Self-liberate even the antidote.

Siberian crater - Photo by Marya Zulinova

          Infants have an instinctive fear of falling. When being picked up or put down, they prefer to have their head and body firmly supported. If they feel insecure, healthy babies exhibit the Moro reflex: eyes wide, the arms are flung out to the sides as if in free-fall, followed quickly by curling and folding their body inward. Though children outgrow this reflex, shifting circumstances can still make adults nervous. We prefer our lives to be dependable and stable. The fourth slogan recognizes the reflexive action we often take when things get shaky and uncertain. We grab at anything that might help us nail down the buckling floor - even the dharma. Yet the purpose of the dharma is to wake us up, not make us feel better. As Chogyam Trungpa explained, "We are not particularly seeking enlightenment or the simple experience of tranquility - we are trying to get over our deception." The truth is that life is precarious and unpredictable. But grasping at an idea to make it appear more solid won't change reality. Here is the opportunity to let go and free-fall instead of pouring concrete. 

For more information about the fourth slogan, go here.

Slogan Four

Self-liberate even the antidote.

From the Lojong for the Layperson booklet:

            As we contemplate the last two slogans, we may believe we are beginning to figure things out. Our insight into emptiness – a mistaken view of a solid, stable sense of the world and ourselves – can become our answer and remedy for everything. But the fourth slogan cautions us not to turn our discoveries into a dogma; we should hold the slogans in an open palm not a closed fist. Otherwise we’ll attempt to use every insight to construct a solid conclusion, thus continuing our deception that we have something secure to which to cling. It also advises us to avoid replacing the experience of emptiness with a conceptual idea of emptiness. Pema Chodron clarifies, “We have to pull the rug from under our belief systems altogether. We can do that by letting go of our belief, and also our sense of right and wrong, by just going back to the simplicity and the immediacy of our present experience…”

Photo: Blue sky above cumulus clouds.

       I remember as a young adult learning about the patriarchal society, a community in which males hold positions of power in government, religion, the workplace and the family. “Aha,” I thought, “the oppression and inequality of women are why our society today is such a mess!” For several years, I painted every evil and every wrong in the world with this wide brush. I felt empowered by this information because I believed I had the answer for everything. Living in my head kept me smug and snug in my intellectual easy chair. Yet as I grew older, I began to notice all of my experiences didn’t perfectly align with my dogma. Yes, there were injustices against women, but not all of the men I encountered held such repressive beliefs. I began to see that a lack of communication, ignorance and fear were just as likely to cause such wrongs in society. My “absolute answer” that gave me a feeling of control and security was not so sturdy after all. The antidote of concepts is not a cure-all.