At Odds
It might seem to some that a pursuit of astrology is contrary to the pursuit of Zen. While the former seeks to explain the past and know the future, the latter seeks nothing other than to live in this very moment.
That would be the shallow version of the argument against even venturing into astrology. It would be obvious to anyone who observes the Zen masters throughout history that living in the moment did not preclude them from discussing the past or planning for the future. Otherwise, living in the moment would entail a life of aimlessness and irresponsibility with little more than an animalistic instinct for survival.
Still, the question arises, "How does one spend so much time studying past events from an astrological perspective or predicting the future while remaining in the present moment?"
The answer is surprisingly simple. Think of the last time you were walking in the park or in the woods, listening to the birds sing; the breeze blowing against your skin, bending over every blade of grass around you, and causing the leaves to rustle so as to make you think that somehow the trees are busily engaged in conversation; the sunshine warming you and yet causing you to squint a bit; the puffy white clouds moving as slowly as a Tai Chi master against the deep blue sky. Yes, you observed all that without judgment of good or bad. You just melted into the scene, feeling joyously one with all those things. In fact, for a moment, you were neither the observer nor the observed; they weren't "things" you were experiencing. There was just a pure joy about it all.
Yet, in the midst of that "in the moment" sense of being, you could look down the path ahead of you and at the path behind you. There was no sense of how far you had come or how far you yet had to go. You observed the past and future in the present moment, and it all seemed perfect and complete.
So, now, tell me, Why can't it be the same when you look at a chart to survey the past or know the future?
- Ron Grimes
That would be the shallow version of the argument against even venturing into astrology. It would be obvious to anyone who observes the Zen masters throughout history that living in the moment did not preclude them from discussing the past or planning for the future. Otherwise, living in the moment would entail a life of aimlessness and irresponsibility with little more than an animalistic instinct for survival.
Still, the question arises, "How does one spend so much time studying past events from an astrological perspective or predicting the future while remaining in the present moment?"
The answer is surprisingly simple. Think of the last time you were walking in the park or in the woods, listening to the birds sing; the breeze blowing against your skin, bending over every blade of grass around you, and causing the leaves to rustle so as to make you think that somehow the trees are busily engaged in conversation; the sunshine warming you and yet causing you to squint a bit; the puffy white clouds moving as slowly as a Tai Chi master against the deep blue sky. Yes, you observed all that without judgment of good or bad. You just melted into the scene, feeling joyously one with all those things. In fact, for a moment, you were neither the observer nor the observed; they weren't "things" you were experiencing. There was just a pure joy about it all.
Yet, in the midst of that "in the moment" sense of being, you could look down the path ahead of you and at the path behind you. There was no sense of how far you had come or how far you yet had to go. You observed the past and future in the present moment, and it all seemed perfect and complete.
So, now, tell me, Why can't it be the same when you look at a chart to survey the past or know the future?
- Ron Grimes