Guidelines Support the Privileged Environment

"Everyone - please do not wear hats in the meditation hall," says the note on the board. And the internal conversation begins, "What do they mean 'no hats in the meditation hall'? What kind of nonsense meditation practice is this? They should work on fixing the heat before they tell ME not to wear a hat! Those monks should stick to meditating instead of wasting their time nitpicking about doing this, and nitpicking about doing that. Next thing I know, they'll be telling me not to wear blue shirts! This is crazy. Do they know how cold it is in that meditation hall? Do they know that I get cold really easily? I HAVE TO WEAR A HAT IN THERE..." and on and on and on.

What is it about the guidelines? What is it about the rules? How do they support me in waking up and ending suffering? Well, for one thing, they provide a privileged environment that gives me the best opportunity to see how I cause myself to suffer.

In this privileged environment, there is a minimum of interference from other people - no eye contact, no conversation, nothing to take me away from my experience of myself. And there is a schedule that does not adapt to the needs of my ego. If it's 8 AM, we sit. If it's 9 AM, we work. If "I" doesn't want to, well... do I, does the heart, really care what "I" wants?

Can you tell I'm passionate about this topic? I am. Because what I've learned is that the guidelines, the rules point to compassionate discipline. And, as I've had the experience of being with the rules and the guidelines, I have had the opportunity to see what effect they have on me. And, liking what I see, I have the opportunity to internalize these rules and guidelines. Outside the Monastery environment, I have the opportunity to find out what compassionate self-discipline is. Can I set up, for myself, a lifestyle with guidelines that support me in waking up and ending suffering? Absolutely. I can. It's a self-discipline that gently guides, nurtures, nudges when necessary, and reassures. It is all we could ever want.

Before I end, I want to return to the hat topic I started with. You know what? I have no idea why hats are not to be worn in the meditation hall. And, to the heart, it doesn't matter. My experience with this practice, with the Guide, is that I can trust the practice, I can trust the monks, I can trust the Guide. It is a trust that comes from experience after experience after experience of showing up in practice, sharing what is so for me, and being met by the Guide or facilitator with nothing but an open heart, an acceptance of me exactly as I am, and their confidence that I am adequate to my life. It's all I could ever ask for. If something is not clear to me (as it is with the hats), that's fine. With patience, with an open heart, with a willingness to show up and see what's there, all is revealed to me in the perfect time.