A meditator, a true meditator, has no role to play regarding the world. None whatsoever. What a meditator must do is discover the truth about herself, himself, and that is the extent of it. This is a very self-enclosed, seemingly selfish endeavor.
The world has tried it the other way, a shallow, haphazard understanding of truth and a fictitious regard for humanity that comes down to nothing more than appearances. We care about others in the world . . . if it involves our national security. This is compassion with sharp teeth, and is not compassion at all, and we see the results of it every few years when we go to war and our kids are sacrificed because of our arrogance and ignorance.
So a meditator’s only responsibility is to herself, but it is a big responsibility. If she does not get it right, and begins teaching before she truly understands humanity, then the world will not change. Then we will continue to act out of fear, and the direct consequences of fear – which are hatred, greed, and ignorance.
How do we get it right? We get it right by going deeply into our own motives with an open mind. We investigate our drives, our fears, our beliefs, and most importantly, our “selves.” The self is the key to understanding. When we discover the falsity of self, we discover everything else, and then we can understand from a compassionate angle the situation that all humanity finds itself in – that we all suffer in many ways.
It’s when humanity tries to wiggle out of its suffering; blame someone else for its problems, think that if it can only accumulate more than the other guy it will be safe, this when everything flies off the rails. All these things must be understood with a meditator’s heart before she can dip her toes back into the world and do some good, and she will know when to do this – if her meditation practice is correct.
A meditator will have only one motive when he or she teaches, and that is to point out greed, hatred and delusions so that the world may become more peaceful. If they have developed a true understanding, they will never teach for money, not even to “cover expenses.” They will cover expenses in this country by working at a regular job like everyone else. They will never have ulterior motives to teach, and will only be driven by compassion to help a troubled world. They usually won’t teach until they have practiced meditation for many, many years, and usually not until they desire not to teach. This means that their teaching is not from ego, and therefore they teach quietly, slowly, step-by-step, explaining cause and effect, and without disparaging others.
So a mediators only job is to only meditate – patiently, carefully, and with passion. Only then might the world change.
E. Raymond Rock of Fort Myers, Florida is cofounder and principal teacher at the Southwest Florida Insight Center, http://www.SouthwestFloridaInsightCenter.com His twenty-eight years of meditation experience has taken him across four continents, including two stopovers in Thailand where he practiced in the remote northeast forests as an ordained Theravada Buddhist monk. His book, A Year to Enlightenment (Career Press/New Page Books) is now available at major bookstores and online retailers. Visit http://www.AYearToEnlightenment.com
Copyright © E. Raymond Rock 2007. All rights reserved