Precision, Gentleness, and the Ability to Let Go

The lovely blog title was taken from Pema Chodron's book, "The Wisdom of No Escape". In the 4th chapter she expounds on ripening the qualities of precision, gentleness, and the ability to let go through meditation. What inspired me the most about this chapter is her explanation that Buddha taught there is kind of and "innocent misunderstanding that we all share, something that can be turned around, corrected, and see through, as if we were in a dark room and someone showed us where the light switch was. It isn't a sin that we are in the dark room. It's just an innocent situation, but how fortunate that someone shows us where the light switch is. It brightens up our lives considerably."

Isn't this a inspiration to ponder? My experience with Catholicism told me I began with original sin, something I spiritually inherited. It was a bummer to live with the fact I was destined to a life of sin for someone else's mistake. That is why I like the Buddhist version better. In her book, Pema Chodron offers alternatives to dealing with the sufferings of life through Buddhists teachings which speak to the heart.

"In the same way, if we see our so-called limitations with clarity, precision, gentleness, goodheartedness, and kindness, and, having seen them fully, then let go, open further, we begin to find that our world is more vast and more refreshing and fascinating than we had realized before. In other words, the key to feeling more whole and less shut off and shut down is to be able to see clearly who we are and what we're doing."

Pema Chodron is clear this is not a self improvement plan or trying to be a better person. She has stated that the desire to change is fundamentally a form of aggression toward oneself because our neurosis and wisdom are made out of the same material.

"The idea isn't to try to get rid of your anger (or whatever emotion is predominant), but to make friends with it, to see it clearly with precision and honesty, and also to see it with gentleness. That means not judging yourself as a bad person, but also not bolstering yourself up by saying, 'It's good I'm this way, it's right that I' this way. Other people are terrible, and I'm right to be so angry at them all the time.' The gentleness involves not repressing the anger but also not acting it out. You can let go of the usual pitiful little story line that accompanies anger and begin to see clearly how you keep the whole thing going. So whether it's anger or craving or jealousy or fear or depression-whatever it might be-the notion is not to try to get rid of it, but make friends with it. That means getting to know it completely, with some kind of softness, and learning how, once you've experienced it fully, to let it go."

What if my routine, deadening life could be infused with this sense of restoration? How would I be different? What energy would be rechanneled positively because it is not being zapped by my own critical, harsh, and protective ways? How would my pitiful story change by precision, gentleness, and letting go?

"This is probably one of the most amazing tools that you could be given, the ability to just let things go, not to be caught up in the grip of your own angry thoughts or passionate thoughts or worried thoughts or depressed thoughts."

Amen.