Breaking Free

We’re trying to break out of something and become free. That’s an interesting thing to try to do, but you can’t do it through what you think it’s like. Because what you think it’s like is what keeps us in prison. What is it that never leaves when you break free? Maybe that’s our connection to this world. Not just me breaking free for me, but me breaking free until my eyes see, my ears hear, my nose smells, my skin touches, my tongue tastes, my mind thinks. We say the six gates. Meaning moment by moment by moment, we can live clearly, compassionately, wisely, just in touch with the world. If we hold, if we cling, that’s the six poisons, eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind. If we’re seduced by our senses, then we want more of something and less of something else, and we never see what’s in front of us at all.

So then, those who are close to us are our best teachers. Having some sense of what’s closest to us allows us to learn from those who are close to us. So please let’s rest our minds on what’s close to us and then learn from what’s close to us, how to live, how to be really human, how to be generous, compassionate and wise.