Turq, thanks for your answer (below) and thanks, too, for the other responses posted. (It's fun to be reminded that when you get all serious and "noble" and shit, "poontang" may actually be the best answer after all.)
But to get back to the original intention behind the question, and to dialogue a little more with you, Turq, I think that my own answer isn't too different from yours, if at all. And as New Morning suggested, my 'one' most important teaching does actually scatter into a cluster of interrelated ones. However, if I extract the one element that fully informed the most sublime and cosmic of my interior experiences and also look to that same element as it percolates through and suffuses my everyday life and radiates outwards, it seems to be love. My selection for the highest teaching seems to be the same thing that's been topping the Top 40 pop charts for as long as they've been around. All you need is love. Kiss it and make it feel better. Don't be afraid, Mommy is here now. Trust me, I'll catch you. Don't worry, I'll take care of it. Here, let me get that for you. Are you allright, can I help? Here's a dollar, it's all I've got right now. No problem, man, it was an accident. I understand. Happy to help. You're welcome. Thank you. Marek ** --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Marek Reavis" <reavismarek@> > wrote: > > > > Everyone here has had so much interior experience and > > exposure to teachers, gurus, charlatans and saints in > > one form or another, and many of us are more or less > > 'elders' in our societies and have the benefit of the > > wisdom of age (to one degree or another). > > > > So I was wondering . . . if you could teach or impart > > just one thing to a person, the one thing or teaching > > or fundamental knowledge or wisdom that you had gleaned > > from your life experiences -- the thing that you would > > most want to share, the thing that you grokked the most > > -- what would it be? A technique?, some insight?, a > > philosophy?, a government?, a new social order? > > > > I don't have an answer myself at the present, or if I > > do I don't feel up to summarizing or articulating it > > yet. But I really would be interested if anyone else > > has any response and what their response would be. > > A fine and noble question, Marek, one that > I have pondered often over the years, and > one that I pondered again just now while > walking my neighbor's dogs. And, as it turns > out, I do have a ready answer for this ques- > tion, and have for years. After 40+ years on > the spiritual path, there *is* one teaching > that stands out for me above all others, and > that is the one I would try to convey to > someone else, if they asked me to. You asked, > so here it is. > > Selfless service -- doing nice things for others. > > I'll explain more in a minute, but first a word > or two to explain why other candidates didn't > win the Miss Universe prize and walk down the > catwalk with tears in their eyes and a bouquet > of roses in their hands, wearing a crown. :-) > > Some would undoubtedly teach the pursuit of > enlightenment. I wouldn't, for a number of > reasons. First, after all of these years and > all of the pursuit of it I indulged in, I have > to weigh enlightenment as a pretty selfish > concern. I am not convinced that enlightenment > itself does a whole lot for anyone except the > person who has realized it. I'm not a big > believer in the lasting value of darshan and > grace, even though I have experienced those > things, and I'm not convinced that the presence > in the world of an enlightened being affects it > all that much. Plus, to be honest, many of the > people whose primary goal in life is the real- > ization of their own enlightenment have struck > me over the decades as some of the most mis- > erable and *unhappy* people I've ever met. So > that one's just not a contender in the contest. > She flubbed up in the talent contest. :-) > > Meditation would certainly be something I'd > recommend, in whatever form that you feel a > personal resonance with. But I'd never suggest > that meditation alone is going to change your > life and make it a happy one. I've known too > many multi-decade meditators, in too many > traditions, to believe that meditation alone > is a panacea. > > No, for me selfless service is the clear winner > because IT MAKES YOU HAPPY. And for me, being > able to be happy is a cool thing, because it > radiates. *Forget* the "Maharishi Effect" or > any New Age bull about changing the world with > the power of your personal Woo Woo Rays. I'm > talking pure, unadulterated *happiness*, the > kind that transforms a room when a truly happy > person walks into it, and that could in my > estimation similarly transform the world. > > The paradigm we have been taught in this age > is, in my opinion, 100% backasswards. We are > all taught by our culture and by all of the ads > on TV and by many of our spiritual teachers (the > New Age just *reeks* of this) that the more we > do for *ourselves*, the happier we will be. > > In my opinion, and judging from 40+ years of > being part of spiritual communities and watching > the people in them, this is completely backwards. > The people who spend most of their time thinking > about themselves and doing things that are bene- > ficial primarily for themselves are the most > miserable. Whereas the people who spend most of > their time thinking of others and doing nice > things for them are the happiest. It's as close > to a "law of nature" as I have been able to > discern on this DOS planet. > > So I'm a big fan of service, because it makes > you selfless. You don't have to be selfless > *first* for it to make you happy; you just have > to do the service, and *that*, over time, makes > you more selfless. > > Some may perform their selfless service in terms > of what I call "grand gestures." They are inspired > by, and get involved with, the big, noble projects. > "We're going to save the world." "We're going to > bring about world peace." "We're not going to sub- > mit to enlightenment ourselves until every other > sentient being is enlightened first." You know what > I mean. And if that gets you off, and it makes you > happy to be involved in these grand gestures, I say > more power to you, and may all of the projects work > out as you hope they will. > > Me, I'm more a fan of "small gestures." Taking your > neighbor's dogs for a walk when she's feeling sick. > Helping an old lady with her groceries. Just being > nice to the people you meet on the street, and going > out of your way to smile at them. Getting involved > with hospices and working with the dying. Helping > out at the homeless shelters. Cooking dinner for > friends who are in the middle of some big drama > and don't really have the time to cook for them- > selves (like Ramon does in "John From Cincinnati"). > Taking the time to *notice* when one of your friends > or co-workers is kinda down, and doing whatever you > can to help them bring themselves back up again. > Whatever -- the list is endless, because the number > of possibilities for "small gestures" is endless. > > And each of them will make you smile, and add to > the sum of your own happiness. And when your happi- > ness is full, it'll start spilling over into others' > lives, and that will make them smile, and *that* > will make you smile again, and fill you up again, > and the cycle will keep repeating itself, each spin > of the wheel of dharma making you happier, and more > likely to continue doing the things for others that > *make* you happy. It's a "vicious circle," but a > kinda nice one IMO. > > Selfless service. It's the gift that keeps giving. > To others, to yourself, and to the sum of happiness > in the universe. That's what I'd teach. >
