When we come into a new situation, in most cases we have some preconceptions and expectations about it. We imagine what the new experience will be, maybe even rehearse what we’ll say and project what someone else might say in return. Whether it’s going to work or meeting a Zen Master, we have expectations, some more grandiose than others.
When we encounter reality, the bubble of expectations is burst. We’re left standing on the ledge, maybe a tiger below and a killer behind, or something more benign than that, but still on the precipice of a new experience. It’s so new an experience that never in the history of the universe has this experience ever been experienced.
With a mirror, white comes, white is reflected. Red comes, red is reflected. We can embrace this, rejecting nothing, or struggle against it because reality doesn’t match the story we’ve invented, and we want that story to be true. Reality includes the suffering of others, which our story may not have recognized. Our own suffering exists, but maybe not in our story, and it’s something we try to hide from the mirror.
But reality has this nasty habit of coming out on top when pitted against a story, and this is something to reflect upon. We can observe our creation of a story, and not make good and bad out of having created it. We can embrace reality, reject noting, reflect everything, and do this not only for ourselves, but for the benefit of all beings. The direct experience of reality and helping others is our practice.
Cheolmin Prajna gave the Dharma talk October 23. 2024.
