How To Walk In The Rain Without Getting Wet - The Art Of Keeping Your Cool When Everyone Else Is Losing Theirs

A teaching from Hang Senn www.win-within.com

The woods outside were wreathed in a veil of mist and rain. The subtle aroma of the incense coupled with the tranquility of the tea room in which we sat set about inducing in me a state of utter calm. My mind became still and centered and my entire being seemed to be filled with the drumming of rainfall and the purity of water.
Hang Sen sat observing me with a steady gaze that blended curiosity with a subtle form of compassion. n‘Do you know what it means to walk in the rain without getting wet?’ He asked, his gaze still fixed firmly upon men‘Well,’ I replied ‘If I walk in the rain with a raincoat or a big umbrella, then that to me means I walk through the rain without getting wet’
Hang Sen shook his head and then stood up n‘Follow me’ He told me.
He opened the large ‘shoji’ (Japanese sliding doors) that opened up onto the garden and strode through. The peculiar thing was he did not bother to take an umbrella or any kind of protection against the rain.
I was reminded of the times when I was young and used to love walking outside in the middle of a thunderstorm without an umbrella, getting absolutely soaking wet and feeling carefree as I got drenched from head to toe. It was such a liberating cleansing feeling, a feeling I have since forgotten about altogether.
I followed Hang Sen without any umbrella or raincoat into the garden. We began a pleasant walk into the woods but I found I was getting absolutely soaked by all the rain.
As we walked, with water sluicing down my face and neck and back, Hang Sen again asked me ‘How do you walk through rain without getting wet?’
After a short period of contemplatio
I came to the conclusion that it was impossible to walk through rain without getting wet. And when I told him he laughed. n‘If that is so, if it is inevitable that you will get when it rains and you find yourself needing to get from A to B without the aid of an umbrella or raincoat, then why is it that most people tend to scurry from one place to the next, seeking shelter that will never keep them dry?’ Hang Sen commentedn‘They are constantly dreading the inevitability of getting wet and trying all manner of weird and wonderful maneuvers to keep themselves dry; they run about in a big commotion, dipping under branches or the eaves of houses. They dart across streets and duck and weave, holding their hands, or a book or a newspaper over their heads and for all their worry and effort they arrive at point B absolutely soaked and cursing the weather, shaking their newspaper in frustration and regretting their decision of not having brought the umbrella.n‘Very seldom, when it is raining, do you see someone walking normally and peacefully, with a smile of pleasure on their face as all about them scurry for cover. And of course, if you do see such a person they are instantly labeled as someone who has somehow lost ‘it’. Whilst everyone around this person are dodging raindrops and failing miserably, whilst they grow angry and uncomfortable, driven by some compulsive urge to stay dry whatever the cost, they lose their inner composure and their sense of Self. These people would do well to learn the art of walking in the rain without getting wet!’ Hang Sen arched his eyebrows and chuckledn‘What do you have to say to that?’ He asked.n‘I still don’t understand how that answers your riddle’ I replied.
I could relate to his observation of what many people do when they find themselves out and about in a downpour without an umbrella. I myself have at times resorted the same useless measures to somehow try staying dry. But I have never seen anyone who was able to walk through rain without getting wet. Needless to say my interest was piqued. n‘When someone is scuttling about in the rain, it is not their body that is getting wet and frustrated. It is not the body that fears the water and wants to avoid it. It is the mind that is scurrying about and trying to keep dry from the inevitable. The mind is that which is actually getting wet. The body’s frantic running about is merely the result of a mind that is attempting to avoid the unavoidable. n‘Therefore the answer to the riddle is rather obvious don’t you think? The key is to transform your body into the raincoat. That way, no matter how much rain falls, your mind will not be hit by even a single drop. When you learn to transform your body into a raincoat, then you will know what it means to walk through the rain without getting wet!’
Hang Sen was smiling gleefully at me now as the rain streamed down his face in silver rivulets, silver pearls clinging for only a second at a time to his white beard, and then dropping away to be lost in the avalanche of raindrops that pummeled the soft, muddy earth which clung coolly to our naked feet.n‘When you come to understand that it is not the rain which people are trying to avoid, but rather their feelings of worry, frustration and anxiety about getting wet, then you will recognize the senselessness of their actions in the face of the unavoidable . The rain itself is just rain.n‘Just as in life, when hard times and difficult experiences rain down upon you, when you find yourself caught in the torrential downpour of suffering and heartache that is part of your experience as a living being in this world, if you spend your time and effort toward trying not to get wet you are merely making matters worse.n‘But when you are able to see yourself as the raincoat, then your mind will remain perfectly dry and not the least bit bothered by whatever is raining down upon you. There is no need to search for some illusory shelter from the trials and tribulations of your life anywhere outside yourself because you yourself are all you will ever need to keep as dry and comfortable as you could ever want.’n‘Who knows,’ He added with a grin ‘You may learn how to walk through the rain without getting wet after all!’

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