Faithful Vigil

"In order for inquiry to be authentic, you need to feel like it is of vital interest to you. So no, you do not need to be inquiring all the time. It is a tool that is there whenever a vital question arises for you. But inquiry is also much more than a technique; it is an attitude. Inquiry is an attitude of curiosity that lives within you, and it is a reflection of your desire to know Truth and the nature of Reality. Inquiry also takes a type of courage that is willing to ask big questions that may shake up the very foundations of your life and put you face-to-face with issues you might rather avoid.

So while you won’t always be using the technique of inquiry, it is vitally important to live with the attitude of curiosity and courage that is at the heart of inquiry. Inquiry is the art of questioning all of one’s assumptions, beliefs, and interpretations as a means of opening up space in the mind for intuitive wisdom to arise. Once space is opened up, simply rest the question in the stillness of conscious being. Watch. Keep faithful vigil with the unknown. The vital moments of breakthrough come when you least expect them."

~ Adyashanti, The Way of Liberation

Image ~ Shep first appeared in Fort Benton in 1936 when his owner, an area sheepherder whose name remains unknown, was brought to town for medical treatment. When the sheepherder died, his body was sent on a passenger train to his family in the East. That’s when Shep’s vigil began. For the next 51/2 years, he lived at the Fort Benton train station, waiting for his master’s return. On Jan. 12, 1942, Shep ran across the tracks in front of the engine and attempted to leap onto the depot platform, but he wasn’t agile enough to make the jump. Maybe he slipped. Perhaps Shep, deaf by then, didn’t realize in time that the train was coming. Sneed B. Collard III of Missoula wrote the children’s book “Shep: Our Most Loyal Dog” and has yet to see anyone read it with a dry eye."

(Despite being known throughout the country, photos of Shep are relatively rare. This one is the only photo collected by the Overholser Historical Research Center that shows Shep being petted. Photo courtesy of Overholser Historical Research Center, Fort Benton)