dharma<\/a> two-step. Know and appreciate where you are (which is generally sufficient) and, when appropriate, apply an antidote.<\/p>\n2. Talk of stages tends to unearth disparagement and\/or grandiosity. Imho, when such things arise, rather than rejecting that which stimulated, at the moment that we\u2019re dharma students we give a hearty, \u201cBring it on, baby.\u201d<\/p>\n
3. Development may be a slope that we divide into steps in order to use language. Therefore, it is best to have a sense of humor.<\/p>\n
Okay, let me run through these, beginning with the last stage, Falling Into a Well, then Idealism, Covert Clinging to Hopes for Magical Gain, Very Crabby with Self and Other, Steady Walking, and Fruition.<\/p>\n
After we\u2019ve had some fruition in our practice, some calm or insight, there\u2019s a tendency to get stuck in it. At first we might not even notice what\u2019s happening because we\u2019re so enamored with the new territory and spaciousness. Then ego reconstitutes as what was once a taste of freedom and a trap door opens and we\u2019re into a well of deep dewdew.<\/p>\n
If this is where you seem to be, then really be there. Can you stand being in a well? Allow yourself to open and sing the great song of life again \u2013 from the bottom of the well. Generate some idealism. Chant the Great Vows for All \u2013 \u201cLiving beings are numberless, I vow to free them all.\u201d Get altruistic. Pray to the buddhas.<\/p>\n
When the mysterious pivot turns, you will find yourself in a different country. No problem. Study the texture of the idealistic heart. Know that it isn\u2019t about you.<\/p>\n
This is the path of liberation, fella, so when you\u2019re done attending to your idealism and\/or it becomes indulging in idealism, study the really fine texture of idealism. It\u2019s there with every thought so it isn\u2019t hard to find. Notice how the covert clinging to gain is clearer and clearer the quieter the mind becomes.<\/p>\n
Now you might get crabby. Really crabby. You might want to quit at this point, to pull back and lick your wounds with the neurotic escape pattern of your choosing. But if you are curious about the crabbiness and don\u2019t take it personally, you\u2019ll discover, really discover, that if gaining mind is in every moment of consciousness, then there\u2019s really nothing to escape.<\/p>\n
And \u201cahhh\u201d there really is nothing to worry about either. So just walk steadily. Enjoy the practice and your life just for what it is \u2013 a mess in your particularly sweet and tender way.<\/p>\n
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