Sangha of Auspicious Companions

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When I was six or seven years old, growing up in Pittsburgh, I used to take a precious penny of my own and hide it for someone else to find. It was a curious compulsion; sadly, I’ve never been seized by it since. For some reason I always “hid” the penny along the same stretch of sidewalk up the street. I would cradle it at the roots of a sycamore, say, or in a hole left by a chipped-off piece of sidewalk. Then I would take a piece of chalk, and, starting at either end of the block, draw huge arrows leading up to the penny from both directions. After I learned to write I labeled the arrows: SURPRISE AHEAD or MONEY THIS WAY. I was greatly excited, during all this arrow-drawing, at the thought of the first lucky passer-by who would receive in this way, regardless of merit, a free gift from the universe. But I never lurked about. I would go straight home and not give the matter another thought, until, some months later, I would be gripped again by the impulse to hide another penny.

It is still the first week in January, and I’ve got great plans. I’ve been thinking about seeing. There are lots of things to see, unwrapped gifts and free surprises. The world is fairly studded and strewn with pennies cast broadside from a generous hand. But—and this is the point—who gets excited by a mere penny? If you follow one arrow, if you crouch motionless on a bank to watch a tremulous ripple thrill on the water and are rewarded by the sight of a muskrat kid paddling from its den, will you count that sight a chip of copper only, and go your rueful way? It is dire poverty indeed when a man is so malnourished and fatigued that he won’t stoop to pick up a penny. But if you cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny will literally make your day, then, since the world is in fact planted in pennies, you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days. It is that simple. What you see is what you get.

…For a week last September migrating red-winged blackbirds were feeding heavily down by the creek at the back of the house. One day I went out to investigate the racket; I walked up to a tree, an Osage orange, and a hundred birds flew away. They simply materialized out of the tree. I saw a tree, then a whisk of color, then a tree again. I walked closer and another hundred blackbirds took flight. Not a branch, not a twig budged: the birds were apparently weightless as well as invisible. Or, it was as if the leaves of the Osage orange had been freed from a spell in the form of red- winged blackbirds; they flew from the tree, caught my eye in the sky, and vanished. […] These appearances catch at my throat; they are the free gifts, the bright coppers at the roots of trees.

It’s all a matter of keeping my eyes open.

[Listen to Audio!]

Authentic spiritual inquiry reveals the joy of fresh insights and revelation, just as artistic or scientific inquiry does, but if we cling to the latest insight as a thing we know, that thing grows stale.

To be of real spiritual value, inquiry must be alive and fresh. Regardless of what we remember or have discovered from the past, each time we truly inquire, we return to not knowing what the outcome will or should be. No doctrine is needed for discovery. No concepts of multiplicity, duality, or non-duality are needed. In fact, we must put aside all of our doctrines and concepts for our inquiry. All that is needed is the willingness to be unattached to the outcome, conscious, and truthful.
Deep inquiry is not for the fainthearted or weak-minded. It is for those who are ready and willing, regardless of fears and discomforts. It is the challenge and invitation to mature. It is the invitation to give up past reliance on others’ discoveries while allowing those discoveries to encourage and even push us into our own inquiry.

Inquiry is not a coping mechanism. It is not present in human consciousness to provide certainty or comfort, except the sublime certainty that one has the capacity to discover truth for oneself. It is a stretching mechanism. It calls on the mind to stretch beyond its known frontiers, and in this way inquiry is support for maturing and evolving the soul. It frees us from the need to define ourselves to experience being ourselves. It is both humbling and a source of profound joy, but it does not provide a neat package of new definitions and stories.

The challenge in inquiry is to be willing to directly discover what exists with no reference points. Inquiry is no small challenge, for it requires facing the death of the inner and outer worlds as they have been constructed with no knowledge of what will take their place. We have the experience of releasing our constructed world when we fall into sleep, and we cherish and need this experience for our well-being on all levels.

The challenge of inquiry appears in releasing the constructed world while remaining conscious.
– Gangaji

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Deep Inquiry: Not for the Faint of Heart What does deep inquiry mean to you? Can you share a personal story around fears that you had to overcome in order to engage in authentic deep inquiry? What do you understand by “releasing the constructed world while remaining conscious?”

Kokil wrote: For me deep inquiry means questioning within and not outside. In my journey of introspection the biggest fear that I am now coming to terms with is the fear of the unknown. Everytime I would th…

Jagdish P Dave wrote: To me, inquiry is a curiosity to understand me and others in my life. The starting point and the continuing point is me and that ongoing process includes the outer world the people I relate to….

Conrad P Pritscher wrote: In the past I thought I knew what inquiry means. Now I do not know. In the past I was afraid of not knowing. Today I am much less afraid of not knowingand often cherish not knowing. What I unde…

Conrad P Pritscher wrote: I forgot to mention that if one notices one is faint of heart, that may be a condition for them to become less faint if that is what they wish to be. I do not know how faint in the sense the au…

david doane wrote: That’s quite a thorough and excellent statement about inquiry. I like the author’s emphasis on releasing one’s constructed world, being detached from any doctrine or expectation of what t…

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Back in 1997, one person started sending this simple “meditation reminder” to a few friends. Soon after, “Wednesdays” started, ServiceSpace blossomed, and the humble experiments of service took a life of its own. If you’d like to start an Awakin gathering in your area, we’d be happy to help you get started.

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[Listen to Audio!]

Authentic spiritual inquiry reveals the joy of fresh insights and revelation, just as artistic or scientific inquiry does, but if we cling to the latest insight as a thing we know, that thing grows stale.

To be of real spiritual value, inquiry must be alive and fresh. Regardless of what we remember or have discovered from the past, each time we truly inquire, we return to not knowing what the outcome will or should be. No doctrine is needed for discovery. No concepts of multiplicity, duality, or non-duality are needed. In fact, we must put aside all of our doctrines and concepts for our inquiry. All that is needed is the willingness to be unattached to the outcome, conscious, and truthful.
Deep inquiry is not for the fainthearted or weak-minded. It is for those who are ready and willing, regardless of fears and discomforts. It is the challenge and invitation to mature. It is the invitation to give up past reliance on others’ discoveries while allowing those discoveries to encourage and even push us into our own inquiry.

Inquiry is not a coping mechanism. It is not present in human consciousness to provide certainty or comfort, except the sublime certainty that one has the capacity to discover truth for oneself. It is a stretching mechanism. It calls on the mind to stretch beyond its known frontiers, and in this way inquiry is support for maturing and evolving the soul. It frees us from the need to define ourselves to experience being ourselves. It is both humbling and a source of profound joy, but it does not provide a neat package of new definitions and stories.

The challenge in inquiry is to be willing to directly discover what exists with no reference points. Inquiry is no small challenge, for it requires facing the death of the inner and outer worlds as they have been constructed with no knowledge of what will take their place. We have the experience of releasing our constructed world when we fall into sleep, and we cherish and need this experience for our well-being on all levels.

The challenge of inquiry appears in releasing the constructed world while remaining conscious.
– Gangaji

Share the Wisdom:

Latest Community Insights

Deep Inquiry: Not for the Faint of Heart What does deep inquiry mean to you? Can you share a personal story around fears that you had to overcome in order to engage in authentic deep inquiry? What do you understand by “releasing the constructed world while remaining conscious?”

Kokil wrote: For me deep inquiry means questioning within and not outside. In my journey of introspection the biggest fear that I am now coming to terms with is the fear of the unknown. Everytime I would th…

Jagdish P Dave wrote: To me, inquiry is a curiosity to understand me and others in my life. The starting point and the continuing point is me and that ongoing process includes the outer world the people I relate to….

Conrad P Pritscher wrote: In the past I thought I knew what inquiry means. Now I do not know. In the past I was afraid of not knowing. Today I am much less afraid of not knowingand often cherish not knowing. What I unde…

Conrad P Pritscher wrote: I forgot to mention that if one notices one is faint of heart, that may be a condition for them to become less faint if that is what they wish to be. I do not know how faint in the sense the au…

david doane wrote: That’s quite a thorough and excellent statement about inquiry. I like the author’s emphasis on releasing one’s constructed world, being detached from any doctrine or expectation of what t…

Share/Read Reflections >>

Some Good News

Video of the Week

Kindness Stories

Global call with Shital Mehta!
Join us for a conference call this Saturday, with a global group of ServiceSpace friends and our insightful guest speaker. Join the Forest Call >>

About
Back in 1997, one person started sending this simple “meditation reminder” to a few friends. Soon after, “Wednesdays” started, ServiceSpace blossomed, and the humble experiments of service took a life of its own. If you’d like to start an Awakin gathering in your area, we’d be happy to help you get started.

You can unsubscribe anytime, within seconds.

A Gift Economy offering of ServiceSpace.org (2012)