humanness is a playground

This humanness is a playground

To be explored and enjoyed

In most of my teachings I am focusing on the spiritual side of life, trying to touch that place within us which is timeless, our very essence, where there is stillness and silence and an unbounded spaciousness. But today I feel to talk about the human side of life. Our buddha nature is a very peaceful, still place within us. But of course we have not been born as rocks. We are human beings, with emotions, with thoughts, with a body that moves, has sensations – sometimes pleasurable, sometimes painful. And I regard this human side of life as a vast playground, to be explored for a whole lifetime. It is rich in treasures, surprises. There is always something new to be discovered.

So I would not advise going and spending the rest of one's life, sitting in a cave in the Himalaya, though that might be a useful thing to do for a short while. No, for me the art of living is to find a healthy balance between playing wholeheartedly in the human realm, whilst dwelling also in our essence, that which I call our buddha nature. Of course many people are not in touch with their buddha nature at all, and that's why I make it the focus of my teachings. But the human side of life we all know. But there is an art to being human. Of course we can just muddle through life, usually with a lot of sorrow and other miseries. Or we can take some time and effort to investigate this human side of life, and to try and live more skilfully, with more awareness, more harmony, more love.

A great way to help us on this human journey is to participate in the Path of Love process: a one weak intensive retreat, a group process that explores everything it is to be human, with a basis a foundation in presence, in the heart, and in the divine within us.

But with or without the Path of Love, I encourage you to explore life, explore your own humanness. Don't be afraid of your emotions. Plunge into them. Sit in them. See what happens. And as always, I'd encourage you not to get too serious with this. Enjoy your humanness in a light way, playfully, always knowing that it's not the totality of your being, that the other side of your coin is your buddha nature, eternal and incorruptible peace. Even if you have not experienced that directly for yourself, know that it is there, and then you can relax about this humanness and really enjoy it. It is a great gift to be in a body that has sensation that senses the world, and to have this rich tapestry of emotions to play with.

So let's enter this playground together and explore and enjoy.