A Path With Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life by Jack Kornfield

Author:Jack Kornfield [Kornfield, Jack]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Spirituality, Meditations, General, Religion, Buddhism, Spiritual Life, Spiritual Life - Buddhism
ISBN: 9780553372113
Google: yf-npAo-_dEC
Publisher: Bantam Books
Published: 1993-06-01T06:00:00+00:00

LEAVING RETREAT:

PRACTICE WITH TRANSITION

Whether we are encountering unexpected outer cycles or natural inner cycles, spiritual practice asks us to honor these changing circumstances in a wakeful way, to breathe in and out gracefully with the cycles of our practice. One of the clearest opportunities to learn how to do this is when we work with the transition time at the end of periods of retreats, spiritual seminars, or secluded practice. Modern spiritual practice often requires that we temporarily enter a spiritual community, only to return home after some days or weeks. This transition, from the openness and support of a retreat and a spiritual community to the complexity of our daily life, can be difficult, especially if we hold on to any notion that one phase is more spiritual than the other. Yet with attention, each part of the transition, inner and outer, can be made mindful and included in the practice of our heart.

When we leave a retreat, we face a natural loss as we change from one circumstance to another. If the retreat fostered a quieting of our mind, an opening of our heart, and a simplicity of living, we may fear losing this as we return to the complexities of everyday life. We may imagine that whatever spiritual sensibility has been awakened in the protected retreat environment will disappear. We may feel open or vulnerable, raw or delicate, in our senses and emotions, so that in returning to our home in the city or to the daily struggles of our families, work, and driving in traffic, we feel we will be overwhelmed. The more powerful the retreat, the stronger this fear may be. We may also be afraid that no one will understand us. We may want our life to remain the way it was at the end of the retreat. We may try to hold on to whatever beautiful states we had encountered. Even after a profound awakening, we can encounter the attachment and pride that Zen calls the stink of enlightenment. All of these forces of fear, grasping, and pride prevent us from opening to the next cycle of our practice. Yet this transition is a perfect circumstance to learn how to move through the cycles of our practice.

First it requires patience. We must recognize that transitions can be long processes. If our retreat was deep or we were away for some time, there can be weeks and months of difficulty and confusion before we again feel integrated back into our lives. The most important thing is to consciously acknowledge our loss. As we move from one part of our life in practice to another, we must allow ourselves to feel the loss and letting go. In this way we can allow our heart to feel its grief and inevitable attachment to what we have just completed. In honoring the feelings of loss and allowing ourselves to see the attachment, we bring awareness to our process of letting go.

In the same way we must also honor our vulnerability.

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