After asking a question and receiving the reply . . . (Click image for video)

I got it! 

I lost it . . . 

A momentary flash of achievement.

Perhaps it will come when we open our eyes during a group chanting session and clearly see the candles, incense holder, and flowers in front of the statue of Amitabha Buddha. Suddenly, for a brief instant, there are no stirring of thoughts—no thoughts of labeling, discriminating or attaching.

Instead, perceiving everything correctly, our mind remains still—this is the “I got it” moment.

We recognize what just happened but in the next nanosecond, a tsunami of our usual thoughts overwhelms us. We start to label what we see. Thoughts of good or bad, thoughts of like or dislike, thoughts of clinging or aversion—all arise from within us.

And with all these thoughts, the realization of “I lost it!” But we remember that amazing flash of pure seeing. And how uncluttered and clear it felt. And know that we just had a taste of what awakened beings know as the state of wondrous observation. 

Letting go does not mean we don’t care . . . (Click image for video)

Progress in our cultivation 

comes from small everyday improvements.  

We don’t want to wait for significant challenges in life to work on our cultivation. We need to work on improving it in small ways every day. How?

We can cultivate fearlessness by supporting a harried co-worker worried about an impending deadline. Or seeing a raccoon trapped in a dumpster. 

We can work on equanimity while waiting in line to reschedule our cancelled flight.

Or on patience when our children are each telling us their version of how the lamp was broken.

Gradually, we will become more adept at our cultivation. Then, thankfully, when we run up against life’s more trying challenges, we will be better skilled at reacting prudently and calmly. To those who haven’t attempted this cultivation, it may seem easy. But the reality is that even minor acts in our cultivation require much persistence to accomplish them well. To see how we’re progressing, we can keep asking ourselves, “Am I doing this the best I can?”