Sitting with Chaos | Zenju Earthlyn Manuel
Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, an ordained Zen priest and PhD, discusses tuning into the value of disruption and sitting with chaos. She explores the unknown, the power of a "sip of silence," and "death as a doorway to tenderness," defining tenderness as a powerful, liberating state.
Deep Dive Analysis
15 Topic Outline
Introduction to Zenju Earthlyn Manuel and Episode Themes
The Value of Disruption for Personal Transformation
Disruption as a Dynamic Movement and Wake-Up Call
Practical Approach to Sitting with Chaos and Discomfort
The Practice of a 'Sip of Silence' for Presence
Understanding the True Purpose and Audience of Meditation
Embracing the Unknown and Continuous Discovery in Life
Death as a Doorway to Profound Tenderness
Defining Tenderness Beyond Sentimentality
Processing Personal Experiences of Racism with Tenderness
Tenderness as a Path to Liberation and Healing
Zen Buddhism Journey and the Role of Personal Suffering
The Concept of 'Being Love' as a State of Existence
Children as Teachers of Unconditional Love
Zenju Earthlyn Manuel's Books and Upcoming Works
6 Key Concepts
Value of Disruption
Disruption is presented as the essential space where change and transformation occur, particularly in messy and challenging circumstances. It's a dynamic movement that serves to wake us up and facilitate internal and external change, rather than being a setback.
Beginner's Mind
This concept encourages approaching every situation, person, or idea with fresh eyes, as if encountering it for the first time, free from preconceived notions or the assumption of prior knowledge. It fosters continuous discovery and allows new insights to emerge.
Sip of Silence
A practice of taking brief, intentional pauses—even just one or two minutes—to stop, breathe, and be quiet, disengaging from news, conversations, or mental swirling. This short period of stillness helps one to speak and act from the heart rather than from a reactive mind.
Tenderness
Tenderness is defined as a profound state of being completely engaged with one's heart in the present moment, characterized by gentleness, softness, and openness, even amidst pain or difficulty. It is a powerful, liberating quality that allows for deep processing of emotions and taking action from a vulnerable, yet strong, place.
Heart Consciousness
Similar to how our senses have consciousness, heart consciousness refers to a state of being centered in one's heart. It is cultivated through practices like breath, song, chanting, and stillness, enabling one to respond from a deeper, more authentic place.
Being Love
This concept describes love not as an external object to be sought or received, but as an inherent state of being. It suggests that our hearts never truly close, and that even in experiences of anger or dislike, there is an underlying connection to this fundamental state, preventing numbness.
7 Questions Answered
Disruption is valuable because it is the place where change and transformation occur, especially in messiness, not in a neat or painless way. It acts as a dynamic movement that can wake us up and change us from within.
One can start with a 'beginner's mind' and begin with very short periods of stillness, such as one or two minutes of just breathing in and out. This 'sip of silence' can help one speak from the heart rather than a swirling mind.
Zenju Earthlyn Manuel states that meditation is not for everyone; it's for a rare group of people who are seeking a quest or inquiry into life and are willing to live in ambiguity without definitive answers, rather than those solely seeking results.
Instead of trying to find answers and fix things, we should embrace continuous discovery. This means approaching every moment, person, or idea with a beginner's mind, recognizing the beauty and sacredness of the unknown.
Witnessing death can evoke a profound sense of tenderness, characterized by an authentic, open, and soft state of being, even amidst grief and pain. It's a moment where one feels deeply present and engaged with a gentle, powerful softness.
Tenderness is defined as being completely engaged with one's heart in the moment, a state of being in heart consciousness that is soft, gentle, and powerful, allowing one to process emotions and take action from an open, vulnerable place without succumbing to paralysis or trying to escape it.
To 'be love' means to exist in a direct experience of being in the world every moment without judgment, without trying to fix things, and without the belief that our hearts can close. It's an unconditional state of being, much like a baby's essence when born.
15 Actionable Insights
1. Embrace Disruption for Transformation
Actively view disruption and messiness as valuable opportunities for personal change and transformation. This is because significant transformation rarely occurs in neat, clean, or painless circumstances.
2. Utilize Life’s Troubles as Fodder
Consciously use all life’s difficulties and suffering as “mud” or “murky nutrients” for your growth. These experiences are essential for your transformation and enable you to contribute uniquely to society.
3. Embrace the Unknown, Discover
Stop seeking definitive answers or trying to fix everything, and instead, engage in a continuous process of discovery, appreciating the beauty and sacredness of the unknown. This allows for ongoing learning and prevents the illusion of complete knowledge.
4. Cultivate Beginner’s Mind
Approach every situation, person, or idea as if encountering it for the very first time, flushing away prior conditioning and assumptions. This practice reveals new insights and allows for continuous rediscovery.
5. Daily Sip of Silence
Integrate short moments of silence throughout your day, even just one or two minutes of focused breathing. This practice helps you speak from your heart rather than a “swirling mind,” leading to more grounded engagement with the world.
6. Engage with Present Suffering
Be present with pain and suffering for a moment, allowing the sensation to process within your body rather than running away from it. This direct engagement is crucial for healing your own internal “tenderness” and fostering transformation.
7. Let Body Lead, Observe Sensations
Allow your body to guide you by observing physical sensations like fear without immediate mental analysis. This helps the sensation process naturally in the body, preventing the mind from over-involvement and potential escalation.
8. Approach Death as Tenderness Doorway
When witnessing death or contemplating mortality, allow yourself to experience the profound softness, openness, and authenticity that can arise. This perspective helps cultivate “tenderness” as a gentle, sacred way of being in daily life.
9. Engage with Gentleness
Strive to engage with the world and your own life from a place of gentleness and softness. This enables you to take action from an open, sacred, and heart-centered place, rather than from tension or frustration.
10. Be Present with Tenderness
When feeling vulnerable or experiencing emotional “tenderness,” remain present and engaged with it, rather than trying to escape or numb the feelings. This fosters a “powerful, liberating tenderness” and avoids reliance on harmful coping mechanisms.
11. Cultivate Heart Consciousness
Actively work on developing “heart consciousness” by using practices such as breathwork, song, meditation, chanting, and stillness to return to a heart-centered state. This allows you to operate from a distinct, deeper form of consciousness.
12. Practice Being Love
Strive to “be love” by engaging in the direct experience of being in the world every moment, free from judgment, the need for expertise, or the desire to fix things. This state of simply being allows for a profound experience of love and keeps the heart open.
13. Observe Babies to Learn Love
Practice observing babies as they look around, noting their lack of judgment or prior knowledge. This can help you develop a similar state of pure observation and “not knowing,” which embodies a form of unconditional love.
14. Meditation for Seekers
Engage in meditation if you are a seeker, open to a quest of inquiry into life and self, and willing to live in ambiguity without expecting definitive answers. This practice is for those who embrace the process of inquiry itself.
15. Avoid New Intense Meditation in Chaos
If meditation is new to you, avoid starting an intense practice during times of extreme chaos or turmoil. Your system is accustomed to existing coping mechanisms, and a new, intense practice might be overwhelming.
7 Key Quotes
I'm not advocating love as an answer to all of the ills of the world. Then again, it is just that simple to be love.
Zenju Earthlyn Manuel
In my life, the things that have changed have been when I've fallen off the cliff, let's say, in the quote, when I hit the ground.
Zenju Earthlyn Manuel
We don't know where we came from. We don't know why we're here whatsoever. Why are we going through all of this? What is the purpose? And we don't know where we're going. And we're all going, all of us.
Zenju Earthlyn Manuel
I always wanted things to be better, like no more racism, no more oppression, no more hate, no more anything. And of course, that is always the aspiration. It's always the vow. But most important, I know that if something stops, like say we don't have any more racism, let's just say that. We have no more of it. That means something else will take its place.
Zenju Earthlyn Manuel
I think about babies, and I write about that coming into the world. And I think they come to teach us love. We don't teach them. They show it.
Zenju Earthlyn Manuel
Zenju means complete or total tenderness.
Zenju Earthlyn Manuel
The trouble of life is all there is really. And if we don't use it, then we're not living. We're not even engaged.
Zenju Earthlyn Manuel
2 Protocols
Sitting with Fear (Tea with Fear)
Zenju Earthlyn Manuel- Note the presence of fear without immediately analyzing it.
- Acknowledge fear as a 'friend'.
- Take a few breaths with the fear, metaphorically 'having tea' with it.
- Allow the fear to recede, then return to engagement with the world.
Processing Upsetting Bodily Sensations
Zenju Earthlyn Manuel- Feel the sensation in the body (e.g., stomach flop, heart jump) without immediately taking it to the mind for analysis.
- Allow the sensation to process itself within the body.
- Breathe with the sensation and stillness to prevent it from causing harm.
- Stay present with the sensation, rather than running away, to facilitate healing and transformation.