The other day I was out taking my usual health walk. When I started my walk the sky was clear, and blue, with no clouds in sight. After 30 minutes or so, I looked up and noticed the sky darken, and in a moment the whole firmament was covered with clouds. I stood for a moment contemplating whether to keep going or turn around. Then I saw, on the horizon in front of me a patch of clear sky, and so I decided to continue my walk. As I walked I imagined a scenario. Imagine with me or as one of our kids once told me “think with me Sunim”.
Imagine that you are in a place where the horizon is visible
to you. The whole of it. You can see that crisp line…to the left of you, to the
right of you, in front and behind you. All 360 degrees of it. Domed by a
perfectly clear sky. Now imagine it fill little by little with clouds, until
the cloud cover stretches to that line of the horizon. All you see are clouds. From
that crisp horizon line in front of you, in the back of you, to the left and to
the right of you. All there is...clouds. As if it were a single thick, woven
wool cover. One may be inclined to think that the WHOLE sky is covered. That
ALL there is, is this impenetrable gloom hanging over one's head. And that
there is no place of escape. One may be frozen in place. Paralyzed by the
grandeur of the gloom. In moments like these, we must verify. Verify our
thinking. Verify it against the reality. Not as we see things at the moment,
but the reality, as things actually are. Is the WHOLE of the sky completely
covered? Or is it just our point of view of it. If it's the day. Is it day
everywhere on earth? Or is there’s night somewhere else? If we see the sun does
that mean the moon doesn’t exist? Or is it simply that our small point of view
cannot behold simultaneously both the day and night, the sun and the moon? So
we must verify. Verify our current point of view against the actuality of
reality. We must have the wisdom to see in our mind's eye the day that is still
to come. We must have the wisdom to know that even though for a moment a cloud
may cover the Sun it doesn’t mean that the Sun doesn’t exist. We must have the
wisdom to know that the vastness of the sky cannot be covered. It is simply too
big. Even though a cloud may come across the firmament, the firmament is always
greater than the cloud. We may have moments in our life where a cloud of
anxiety floats across the firmament of our mind. Or a cloud of anger, greed,
jealousy, despair, hopelessness, a cloud of fear, a cloud of confusion, a
cloud. A cloud forms, lingers, and dissipates. That is the reality of the firmament
above our heads as well as the one inside our heads. We must verify our
thoughts against reality. We must have the wisdom to know the difference
between the cloud and the sky. You are the sky, you are broad and open, you are
vast and calm, you are the firmament of heaven. That is your true nature. You
are not your clouds.
I will teach you the ancient technique of getting rid of clouds. This technique can remove even the thickest cloud cover. It can move any storm cloud. Birojana Buddha showed me this technique. Do you know what it is? Please pay attention. This technique is called: The method of returning to the unobstructed, open, clear vastness of your mind sky.
Inhale deeply and exhale slowly through pursed lips. Blow! Blow the clouds away!!!