We Cling to our Anxiety

As we awaken, our unawakened mind looks increasingly ridiculous. It is the epitome of funny/not funny. Buddhist teachers sometimes say they are simultaneously laughing and crying. That can mean various things, one of which is that, to the awakened mind, all is at least amusing, if not hugely funny.

On the other hand, the suffering unawakened people put themselves through is deeply sad and evokes a response of compassion from any Buddhist teacher.

We do this to ourselves. Perhaps the most important insight that comes from a consistent meditation practice is how the Buddha was right about grasping as the source of our suffering. We could just let go of it all, but that is easier said than done. Ajahn Sumedho talks about people asking him how to let go, and he laughs. It is impossible to tell anyone else how to let go of everything. We learned to cling gradually from nearly every source as we grew up, so it takes time to unlearn it. We’re still stuck in the same human paradox as always. Our language is inadequate to describe ultimate consciousness or how to realize it, but that is the only way we have to explain to each other what to do.

So we keep talking and writing, hoping that some verbal formulation will resonate with some groups of people.

The most concrete instruction, of course, is to keep up your consistent meditation practice.

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