Surrendering to Grace

Earl,

Thanks for your own quotes! Not much of a connection really, but for some reason the words of Carl Strand reminded me once more of some reflections by Shinran. He was considering the assurance of his own entrance to the Pure Land and wrote of how such an assurance and prospect should fill him with joy and fervour. Instead, once more - as always - truly facing his own existential reality - he instead recognised that in fact that there was no such joy in his heart. Yet far from being discouraged, this only made him far more deeply aware that he was the object of the Infinite Compassion directed to him by Amida - that the reality of "grace" was yet more certain.

This seems to demonstrate the way the Pure Land path is a "dialectic" of light illuminating darkness, and the darkness in turn "illuminating" the light. The deeper the path, the less prospect of "spiritual bypassing" - wherein we seek to live by "oughts" rather than the realities of our condition. Yet the "oughts" can have there own purpose - if in failing to realise them leads not to the redoubling of our efforts to "attain" but rather are seen - and taken - as an opportunity for self-surrender. They will then have served a useful service!

Once again I remember the words of a Theravada practitioner, who spoke of "the moment of emancipation" as being "when effort falls away having reached the end of its scope". It does seem to me that in a very real sense, all genuine paths (whether of "self" or "Other") lead to such an exhaustion of effort.

Time for an old favorite!!!

O Saichi, will you tell us of Other Power?
Yes, but there is neither self-power nor Other-Power.
What is, is the graceful acceptance only

Anyway, the greatest "catch" seems to be when the "ego" considers it has "surrendered to grace" and adds such an accomplishment to its roll of honour!! Yes, the "easy path", yet "few there be who take it"!!

P.S. I sure do miss Jeff Wilson, who once patrolled the Tricycle Boards, speaking real pearls of wisdom concerning the Pure Land path, keeping me on the straight and narrow!! I do catch one or two of his blogs sometimes, and I believe he is active on the NEW tricycle Forums. I'll have to take a good look.

All the best
Derek
 
Interestingly, the printed bio for Strand in Tricycle was that he is/was a zen monk. Kind of looks like he surrendered his self power to other power:D. But as always the Great Mystery begs the big questions: "what is doing the surrendering and to what/whom?" As well as "what is being surrendered?" ;) have a good one, earl
 
Hi Earl:

Tariki, thanks to you both for all of your efforts in this thread.

I usually see it as a process of ego surrendering to destiny. That, of course, assumes a belief in destiny which I do not really embrace since it infers environmental controls over process and outcomes as opposed to spiritual direction from the within. Being a writer has convinced me that the latter power always prevails over the long term in my life. But since each human's life is so different, it is impossible to generalize here.

flow....:)
 
I'm jumping in on this one; I have given much thought to this topic and would like to share my opinion. I haven't read thru the entire thread, so if I repeat someone else, then please forgive me...I'm being lazy today.

I'm not sure you can surrender to "Grace". To me, Grace is the outcome of one's surrender to Love. Once you surrender to Love, Grace becomes your reality...peace, comfort, joy, happiness, contentment, serenity. Grace isn't a thing in and of itself to be surrendered to; it's an experience derived from the surrender to G-d, who is (Love)

When a person lets go of their anger, jealousy, envy, selfish pride, bitterness, resentment and embrace G-d for who he is (Love) and allow him to consume thier being, that is true surrender. It's not earned, but it must be embraced, imo. To let go of the old man, and embrace the new in G-d.


my 2c


Much Love,
 
Cage said:
I'm jumping in on this one; I have given much thought to this topic and would like to share my opinion. I haven't read thru the entire thread, so if I repeat someone else, then please forgive me...I'm being lazy today.

I'm not sure you can surrender to "Grace". To me, Grace is the outcome of one's surrender to Love. Once you surrender to Love, Grace becomes your reality...peace, comfort, joy, happiness, contentment, serenity. Grace isn't a thing in and of itself to be surrendered to; it's an experience derived from the surrender to G-d, who is (Love)

When a person lets go of their anger, jealousy, envy, selfish pride, bitterness, resentment and embrace G-d for who he is (Love) and allow him to consume thier being, that is true surrender. It's not earned, but it must be embraced, imo. To let go of the old man, and embrace the new in G-d.


my 2c


Much Love,
Click to expand...
I would certainly agree that all those attributes are indeed some of the gifts of grace which flow to one to the degree one surenders. Theologically speaking I believe they are offered to us continually and freely in every moment in continuous acts of grace and we only do not receive because we are not open to those acts of grace. I think few achieve total and "permanent" surrender. For most of us mere mortals surrender is a decision we face many moments each day and we may only partially and/or temporarily opt for surrender of the knots of our self to the flow of grace. Now though when I think of such Biblical passages as Matthew 7:8-"For everyone who keeps on asking receives..." and Matthew 7:13 & 14- "enter through the narrow gate..which leads to life" I see them differently through the notions of surrender and grace. "Asking" means to me now surrender. Surrender does not ask but gives up the asking and the asker unless the question is one of "what now Lord?" and then to listen in the deeep stillness to become the answer you seek. The narrow gate is the act of full and total surrender. When we surrender rather than telling God what to do, we can shut up and listen to what He/She/It has in mind.:) have a good one, earl
 
earl said:
I would certainly agree that all those attributes are indeed some of the gifts of grace which flow to one to the degree one surenders. Theologically speaking I believe they are offered to us continually and freely in every moment in continuous acts of grace and we only do not receive because we are not open to those acts of grace. I think few achieve total and "permanent" surrender. For most of us mere mortals surrender is a decision we face many moments each day and we may only partially and/or temporarily opt for surrender of the knots of our self to the flow of grace. Now though when I think of such Biblical passages as Matthew 7:8-"For everyone who keeps on asking receives..." and Matthew 7:13 & 14- "enter through the narrow gate..which leads to life" I see them differently through the notions of surrender and grace. "Asking" means to me now surrender. Surrender does not ask but gives up the asking and the asker unless the question is one of "what now Lord?" and then to listen in the deeep stillness to become the answer you seek. The narrow gate is the act of full and total surrender. When we surrender rather than telling God what to do, we can shut up and listen to what He/She/It has in mind.:) have a good one, earl
Click to expand...

I've read many of your posts and I Love your views, Earl. I agree with many of them. I think grace has much to do with balance. Say grace/love is the balance beam on which serves as a foundation. In as much as we can, we all recieve, but sometimes we'll lean to the left and fall, then to the right and fall again. It's a continual process of trail and error, but after a while that beam seems to start widening. The love grows stronger within, and Grace keeps us between the ditches, lol. Pretty soon we're running, jumping, and doing flips on the beam...it gets easier to keep your balance, and life becomes much more enjoyable.

I don't think it is a permanent state of being, tho. As a matter of fact, if it were not for the falls, we'd never grow, so slipping every now and then is a nescessity, imo.


James
 
It does seem to me that to entertain the notion of some "final" state that is "achieved" - whether by grace or grit!! - can be misleading, and leaves us unenlightened mortals feeling a constant sense of lack. I think it has been said that in fact "the path itself is the arrival". Whatever our thoughts, there is no alternative to "walking on", seeking to live from gratitude, seeking to live from openess, trust - more the cultivation of an attitude than the application of a spiritual technique or method. My old pal Thomas Merton has said somewhere that "we are already what we need to be..........all is grace..........a grace that nevertheless can never be finally claimed, but needs to be realised afresh in each moment."

What earl said about "who or what is surrendering to who". Everything seems paradoxical. Considering such things can engage us for a time, yet it all becomes mind games!

"Master! Master! What must I do to gain enlightenment?"

"Well my son, to gain enlightenment you must rise in the morning, dress and then eat"

"But Master, I do not understand!"

"Well, if you do not understand my son, you must rise in the morning, dress and then eat"

Walk on!!

:)
 
You guys can surrender all you want. I gotta get up in the morning and go to work. Each day is a journey where I have to reach the destination- it's all about the destination. During, and in retrospect, I can dig the journey without respect to the destination, but all that really counts is whether or not I git 'er done. So it's not just about surrender. I gotta act, I gotta labor, I gotta have a plan and accomplish things. I'm not just sittin' on a mountain diggin' the grace...kinda thing.


Chris
 
China Cat Sunflower said:
You guys can surrender all you want. I gotta get up in the morning and go to work. Each day is a journey where I have to reach the destination- it's all about the destination. During, and in retrospect, I can dig the journey without respect to the destination, but all that really counts is whether or not I git 'er done. So it's not just about surrender. I gotta act, I gotta labor, I gotta have a plan and accomplish things. I'm not just sittin' on a mountain diggin' the grace...kinda thing.
Click to expand...

One doesn't always have to sit cross-legged in the clouds in order to surrender to grace. I'm thinking that the journey is more diggable when accompanied by grace. In fact, wherever we are, there grace is available. So I am thinking that we can "git'er done" with grace on the mountain or in the journey. :)

InPeace,
InLove
 
I believe quite some time ago I posted a link elsewhere to a very good discussion by Olga Louchakova about the "Prayer of the Heart" of whch the "Jesus Prayer" is 1 version. To me it is a wonderful meditative way of surrender. I'll post the link again here & will start another thread just re this in the event others wish to discuss it sepcifically. have a good one, earl

http://www.hridayamyoga.org/papers/EssenceofPrayeroftheHeart.pdf
 
I have been reading a most interesting and profoundly written book, "Prayer : A History" and encountered a statement that put my ambivalent feelings about the place of Jesus' crucifixion in the lives of Christians into a much deeper, heart-felt place in accord with surrender. Yes there can be no greater act of surrender of the self than to willingly give up one's life for some greater good and when I read the following it really hit a deeper place in me so wanted to share it:
"Christian prayer is not an ethereal substitute for the sacrifice of Calvary, but a way of connecting to it and thus opening oneself to God's will. That is why it is sometimes said that all Christian prayer ideally is Eucharistic, sacrificial, and cruciform."

Now would be a good time for my regular meditation period I do believe wherein I can allow whatever rang my bell to deepen its resonance.:) have a good one, earl
 
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