Perseverance (1) - The Moso Bamboo tree

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

 

Here is something I found on the web . To me it represents the value

of sticking to our sadhana even when we feel that nothing is

happening to us.

Jai Maa

Latha

 

My acknowledgement and thanks to Joel Weldon . This snippet is

titled "The Moso Bamboo Tree" and is from his book "The Sower's

seeds"

 

==========================================================

 

The moso is a bamboo plant that grows in China and the far east.

After the moso is planted, no visible growth occurs for up to five

years - event under ideal conditions!

 

Then, as if by magic, it suddenly begins growing at the rate of

nearly two and one half feet per day, reaching a full height of

ninety feet within six weeks.

 

But it's not magic. The moso's rapid growth is due to the miles of

roots it develops during those first five years, five years of

getting ready.

 

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[Guest guest]

indeed it is the mind that says 'nothing is happening.' because of

course we are always undergoing change.

 

i was so sad ... i worked for a person who declared: "NO ONE EVER

CHANGES; PEOPLE ALWAYS STAY THE SAME." i had to leave, that was not a

good association.

 

sometimes things are difficult. habituating to new thoughts can be

tough. not only persistence, but interest, passion, desire ... all

these elements help us press on.

 

having a passion for this, that is key. why do we do this? we can't

really take it easy, in a way that is a self-deception. we are

confronted with death and all sorts of daily limitations. but we wish

to be unlimited, we do not want to suffer, we want unity, we want to

understand.

 

but then again, why not? why am i here? i want to brighten awareness.

 

all the work you do in sadhana ... let's look at that tree again ...

 

there are years the tree appears to be doing what? NOTHING. but it is

actually doing something, it is sending roots deep down.

 

sadhana is a spiritual endeavor. it has an outward expression but it

is rooted in the heart. the progress might be unseen for a long time.

 

the discipline can be very sustained and not visible to anyone. we

enquire, we reach beyond. but no one knows.

 

perhaps ones experience is strong in one area, but weak in another.

here we can judge ourselves impartially.

 

will can be strong, but it is of course not all. perhaps we are

strong in another area we are overlooking. our ability to love for

example.

 

can a person know god who does not chant the chandi? who never reads

in sanskrit?

 

there are many ways. we cannot know them all.

 

can discipline alone grow the tree? who knows, who knows. why are we

disciplined in the first place? what is the original motive, the

original cause? why are we here, doing this?

 

it is because u love god, u are already in god. we go places and do

things as an expression of THAT but really, we are already here ...

 

this is not intellectual, it is the way of the infinite. it is not

changed by how we feel, good or bad.

 

s

 

 

, "Latha Nanda" <lathananda>

wrote:

> Dear All,

>

> Here is something I found on the web . To me it represents the

value

> of sticking to our sadhana even when we feel that nothing is

> happening to us.

> Jai Maa

> Latha

>

> My acknowledgement and thanks to Joel Weldon . This snippet is

> titled "The Moso Bamboo Tree" and is from his book "The Sower's

> seeds"

>

> ==========================================================

>

> The moso is a bamboo plant that grows in China and the far east.

> After the moso is planted, no visible growth occurs for up to five

> years - event under ideal conditions!

>

> Then, as if by magic, it suddenly begins growing at the rate of

> nearly two and one half feet per day, reaching a full height of

> ninety feet within six weeks.

>

> But it's not magic. The moso's rapid growth is due to the miles of

> roots it develops during those first five years, five years of

> getting ready.

>

> ==========================================================