Introduction
In our fast-paced, modern world, we often find ourselves caught up in the whirlwind of daily life, rarely pausing to question the nature of our existence or the true essence of our being. Henry Shukman's "Original Love" invites us on a transformative journey, challenging our conventional understanding of self and reality. This book explores the ancient wisdom of contemplative traditions, offering a path to discover a profound sense of love, compassion, and interconnectedness that lies beneath the surface of our ordinary experiences.
Shukman, drawing from his own experiences and insights as a Zen teacher, presents a compelling case for the practice of meditation as a means to unlock our innate capacity for awakening. He argues that this awakening is not reserved for spiritual elites or ascetics living in remote monasteries, but is accessible to anyone willing to embark on the journey of self-discovery.
"Original Love" takes us through the four stages, or "inns," on the path to awakening: mindfulness, support, absorption, and awakening itself. Along the way, Shukman addresses common challenges meditators face and provides practical guidance for overcoming them. The book's central message is both radical and deeply comforting: beneath the illusion of our separate selves lies a boundless wellspring of love and well-being, waiting to be discovered.
Love Beyond Self
At the heart of "Original Love" is a revolutionary idea: the self we typically identify with – our personal history, hopes, fears, and sense of separateness – is not as solid or real as we believe it to be. Shukman likens this sense of self to a mirage shimmering over hot pavement. It appears real, but upon closer inspection, we find it lacks the substance we've attributed to it.
This insight isn't meant to be unsettling or nihilistic. On the contrary, Shukman argues that seeing through the illusion of a separate self is profoundly healing and transformative. When we recognize that our usual sense of self is more of a fabrication than a fixed reality, we open ourselves to a vastly expanded sense of being.
Different spiritual traditions have various names for this expanded state of awareness: non-dual awareness, Buddha-nature, nirvana, or even God. Despite the different terminologies, Shukman suggests that they all point to the same fundamental truth: we are not isolated entities moving through an external world, but inseparable parts of an indivisible whole.
It's crucial to understand that this isn't merely an intellectual concept to be grasped. The power of this insight lies in its direct, experiential nature. When we truly experience this interconnectedness, it unleashes what Shukman calls "original love" – a boundless, unconditional love that transforms our relationship with ourselves, others, and the world around us.
This original love is not something we need to create or cultivate. Rather, it's our natural state, often obscured by our habitual patterns of thinking and perceiving. The journey of awakening, then, is not about becoming something we're not, but about uncovering what we've always been.
Shelter Along the Path
Shukman presents the journey to awakening as a pilgrimage, with four main stages or "inns" providing shelter and nourishment along the way. This metaphor offers a helpful framework for understanding the process of spiritual growth and transformation.
Mindfulness: The first inn on the path is mindfulness. Here, we learn to bring kind, non-judgmental attention to our present moment experience. This practice forms the foundation for all that follows, teaching us to observe our thoughts, emotions, and sensations with clarity and compassion.
Support: The second inn reminds us that while meditation may seem like a solitary pursuit, we don't have to go it alone. This stage emphasizes the importance of guidance, encouragement, and the companionship of fellow practitioners. Whether through a teacher, a sangha (community of practitioners), or supportive friends, having others to share the journey with can be invaluable.
Absorption: The third inn represents a state of deep immersion in the present moment. Similar to the "flow" state experienced by artists and athletes, absorption in meditation is characterized by profound stillness and a sense of intimate connection with the sheer fact of being. In this state, our usual sense of "doing" falls away, replaced by a direct experience of reality.
Awakening: The final inn is awakening itself, where the illusory sense of a separate self falls away. This is replaced by a boundless love that embraces all things. Here, we experientially discover our indivisibility from the whole, tapping into a wellspring of compassion, joy, and equanimity that transforms our entire being.
Shukman emphasizes that this journey, while sometimes challenging, is ultimately one of homecoming. It's about reconnecting with our innermost nature, which has always been present but often overlooked in the busyness of our lives.
Meditation and the Five Hindrances
While many contemporary sources extol the benefits of mindfulness and meditation, they often gloss over the difficulties practitioners may encounter. Shukman, drawing on ancient Buddhist wisdom, addresses these challenges head-on by introducing the concept of the "five hindrances."
These hindrances have been recognized for thousands of years as common obstacles in meditation practice:
Desire: This hindrance manifests as wanting or craving. It often appears as fantasies about the future, painting visions of satisfaction just beyond our reach. Desire can pull our attention away from the present moment, creating restlessness and dissatisfaction.
Aversion: The opposite of desire, aversion is about what we don't want. It's a recoiling from unpleasant experiences, often leading to attempts to escape through distraction or denial. Aversion can make it difficult to stay present with challenging sensations or emotions.
Dullness: This hindrance ranges from mild spaciness to deep lethargy. It's characterized by a lack of energy and alertness, making it hard to maintain focus and clarity in our practice.
Restlessness: Often driven by worry or guilt, restlessness manifests as an inability to settle. It might involve endlessly rehashing past events or anxiously rehearsing future scenarios, keeping us trapped in mental activity rather than present-moment awareness.
Doubt: Perhaps the most insidious hindrance, doubt undermines our confidence in the practice or in our own ability to benefit from it. It can lead to giving up before we've given ourselves a real chance to experience the benefits of meditation.
Recognizing these hindrances is the first step in working with them skillfully. By understanding that these challenges are normal and expected parts of the meditation journey, we can approach them with less frustration and more patience.
Loving What's in Your Way
Shukman offers a compassionate and effective approach to working with the five hindrances. Instead of seeing them as enemies to be conquered, he encourages us to meet them with curiosity and kindness. The key is to observe how these hindrances manifest as sensations in the body.
For example:
- Desire and aversion often appear as contractions or knots of tension in the belly or chest.
- Dullness might be felt as a heavy, sinking feeling throughout the body.
- Restlessness can manifest as a fluttery agitation or nervous energy.
- Doubt may show up as a sense of hollowness or disconnection.
Once we've identified these sensations, Shukman suggests a radical approach: welcoming them. Rather than fighting against or trying to escape from these difficult experiences, we're invited to greet them like honored guests. This might involve silently acknowledging their presence, saying something like, "Hello, restlessness. I see you've come to visit again. Make yourself at home."
This practice of radical acceptance is a way of saying, "I see you, and I'm here with you" to each part of ourselves that arises. It's an act of self-compassion that can profoundly shift our relationship with challenging experiences.
As we cultivate this capacity to be present with discomfort, we discover that we can be with unpleasant experiences without being overwhelmed by them. This newfound equanimity gradually extends beyond our meditation practice into our daily lives.
The fruits of this practice are twofold:
We develop a richer, more intimate relationship with life itself. We find ourselves savoring simple pleasures we might have previously overlooked – the warmth of sunlight on our skin, the smell of fresh air, the taste of our food. Our hearts become more open, allowing us to resonate more deeply with the joys and sorrows of others.
Seeds of self-acceptance and self-compassion begin to germinate. We discover that mindfulness isn't just a mental exercise, but a radical act of befriending all parts of ourselves. By learning to welcome difficult sensations with an open heart, we find the love and peace we've been seeking all along.
This approach transforms meditation from a struggle against our experience into a practice of deep self-acceptance and love. It's a powerful reminder that the path to peace often lies not in changing our experience, but in changing our relationship to it.
What is Awakening?
Having explored the foundational practice of mindfulness and how to work with hindrances, Shukman turns to the mysterious phenomenon of awakening. He acknowledges upfront that awakening is something so profound and elusive that words inevitably fall short in describing it.
Unlike mindfulness, which is a practice we can cultivate, awakening is something that happens to us. As one Zen teacher put it, "Enlightenment is an accident, and practice makes us accident-prone." This captures the paradoxical nature of awakening – while we can't force it to happen, we can create conditions that make it more likely to occur.
Shukman presents two ways of understanding awakening:
- As an exotic psychological state that creates exceptionally high levels of well-being.
- As a direct insight into the fundamental nature of reality itself.
Regardless of how we frame it, awakening involves a dramatic shift in perception. Central to this shift is the experience of non-duality – a sudden collapse of the distinction between oneself and everything else. This sense of oneness is accompanied by an outpouring of love, peace, and a profound feeling of coming home to one's true nature.
Two other aspects of awakening that Shukman describes are:
Emptiness: Despite its potentially misleading name, emptiness isn't about nothingness or lack. Instead, it points to a kind of exquisite spaciousness or openness from which all things are seen to arise. One Tibetan master described this experience with a striking metaphor: "The bad news is you have no parachute. The good news is there is no ground." This captures the simultaneously terrifying and liberating nature of emptiness, where the apparent solidity of objects and the self dissolves.
Blazing Forth: This term, borrowed from Taoism, captures the idea that the fundamental nature of reality is one of ceaseless creativity and manifestation. In the state of awakening, one perceives reality as a continuous outpouring of phenomena, a dynamic dance of emptiness and form.
Shukman notes that some traditions distinguish between initial awakening experiences and a deeper, more stabilized form of awakening. The latter is described as crossing a threshold from which there is no return – as if one has passed through a door, leaving behind the oscillation between so-called enlightened and deluded perspectives.
Importantly, Shukman argues that awakening doesn't alienate us from the everyday world. Instead, it can deepen our engagement, leading to a more intimate, loving existence. Having met our own needs at the deepest level, what remains is a natural inclination toward helping others, with whom we now recognize our fundamental interconnection.
The Path of Love
Throughout "Original Love," Shukman emphasizes that the path of meditation and awakening isn't about renouncing the world or escaping from life. Rather, it's about loving life more fully and engaging with it more deeply.
This path of love unfolds in several ways:
Self-Love: As we practice mindfulness and learn to meet our experiences with kindness and acceptance, we cultivate a deep sense of self-love. This isn't narcissistic self-absorption, but a genuine care and compassion for all aspects of our being.
Love for Others: As our hearts open through practice, we naturally become more attuned to the joys and sorrows of others. This fosters a sense of connection and compassion that extends beyond our immediate circle to encompass all beings.
Love for Life Itself: Awakening brings with it a profound appreciation for the sheer miracle of existence. Even mundane experiences can become infused with a sense of wonder and gratitude.
Original Love: This is the boundless, unconditional love that Shukman suggests is our true nature. It's not something we need to create, but something we uncover as we peel away layers of conditioning and habitual patterns.
The practice of meditation, then, becomes a way of aligning ourselves with this original love. It's a process of removing the obstacles that prevent us from experiencing and expressing this love in our daily lives.
Practical Implications
While much of "Original Love" deals with profound spiritual insights, Shukman doesn't neglect the practical implications of these teachings. He offers guidance on how to integrate these insights into daily life:
Regular Practice: Shukman emphasizes the importance of establishing a consistent meditation practice. Even short periods of daily practice can, over time, lead to significant shifts in our way of being.
Mindful Living: Beyond formal meditation, we're encouraged to bring mindful awareness to our everyday activities. This might involve paying full attention to the sensations of washing dishes, the taste of our food, or the feeling of our feet touching the ground as we walk.
Compassionate Action: As we become more attuned to our interconnectedness with all beings, we're naturally moved to act with greater kindness and consideration. This might manifest as small acts of kindness in our daily interactions or as a commitment to larger causes that alleviate suffering in the world.
Embracing Difficulty: Rather than seeing challenges as obstacles to our happiness, we're invited to view them as opportunities for growth and deepening our practice. This doesn't mean we seek out difficulty, but that we meet inevitable challenges with openness and curiosity.
Community Support: Shukman reminds us of the importance of finding like-minded individuals who can support our practice. This might involve joining a meditation group, attending retreats, or simply cultivating friendships with others who share our interest in spiritual growth.
Continuous Learning: The path of awakening is ongoing. Shukman encourages us to remain open to new teachings and perspectives, always deepening our understanding and refining our practice.
Conclusion
"Original Love" offers a profound yet accessible exploration of the transformative power of meditation and awakening. Henry Shukman presents a vision of spiritual practice that is not about escaping from life, but about embracing it more fully.
The central message of the book is one of hope and empowerment. It suggests that each of us has the capacity to awaken to our true nature – a nature characterized by boundless love, compassion, and interconnectedness. This awakening is not a distant goal to be achieved in some future state, but a reality that can be glimpsed and increasingly lived in the here and now.
Through the practice of mindfulness, we learn to navigate the challenges of the mind with greater skill and compassion. As we progress along the path, we discover deeper states of absorption and, potentially, moments of profound awakening that can revolutionize our understanding of ourselves and the world.
Ultimately, "Original Love" invites us to embark on a journey of self-discovery that leads, paradoxically, beyond the self. It's a journey that reveals the extraordinary within the ordinary, the sacred within the mundane. By following this path, we have the opportunity to uncover the wellspring of love and wisdom that lies at the heart of our being, transforming not only our own lives but rippling out to touch the lives of all we encounter.
In a world often characterized by division and disconnection, Shukman's message of original love offers a beacon of hope. It reminds us that beneath the surface of our apparent separateness lies a profound unity, and that by awakening to this truth, we can live with greater joy, purpose, and compassion. The journey may be challenging at times, but as "Original Love" beautifully illustrates, it's a journey well worth taking.