Enlightened action?

Enlightenment is an unrealisable goal for most people but that does not mean it does not have relevance for everyone else. True insight takes at least ten thousands hours of deliberate practise to achieve, though that does not guarantee anything, the minimum requirements are Olympic levels of concentration and a relentless pursuit of noting every moment of consciousness, this is not a path most people want to talk, however just because you can not run an ultra-marathon does not mean that it is not worth going for a walk. Every time you sit to meditate, there is a benefit and it is worth taking, even on days where your mind is overactive and a mess, a moment of peace is priceless in the middle of a storm. The relevance of enlightenment for most people is as an example of what enlightened action looks like when you have crossed the barrier, and does it hold lessons for how we mere mortals act in the world.

I would not claim to be enlightened, I am still struggling with access concentration (being able to have stable attention on a single object such as breath) but I know that meditation has improved my life in a huge number of areas, so I am willing to listen to people further down the path than I am, I have confidence in what they are saying as they describe where I currently am with such accuracy. There are maps of how meditation proceeds that are thousands of years old, it is a predictable process, though many think that the maps get in the way and prefer a “just sitting” approach under a teacher who guides them through the territory, what is important is that the maps exist and whilst the final destination is a place that words can not describe as it is an experience like seeing the colour blue, no words can convey the meaning, what the map provide are elements of the actions of those who are enlightened that are worth noting and sharing.

Famousily, before enlightenment you carry water and chop wood, and afterwards, you carry water and chop wood, what is different is not the activity but the doer of the activity, it is the difference of a drunk person and a fully sober person doing the same thing, the experience is changed and for the better by changing your perspective. It is only possible to be bored if you are not paying attention, that is an early experience in meditation, it might be hard and frustrating, but it is not boring except when you stop meditating and let your attention wander. When you are giving something you full attention it allows flow states to emerge, typically it happen when the difficulty of the task is slightly higher than your skill at it, so if you are a potter you might be bored when making the thousandth cup but if you attempt a complicated vase you become engaged again and slip back into a flow state. What enlightenment allows is to engage with life in a permanent flow state without the effort of getting back to that state.

Most people love flow states though they do take effort to get there, once you are there it is easy to stay there as long as you are engaged in the task, indeed it is called flow because that is what it feels like, effortless flow but it does not last forever, you drop out of it after a while and part of practice in any skill is being able to maintain flow for longer periods, and in a similar way to meditation it is when stable attention slips that you drop out of flow, a sign of progress is being able to maintain flow for longer, which is why meditation helps with so many other skills such as writing, sports, reading and painting. It strange that concentration is never taught in school, when the exercise is as simple as putting your first finger and thumb together softly, then keeping your attention on that point of contact, you can build from a minute to twenty minutes at a time in under a month, this might not be enlightenment, however we know from them that it so vital to their practise that it is something that we should practise and use in our lives.

Having a sound foundation in concentration helps in everything we do, being able to listen to someone with your full concentration rather than having your attention swing from your own thoughts to what is going on behind the person you are talking to and only then remembering to listen is a different experience both for you and the person you are talking to. Being able to listen and then response to what was actually said is the basis of so many books about good communication that they would be boringly repetitive if it was easy to do, and it isn't because our levels of concentration are so low that we have to be bullied by these books because ironically we do not listen even to them in the first place, whilst it might be obvious that we spend so much of every conversation thinking about what we are going to say next rather than listening, that we need book to tell us to listen and then repeat what has just been said in our own word and then add something that extends both of your understanding of the point that has been made.

It is important to stress that it might be simple but it is not easy, it takes effort just like getting into a flow state, you have to concentrate on what is being said, being distracted by your own thoughts is hard, and almost impossible, especially if you have no practise at ignoring your own thoughts, it is like listening to two people at once, when you have to concentrate solely on the other person words and intention. However the payoff of actually listening, then showing that you are listening by reframing what they have said with your own word so that you have an agreement on what is being say and then for a cherry on top, you add a thought that move the conversation to further agreement, is huge, you are able to have real understanding and communication.

Which is why enlightened people are so loved, they listen with the whole of their being, because they are present with what is happening in the moment, they are not distracted by the past or future, even when the future is only a minute away, they are not planning what they are going to say next as no matter how good you are at predicting what some will say, people always surprise you. Even the same words can mean different things depending on someone's body language, which are so easy to miss if you are not listening to everything that include words, eyes, body and even how your heart feels about what is going on, you do not just listen with your ears, your mind and heart are windows into the unspoken world. Being able to access these sense, only requires you not to be distracted by noise, our thoughts especially about the past and future are loud, they have their place, but not when listening, however most of us can not turn them off at will.

Though just trying, and knowing how important it is to be present when listening at least gives us an opportunity to use our concentration at the right time, you can not hit the target if you do not even aim. It is not as easy as the finger and thumb practise but it is a lot more satisfying when you achieve it even for a short while, and that positive feedback gives you motivation to practise more. Which is where practise turns into an enjoyable experience, we like hard work when it is bring us joy, that is another secret of the enlightened, they feel joy not just at the peasant things like sunrises, birds in the garden, the sound of children playing (though how many of us actually take the time to find joy in these everyday delights) but they find the joy in the hard things in life. That is always the moment when your practise of anything change when you start getting joy, not from the result but the actual process of whatever you are doing, joy in the practise, and the enlightened has found that the hard way, you can find meditation joyless for years, you can like the result and still find it a hardship to get down on the cushion.

That changes the moment you find the joy in the process, and a part of that is being presence, when you are truly presence, you have broad awareness of everything, you can not help but feel the presence of your body and in the centre of your body is the spiritual heart which always contains joy (not in a metaphysical sense, it has physical presence, and being aware of it is joy), once your practise makes that link, you want to get back to practise, you want more and the practise becomes a happy habit. It draws you back because it stops being all hard work, it becomes instead your chance to connect with joy, as joy is quiet, quieter than a breathe, but it is always there, waiting to be listened to. That is why enlightened people are so damn cheerful, they do not need external validation or even company, they have the presence of joy as a constant companion, it has continuous presence in their broad awareness and those who are around them feel it as well.

Being enlightened is not for everyone or even most people, it is a trade of time for something special, but you are giving up your life for it, when there is so much more to do with it, family, friends and meaningful work, these are important and quite frankly more fun for the majority. What the enlightened give us is valuable, they light the path that others can join to lead them to greater happiness in their own lives. They highlight the necessity of right living and the damage that harming others does to yourself, they guide us to kindness because it is being kind to yourself, what you put out in to the world it comes back with interest. It shows the usefulness of concentration in our work and relationships, it gives us the right view to bring us joy by having loving kindness in our hearts. They also give us a timeless connect to every generation of people for the last three thousand years, their suffering and struggle has given us access to the wisdom of the ages, so join this choir, by listening to them, and then maybe you will also get to act from a place of joy and love.