The Universality of Awakening

           For many people, “today” is just an obstacle keeping us from “tomorrow”. Today is just another day, like any day, routine and boring, or perhaps stress filled. “I can’t wait until this weekend…” “I’m just killing time…” “I wish I could go to India to find a true guru…” How about you? Have you been killing time or looking elsewhere in order to get to something exciting or special?

            A few days ago the free diving superstar Natalia Molchanova headed out to do some pleasure diving. For her it was an ordinary day. While she holds forty-one world records, there was no competition this particular day. She was just out with a few friends on a beautiful day to practice her sport.

            On the Balearic Sea, with clear skies and a gentle breeze, she was beginning to do what divers call “breathing up”. Fifty-three year old Natalia began to take deep breaths, exhaling twice as long as inhaling. Clipped to a rope, she dived down. It is something she has done many times over decades. Without fins she could go a hundred yards down on a single breath. One of the records she holds is for static apnea, holding one’s breath under water while floating. Her record is an incredible nine minutes and two seconds!

            This time she dived down and never came back up. Authorities searched for days, but her body was not found. We may never know if she hit her head, got caught in a current, or was attacked by a shark. An ordinary day and now she is gone. This is a wonderful lesson for all of us. Every moment that we are alive is a precious moment. Let’s not take our moments for granted. Killing time is the same as throwing away the precious moments of our lives.

            In reading her story though, it was this quote that got my attention: “Free diving is not only sport, it’s a way to understand who we are,” Ms. Molchanova said in an interview last year. “When we go down, if we don’t think, we understand we are whole. We are one with world. When we think, we are separate. On surface, it is natural to think and we have many information inside. We need to reset sometimes. Free diving helps do that.”

                We practice "Zen", which means the 'mind of enlightenment'. She practiced "diving", which for her is the same. In her words we can see clearly how universal this is. "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet..." to quote Shakespeare.

            Enlightenment, awakening, attaining our true self, there are many ways to describe this experience in all of the world’s great wisdom traditions. It is not particular to any one of them. Awakening is a fundamental aspect of being human.

            Diving is not usually thought of as a “wisdom” tradition, and yet few can match the simple eloquence of this Russian athlete’s words. Without thinking there is no separation of Reality. In letting go of our thinking we can experience this one-ness ourselves, no matter who we are or what religion we follow. When there is no separation, there is no dukkha (suffering).

            She correctly points out that even this thinking is natural and immersed in one-ness. We just have a tendency to believe in the false separation created by our labels and opinions. In that case, it is helpful to have a practice that “resets” our mind and brings us back to the realization of the one-ness of all things.

            I don’t know if Ms. Molchanova knew anything about Zen in the academic sense. It is interesting that the middle syllable of her name is “chan” or Zen! Regardless, we all mourn the passing of a great Zen master. Thank you Natalia Molchanova for teaching us about the present moment, and for pointing the way to understanding ourselves and ending suffering. Thank you for showing us that “Zen” is not special, that we can live in the moment by doing anything at all one hundred percent. Meditation is good, and so is diving, walking, doing the dishes, and anything that we do with clear awareness without judgment.

            Zen is not just meditation. Each moment that we pay attention to reality as it is without interpretation, we are keeping the mind of awakening. Real Zen practice then, is a matter of how we keep our mind moment after moment, whether standing, sitting, lying down, or moving. Zen by any name is nothing other than our lives. May you all wake up to your true lives and be your authentic selves. Then share this joy and peace with everyone you meet. 

-Haeja Sunim