Longchenpa and the journey of the Wildwoods
Transitioning from desires and strategies to Being.
Offering flowers and incense to all the Buddhas for eons as numerous as the grains of sand in the Gondjis would bring but a fraction of the merit gained from taking seven steps in the direction of retreat with the qualities of the wildwoods in one’s mind.
- Songs of the Enchanting Wildwoods, Longchenpa (1308 - 1364)
As I listened to Song of the Enchanting Wildwoods on my walk today, a few things clicked into place that I hope to articulate here. Longchenpa’s desire to retreat from society in order to get to a deeper, more meaningful place is beautifully illustrated in this work. But the retreat is not always a physical one. It is in fact one of the mind; a letting go of external desires and mechanisms of achieving.
It’s a need to be with the ever-sustaining, unchanging self and a relinquishing of the transient.
Wanting and achieving are transient creations of the mind. They are a cup that never fills, always wanting more. They are fed by the ego which is fed by an external world that encourages consuming, fixing and never being quite satisfied.
It is my own desire to discover another way and to realize that the other way was always there within.
Finding the self unbound by external influence is exhilarating. It’s a place I am learning to be in all or most of the time. A journey into the Wildwoods of the mind that always sustains, guides and satisfies.
As I discover this, I am left with the question of application. How do I apply this discovery to the world in which I inhabit so physically?
If satisfaction is in the being and the being is already here, what do I do with my desire to make these objects and put them into the world? This is a question I have been pondering lately. In other words, if I am feeling so complete and at peace why even bother?
An inkling of an answer came today as I walked in the woods near my home. When you engage fully with self, desire, intention and guidance come fully from within. It is no longer abetted by the indoctrinations of the external. Finally I can listen to the within and I will know.
What I know, is that I make objects that come from the deepest place within me. And when I do, striving and efforting cease to exist.
This guides my decisions in what I make and how I make it. No longer concerned with approval or how somethings appears, I can make the work that is calling to me from within. I can finally hear what has always been because I know now how to listen.
How does this impact those that come upon my work? It is my intention to create art from the most authentic place. That is the space where connection happens on a most beautiful level. Connection to others, seeing others for who they truly are - this is the power of art making and how it benefits our world.
Wise words to consider:
But absolutely I make the noble heartfelt aspiration that a time may come when I receive the opportunity to be of benefit to others accomplishing their needs on a vast scale without thinking of myself for even a moment. Now though if I have one thought in my heart it’s this: don’t wait. Go meditate in the wildwoods. do it now.
- Songs of the Enchanting Wildwoods, Longchenpa (1308 - 1364)