together not in isolation.”
All of this effort is not just in order to deepen our understanding this particular principle, but also to develop a form of dynamic meditation, a practice that can be applied in every moment of life.
Note:
Peter volunteered to be our host next week.
These notes have been posted on Facebook and sent to our email list. You will also find them along with other comments, and reflections on my website: dzuckerbrot.com
