by Gregg Krech
A student asked Adyashanti, “What is the teacher’s role in life?” He said, “To be themselves. That is the teacher’s teaching.”
This past Spring I had the privilege of giving the dharma talk for the Ohigan holiday at the Orange County Buddhist Temple in California. In my talk I spoke of different types of travelers and different highways. One of those highways is called the Self-Importance Superhighway (SIS). This is a very busy highway and many people stay on this highway their whole life. That’s unfortunate because it's a very unpleasant drive with lots of traffic. People are always cutting each other off as they try to get in front of one another. They think they should be able to get in front of the other person because what they have to do is so important. There are signs on the highway that say, "Be Proud of Your Success" and "You Deserve the Best." On this highway people are trapped by a self-focused and self-important perspective. Everything is Me, me, me and I, I, I. If they hear about an event they immediately think "How will this affect me?" If they see something interesting or attractive, they think "I would love to have one of those." On the SIS, everybody goes in one direction. And that direction is "How can I gain more/How can I be happier?" Everybody is trying to find the exit ramp for the destination of happiness and personal gain, but they are frustrated because they can't find it. So they just drive faster, but they stay on the same highway. Everybody is searching for happiness, but the drivers aren't happy at all. They aren't enjoying the drive -- they’re mostly frustrated. Please understand that the people who drive on this highway don't think of
themselves as self-important. They don't realize that their mind responds to the circumstances of life based on an ego-centered sense of self-importance. They’re not able to see their own mind because they have no time to reflect on themselves. Like a typical car, their mirrors are adjusted to see the other cars and drivers. They can look in the mirror, but they can never see a reflection of themselves.
When we take a sincere look at ourselves in a mirror, what we see isn’t so self-important. We see an ordinary person who is full of limitations, weaknesses, flaws and selfishness. This is why it is so frightening to engage in a sincere process of self-reflection. We realize very quickly that the image we will see in the mirror is not the image we hold of ourselves. Our karmic history of conduct towards others is a direct challenge to this view of self-importance we cling to.
“Even our feeling of not measuring up to who we think we should be is a form of self-importance.”
- Dzigar Kongtrul (Tibetan Lama)
When we begin to get a true glimpse of ourselves and our karma (translate karma as “doing”) in this life then we have reached a crossroads. What is more important – seeing the truth our life, including that which directly undermines our image of self-importance, or trying to feel good about ourselves by giving in to our desire for pleasant feeling states and a false sense of who we are. Naikan is a method of self-reflection that asks us to look at ourselves in a mirror so that our life is revealed to us in a way that has mostly been hidden from us. Though this seems frightening before we have done it, it turns out to be a great blessing, for we discover that letting go of our self-importance is like letting go of a weight we have been dragging around since childhood. Once we relax into who we really are there is no need to maintain an image of self-importance for others, nor to fool ourselves. There is no reason to try to control the unfolding of every aspect of the universe or try to make everything be the way we want it to be. Self-reflection becomes the opportunity to see ourselves as we really are and to give up on ourselves. When we give up on ourselves, we open up a space for faith in something that is beyond this little “self” that we consider so important.
- Gregg Krech
todo@together.net
www.todoinstitute.org
Keywords: Naikan Self-Reflection Spiritual Practice
Comments (2)
Great analogies. I enjoy taking the scenic routes when I travel. There is more moments to reflect on the honest moments along the journey.
I agree with you and the DL about feeling bad about not living up to what we think should be our image. Of course we never measure up because our self-image tends to usually be impossible to reach and maintain. Guilt merely piles on more karma. What is important is to get back up on the horse and keep moving.
Posted by James | August 9, 2007 12:29 PM
Posted on August 9, 2007 12:29
Dear Gregg,
I love this analogy. For me it is very timely. When I first filed for my divorce, my then twelve year old daughter asked me what I really wanted to do and I responded that I wanted to go to Tibet and just be and find myself for six months. She responded with "no seriously mom" and I replied.."I am serious darling but I know I cannot do it". My Tibet has come some years later in a way I would never have fathomed. Through your ToDo site and living where I am now. I am finding myself so secure in my search which at times has been daunting, but ultimately edifying and freeing. It is a path that I choose to always follow. Letting it go would put me back, even for an instant on the SIS highway.
Best regards et merci beaucoup pour ces mots magnifique de sagesse.
Nina
Posted by Nina Browarska | September 1, 2007 12:30 PM
Posted on September 1, 2007 12:30