Dear Community,

Wisdom is not a thing to be acquired only as we grow older - in fact, with a little effort, we can be wise in every stage of life. To encounter such wisdom requires us to pause, breathe and step back enough so that we might best see - welcoming in the chance to wonder and to practice our capacity to focus, not just now and then, but all of the time, no matter what is happening. From here we can understand dharma as a living tradition of clarity and honesty. There is a Zen philosophy, shikata ga nai (仕方がない) which roughly translates to, there is no other way or it is what it is. This is the active, working practice of staying conscious about what's true - getting clear enough by way of our bodies and our senses to understand what it is that we cannot change or control and thus training to focus our attention on what we can. 

Our knee-jerk reaction to shikata ga nai might be to criticize, seeing it as a negative or pessimistic view. On the other hand, this is just another way of exploring the more familiar concept of mindfulness. There’s a sense of relief in letting things be or accepting things as they are, even if they are less than ideal. And this is exactly what this phrase is seeking to express. It is within our ability to accept things and not be mentally tormented by every little mishap that’s out of our control. Consider this as a thoughtful set of actions that moves us through difficult feelings and delivers us to a willingness to move on, saving ourselves and others from unnecessary mental anguish or suffering. We are actively removing ourselves (and others) from unnecessary harm by learning to linger in the truth of the present, which offers a diverse spectrum to feel into.

In my research, there is some consensus that this Zen Buddhist concept became more widely used after the second world war. The phrase was adopted as a way to cope with ongoing tragedy, to position folks to extend care, compassion and the motivation to reflect so as to learn from past mistakes and prevent similar events from happening again. Such insight can help us to identify and take up what is within our grasp, to grow and move on, and take the important steps required to heal from individual and collective trauma. Simply put, we see what we can do and we do it. Simultaneously we develop a skillful means to combine doing the thing with compassion or karuna. Compassion becomes discerning wisdom in action. As practice matures, our pessimistic habits slowly dissolve and are replaced by a universal care that is directly realized through embodied experience (realization). With realization the texture of our being changes, along with our disposition, our outlook and overall regard for life. We look upon our reality with fresh eyes and know that this is life, just as it is. 

In reverence, respect and care,

Meg Lucks

El Getsu Endō | "Brilliant Moon, Way of the Circle"

Lay-Ordained Senior Yoga-Dharma Teacher

The Heart Revival Center for Belonging

*March through December we look to the Buddhist Ox-Herding images and their corresponding verses as an artistic illustration of the student on the path. While we will look at them 1 through 10, it's important to note that they are not linear nor hierarchical. They are helpers in our active practice of listening to the heart. We can gaze upon an image or hear the poetic lines and compare them to our lived experiences, with the intention to expand from a narrow mind to a limitless beginner's mind. In the spirit of for now, we can practice taking up what helps and letting go of what does not. We can practice listening to each other, holding space as a living, breathing dynamic, instead of fueling beliefs and patterns that divide, compare and diminish. My intention for our community is to create the ecology (container, context and content) for inner seeing and empowerment to come alive and ultimately bridge the gap between spiritual practice and daily life. www.theheartrevival.com/news