One of the first things a new Buddhist monk is told by older, more experienced monks is to stop "measuring." No matter how much the new monk thinks that he knows, it will not help him now. It will only prove a hindrance to his meditation and spiritual development. The new monk can either accept this advice or hold to his views and opinions, and continue measuring. It is always up to him.

If the new monk is stubborn and self-opinionated, he will continue to measure. Then, perhaps years later, he may understand that only when he lets go of all his measuring does spiritual progress take place. This is because as long as he continues to measure, he will continue to pit his views and opinions against the views and opinions of others and in the process never get around to calming his heart.

It is good to measure for a while, to make sure that one hasn't put him or herself in a situation that is harmful, but after a certain point, habitual measuring becomes counter-productive. Measuring is taking what we have known from the past and applying it to the present or future. This is troublesome because the future never turns out to be exactly as the past. The future requires vision and flexibility if we are to see exactly what the new situation is; we must be sharply aware. As long as we live in the past, things will seem to remain the same, even though they are changing behind our backs, and this can not only surprise us but make us angry because we wish things to remain unchanged. It is only when we abandon our past that we see what's really happening, and if we refuse to see, then we will not grow and will remain what we are.

When a monk is meditating, it is all about seeing the exact moment. In meditation, a monk becomes aware of what is happening now, not thoughts about yesterdays or tomorrows. There is only the breathing, the stillness, this reality. No comparing, no judging, only this moment, where there is no apprehension or fear. When measuring stops, the immeasurable appears, because it is only our minds that keep us imprisoned, that keep us away from our true destiny.

The mind is a blank pallet, which takes on the colors and textures of the brush as our karma creates the brush strokes. However, painting a different picture involves something other than our karma holding the brush; it involves no brush, no pallet, no mind. It involves eternity, measurlessness, that which can only be touched when mind is completely stilled. As long as mind is engaged with incessant measuring, judging, views and opinions, the brush strokes will not change, and the pictures will all be the same.

The genius of painting is in the seeing of the artist. Without vision, there is no masterpiece, only a colorful drawing. But seeing; ah, this is where all genius takes place; in art, in music, in living. And this is what a new monk is encouraged to do; . . . see. To see past the mundane measurements of fear and release himself into a vast ocean of awareness that will change his entire life. This is what the older monks try to tell a new monk; this is what the stars and the moon and the sun try to tell us. All we have to do is listen . . . and see.

Author's Bio: 

E. Raymond Rock of Fort Myers, Florida is cofounder and principal teacher at the Southwest Florida Insight Center, www.SouthwestFloridaInsightCenter.com His twenty-nine years of meditation experience has taken him across four continents, including two stopovers in Thailand where he practiced in the remote northeast forests as an ordained Theravada Buddhist monk. His book, A Year to Enlightenment (Career Press/New Page Books) is now available at major bookstores and online retailers. Visit www.AYearToEnlightenment.com