i point toward one of the only two directions that i have cared about in my life;
Upward. the other? inward. endlessly, inward. photo; several hundred feet above my Zen Center in Jemez, New Mexico. i would often invite my other Zen peers to come and run or hike or climb with me outdoors. few ever brought their Zen off the cushion. sad.
One day Tesshu, the famous swordsman and Zen devotee, went to Dukuon and told him triumphantly he believed all that exists is empty, there is no you or me, etc. The master who had listened in silence suddenly snatched up his long tobacco pipe and struck Tesshu's head.
The infuriated swordsman would have killed the master there and then, but Dokuon said calmly,
Emptiness is quick to show anger, isn't it?
Forcing a smile, Tesshu left the room.
- from the Sufi Tradition
***
no matter how often i say it.
regardless of the fact that even my WF Application To Study says in black and white:
if you come here to Study WF, your cup must be empty
the very moment this Steep and Direct Path starts pushing ego buttons, attachments, emotional adhesions,
even the Devoted Ones quit.
even the ones that called me "Guru", quit in a fit of anger.
even the "Never Quittin'" ones? quit, rationalizing, "Well, WF wasn't what i expected,' or "I don't like the direction Coach is taking with WF," and many other similar rationalizations to soothe their agitated ego.
***
for 25 years i have only led each and every one of you in one unfaltering Direction;
inward.
right where your Gunk is.
sure, get mad at me.
quit the Path.
i have done my SvaDharma; i have shown you precisely where your Highest Workout remains!
this is why my Teachers told me, "I don't want Students...i want sacrificial goats."
now, i see Why.
i am far less fierce than my Teachers.
yet, still, most will Quit this Steep, Direct, and Proven Path of Transformation.
***
yesterday i set a new Personal Record while 'skinning' up Agassiz Peak.
for those of you who are not familiar with that term, it means applying a glue-based 'carpet' to the bottom of your cross country skis and trudging up a ski slope. the carpet, which can be peeled away once at the summit, allows the skier to creep up extremely steep terrain.
most of the fittest local ski warriors can skin up Agassiz in a little over an hour.
yesterday, i cranked it in 47:42.
nearly a quarter hour faster than the fastest local.
that was after tele-skiing for 2.5 hours. and it was snowing and windy.
it was a Breakthrough for me. i have often made the ascent in just over 50 minutes. yet, i was determined to break the 50 minute barrier.
yesterday, i creamed it.
a new Standard was set; physically and metaphysically.
during the Ascent i experienced a sustained state of what yogis know as MahiMana.
i cannot Teach you this in this forum.
it would confuse you.
let me just say this; though yesterday's ascent was one of the most remarkable athletic feats i have done in my life,
it was less athletics to me
than an hour long meditation.
oh, and i skied down to the base in 7 minutes.
yesterday, i skied up and down a mountain from 9,300' to 11,500' in less than one hour.
that, my Friends Along The Path, is yoga.
High Performance Yoga.
"The Path works, when YOU work the Path."
Make the Decision to live WF.
then,
Live
The
Decision.
i promise you this much;
your Emptiness will never be as Sacred, as Fun, and as Meaningful
if you do.
***
though i will attempt to update DL, i am heading off to Telluride to compete in the nation's highest altitude Nordic Ski Race.
Internet access is sketchy and i have a couple of Secret Mountain Yogi escapades to do in the backcountry before and after my race, so enjoy the Archives and Live the Path until i get back, okay?
"Going forward is a matter of ordinariness."
- Zen
om so ti,
the mountain yogi
