--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Marek Reavis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > 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.)
Tell me about it. When I read that one, I wanted to trade in my answer for a membership in the local branch of The Church Of Poontang. I'm still trying to imagine the communion rituals and the passing of the collection plates. :-) > 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. Sounds good to me. The only problem with "love," from my perspective as a wordsmith, is what *kind* of love you're gonna teach about, and what *kind* of love the students are going to hear in their heads when they hear you talk about it. Love is one of those words that bonds with others, the way the plastic in Tupperware bonds to the salad oil you try to store in it on a molecular level and messes up your Tupperware and makes it sticky and icky forever so you end up throwing it away. :-) I mean, you've got true love, puppy love, tough love, first love, unrequited love, undying love, romantic love, idealized love, jaded love, unrequited love, the love of God, the love that dares not speak its name, and so on. Love has more forms than Baskin- Robbins has flavors of ice cream. Plus, in most people's view, love is something you *feel*, not something you *do*. When I was searching for something worthy of teaching, I was looking for something people could *do* on a daily basis to make their lives happier and more fulfilled. While love certainly qualifies, it's a little more difficult to *do* if you don't already *feel* it. You're work- ing in a hospice, feeding an old woman who is near- ing her last days, and the pain of her cancer has left her so angry and so mean that she tries to bite you with every spoonful. And the cancer itself has left her smelling so bad that you want to run from the room to escape the smell, and take a shower, and then take another one, just to be sure. Love is a tough one to pull off in situations like that, unless you are *already* a saint, and my advice was aimed at those who haven't achieved sainthood yet. But with selfless service, you just do the service, and at the end of it you feel more selfless. It's like Alan Watts' old one-liner about Zen, "Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while one is peeling potatoes. Zen spirituality is just to peel the potatoes." Selfless service is not about try- ing to feel selfless while doing the service, it's just about doing the service. And the selflessness, and yes...the love, comes from just *doing* it. So I'm gonna stick with selfless service, as noble an idea as "All you need is love" may be. Yours may actually be a more *advanced* teaching than mine, for those who have gotten to the point where they *can* love most of the things or people around them. I was thinking more of lowlives like myself, who just aren't there yet, and need something more remedial, something they can *do*, Here And Now, that will make their lives a little happier. For me, that "something" is selfless service. It always works, and always puts a smile on your face, whether you love the person you are helping or not. Ya gotta love it. :-) Thanks again for the noble question. It gave me the chance to transcend the normal (sorry to say it, but it's true) argumentative, my-philosophy-is-better-than- your-philosophy-my-teacher's-dick-is-longer-than-your- teacher's-dick banter of FFL and think about a bigger question: What would *I* teach if I had the oppor- tunity to teach again? I think that's a pretty interesting question, one that most of us here could benefit from pondering. The fact that so few did is IMO an indication of the resistance to the idea that is so ingrained after years of spirit- ual practice, and coming to believe that there is only one way it *can* be taught, and seeing the ups and downs of teaching it that way. There *are* ups and downs, in the best and most noble and cleanest spiritual tradition, and over time we start to focus on them, and forget the impulse that drew us to that tradition and to the spiritual path in the first place. If you're anything like me, that impulse was, "Hmmmm...this person giving this talk seems to know something that enables him to be *happier* than I am. I'd like to find out what that *is*. For my own sake, and then for others'. Because if it works for me, I'm going to want to tell others about it." That's a neat impulse to be aware of, and to keep in mind, in my opinion. Another name for it might be the answer you provided -- love. > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB <no_reply@> 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. > > >
