June 3, 2009
- On Having Always Been Enlightened All Along -
Imagine a mouth constantly full of food. So much so that it becomes difficult to swallow. Bits of food get stuck between teeth, behind molars, in the cheeks, beginning to rot. Every once in a while, a little food slips down the throat. “It worked!” we think, and shovel more food in, trying to assuage our hunger. Perhaps our teeth begin to decay.
Now imagine spitting all that food out. Emptying the mouth, allowing the air to pass freely, existing in a state of no-food. Much better than starving while stuffed full, right? But does that mean we should never eat?
The natural order of the mouth is emptiness, that’s what lets us swallow the food we need. Each piece must be thoroughly tasted and chewed before it is swallowed, and each bite must be swallowed before the next is taken. But at all times, the mouth is inherently empty, and keeping that in mind allows us to use it properly.
Does it then follow that we are the same when choking on the food as when we are when mindfully chewing it? In both cases, the mouth is inherently empty, after all.
Before and after, no change, but everything is different…
