WALKING THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH

   Walking with the Five Essential Experiences

Yea, although I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death

 I fear no Evil . . . Thy rod and staff shall comfort me.

As a child I learned, probably like many other children, the words of this Psalm. 

It meant little to me. No, to be truthful it meant nothing to me.

I had no idea what the Valley of the Shadow of Death was.

As for Evil, the only Evil I knew about was Adolf Schickelgruber, who was doing bad things somewhere in the world against my friends, the Jones brothers, who were Gypsies who lived in their caravan down by the football field, and Peter Bloom who was a Jew.

I knew that God was with me, because the Vicary said so, but really it made no difference. I enjoyed my home, study and sports with the other kids. What more was there, really?

I didn't even know the difference between a rod and a staff, so there was not the slightest chance that they could comfort me, even if I were to need it.

Then there was that bit about "dwelling in the house of the Lord forever". I had my home,  my books, my stamp collection and my football, cricket, and hockey things and in calmer moments could sit in front of a fire on a cold winter's night in my room and play Subbuteo with my brother.

The little cards they gave me with dull people standing around with wings, or that angelic little boy with a lamb, couldn't compete with my Wills Woodbine cigarette cards of great tennis players and sports cars. As for that lamb, I had no interest. I had Prince Trusty of Tanhouse, a Great Dane, and the local cows, which were much more real and friendly.

Yet the words of the Psalm remained with me, even after the moment on the beach at Bovisand one day when I  cast into the waves, like any flat stones, God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost. They sank without the most minimal surfing jumps to the bottom. . . and they stayed there.

I didn't discover the Valley of the Shadow of Death until I passed through being a Keir Hardy Socialist to being an Anarchist. Then I saw the world we were living in. I had found the Valley of the Shadow of Death that now I call Stained Samsara.

STAINED SAMSARA

Walking through the Valley of the Shadow of Death

I walk, and we all can walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, Stained Samsara. But most out there who read this don't see the Valley of Illusions nor the Shadow of Death.

Now Samsara is the valley of Illusions where we live, work and play; that is correct and natural and the Shadow of Death is this foolish belief in the Duality which splits the world up into things which we believe are real and have an independent existence.

We believe that the sun, moon, stars, the sky, even the universe have an independent existence and we see ourselves as real, independent, and separate entities.

We believe that the great diversity of plants and animals on this world have an independent existence and we see ourselves as real, independent and separate entities, lording Dominion, thought of as Dominance, over all.

We seek Permanence, when there is only Impermanence in all things. Our stewardship is temporary.

We seek Eternal Peace when Conflict is an integral part of life and Our Eternal Peace is our own Desire for Ego Security.

We seek Existence, when there really is none, for we do not exist as independent entities.

We seek Significance to Life when there is no significance whatsoever and fail to see the beauty therefore in Life itself without a significance, but with an intrinsic beauty enhanced by the presence of Death.

So we stain the Samsara of Illusion, which is One Great Truth which accompanies the Truth of a reality beyond Illusion, with our constant and frantic search for Comfort, Security and Belonging.

    I fear no Evil

WHY SHOULD WE FEAR NO EVIL?

If we come to terms with the Truth that we live with Suffering within a natural Illusion that we have stained with our agitated search for Comfort, Security, and Belonging, then freedom is at hand.

We need not search, for we all have from birth the seeds within us of natural and complete Comfort, Security, and Belonging. 

When we see the Natural beauty of Impermanence, then the Valley of Death disappears.

When we see the Natural beauty of Conflict that has built the Diversity of Life, then the Valley of Death disappears.

When we see the Natural beauty of there being a Oneness of all living things, then the clinging to Existence disappears.

When we see that there need be no Significance whatsoever to this apparent life that we share with all living creatures, then there is no agitation of the mind, nor a frantic search for comfort, security, and belonging.

When we see that really all is Chaos and that the Order we see is only one part of Chaos, then clinging to that Order becomes a weakness of spirit.

Thy rod and staff shall comfort me

But though we may even see intellectually that this is so, we do not internalize it sufficiently to overcome the Brainwashing of thousands of years of pollution by States, Religion and Education, each of which has its own axe to grind.

Considering this I found out the difference between the Rod and the Staff.

The Rod corrects me and this is the Teachings of Buddha Dharma.

The Staff is my support along the Path. This is my Meditation.

It is these that can bring each and every one of you true comfort.

I  shall dwell in the House of the Lord forever

We know from the Dharma that there is NO INDIVIDUAL EXISTENCE so there is no "I" at all that can dwell anywhere. Furthermore, we know from the Dharma that all is impermanent, so one can dwell nowhere "forever". The Dharma also tells us that if the concept of there being a HOUSE exists, then heady Duality makes sure that there is also a NO-HOUSE.

Dharma tells us that Duality is a concept of our minds. So there is neither a House nor a No-House.

Where then did this Lord that I threw into the waves come from? From our minds. It was invented by cognitive dissonance to give us the SIGNIFICANCE that really does not exist.

No "I",  No "House", No "Lord", and no "Forever".

Someone, somewhere in the past, as a child sold me a bill of goods.

So what about this Dwelling. Well, that really only means making a return to the one Truth:

1.   All is Vacuity (no Existence)

2.   All is One (albeit as illusion)

3.   All is Impermanent

4.   The mind brings the Illusions of Clear Comprehension

5.   Finally we are an apparent part of one indivisible glorious and magnificent Life Force.

Those who are Seminary students will recognize these Five Chan Paramitas that are the Revitalization of ZEAL. They are the PRESENCE which, with diligent practice and the Chan meditations that bring these Direct experiences, accompany us so that we can accept the Illusion of Dwelling within samsara without being trapped by it.

6. ADVANCED DAO CONTEMPLATIONS  THE REVITALIZATION OF ZEAL