If you’re reading this, you are probably familiar with “mindfulness,” or at least the version that is sold here in the West like some health fad.
I know lots about the health fad version. Just like religion, the essence of mindfulness is pure and true. But humans can distort it and use it to propagate their own delusion. I did this for a long time. I still do from time to time (although I at least am aware I am doing it).
Gimme some mindfulness to numb my pain and suffering!
Ahhh… there I did the yoga and/or meditation and now my mind is calm, and I can get back to the rat race.
Delusion.
I’ve come to realize that I don’t want to be numbed of my pain and suffering. It inevitably comes back later in some shape or form and then I need to get me some more yoga or whatever to deal with it again.
Mindfulness used this way is no different than a drug. No different than chasing power, money, all that stuff. It’s delusion.
This is where Zen practice (the essence of it, not the western interpretation) works for me. It doesn't tolerate this bullshit. It gives me an anchor to use my anger, pain, and suffering productively.
Here’s how.
In Zen, there is this concept called “Manjushri’s sword.”
Manjushri’s sword’s primary function is to, “sever the veils of ignorance, duality, and delusion that trap beings in suffering.”
Ignorance. Duality. Delusion.
If you really think about it, those three words are responsible for all wars, genocides, and murders that have ever happened. They are the fuel that drives billionaires to stress about how to get more money (or keep the money they have), politicians to get more power, and celebrities to get more celebrity. They are the dark side of the human condition that have always been the greatest threat to our continued existence as a species.
But now they are on steroids. Not because people are any more ignorant now than they have been in the past. Saying this would be a slap in the face to the families of Holocaust survivors or the descendants of the slaves that built this country.
Rather, the reason they are on steroids is because ignorance no longer just lives in our minds. It now lives in our pockets on our phones. Ignorance constantly pings us with notifications all throughout each day, suggesting we buy something or take a vacation to numb our suffering. Or it notifies us of news of other’s ignorance, which only fuels our own ignorance if we have no outlet for it.
In other words, in today’s world, the ignorance of one person can impact millions.
Scratch that.
We are currently witnessing one delusional person’s unchecked ignorance hurt billions of humans, not to mention plants, animals, and other sentient beings (you can guess who I am talking about… there are a few hungry ghosts that fit this description).
So, what do we do?
What is our life’s purpose in the midst of exponentially compounding global ignorance?
To pick up Manjushri’s sword and chop our own ignorance’s grotesque head right off its weak and shriveled shoulders.
We can’t control others. At least not directly. I have tried and failed. Worse off, my own ignorance is sneaky. When I try to change others, my own ignorance spawns self-righteousness. Ignorance is ignorance. When this happens, I’m no better than “he who shall not be named,” because just like him, my ignorance has the capacity to destroy.
So, we focus on ourselves. And not with the kind, fluffy, self-placating version of mindfulness that really isn’t mindfulness at all. I can’t sit here and “hold” my ignorance and “become friends” with it.
Heck no. I’m chopping its head off, over and over and over again.
The good news is that this is the hard work. I don’t think you need to figure out what to do with your life to be of benefit to others after that. There’s no point in doing that while ignorance is sitting in your mind’s drivers seat. Loosen its grip first, then whatever you end up doing will come from a place of love and empathy. If it doesn't, that just means you need to get back to chopping.
I’ll leave you with the wise words of Zach de la Rocha, lead singer of Rage Against the Machine.
“WAKE UP!”
Zach’s guttural screams and convulsions at the end of this song are Manjushri’s sword brought to life in music. I listen to this song at least once a week when I feel like my intentions have become weak. It just has this visceral way of shocking me back into my life’s purpose - to cut down delusion where it stands.
Please watch the following live version of “Wake up.” Zach’s extended monologue at the end (spoken in 1993) is prophetic. I was going to put in some excerpts of what he said here, but decided not to as they will be stripped of his emotion and passion. So, I’ll leave it for you to watch.
~ Eric