A simple seeker was puzzled by the seemingly contradictory and mutually exclusive (from her, albeit limited understanding), terms of evolutionary and Buddhism rolled in together, in something she had been reading.
“What seems to be the problem?”
“Buddhism and evolution together?”
“Everything is together.”
“But, spirituality should be forever.”
“It is.”
“But not necessarily as it was or might yet be?”
“Exactly.”
“Then, how can anyone ..?”
“Which anyone?”
“This anyone. Me. How can I hope to ever understand something that keeps developing, when it isn’t what it once was, and in the future may not be what it is, now? I need stability.”
“There isn’t any.”
“Then, what is there to hold onto?”
“In what way?”
“In thinking.”
“You could try holding onto the concept of endless change.”
“That would be easy if I was looking out from a high window, at traffic below.”
“We are doing just that.”
………..
A simple seeker’s note to herself
I wonder what Spirit meant by saying that we’re looking down from a high window?
“Whether we’re looking down or back, it’s the same. Distance allows for a wider perspective than does a close-up view. Evolution is change, and everything, including all relationships and all situations, evolve. Buddhism is not as it once was, nor as it might yet become. And yet, it has been, is now, and in spite of possible future changes or adaptations, may still be Buddhism, without necessarily losing any of its original value. We dress differently than our distant ancestors dressed, and even now we dress differently for weather conditions or social events, and yet we still dress, more and/or less.”
“So, the lesson is to try to see beyond form?”
“Yes.”
………….
Simple Seekers 