Whenever I think about walking the Dharma path, I envision a flat, windy road amidst the countryside. Last night's dream gave me a different image. That of a tall snowy mountain, with Bob Stahl and Jack Kornfield as my companions . . . Our hike up through the cold, deep snow was strenuous*, and we had stopped for a break, and a chat.
Flickr photo - Alex Eylar
* Maybe this has to do with 'The Hard Path to Happiness'?
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I did have a dream once, at the very beginning of climbing a very steep hill with my baby daughter, stumbling many times, eventually arriving at the top to find a radiant Buddha statue. I felt very blessed and has been one of the best signs throughout my years of practice. Thank you for sharing yours!
ReplyDeleteOh! My path, maybe it would be better called my maze. Dead alleys, procrastination, frustration (with life) then a few steps of progress. It seems to be this way for me, I resist, I cling onto things, people finally I turn to the path and sigh of relief. I stay on the path for a while and the I am somehow distracted by ... many things, life mainly and the cycle repeats. Maybe a sea is a better metaphor for the path that I tread. Gladly I am a lot more aware of it nowdays but not all the twists have ben ironed out. I am just so glad to have the three roots guiding me along.
ReplyDeleteMuch peace to your path. Miro
Oh! T_Y, what a beautiful image! Numinous dreams such as the one you tell, are like fuel for our journey. Thank you for sharing. I will hold your radiant Buddha in my heart.
ReplyDeleteMiro, like you, I feel incredibly fortunate to have found the three gems. Love your image of the sea, and a ship navigating not in a straight pattern, but with many detours. I can definitely relate to that image!
ReplyDeleteIn a recurring dream i am driving in a off- road vehicle in Gatineau Mountains north of Montreal.(Actual fact,the mountains are estimated to be more than 4 billion years old).The road becomes impassable and I must start walking through tree canopied trails.It is late summer /early fall and the foliage of the leaves have begun turning to their reddish and golden hues.After miles and miles of walking I arrive at a clear lake.I sit in its serenity for a few hours and only then can discern a subtle trail across the lake rising steeply along the mountain side that forms the boundary to other end of the lake.After an arduous journey just to reach the beginning of the trail I start my ascent.Climbing for hours and hours to the point of exhaustion and without any seeming purpose I reach the summit of the mountain.
ReplyDeleteThere in front of me is a small hermitage.I recognize it immediately as my home in a previous incarnation where I was a practicing novice monk.Instantaneously an ancient monk appears before who I recognize as my" eternal Lama".My inner teacher in physical form.He welcomes me home.I burst into tears knowing that after many many lifetimes of being separate I finally found him again, and know that I will longer ever be apart from him- as i am now home.
Thank you Triplegem, for gift of your vision. Interesting how sitting still is what allows you to 'see' the path.
ReplyDeleteAnother beautiful image for me and others to hold.
Oops, I accidentally deleted comment from Chris Rixon, and Blogger won't let me retrieve it. Here it is, copied and pasted:
ReplyDelete"
The path seems to have been most like a descending spiral so far.
I often feel like I've taken a circular route and am back at a familar place - but then I notice that actually, everything has deepened since I was last there.
Hence the spiral. Hope that makes sense. "
With all my apologies to Chris. Here is what happens when one tries to approve comments from iPhone screen :)
My response to Chris:
ReplyDeleteYour image of the spiral going down deeper and deeper is one I can relate to as well, and is certainly aligned with a feminine, earthy experience of the path. Interesting also how Miro above, compares the three gems of Buddha, Dharma, Sangha to roots.
From deep into the earth, to the sky, stretching with all our being to simply be.
I envision a vast landscape with lakes and soft hill (no mountains -- not sure why). I see areas of easy distraction and dangers and areas of refreshment and nourishment. Lots of lakes, though. I see it the same as my mindscape.
ReplyDeleteThank you Sabio. Your comment made me think as the conscious mind can come up with different images than dreams. In my case the mountain had never come up during my 'awakened' time. Only in this recent dream.
ReplyDeleteHow my path is visualized is quite frankly blank...it is beyond description but points to the wisdom that remains. The only logical thing left to pursue. Funny, I am a visual person and this has such few visual links as it pulled out from the heart removed from the thinking mind. Maybe, this is pure intention unveiled?
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting dream and image. I don't know right now what my dharma path looks like, but will wait and see if it occurs to me naturally. However, I'll share something else that is sort of similar:
ReplyDeleteSince I was a kid, the image of the days of the week have been indelibly etched in my mind in a very certain way. In colored blocks, sitting side-by-side, are the seven days: Monday is invariably yellow; Tuesday is forest green; Wednesday is turquoise; Thursday is also green; Friday is red; Saturday is beige and Sunday is brown.
Was Once, I am not surprised yours comes out blank. You strike me as such a purified soul. Not much left there . . .
ReplyDeleteDeep bow to you!
marguerite
Thank you Donna, for sharing. I never thought of days that way. Today's Monday has a deep blue hue, here on my end of the world :)
ReplyDelete