Longing

02005-06-19 | Uncategorized | 5 comments

Adam Solomon said…

And isn’t it interesting, in a way, compared to Longing (6against4) on La Semana? I guess there isn’t meant to be a connection between the two songs, and I’m also guessing that Genpo’s title refers at least partially to the Buddhist philosophy of disattachment, which begs the question–where does the “longing” of the first song fit in? Longing in the verses, then release in the chorus, that’s what the liner notes say and that’s made obvious by the music itself. So what do we take from this? They don’t clash, I think–it’s not like the first song, about Longing, gives the wrong message, idealizing something that shouldn’t be. It shows simply that the happiness is achieved when the longing is let go of. I think both songs show that, then, and they differ in this way: “Longing” shows the happiness gained when longing is released by the achievement of the goal longed for, while “Silence…” shows the happiness from simply letting go of the longing.

Nicely said, Adam. I want to add that while letting go is an ongoing process, longing is simply a human quality. In other words, I think longing is built into our system. To rid yourself of longing altogether would mean ridding yourself of a part of your humanity.

Or, the natural process is longing and letting go, longing and letting go, rather than never longing. Whether it is longing for good health for yourself or for others, or longing for peace – or silence, it seems to me that it is a natural part of us. Now, to get attached to that longing is a whole other story! My Dharma name Zenho means letting go totally and I see that to be an ongoing process, not a goal to rest in permanently. Let go totally and then re-engage, because that seems to be what being human is about.

Or, let me try to say it in another way: to get attached to non-attachment is still attchment, yes?

5 Comments

  1. Panj

    I think I got that…good thoughts to ponder on!…Thanks Adam and Ottmar…btw…Thanks Ottmar for letting us know your Dharma name of Zenho. Beautiful!

    Reply
  2. keats79

    I get that same longing and angst feeling from Querencia. I am trying to piece it together with Heart Still Beating to give a completeness to longing.

    Reply
  3. Carol

    And sometimes that longing is mixed with fear of some things that may never happen, and sometimes it only takes a friend to remind one to live and enjoy every moment and let go of all that turmoil in your brain.

    Reply
  4. Adam Solomon

    Carol–Well put! :) Something to always keep in mind.

    OL–Boy is that last sentence a bit mind-boggling! But you are, of course, exactly right. I think I was mistaken to equate longing and attachment, as you mentioned, and, if you are attached to longing, attached and used to that feeling, how can that longing ever be fulfilled? So many people (myself included, unfortunately) often seem attached to negative feelings, to wallow in anger or sadness, and I guess this is a similar thing. So then, longing is a part of humanity, but how beneficial to that humanity is it? And that, I think, is where losing the attachment to longing comes in, because even if it’s human to long, it’s not good to long for too long :)

    As for letting go, for disattaching, being perpetual…I would think it makes a lot of sense that it seems to be–similar in ways to Ken Wilbur’s integral spiral–a never-ending growth towards a goal that can never be reached–towards an infinite goal, perhaps. But you describe it, it looks like, as a cycle: let go, grab back on, repeat. Now that is really interesting, a bit unexpected, to me, at least–could you elaborate on that?

    And, out of curiosity, on a different note, what exactly is meant by “Dharma name”? Dharma was, originally, a Hindi term, no? (I just finished the Mahabharata so my knowledge of Hinduism is at a peak right now! :P) It’s how they discuss justice and law, and more specifically, the law that members of each caste must uphold. Buddhism is, of course, Indian in nature, and somewhat thus an outgrowth of Hinduism, so…did Buddhism borrow this concept (in a different form–there’s certainly no caste system in Buddhism!!) from Hinduism? Or is the “Dharma” connection somewhat different?

    Oy, I ramble–sorry :)

    Reply
  5. Yumiko

    Perhaps “longing” is the same as these words I once read,

    “…More caves are carved as I get older, others are expanded, and yet others are torn down as their content is understood and catalogued and no longer needed.”

    Reply

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