That serenity known through lack of fear or desire. How do we get there? Specifically?
Well, it's a lot like baking cookies. Really.
Before we go there, however, it's probably best to talk about what we don't need to get to Mu...
- a special room, sound-proofed from the neighborhood
- painted in a special color
- with Om and Yin/Yang symbols
- and burning candles and incense
Nor do we require...
- a special haircut or robe
- sitting in a special posture
- with our hands turned in just the right manner
- chanting a particular sound or prayer
Nor, either, do we need to...
- find a labyrinth or
- do so many circuits clock-wise (or non) around a stupa
- breathing in some sort of esoteric pattern
Nope. None of these. Getting to Mu is quite simply a matter of practice - wherever, whenever, however. And the more you practice teaching your mind not to give way to fear or desire, the less your mind will.
Which brings us back to baking cookies.
After all, the more you bake cookies, the better you get at it, right? Fewer burned cookies, not so much sugar that everyone's teeth hurt, or forgetting the egg or mistaking baking soda for baking powder, etc. Surprisingly common, isn't it?
Which makes us wonder whether it really could be all that simple. After all, we are talking about an ancient Asian religious belief. And yet...
Cue the artists again.
This is a concept every artist knows. For our job as artists is to make sure that our brushwork (so to speak) is excellent and not embarrassing. And there is only one way to get there: spend those hours in the studio working it, practicing.
We get to Mu in precisely the same way. Practice.
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