Not the result you were looking for.

We tend to spend much of our days looking for something, in search of the new, the better. We would like to see an outcome from our efforts. What's all this time and energy worth? What is the practice for?

What if I told you that you already had everything you were looking for? You already have the capacity. You already have full possession of the result that you seek. The goal is already manifest, there is nothing more to do and nothing to be improved upon. 

Chances are you would not believe me. I must be stretching the truth or trying to pull a fast one on you. Surely I am embellishing. 

And what if I am not being deceitful or egregious?

What would you do if what I am telling you is in fact true? 

I honestly don't know what you will do. Personally, I live a life dedicated to practice. 

Practice looks like showing up, taking responsibility, being receptive and available, doing the hard work of being patient and generous and kind. It looks like trying to figure out how I can meaningful contribute and be of service to others. 

And it feels nice, knowing that this is enough. We don't need a big show for our life and our work, it doesn't need to be a spectacle or even remarkable. There doesn't need to be a grand finale, a celebration for the work or even a word of praise for all you have done. 

Simply this is enough. 

Fulfillment, found.

For many of us, wealth is an endless horizon of more and better. More stuff, better stuff, more experiences, better experiences. There is no limit to how much we can consume. Wealth as a measure of endless consumption can never be satiated. No matter how many wonderful things we have done or how much we have surrounded ourselves with nice things, if we continue searching for more we will never know fulfillment. 

Enough is the opposite of the endless search for more and better. Enough enables us to appreciate what we have, to tune in to what is available to us at this very moment, and to be satisfied and content. Enough still relies to some measure on stuff and experiences, but those things and experiences become tangible and within our reach. 

One of the five wisdoms that characterize the awakened mind is all-accomplishing wisdom, otherwise translated as spontaneous fulfillment (Tib. bya ba grub pa'i ye shes). All-accomplishing wisdom is not the experience of whatever you desire being fulfilled. If your fulfillment is dependent on desire being fulfilled, then fulfillment lies outside of you because there is no end to your thirst. A desirous mind is antithetical to fulfillment. 

What happens when we let go of our desires? We experience the spontaneous fulfillment of enough.

Things, as they are, are sufficient for my well being and happiness. The present conditions, as they are, are sufficient for a live well lived. My current circumstances, as they are, are sufficient for me to act with purpose and intention. Appreciating who we are, as we are, opens us up to how much potential and possibility are available to us at this moment. Appreciating the world around us, as it is, reveals the opportunity and natural abundance that are always available to us. 

In this way, all is accomplished as it is, right now. Spontaneous fulfillment is readily available to us as the ever-present reality of things, just as they are. 

Just as a wellspring bubbling up from the ground flows out as a spring, inner wealth and abundance naturally want to be shared and flow out to others around us. Those gifts, in the form of kindness, compassion and generosity, deepen our sense of belonging and connection in the world. Inner fulfillment leads to outer fulfillment, benefitting yourself and others. In this way, the two aims of yourself and others become effortlessly fulfilled as a result of the single act of waking up. 

Settling the Mind.

Take your seat. Meditate for ten minutes using any method that you are familiar with. You might focus on your breath, visualize an internal drop of light, focus on a mantra, or rest in the uncontrived natural state.

What is your experience? What do you notice? What are some of the challenges or problems that come up?

One of the first things you will probably notice is movement.

You experience thoughts racing, sensations coursing through your body- pain, itching, tightness. You notice all of this movement, which normally goes unseen and unrecognized.

Movement is the first experience of meditation. Now you know how stirred up you are. You may have a conceptual idea of resting the mind and what that should look and feel like, but when you sit what you actually experience is movement.

Which is good.

What we are experiencing is our own mind- complete with thoughts, emotions, sense perceptions, habits and memories. We are having a direct encounter with our crazy monkey mind.

At this point in your practice it is important to rely on study. What is meditation? What are methods for dealing with obstacles? Really investigate what is mind, what is the nature of mind? What is the basis for what we experience in meditation? Are the things we experience momentary and fleeting or do they have some real substance? Investigate cause and effect, look at where you are stuck or what you are holding onto. Dig deeper into your experience.

Don't beat yourself up. Don't make your practice into a big project. Learn to relax. Let go.

It is okay if it doesn't happen right away. It is important to develop the habit of settling and resting. Put your effort into showing up without expectation or judgment. Be present, be here. Even if the present is loud and unsettled, it is enough for now.