trees

teachers without egos

This is the final episode in the Received Wisdom series. In this series, I've mostly talked about other people – buddhas, teachers, from whom I've learned. Of course, there have been many other people, too, too numerous for me to discuss here. In the last episode, though, I talked about mountains. and in this episode, I'm going to talk about another aspect from the natural world, and one that has perhaps been my greatest teacher. And that is the trees.

I've always liked trees. As a child, I climbed them. I still climb them occasionally. I also hug them and talk to them.

And over the years, the trees have been great teachers. answering whatever questions I have. And by that, of course, I don't mean they're speaking out loud. But when I come to a tree with a question in my heart, invariably a very direct answer comes to mind, and usually one that I would not have suspected, not even thought of. So there's something at play here, when I come close to a tree.

And for me, the trees embody a great wisdom, the wisdom of beings that no longer need to run around, chasing after things. They are content with their place in life. That's why they can be so rooted, so grounded. For me, they embody this connection between the earth and the sky, between the matter and the spirit.

I don't know whether trees will be important teachers to you, as they have been to me. The key really is to be open to receive wisdom from whichever source it comes. And nature is really a great teacher.

It's also, in a way, a safer source of wisdom. When we are receiving wisdom from human teachers, chances are those teachings will be tainted with personality, with residual beliefs, sometimes with ego. A tree has none of that. A tree is not trying to prove anything. It doesn't need to feel superior. It doesn't have to make its existence seem worthwhile through its teachings.

We humans are prone to so many distortions because of our psychology. And although we can shed a lot of that psychology on our spiritual journey, it's a rare master indeed who has really let go of it all. Perhaps no one ever has. That doesn't invalidate teachings from human beings. It just means we need to be careful sometimes and take into consideration those factors.

Whereas with the rest of nature, we can trust it. It has nothing to prove. And that's why I say, all the beings in the wild, in nature, are enlightened. That's one definition you could say of enlightenment, having nothing to prove, to oneself or others. We humans might pretend to be happy about who we are. But usually, with a little bit of digging, we soon discover great self doubt. And that causes all the trouble in the world.

The trees do not have this psychology. This tree that I'm standing with right now, can simply be in whatever situation it finds itself in: nowhere to go, nothing to change, nothing to prove, no doubts. And from that space, the trees have been such a great teacher for me. I am immensely indebted to them.

And with this, I conclude this short series on received wisdom.