“A one-time US Marine, Scott Mengis, found meditation through his own pain and followed it through to become a Zen Monk. It proves the persistent counter-cultural power of Buddhism. Here, the “mindful sniper” is so transformed by his practice that he becomes not a better sniper, but abandons the military life entirely. As he says of his time in the Marine Corps, “The main thing that supports the military mindset is that there is this idea of separation, that you are different than me, your country is different from my country,” and later, ” I was very much a control freak, I had to have everything my way. That part of me doesn’t seem to exist any more.”
After discussing some of the judgments and difficulties of contemporary life, Mengis says of mindfulness:
“Why we think our thoughts are good or bad. That’s what creates the problem, suffering. If we just allow them to come up and to go away, it becomes quite peaceful… To do mindfulness, just do it. That’s all you have to do. And whatever comes up, comes up. And whatever happens next time happens next time. But there’s no agenda when you sit down to practice.”
No comments:
Post a Comment