Episode 103 – Remain Like a Log

The image of remaining like a log comes up in a number of different traditional Buddhist texts • think of a log rotting slowly in an ancient forest — it just lies there placidly, providing sustenance and a home for various critters as it gradually dissolves into the forest floor • sometimes remaining like a log is talked about in terms of vigilance: maintaining vigilance over one’s mind and heart • usually we associate vigilance with putting a guard at the door; so what does the remaining like a log have to do with vigilance? • there are many ways that we lose our minds and hearts: our mind strays, or we’re captured by some attachment or aversion or mental dullness • the idea of remaining like a log is that when we notice our mind is captured by the bandits of emotional chaos, mental fixations, distractedness, fickleness or wildness, we simply remain like a log — we recognize these tendencies within ourselves and just stay put • It’s not an image of struggling; it’s an image of simply grounding ourselves, letting ourselves settle into our own particular forest floor of in the midst of our mental and emotional chaos.