In 1959, students in Durban, South Africa decided to see how many people they could fit inside a telephone booth. They managed to squeeze in 25 students and reported their results to Guinness Book of World Records. That was the start of a new fad, and young people all around the world began trying to break the record for how many folks they could fit in booths, cars and other tight spaces. Comparing the tight space of ego's created awareness to natural (unborn) awareness is like comparing the capacity of a thimble with that of the sky. My little thimble holds so many preoccupations that there is little room left for other possibilities. I'm too caught up in my concerns and preferences and see only a tiny part of the whole. Yet alaya, the sky-like vastness of the unbiased mind, is limitless; there's room for all with room to spare. Instead of feeling squeezed by only being able to view how things affect me, I can see from a larger perspective. As Pema Chodron explains, I can rest in this openness and "enjoy the display of whatever arises without making a big deal." In classical Sanskrit, alaya means "home;" it is similar to the experience of coming home and relaxing after a long, stressful trip. I can drop the baggage of my discontent, irritability and worries and just "be."
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