Perfect Paradox
“The truest sayings are paradoxical.”
~ Lao Tzu
“Perfection is a state in which things are the way they are,
and are not the way they are not.
As you can see, this universe is perfect.”
~ Werner Erhard, est
“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes.
Don’t resist them – that only creates sorrow.
Let reality be reality.
Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.”
~ Lao-Tzu
“By letting it go it all gets done.
The world is won by those who let it go.
But when you try and try,
the world is beyond the winning.”
~ Lao Tzu
“Surrender is the simple but profound wisdom of yielding to rather than opposing the flow of life.”
“[It] is surrender to this moment, not to a story through which you interpret this moment and then try to resign yourself to it.”
~ Eckhart Tolle
“Always say ‘yes’ to the present moment…
Surrender to what is. Say ‘yes’ to life –
and see how life starts suddenly..
working for you, rather than against you.”
~ Eckhart Tolle
If you can accept the flow of life and give in to it, you will be accepting what is real. Only when you accept what is real can you live with it in peace and happiness. The alternative is a struggle that will never end because it is a struggle with the unreal, with a mirage of life instead of life itself.
~ Deepak Chopra
“Embrace the higher truth that everything comes to pass exactly as it should. Find peace and wisdom by accepting what is.”
~ Dan Millman
“The moment that judgement stops through acceptance of what it is, you are free of the mind.
You have made room for love, for joy, for peace.”
“Your acceptance of ‘what is’ takes you to a deeper level
where your inner state as well as your sense of self
no longer depend on the mind’s judgment of “good” or “bad.”
~ Eckhart Tolle
“True surrender . . . . does not mean to passively put up with whatever situation you find yourself in and to do nothing about it. Nor does it mean to cease making plans or initiating positive action. Surrender is the simple but profound wisdom of yielding to rather than opposing the flow of life.”
~ Eckhart Tolle
Introduction to “Perfect Paradox”
The following SillySutras poem restates a perennial wisdom principle.
It cautions that we mentally yield to life’s flow in each moment because we can’t change it; that we accept the NOW, as paradoxically “perfect”, even though it is pervaded with painful problems, because causally and karmically “what is” cannot be otherwise.
The poem’s esoteric message is explained by above apt quotations, and by my following comments.
Please enjoy and reflect upon these writings. Moment by moment, may they bring us ever expanding happiness.
And so may it be!
Ron Rattner
Perfect Paradox
Despite Omni-present ignorance,
selfishness, misery and suffering,
and apparent chaotic uncertainty,
Perfection pervades our “Loco Loka“ * –
the realm of space/time and causation;
the realm of manifest Mystery.
*”Loco Loka“ = crazy world
Ron’s audio recitation of “Perfect Paradox”
Ron’s explanation of “Perfect Paradox”
Dear Friends,
Today’s posting is about accepting as “Perfect” ‘what is’ NOW, despite pervasively perceived suffering and problems.
For millennia mystics have taught that our ever impermanent space/time ‘reality’ is ultimately unreal and illusory, like a mental mirage; that life exists only in the choiceless, thoughtless present moment, which karmically cannot be otherwise. But we mostly experience this world mentally and conceptually, rather than thoughtlessly. Thus for most humans our life is a thought-created continuing story in which (as William Shakespeare revealed) “nothing’s either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”
Yet, whatever we may think about ‘what is’ NOW, it can’t be changed. So mentally resisting each present moment is futile, and inevitably causes karmic suffering. (see https://sillysutras.com/dont-seize-the-moment/)
Thus mystics (like those quoted above) perennially counsel us to let go of mental descriptions or characterizations, and to non-conceptually accept each moment of Nature’s spontaneous flow of life.
Background
I first learned about the spiritual principle of choicelessly accepting ‘what is’ soon after my mid-life awakening. In 1977, I attended “est”, an impactful self-help seminar where I was first exposed to certain Eastern spirituality principles cleverly collected and presented by Werner Erhard, est’s founder, to motivate participants to radically transform their lives.
To communicate an alleged epiphany experienced while he was driving across the Golden Gate Bridge, Werner’s key est teaching was to: Always accept “what is”. [See Ron’s Memoirs: Getting “IT” at est]
To encourage est participants to accept “what is”, Werner described the world as “perfect”, with innovative definitions such as:
“Perfection is a state in which things are the way they are, and are not the way they are not.
As you can see, this universe is perfect.”
Intrigued by est teachings, I began wondering about, and gradually accepting, “what is” in the present moment (because karmically it could not be otherwise). And non-judgmentally accepting “what is” has significantly spurred my spiritual awakening process. So I have written about it, to help others.
(see https://sillysutras.com/dont-seize-the-moment/)
“Perfect Paradox” poetry
Today, to encourage our accepting “what is” in the present moment, I have shared the above poetic verses first composed during my post-retirement reclusive period, together with apt quotations, including Werner’s definition of “perfection”.
The poem is oxymoronically titled “Perfect Paradox” because in our space/time polarity duality reality we can’t have “perfection”, without imperfection. (See https://sillysutras.com/what-is-perfection/) Moreover Eastern mystics have persuasively taught for millennia that this so-called ‘reality’ isn’t even real; that it is an optical illusion – like a mental mirage. So to call it “perfect” is cosmically contradictory. Furthermore, words can never describe or express mysterious transcendent Truth beyond illusionary ‘duality reality’.
Nonetheless, words which seem intellectually illogical, can metaphorically, rhetorically, or paradoxically point to otherwise ineffable Truth. So sometimes
“The truest sayings are paradoxical.”
~ Lao Tzu
Therefore today’s “Perfect Paradox” verses and quotations are offered to encourage our acceptance of “what is” NOW, which karmically cannot be otherwise.
Accepting “what is”, need not impede our nonviolent opposition to injustice.
But yielding to life’s flow, need not discourage or impede our vigilantly questioning and peacefully resisting pervasive suffering and injustice caused by human ignorance and greed – as did Jesus, Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr..
“True surrender . does not mean to passively put up with whatever situation you find yourself in and to do nothing about it. Nor does it mean to cease making plans or initiating positive action.
Surrender is the simple but profound wisdom of yielding to rather than opposing the flow of life.”
~ Eckhart Tolle
“We need the courage to express ourselves even when the majority is going in the opposite direction… because a change of direction can happen only when there is a collective awakening.”
~ Thich Nhat Hanh
And so shall it be!
Ron Rattner
