The Bear
There is a scene in the movie, The Bear, where a little bear cub is about to be attacked by a mountain lion. The little cub stands on its hind legs in an attempt to look intimidating. He is very impressed with himself when the mountain lion turns and runs away. What the little cub does not see is his 10-foot tall, 1200-pound father standing upright behind him.
As in this movie scene, the same event can have many different stories attached to it, depending on which perspective it is viewed from. Most human beings move through the world viewing themselves and everyone around them as a “me” with conscious will. It is a world of “bear cubs” all deluding themselves about the actuality of their experiencing. The real formative force (the 1200-pound bear) standing behind each of us is the sum of our inherited genetic and conditioned tendencies, none of which are within our conscious control.
The natural human tendency is to ignore all but the most recent and obvious links in the chain of cause and effect as we encounter each life situation. The illusion of conscious will is so compelling that it often prevents us from turning to see the absurdity of our limited view. With a slightly wider perspective, it becomes quite clear that each event is merely the most recent link in the chain of cause and effect. It is the culmination of your inherited and conditioned neurology meeting a life situation.
With understanding, the larger chain of cause and effect becomes dominant, and the illusionary “me” effortlessly fades. All that is required is a few steps backward and the spiritual seeker can then begin to understand that external circumstances don’t change with an awakening to enlightenment, only the way that things are seen changes. The mountain lion still runs away, but what changes is the understanding as to why it ran away.
The awakened might say to the spiritual seeker, “I recognize the weight of the entire chain of cause and effect that bears on each moment; you recognize only one link.” The awakened recognizes the totality of life’s karma, (“karma” literally translates as “cause and effect”). They have seen through the karma of “tit for tat, this for that,” which could only manifest through the lens of separateness known as the illusion of conscious will.
The more wisdom there is about the immense weight of the chain of cause and effect, the less of an illusionary “me” there is left to block the experiencing of your already enlightened being.
Have you seen through the world of the imaginary “me’s” flexing their illusionary conscious wills? Is there a sense of the entire impersonal karmic chain of cause and effect, which far outweighs any illusionary “me”? Is there a wisdom of life’s inertia that flavors the experiencing of this-here-now in a way that allows all the illusionary “me’s” to fade into the distance?
Once you turn and see the 1200-pound bear standing in the background of each moment, the illusionary “me,” though cute when standing on its hind legs, is seen for what it is: an illusionary player in the chain of cause and effect. And then you are free as the experiencing of this-here-now.
~ Gary Crowley
http://www.GaryCrowley.com
Nondual Highlights 2743
As in this movie scene, the same event can have many different stories attached to it, depending on which perspective it is viewed from. Most human beings move through the world viewing themselves and everyone around them as a “me” with conscious will. It is a world of “bear cubs” all deluding themselves about the actuality of their experiencing. The real formative force (the 1200-pound bear) standing behind each of us is the sum of our inherited genetic and conditioned tendencies, none of which are within our conscious control.
The natural human tendency is to ignore all but the most recent and obvious links in the chain of cause and effect as we encounter each life situation. The illusion of conscious will is so compelling that it often prevents us from turning to see the absurdity of our limited view. With a slightly wider perspective, it becomes quite clear that each event is merely the most recent link in the chain of cause and effect. It is the culmination of your inherited and conditioned neurology meeting a life situation.
With understanding, the larger chain of cause and effect becomes dominant, and the illusionary “me” effortlessly fades. All that is required is a few steps backward and the spiritual seeker can then begin to understand that external circumstances don’t change with an awakening to enlightenment, only the way that things are seen changes. The mountain lion still runs away, but what changes is the understanding as to why it ran away.
The awakened might say to the spiritual seeker, “I recognize the weight of the entire chain of cause and effect that bears on each moment; you recognize only one link.” The awakened recognizes the totality of life’s karma, (“karma” literally translates as “cause and effect”). They have seen through the karma of “tit for tat, this for that,” which could only manifest through the lens of separateness known as the illusion of conscious will.
The more wisdom there is about the immense weight of the chain of cause and effect, the less of an illusionary “me” there is left to block the experiencing of your already enlightened being.
Have you seen through the world of the imaginary “me’s” flexing their illusionary conscious wills? Is there a sense of the entire impersonal karmic chain of cause and effect, which far outweighs any illusionary “me”? Is there a wisdom of life’s inertia that flavors the experiencing of this-here-now in a way that allows all the illusionary “me’s” to fade into the distance?
Once you turn and see the 1200-pound bear standing in the background of each moment, the illusionary “me,” though cute when standing on its hind legs, is seen for what it is: an illusionary player in the chain of cause and effect. And then you are free as the experiencing of this-here-now.
~ Gary Crowley
http://www.GaryCrowley.com
Nondual Highlights 2743
