The Dharma of Completion
My mother's grave in Becket, MA
Imagine living life and talking to people as if it is the last time you would ever see them again. How would you behave and what would you say to them?
When I first started working as the Executive Director of the Kushi Institute I quickly realized that not only did nearly everyone come there to learn macrobiotics because they were facing some life-threatening illness but also that many would not succeed in reversing their conditions and would soon no longer be alive. Such a reality emotionally tore me up inside and in looking for ways to cope with it I developed a personal practice and way of being that I call the “Dharma of Completion”.
I define the Dharma of Completion as the practice of striving to live and breathe every moment of life as if it were the last; as if it were the last time that I would be experiencing the present moment and the last time that I would be meeting someone and be talking to them. Very often it would actually be true as I would learn later of the passing of one former Kushi Institute participant or another.
I am not always successful in my personal practice of the Dharma of Completion but in reminding myself of it, it always brings me back to a sense of profound peace. Anything that is incomplete in my life becomes glaringly obvious and something that I must resolve as soon as possible. When I do remember to practice the Dharma of Completion then it gives me a tremendous sense of freedom and self-satisfaction knowing that I have spoken to and given everything I have within me to last person I met.
You are more than welcome to try it, if you wish. Let me know what you think.
…Beautifully concieved action plan that creates a wonderful ‘win-win’ result in the lives of both persons involved. Followed, this way of living would also naturally fulfill the golden rule of doing unto others as you would have them do unto you.
” …Anything that is incomplete in my life becomes glaringly obvious and something that I must resolve as soon as possible. ”
Here is where I begin to have my struggles. Between sensible choices and desires that may seem fleeting or temporary. Urges. Flights of fancy and such…. and being present and able to really be flexible and live life to its fullest without being self destructive or immature (I am very good at being immature
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For me this manifests more in relationships with women or proposed relationships with women or desires when its most confusing i.e. “I should go and approach this or that woman and try to be with her NOW or I will never get another chance. Although selfish seeming its how my mind works. How do I honor my personal desires and distinguish between healthy and unhealth yones? My feeling is that most actions bring reactions and most investments bring responsibilities. As long as I am willing to accept responsibility then ok but if I am not then…
I have recently been folowing up and making efforts to contact and resolve bad feelings or debts with people in my life and this has been very … helping me to feel much more grounded and without shadows over my head or in my heart. Being at the institute has been phenomenal for giving me the space to heal and be present and have the options to go out and be social without the sanctity of my healilng space being disrupted or impinged upon. As such I have been able to invest myself in so many beautiful art projects and crafts and little things like collecting seeds to plant in the spring and making gifts for friends and family, write letters… simple things have so much profound power for the person who engages in them.
Living as though it is my last day and this day is a gift can sometimes leave me feeling a little bit of concern that I am not living ‘fully enough’ yet that aside to trade the experience of this mantra and the gifts it opens me to in my life for ignorance and sloth …. naw.