Touch the Earth
Dear Friends,
We have talked in the past about the episode when the Buddha called the earth as his witness. The story is told that on the last night before his enlightenment, the Buddha was challenged by the lord of the demons, Mara, who attacked him with his armies. Mara mocked the Buddha, and asked who could witness to the Buddha's enlightenment, since he had no admiring troops like Mara's. Buddha reached his right hand down to touch the earth in a gesture known as the bhumisparsha mudra. He called the Earth to be his witness, and she rose up as a goddess to validate his many earthly lives, deeds of self-sacrifice, and merit. Mara was defeated and enlightenment followed at the rise of the bright and morning star.
It is interesting that Buddha did not call on the heavens, but on the earth, to bear witness to his spiritual achievement. How literally and figuratively grounded! Today, two thousand-odd years later, human-caused climate troubles challenge us to renew our relationship with the earth. But our situation is different. Buddha was certain; we are uncertain. The earth bore witness to his enlightenment; now it bears witness to our lack of enlightenment. The earth's own health was not in question; now it is. What can it mean today for us to touch the earth? Buddha's left hand traditionally is cupped on his lap as if receptive upwards. That may help us. Also, he is rarely depicted as seated on the dirt; rather, his throne is a lotus flower, and he more indicates than palpates the earth below.
This week we'll again work with our personal strengths of attention, alignment, and connection, so as to heighten our group energy. We'll do this in a kind of spiral, at each turn deepening our attention, aligning with more of our "parts," and connecting to a wider collective. When the circumference of the spiral is wide enough, we'll perform the mudra and send our intensified group presence to a place or process on earth where we sense a call. But this week, unlike last, we'll choose together, in advance, a single terrestrial focus.
with love,
Michael
