Where is Perfection in an Imperfect World?

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We have the possibility of sensing the underlying perfection even in the midst of pain.

Questioner: Can you describe this perfection to me? I want to believe in this underlying perfection, but nothing in my experience of pain has ever lead me to believe in the perfection of anything about the experience. I've read enough to think this might have to do with being awakened, which I most certainly am not. I would definitely appreciate the ability to tolerate that which is intolerable, but I can't honestly, experientially, sense that this state is possible. I'd love to know your thoughts. 

Ayya: Thank you for expressing your heartfelt question. I sense that it poses a formidable obstacle to your peace of mind. Understandably so. I hope that the following reflection helps as a way of gaining a new perspective so you can experience more ease and well-being in the midst of the struggle.

It is difficult to tap into the great perfection when so many things both internally and externally seem to be in chaos. Whether it's our own dark moods, past traumas or the present day earthquakes and mass shootings, the world seems to be falling apart at the seams. Of course, we don't always get to see all the beautiful things that are happening simultaneously. The quote you shared is potent because it is saying that the pain and the perfection aren't separate. Such a non-dual perspective is not apparent on the surface of things.

"How to tolerate the intolerable?" you ask. Calling it intolerable, makes it so, keeping it at arms length from us with judgment and disdain. Calling it deeply painful, disappointing, heart-breaking, etc...allows our hearts to feel the pain and to break open. We don't want to see ourselves as being connected to the horrific in any way and if we do see our connection, we judge ourselves or blame others as the cause of our suffering. In either case, we are caught in the separation that perpetuates the pain. 

You may be familiar with Thich Nhat Hanh's famous poem "Call me by my true names" in which he identifies with both the aggressor and the victim. How can this be? We usually side with one or the other. This peaceful monk asks us to look deeply at things in order to see that we "inter-are". There is only the flow of the river, sometimes crashing down wildly and other times serenely reflecting the open sky above. Where will this river take us? Why am I even on this wild ride? How can I get off? Why can't I be in control of the craft I am in so as to steer clear of the eddies and rapids that catch me and toss me around? Obviously, I"m not in control and facing this fact is disturbing....unless we let go of the need to have control. 

Many people choose to surrender to a God who they believe is in control. But if this God has control, how could s/he let all this madness happen? And if there is no God in control, are we left to the vices of fate which seem to favor the lowest common denominator? In the Hindu tradition, there is at least the acknowledgment of the different faces of God - creator, sustainer and destroyer. If we look at nature, we can see all three of these processes happening at once. As green leaves turn to brown and flowers fade at the end of summer, the soil takes in what is discarded as nourishment that will build and sustain manifold life beneath the surface. Death renews itself in life, the flow of the two are not separate. It is easier to accept the perfection in nature than in the human realm but how are we different? Could it be the mind fancies itself to be autonomous? Is it not that sense of separation which is at the root of all problems be it the internal wars that manifest as depression and despair or the external ones that manifest as racial prejudice, violence and domination? Our confused mind with its distorted perceptions and tainted motivations gets in the way of the intrinsically perfect nature of our being. It's not that the perfection isn't there, but that it is not realized (hence, the admission of not being enlightened).

You are right, there are many questions. One leads to another and another....We crave answers. We crave solace. We crave resolution. Where is the perfection? The Buddha would say it is in the giving up of craving. We may think that letting go of the demand that things be other than the way they are is passive and won't have any affect on creating the world that we want to see - a world that is more just, inclusive and harmonious.  Actually, our immediate experience, being connected as it is to the whole, cannot help but have an impact both energetically and physically, though it may not be evident as quickly or specifically as you like. Giving up craving doesn't mean that we give up the longing for peace, love and harmony, but that we don't seek to find it in the mind that divides ourselves, others and events into self-entities that stand apart from the whole.

The mystic saints have shown that it is possible to enter the silence and know the "God" who is beyond all names and forms and yet lives within every being. We lose that silence as the mind screams "intolerable", "imperfect", and "unacceptable". As the story goes, the Buddha held up a flower in the midst of an assembly. Only one person understood the message and smiled. In that flower, there is perfection: the present life which contains beauty, its continuous changing nature, its apparent diminishment or dissolution, and the seeds for future life. We want to to see only the aspects that please us and not the ones that offend our senses. The heart that is free is spacious enough to contain it all. May you open to that heart and be at peace. 


 We have the possibility of sensing the
underlying perfection even in the midst of pain.

Questioner: Can you describe this perfection to me? I want to believe in this underlying perfection, but nothing in my experience of pain has ever lead me to believe in the perfection of anything about the experience. I've read enough to think this might have to do with being awakened, which I most certainly am not. I would definitely appreciate the ability to tolerate that which is intolerable, but I can't honestly, experientially, sense that this state is possible. I'd love to know your thoughts. 

Ayya: Thank you for expressing your heartfelt question. I sense that it poses a formidable obstacle to your peace of mind. Understandably so. I hope that the following reflection helps as a way of gaining a new perspective so you can experience more ease and well-being in the midst of the struggle.

It is difficult to tap into the great perfection when so many things both internally and externally seem to be in chaos. Whether it's our own dark moods, past traumas or the present day earthquakes and mass shootings, the world seems to be falling apart at the seams. Of course, we don't always get to see all the beautiful things that are happening simultaneously. The quote you shared is potent because it is saying that the pain and the perfection aren't separate. Such a non-dual perspective is not apparent on the surface of things.

"How to tolerate the intolerable?" you ask. Calling it intolerable, makes it so, keeping it at arms length from us with judgment and disdain. Calling it deeply painful, disappointing, heart-breaking, etc...allows our hearts to feel the pain and to break open. We don't want to see ourselves as being connected to the horrific in any way and if we do see our connection, we judge ourselves or blame others as the cause of our suffering. In either case, we are caught in the separation that perpetuates the pain. 

You may be familiar with Thich Nhat Hanh's famous poem "Call me by my true names" in which he identifies with both the aggressor and the victim. How can this be? We usually side with one or the other. This peaceful monk asks us to look deeply at things in order to see that we "inter-are". There is only the flow of the river, sometimes crashing down wildly and other times serenely reflecting the open sky above. Where will this river take us? Why am I even on this wild ride? How can I get off? Why can't I be in control of the craft I am in so as to steer clear of the eddies and rapids that catch me and toss me around? Obviously, I"m not in control and facing this fact is disturbing....unless we let go of the need to have control. 

Many people choose to surrender to a God who they believe is in control. But if this God has control, how could s/he let all this madness happen? And if there is no God in control, are we left to the vices of fate which seem to favor the lowest common denominator? In the Hindu tradition, there is at least the acknowledgment of the different faces of God - creator, sustainer and destroyer. If we look at nature, we can see all three of these processes happening at once. As green leaves turn to brown and flowers fade at the end of summer, the soil takes in what is discarded as nourishment that will build and sustain manifold life beneath the surface. Death renews itself in life, the flow of the two are not separate. It is easier to accept the perfection in nature than in the human realm but how are we different? Could it be the mind fancies itself to be autonomous? Is it not that sense of separation which is at the root of all problems be it the internal wars that manifest as depression and despair or the external ones that manifest as racial prejudice, violence and domination? Our confused mind with its distorted perceptions and tainted motivations gets in the way of the intrinsically perfect nature of our being. It's not that the perfection isn't there, but that it is not realized (hence, the admission of not being enlightened).

You are right, there are many questions. One leads to another and another....We crave answers. We crave solace. We crave resolution. Where is the perfection? The Buddha would say it is in the giving up of craving. We may think that letting go of the demand that things be other than the way they are is passive and won't have any affect on creating the world that we want to see - a world that is more just, inclusive and harmonious.  Actually, our immediate experience, being connected as it is to the whole, cannot help but have an impact both energetically and physically, though it may not be evident as quickly or specifically as you like. Giving up craving doesn't mean that we give up the longing for peace, love and harmony, but that we don't seek to find it in the mind that divides ourselves, others and events into self-entities that stand apart from the whole.

The mystic saints have shown that it is possible to enter the silence and know the "God" who is beyond all names and forms and yet lives within every being. We lose that silence as the mind screams "intolerable", "imperfect", and "unacceptable". As the story goes, the Buddha held up a flower in the midst of an assembly. Only one person understood the message and smiled. In that flower, there is perfection: the present life which contains beauty, its continuous changing nature, its apparent diminishment or dissolution, and the seeds for future life. We want to to see only the aspects that please us and not the ones that offend our senses. The heart that is free is spacious enough to contain it all. May you open to that heart and be at peace. 

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