In yesterday’s meditation, we shared Father Richard’s reflection on the liberating wisdom of the Heart Sutra in Buddhism. [1] Rather than a morbid message, Richard encourages us to receive the refrain as a message of hope and enlightenment. We share a litany that Richard wrote inspired by that refrain:
All the centuries before me:
Gone, gone, entirely gone!
All the nations of the earth:
Gone, gone, entirely gone!
All kings, generals, and governors:
Gone, gone, entirely gone!
All the wars, plagues, and tragedies:
Gone, gone, entirely gone!
All human achievements by individuals and groups:
Gone, gone, entirely gone!
All sickness, sin, and error:
Gone, gone, entirely gone!
All our identities, roles, and titles:
Gone, gone, entirely gone!
All hurts, grudges, and memories of offense:
Gone, gone, entirely gone!
All enslavement, abuse, and torture:
Gone, gone, entirely gone!
All diseases, afflictions, and lifetime wounds:
Gone, gone, entirely gone!
All rejections, abandonments, and betrayals:
Gone, gone, entirely gone!
All human glory, fame, money, and reputation:
Gone, gone, entirely gone!
Our logical minds may say, “Oh, but these things continue in human memory, consciousness, and the standing stones of institutions and culture,” which is true. That is not the point this sutra is intended to communicate, however; this is ritual and religious theater, not rational philosophy. In terms of all those who preceded us, these things are indeed “Gone!” (Buddhism also uses the word “Empty!”) It takes just such a shock to encourage the ego to let go of the passing self, the false self, the relative self, the self created by circumstance, memory, and choice.
All comforts, luxuries, and pleasures:
Gone, gone, entirely gone!
All ideas, information, and ideology:
Gone, gone, entirely gone!
All image, appearance, and privacy:
Gone, gone, entirely gone!
All our superiority, self-assuredness, and expertise:
Gone, gone, entirely gone!
All human rights, ambitions, and fairness:
Gone, gone, entirely gone!
All personal power, self-will, and self-control:
Gone, gone, entirely gone!
This is the spiritual art of detachment, which is not aloofness or denial, but the purifying of attachment. In our world, detachment itself can become a kind of EXODUS, an abandoning—whether forced or chosen—of the very things that give us status, make us feel secure or moral, and oftentimes that pay the bills.
We live in a time of great hostility, and we must resist the temptation to pull back from others, deny our shadow, and retreat into our own defended camps or isolated positions. This temptation is not true detachment, but rather a succumbing to the illusion of separation. True spiritual action (as opposed to reaction) demands our own ongoing transformation and a voluntary “exile,” choosing to be where the pain is, as Jesus exemplified in his great self-emptying. Rather than accusing others of sin, Jesus instead “became sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21). He stood in solidarity with the problem itself, and his compassion and solidarity were themselves the healing.
References:
[1] The Sutra contains a refrain that proclaims the passing nature of reality: “Gone, gone, gone all the way over, the entire community of beings has gone to the other shore, enlightenment—praise! So be it!” See Thich Nhat Hạnh, The Other Shore: A New Translation of the Heart Sutra with Commentaries (Parallax Press, 2017), 115–116, 127.
Adapted from Richard Rohr, Letters from Outside the Camp, November 2, 2020. Unavailable.
Image credit and inspiration: Kryuchka Yaroslav, Untitled (detail), photo, USA, Adobe Stock. Click here to enlarge image. Things will break, and we are invited, when ready, to put the pieces back together again.
Story from Our Community:
I grew up in exile from my mother country and lived around the world during my childhood. Despite a strong family unit, there was very little predictability in our lives, and to get through, I developed an inner stance of letting go. Now in my 60s, I have become aware that predictability is a myth that trains our minds to hold on to things, people, and life itself. In this stage of life, I’m practicing letting go again to all of life’s expectations. I’m finding this process allows me to welcome life itself, as it really is, finding greater appreciation for every minute, connection, and opportunity to see God’s love in all things.
—Teresita L.
