Hold the Center

The other day Deb sent me an email about a series of incidents. One incident involved a man in a dispute with his wife. He took the kids, drove to a bridge and threw the children off, killing them. At the end of the email she asked, "how do people do things like this... it's really sad."

I didn't really answer her at the time, but the answer might not be as complex as one might think. My feeling is that we simply "lose our center" and move away from our humanity and beyond that our Buddhahood. What makes that center up is mental wellness, spiritual values like hope, trust, integrity, compassion, etc...

There are a million things that can distract us away from our center. You know them well, so I don't have to innumerate or mention them by name. Despite the many things that can distract us, if we are going to be happy and awaken to our true nature, then we have to hold the center, maintaining our core being and value system. This must be a moral imperative.

Put more simply, it's being determined to do the so-called "right thing" even when we don't want to. In this way we build and shape our character, facing the internal and external challenges and reduce, reduce, reduce the potential in doing destructive things, to ourselves and others. In Buddhism we can that the "Eightfold Path."

1. Right Understanding
2. Right Intention
3. Right Speech
4. Right Action
5. Right Livelihood
6. Right Effort
7. Right Mindfulness
8. Right Concentration

I believe it was Yasutani Roshi that once said, "When hungry, eat. When tired, sleep. Above all don’t wobble. This is the goal of Zen." What was he encouraging us to do? Hold and maintain our center. For sentient beings, the Eightfold path empowers us to not only reach our so-called center, but to hold it, like sustaining a beautiful note.

Gassho,

Jaye Morris, Curator
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