A letter to my four grandchildren, the precious youth of our world, and the youthful heart within all of us.
Doctor of Humanistic Depth Psychology · Master Zen Teacher and Counselor · Library of Congress Copyright, January 10, 2007
Precious One, I have a secret to tell you about. It is a secret that everyone knows deep inside their body. But it is a secret that people forget that their bodies feeling/know — and then they talk about how to find an important secret that they do not know or understand. They forget that their bodies already know the open secret inside themselves.
They forget because they get lost in a bunch of words about who they are, what they believe in, what their world is, and who others are. When people get lost in their names and ideas we say that they are asleep to the secret that their bodies already feeling/know. While they are asleep in their walking, talking, and doing, their bodies keep calling them from inside to remember the secret that is their body and is in their body.
People feel their bodies calling so everyone goes to look for the secret that their bodies already know. When people keep living and sleeping in words and their bodies keep calling them to meet the secret, they feel that something is missing, but they do not know what it is. When people feel like something is missing, they do not feel completely alive in their bodies. They do not feel any rest in their mind or peace inside their heart.
Some people do lots of different and exciting things to make them less asleep in their word-thinking and feel more alive and fresh inside their bodies. But this does not really wake them up to the secret inside their bodies or stop their bodies from calling them to meet the secret. Because the calling is always there, people keep looking for something or someone to wake them up from sleeping in their words and make them feel more fresh and alive in their bodies. They start looking for something that can help them feel more joyful, happy, content, loving, peaceful, and free to Be all that they can be. But they do not know where to look.
People search everywhere and try different things. They go from this to that; from here to there; from this person to that person; and from this answer to that answer. They are always looking and searching for the secret that their bodies are calling them to meet. When they try one thing after another, they say that they have found the secret with each thing they try. But they are never really satisfied very long because their bodies just keep calling them to meet the deep secret inside themselves.
So they keep searching and looking. But they really don't have to search and look too far because the secret they are looking for, that keeps calling to meet them, is not really a secret hiding from them. It is a secret that they are — a secret they have never lost — a secret that their bodies are always asking them to feeling/know. This is the precious secret of an Infinite Wisdoming that is their only moment body. It is this secret that I want to speak to you about.
Precious One, feeling/know/remember when you were in your mother's womb. You didn't have a name, but you were still there listening, growing, and feeling alive. After you were just born, you did not have a name or know a name, but you were still hearing, seeing, breathing, crying, growing, and feeling just the same. This means that who you really are as your body was always there before you had a name. So your "true you" was always there before your mom and dad gave you a name. Your name is not who you really are.
Your true you is like the blue sky and the white clouds. They do not know their name, but they are still there and beautiful just the same. They move and change, but they do not think "I am the sky" or "I am the cloud." They are just like you when you are playing. You just run, dig, jump, laugh, and play with things without thinking about your name or who you are.
When you think about who you are and you think you are your name, you feel like you need to know who you are. You feel like you are not somebody you know. So you try to make yourself into somebody you know. You try to get people to know you, give you things, and treat you in ways that make you feel like the somebody you know or think you know. And that somebody you think you know is the name you call yourself. But really, you are much more than your name or how you think about yourself. You are much more than all the thoughts that you or anybody else can think about you.
Precious One, when you listen deep inside your body before your name and your thinking, you can know who you really are. You can know deep inside your body what is right and wrong. You can know deep inside your body what is real and what is pretend. Inside your body, you are your body. Outside your body, you are everything you see and meet. You are a deep wisdoming in your body that is exactly your body wisdoming.
You are One deep wisdoming that is everywhere inside and outside your body. You are the wisdoming of sunshine and stars, the wisdoming of rain drops and singing birds, the wisdoming of planets and solar systems, the wisdoming of mud and dirt. This is an Infinite Wisdoming that you cannot really know and learn about from books, computers, movies, or other people, because it is already who you are as your moment body. You can only know IT and be IT inside the deep quiet and stillness of your only moment body.
This is how you answer the body calling, meet the secret, and know your "true you." When you are still and quiet in your body, just breathing in and out, you can feeling-know-remember that you are an Infinite Wisdoming before your name and all the things you think about yourself. Then you will know that Infinite Wisdoming is your only moment body just as IT is.
Precious One, you do not need to know what you are going to be or what you are going to do when you grow up. Just listen to the deep wisdoming inside your only moment body. It will always guide you. Always listen to the silence and stillness wisdoming inside/outside your body and be your true You, your true Self.
Be real with yourself and others. Don't pretend or make up things with others just to get your way. Don't hide from your "true you" by not being honest with yourself. If you get lost in your name, your thinking about yourself, and all the thoughts talking about what you want, you will fall asleep to who you really are and still be talking, walking, and doing. You will think you are awake, but you are asleep in your name and the thinking words in your mind.
Precious One, because we feeling/know Infinite Wisdoming inside our body that is just our body, we can live our life just as IT is. Just as IT is means that life includes happiness, sadness, playfulness, kindness, love, joy, mystery, change, wonder, and the truth of suffering. Just as IT is means that there is no path, no wisdom, no secret, no gain, and nothing to attain outside of our very own wisdoming body.
Your only moment body is the path, the Way, the truth, the joy, the mystery, the grace, the secret, and the Infinite Wisdoming of all life and death. You are perfect just as you are. You are Infinite Wisdoming as only moment body. Not one thing can make you more or less than the perfection of wisdoming that you truly are.
Precious One, you do not have to be afraid in this world because Infinite Wisdoming is your true companion and your trustworthy refuge. Even when you get sick, or people you love get sick or ill, or die, you can still trust that Infinite Wisdoming is there with you and with those you love.
When people die, they do not just disappear forever. They pass through a door of Infinite Wisdoming that we call death. We only see Infinite Wisdoming on this side of the door and we call it the Way of life and all creation. But when we die we pass over to the same Infinite Wisdoming on the other side of the door. We do not have to know what Infinite Wisdoming is on the other side of the door when we die. We rest in the deep inner knowing of our wisdoming body — at ease in a deep feeling/knowing that is quiet and still inside our only moment body.
Precious One, when you sit still and quiet and just breathe in and out, you can feeling/know/remember that you are an Infinite Wisdoming of life. When you feeling/know/remember this, you can be a real person — a person who knows how to live life just as it is, just because it is.
When you feel sad or alone, you can feel your only moment body breathe in and out and trust Infinite Wisdoming to help you through everything. When you feel happy and full of life, you can feel your only moment body breathe in and out and give thanks to Infinite Wisdoming for all the good things in your life. When you are angry or hurt, you can feel your only moment body breathe in and out and ask Infinite Wisdoming to help you find the right way to handle your anger and hurt.
When you feel the Infinite Wisdoming inside your only moment body you will know that the most important practice in your life is to be kind, compassionate, and giving — not just to yourself, but to everyone and everything in your world. When you truly know this you will also know the Way that makes all things good for yourself and all living things.
"You are the wisdoming of sunshine and stars, the wisdoming of rain drops and singing birds. This is an Infinite Wisdoming that you cannot really know and learn about from books — because it is already who you are."
— Dr. Andrew Shugyo Daijo Bonnici
Dr. Bonnici has conducted annual celebrations of meditation life practice with children and teenagers for over 20 years.