Page 201 - Dark Matter:Women Witnessing Issue #3 - December 2015
P. 201
Dark Matter: Women Witnessing - December, 2015 Issue #3 - EXTINCTION / DEVOTION
component. Those who go out into nature and live simply, and the main emphasis is on meditation, not
so much study.
LW:
But, at least in the Judeo-Christian tradition, my understanding of those sojourns is the point is not so
much to be in nature as to get away from civilization so you can hear your own thoughts. Whereas you
said, “I want to hear what she has to say.”
AS:
You can learn so much from nature, you go in the forest and impermanence is everywhere. Being in the
forest, in a quiet forest, you can learn so much from the trees. The presence of the trees just grounds
you. The laws of nature are at work and you can tune into them. Just listening to nature is the same as
listening to truth. You can access truth through understanding the laws of nature deeper and deeper.
LW:
In the climate action talk you said something I wanted to hear more about. You said we need to get out
of the way and let evolution take its course.
AS:
What I meant is the ego part needs to get out of the way and intuitive awareness has to take over. This
is what I mean: there is less and less of a clear agenda, it’s more of a going with the flow. You respond
in whatever way is possible in the given situation. We are teaching a retreat at IMS in April called
“Listening to Natural Law” and we taught a retreat at Spirit Rock last year with that title, and wherever
we teach, we have a three-dimensional picture of the earth in the center of the shrine—so the Buddha
kind of sits on the planet—and we introduce the planet as being our teacher. We present this as a
given, nothing special, just how it is. As you know, there are Buddha statues where he has one hand
touching the earth. In the night of his enlightenment this is what he did, he touched the earth and called
her to witness that he has the right to be here and to be enlightened. He was supported by the earth,
just as we are being supported by her right now. It’s not difficult to bring it all together.
Page 199 of 218
