on living with a partner


Married or not, living with a partner presents as good a reason as any to practice looking deeply into (1) impermanence, (2) the lack of an unchanging self, and (3) the imagined reality of all concepts.

The practice brings into awareness past thoughts of any being as one of many. And this: the timeless present, with no being other than what is.

a foundational paradox in Zen: things are not as they are seen, nor are they otherwise

No one is as they are thought to be, and yet they are.

No one need do more than need be done to be and let be with love, compassion, joy, and equanimity.

equanimity: letting what is be just as it is; doing no more than need be done to be and let be

There are no beings, only being; no enlightened beings, only enlightened being.

Enlightened being is being well, is doing no more than need be done to be and let be.

May all be well.



notes and links

DuckDuckGo bang commands (!?) here link to search results for words they follow when the commands are in parentheses, for words they precede when they are not

image credit: Sandy Millar :: !unsplash wedding ring

as good a reason as any to practice

the best reason of all – especially if your partner is uninterested in the practice – to practice

impermanence, the lack of an unchanging self, and the imagined reality of all concepts (!?)

non-self and impermanence are two sides of the same coin

Thich Nhat Hanh: “You can see non-self in impermanence, and impermanence in non-self.” (!gb) / Google Books

concepts and nirvana – relative truth and absolute truth – are two sides of the same coin (!?)

“things are not as they are seen, nor are they otherwise” / site:twitter.com (!g)**

No one is as they are thought to be. And yet they are.

!gb All that a guru can tell you is, “You are not the person you think yourself to be.” (Nisargadatta Maharaj)

love, compassion, joy, and equanimity (!g) / Google

equanimity: nonattachment to an outcome (!?)

there is no such thing as an enlightened person (!gb)

Shunryu Suzuki: “Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as an enlightened person.” (!?) “There is only enlightened activity.”

And yes, an unfamiliar point of view takes a while to accept:













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