{"id":113,"date":"2010-12-20T08:21:45","date_gmt":"2010-12-20T08:21:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/mindfulnessmatters\/2010\/12\/metaphor-monday-full-circle.html"},"modified":"2010-12-20T08:21:45","modified_gmt":"2010-12-20T08:21:45","slug":"metaphor-monday-full-circle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2010\/12\/metaphor-monday-full-circle.html","title":{"rendered":"Metaphor Monday: Full Circle"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\"heartofuniverse.jpg\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

It’s the end of the calendar year and we’ve traveled “full circle” from the beginning to the end of this year. As if by magic, on January 1 we’ll be starting anew (even though we are really just continuing, one moment after another).<\/p>\n

Mu Soeng, in The Heart of the Universe: Exploring the Heart Sutra<\/i><\/a>, offers a compelling
\nmetaphor for enlightenment with the image of a circle. <\/p>\n

Imagine a circle, the bottom
\nof the circle would be 0 degrees (or 6 PM if you prefer to imagine a clock).
\nThis is where we find ourselves living in samsara still caught up in greed,
\nhatred, and ignorance. Not awake and not awake to the possibility of being
\nawake. <\/p>\n

Having come into contact with the dharma, one has the opportunity to
\nintellectually understand the Four Noble Truths and concepts like dependent origination. You
\nare now at 90 degrees (or 3:00 on the clock) This awareness is intellectual not
\nexperiential. <\/p>\n

When it becomes experiential we would find ourselves at 180
\ndegrees on the circle (or noon on the clock). Here we have the opportunity to
\nexperience primordial moments and transcend the suffering created by
\ninvolvement with the Three Poisons of greed, hatred, and ignorance. To the extent that we can transcend our categories,
\nthis is experienced at 180 degrees. <\/p>\n

Buddhahood would occur if one keeps
\nproceeding around the circle to 270 degrees (or 9 on the clock). This state is
\ndescribed as Anutarra Samyak Sambodhi<\/i>. <\/p>\n

Coming full circle to 360 degrees (back
\nto 6 o’clock) is “nirvana in action … by employing skillful means rooted
\nin wisdom and compassion.” 0 is the same place as 360. We end where we begin — in the world — yet different.<\/p>\n

This is a very different image then going from point A (samsara) to point B (nirvana) traveling along a path. This image is a trap for striving and Type A achievement mind set that actually interferes with our spiritual progress. <\/p>\n

Full circle reflects the classic Zen wisdom that in the beginning the mountains are the mountains and the rivers the rivers (0 degrees); in the middle the mountains are no longer mountains and the rivers no longer rivers (90-270 degrees); and in the end the mountains are once more the mountains and the rivers the rivers (360 degrees). The world remains the same; we have transformed.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s the end of the calendar year and we’ve traveled “full circle” from the beginning to the end of this year. As if by magic, on January 1 we’ll be starting anew (even though we are really just continuing, one moment after another). Mu Soeng, in The Heart of the Universe: Exploring the Heart Sutra,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":268,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,12,7,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-shelf","category-buddha-101","category-metaphors-for-mindfulness","category-mindfulnesss"],"yoast_head":"\nMetaphor Monday: Full Circle - Mindfulness Matters<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2010\/12\/metaphor-monday-full-circle.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Metaphor Monday: Full Circle - Mindfulness Matters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It’s the end of the calendar year and we’ve traveled “full circle” from the beginning to the end of this year. 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Dr. Kozak's ability to translate ancient healing traditions into pragmatic applications suitable for modern lifestyles through the use of metaphors have made him a strong voice in healthcare and business. Beginning with a journey to India in the 80\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s where he took the Bodhisattva vows from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Arnie Dr. Kozak began his lifelong practice in mindfulness meditation. Intent on finding a way to bring the practical healing attributes of mindfulness he began incorporating these techniques in his private practice. In 2002 Dr. Kozak created Exquisite Mind in Burlington, Vermont as a vehicle that could expand his wisdom to larger audiences beyond individual psychotherapy to professionals and corporations, health care providers, public groups and, most recently with Exquisite Mind Golf, amateur and professional golfers. His award-winning new book, Wild Chickens and Petty Tyrants: 108 Metaphors for Mindfulness (Wisdom Publications, 2009) is a thoughtful, funny, and inspiring translation of mindfulness practice through the inventive use of metaphor applicable to our daily lives. In addition to his work with Exquisite Mind, Arnie Kozak, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist\u00e2\u20ac\u201dDoctorate has been a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Vermont and is a Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry and Medicine, University of Vermont College of Medicine. He has studied and practiced clinical psychology, meditation, and yoga for more than 25 years. He has studied with several meditation masters, including S. N. Goenka, Larry Rosenberg, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. After receiving his bachelors degree with honors from Tufts University, he was awarded a Presidential Fellowship to get his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University at Buffalo. He completed his training as a Psychological Fellow at the Harvard Medical School. Prior to founding the Exquisite Mind in 2002, Arnie worked ten years in the private sector for the PKC Corporation consulting on mental health content for this revolutionary software company.","sameAs":["http:\/\/exquisitemind.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/author\/akozak"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/268"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}