Resting Up for What’s Next

I have these moments when I feel like I should be doing more.
Or at least doing something.
But right now I’m not sure what to do, or how, or when.
 
So instead, right now, for now, I’m taking care of myself. 
I’m practicing, I’m spending time in nature, 
I’m spending time with friends and family and the puppy.
Doing less. Resting up. Taking refuge.
 
But there will come a time when what to do, 
and how, and when, will become clear.  
And when that time comes – 
when there’s a crack and the light starts to get in - 
I plan to be rested and resourced and ready.
I hope you do, too.

Transcript

Hi everyone, it’s Judi Cohen and this is Wake Up Call 476. Nice to see you. Sorry for the scratchy voice.  

This weekend I was talking with my very dear friend Alisa, and we got to talking about refuge, and how much we need that right now. Refuge, rest, resting up. 

In classical mindfulness the invitation is to take refuge in the Buddha, the dharma, and the sangha. The Buddha, meaning not a person, not even the historical Buddha himself, who said himself that he was just a human, but the teacher in each of us. The wisdom we know we have, know we can count on. When things are moving fast and the political situation is over the top, the invitation is to take refuge in what we know to be right, and wise, and kind. To take refuge in knowing that it’s neither wise nor kind to target people for their identities or immigration status; to take refuge in knowing that to target people for their commitment to justice is not right or wise; to take refuge in know that withholding funds that belong to those in need is not right, wise, or kind. To take refuge in knowing that to affirmatively decide not to collaborate with the rest of the humans on our beautiful, small, blue planet around caring for the planet is also not right, or wise, or kind. We can take refuge in these and the other things we know, and in the teacher who resides inside, who knows right from wrong and wise from unwise and kind from unkind. Who, to misquote Justice Stewart, knows greed, hatred, and delusion when they see it. 

That’s the Buddha. We’re also invited to take refuge in the dharma, the teachings. When I’m confused or unsure about what’s right or wise or kind, I know I can go to what’s been written and contemplated over 2,600 years – about how not causing harm is wise, about how not taking what’s not mine, not stealing or appropriating is wise, about how not using harsh language is wise, not misusing sexuality is wise, not taking in substances, including media according to the great teacher Thich Nhat Hanh, that cloud the mind, is wise…and about how these five teachings are also what’s right, and what’s kind, to ourselves and to others. We can take refuge in knowing this. 

And we’re invited to take refuge in the sangha, the community. Again from Thich Nhat Hanh: he said, the next Buddha will be the sangha. My understanding is that he meant, the next great teacher will be the community. So we can take refuge in places like this, where we’re with like-minded people, in community. And not only in communities that are “like us,” but in the human community, being inclusive without exception even when it feels – speaking for myself – impossible to consider “that person” as part of my community. Taking refuge in the human community, knowing there is wisdom there, there is fundamental kindness even when kindness is obfuscated.  

Taking refuge can also be about being in nature: taking refuge in the forest, where the trees have seen it all and will be here long after we’re gone. Taking refuge in being beside the ocean and sitting beside lakes and rivers and streams, which have been here since before time began to be measured and will be here in some form, long after time as we know it ceases to exist, at least in the form we think of it. 

Being with beings I love is a place of refuge for me, and maybe for you, too. Being with family, with friends, with all of you and with the other communities I get to sit with. Being with Ollie the puppy, even when he’s being a puppy, is refuge. Being alone is also refuge – being with my  own being, the silence of that, the nature of silence itself. That can be a powerful refuge. 

I feel like we all need refuge. If you’re feeling activated or shaken or off-kilter or anxious, or even if you’re feeling great, to me it’s still always wise to take refuge. And especially in this moment, in these times, I feel like it’s crucial.

I had the pleasure of sitting with the Working Group for Law and Meditation on Monday evening – talk about refuge. After almost a quarter of a century, we know one another well and I love the refuge of practicing and being with these wise friends. Norman Fischer is our teacher, as I’ve mentioned, and he and a couple of other friends in our group had something to say about refuge on Monday, and about resting up. 

First I should say, though, that I was wondering how the meeting would go. We meet most months but we hadn’t met since the inauguration. So I was wondering how everyone would be doing, and whether there would be a lot of upset, a lot of exasperation or fear or frustration or other afflictive emotion.

And that’s where I was surprised. It wasn’t that people weren’t upset. I more or less feel like if you’re not upset you’re not paying attention, to misquote the musician Tom Morello, but that’s just me. But Norman and my friend Karen Musalo, a national immigration expert and the director of the UC San Francisco Law Center on Gender and Refugee Studies, and Karen’s partner Richard Boswell, also a professor at UC SF Law, said some things I needed to hear and deeply appreciated. They said, take care of yourself – essentially, take refuge – and for now, just pay attention. Now is not the time for action. There’s too much going on. Too much momentum. Too much chaos. Norman said, the president is having the best week he’ll have in his whole term. Bide your time right now. Resource yourself, and bide your time. \

In fact, Norman pointed us to Sun Tsu, The Art of War. He said that Sun Tsu said, there are times, like this one, when the best thing to do is wait and watch. Rest, wait, and watch. Because no one is foolproof. Nothing is “without fail.” Everyone makes mistakes. And when the mistakes and missteps happen, then will be the time to act. And right now, rest up. Actually, Norman said, rest up for battle. Don’t feel bad about doing that or like we could be doing more, just rest up. Because we’re going to need our strength. 

I think about Pema Chodron’s line all the time, are you going to practice peace or are you going to war, and right now, I’m practicing peace. Internal peace, the kind of peace that I can find in taking refuge in my own internal teacher, in what I know to be right and true, in community, in nature, in family, in friends, in other beings I love. Right now. But am I later going to war? I don’t know. I just know that I need to be resting up, just in case.

Thanks, Karen, thanks, Richard, thanks Norman. And thank you to all of you. 

Let’s sit.