Sila

Jesus once compared the Kingdom to a mustard seed which, upon dying to itself, becomes a mighty tree, thus providing a nest for all the birds of the heavens. Likewise does Gautam Buddha talk about a certain tree…a mighty tree whose roots reach down into the living heart of the earth; a tree which provides shade and refreshment and shelter to weary travelers coming along the dusty paths of the Spirit—and this tree he called Sila. That is what Sila means, literally. The word translates as: a green, lush, life-giving, leafy shade-tree along the side a blistering hot and dusty road. It is a place where people can rest up for a bit; have a picnic, or simply take a nice long nap. It is a place by the wayside where people can enjoy themselves.

I find this really quite beautiful, all the more so because if you translate that word into English it simply means, morality! But what a way of looking at ethics, hmm? No connotations here of sin, of damnation, of duty or obligation or of a weighty burden. The question is though, just what kind of trees are we planting for ourselves and for our neighbors? If our ethics are strident and hurting, then we are planting cacti along side of the road. Maybe some of us plant Peyote. Who knows? The point is though, our morality is not something we carry around on our backs. It isn’t about doing this or that, or about passing judgment, let alone about following a set of archaic instructions handed down to us from on High through our ancestors (at least, St. Paul didn’t think so). It has everything to do with who we are as people though, as human creatures, and of how it is that we live out our lives in Her, who is all that is and is not.

The ancient Greeks called it virtue—the sum total of all that creates us, and this includes the environment within which we exist. In that sense, morality isn’t anything personal, and we sure as hell can’t take credit for it. Virtue, sila, ethics, morality—it is how we worship and give expression to our love; to all of the love that wells up inside of us when we are feeling grateful and happy and at peace with ourselves.

 Sila is how the Word which is Wisdom lives on in us, and through us and as us. We are the instruments of Her peace, and we have the choice as to whether or not we let go long enough for Her music to play through our hearts and minds. We can focus our hearts on what is beautiful, and thereby bring more beauty into that precious sanctuary of the World which She is, and when we plant the Tree of our Lives, we plant for eternity. Don’t we?

 Everything that creates us—all of our thoughts and feelings and actions and hopes and dreams-- take on a whole new meaning when we see them within the context of the infinite. Suddenly, how we wash the dishes or do the laundry or get out of bed in the morning becomes just as important (and just as meaningless) as how we feel about ourselves and how we treat others. Anyway…just a thought.