Magic, and The Biggest However There Ever Was

The Spirit of Owia, Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Karmic conditioning about what's real and what's imaginary is strong. We're meant to live an entire life believing, following, and trying to please the inconsistent, confusing, cruel conversation of conditioned mind that has been yammering at us since before we can remember. That conversation was always at odds with what our heart knew and gently attempted to return us to, a world of kindness and compassion. But the pressure to believe the voices comes from every corner of our conditioned world, and it can feel impossible to get free os it. HOWEVER (and this is the biggest however there ever was), as soon as you hear the voice of the Mentor telling you what you've always known in your heart to be true, you can never be fooled again about what's imaginary, what's real, and what's magic.

from Real Magic, Cheri Huber's Practice Blog

Cheri Huber's "Mentor" is none other than our Buddha Nature, the Ground of our Being, our True Self.

Huber's teachings are so down to earth, and she doesn't hesitate to challenge that giant ME, the empty imaginary dust cloud of voices from the conditioned self--in fact, challenging is how we find a small space for what is real, and as Huber says, once that space is present, it never again closes, it can only expand.

But it takes resolve and patience to expand. It takes dogged practice!

In my humble experience, it takes Buddhas along the way who point me in the right direction, regardless of how I may attempt to push away or greedily consume what is offered. I take refuge here, in the Buddha!

I take refuge in the Dharma as a reminder of "the world of kindness and compassion", a world where we exist in Love, all the while recognizing life's fleeting nature of suffering, of anger and greed--If we turn away from those realities of living, we are simply deluded, and the teachings of the Dharma are ignored.

I take refuge in the Sangha to open its arms without judgement, to offer a place for respite where the practice is reflected in each face that turns to me or turns away from me, in whatever form that may take....the Sangha is a Moveable Feast!

Magic exists in living a life that reflects the Triratna, the Triple Gem of Buddha, Dharma, Sangha.

As we expand into the indestructable reality of the Triple Gem, we become the Triple Gem itself, and magic is evident in every heartbeat that begins with a finite number of beats, in every blossom that blooms gloriously, withers and dies, in every crescent moon, surely making its way to fullness, only to wane once again!

Of this impermanence we can be sure, and perhaps nothing more.

Namu Amida Butsu!