winds of change

 

 

 

 

The eight worldly winds are 

Pleasure and Pain, Gain and Loss, Praise and Blame, and Fame and Disrepute.

 Look at your own life — how do you find security in a big storm? 

A large weather system unexpectedly moves in and, as it approaches,

 we may feel unstable, vulnerable. These forces arrive, 

and the best we can do is mentally prepare with the awareness 

that all things change and are impermanent. 

 

We can make a plan, 

but given the magnitude of the event, we are unable to predict the outcome.

 We can maintain our composure by cultivating an attitude 

that arises from practicing meditation, 

calm concentration, acceptance, and equanimity.

Pleasure and Pain, 

two aspects of our moment-by-moment existence, 

wise teachings direct us to enjoy pleasure fully when it is present

 and to be prepared for it changing, with an attitude of letting go. 

It is known that the ability to enjoy life is tied to accepting what is 

without an attachment to having it be a certain way. 

 

 When we meet pain, we might not take it so personally. 

We are not a failure because pain is here.

 I may have an ache but it can change. 

Can we see clearly the comings and goings of life? 

Can we see that these forces exist independent of us? 

Not taking them personally is freedom.

 Can we find happiness independent of life’s unfolding condition?

 Recognizing this inevitability and accepting it is part of the journey.

Gain and Loss 

 is directly related with the ownership of wealth or possessions 

and the removal or disappearance of this. 

It is about the ways economic security can come and go. 

When we recognize our attachments to gain,

 we can see how we may get lost in greed —

 the wanting mind that always needs more. 

In investing, we take a risk and it this has a precarious nature.

 Can we maintain some kind of mental neutrality 

when things get shaken up and we lose? 

Can we appreciate a gain without having to always win —

 enjoy it without attachment?

How do you relate to Praise and Blame?

 Have you noticed how our society and social media thrives on this?

 Each person brought before the public arena is endlessly scrutinized

 in ways that belittle and blame them for anything that goes wrong

 in their political, social, academic, or arts career.

 And we praise them ludicrously 

 when they do something “we” approve of or like.

 This is a very rocky road, and it seems we are obsessed with it.

Fame and Disrepute 

are fluctuations in life that I can relate to personally. 

After writing a book in 2004, I was eager for some recognition and fame.

 I thought the publication would open some doors for me as a well, 

as a “known expert in tea and meditation.” 

When this did not easily occur, it felt as if I was experiencing

 a form of postpartum depression, having birthed this book

 and then been disappointed in the way it was received.

 I had expectations that set me up to stumble. 

Then, after several months, I realized how the center-of-attraction

 and notoriety need was lame compared to the making of the book, 

which was a labor of love. 

The gift came in the process of writing it and, when I realized this,

 I could accept that this was the way it was. I did not really experience disrepute, 

but I could understand how difficult it would be if something related to the book

 made me appear dishonorable or unworthy and the shame that would bring. 

It is similar to being “popular” and then losing that attractive force. 

I can see how others get stuck in this place when trends fade,

 fashions go out of style, scientific theories are replaced, 

and movie stars, pop culture idols, or elite athletes

 lose their fame do to a scandal.

During this time of snarly winds and dust devils, 

allow them to be a reminder of the Whirling Dervishes 

and notice how their spinning starts from their center, and how, 

without losing their balance, they twirl like the still point in the center of a cyclone. 

Getting to that clear center is how we can navigate these eight vicissitudes of life.

Just as one must often become still to see the movements of clouds,

 a still state of equanimity allows us to appreciate the inevitable

interplay of forces as they occur around and within.

 

 

 

 

 ~ Lhasha Tizer

from the Mungalla Sutta