Catechism

I cried, "Give me a spiritual practice! Something I can DO to attain enlightenment!"

The Friend answered, "You are already doing it."

"I don't understand."

"You're not supposed to understand," answered the Friend. "The mind has no part in this."

"Then what practice am I doing?"

"You are born in an earthly body. You wake up. That is the practice."

"What is the meaning of this birth?"

"Hang on a cross, crucified by a paradox, with no escape."

"Why this crucifixion?"

"To come to the wedding of opposites, which happens on no other world, and in no heaven. This is why gods incarnate on earth: to taste freedom."

"Where is the nail on the cross?"

"At the center, the vanishing point between the past and future, spirit and flesh, joy and sorrow, stillness and action: drive this nail through your heart."

"If I need to cry out, what Name do I call?"

"The Name is your breath."

"What mudra, what asana must I perform?"

"Hug your body, just as it is in this moment."

"What is the prayer?"

"A silent O! The beginning of all prayers in every language. Lose yourself in that zero."

"What ceremony?"

"What are you doing now?"

"My body is sitting, then standing, then walking, then lying down."

"That is the ceremony."

"To what goal will this path lead me?"

"To the laughter you are laughing, to the tears you are weeping, to ineluctable matter, anointed with the dew of astonishment."