The Enlightened and The Ordinary

(Based on a Dharma Talk)

The enlightened (people) and the ordinary (people) look the same and have the same needs. They all eat, sleep and rest. The difference between the two lies in the mind. When the enlightened eat, they eat! When they sleep, they sleep! When they smile, they smile! Whatever they do, they do (mindfully)! When the ordinary people eat, they don't eat (mindfully), when they sleep they don't sleep (mindfully), when they smile .. they don't smile. Whatever they do .. they do (not mindfully).

Sounds paradoxical? Probaby so!

A teacher asks his students to pretend to be journalists and interview their fathers and write a report. An young kid, asks his Dad lots of questions and finally asks him if he had three wishes, what they would they be. The father replies that his wishes were .. that when he eats, he eats, when he sleeps, he sleeps and when he smiles, he smiles. The kid thinks his Dad's answers were "stupid"! He asks his Dad the same question .. and the Dad's answer was the same. The kid dutifully writes a report and submits. To his greatest surprize, he get's an "A". The kid does not realize the "profundity" of his Dad's answers!

The problem with most people is that when they eat, the are not eating! When they sleep .. they are not sleeping. When they rest, they are not resting. Thier mind is very busy! They are not eating or sleeping mindfully. Their mind is somewhere else and not in the thing they are doing! When the enlightened eat, they eat (mindufully), when they sleep .. they sleep (mindfully) and when they smile, they smile (mindfully)!

As kids, we lead simple lives. Our lives are not complicated. As we grow up we make our lives complicated. We increase complexities and in the process we see things! We do things un-mindully! .. We loose our real/original mind!