Zen story: The art of seeking by not seeking always finds love at home
By emptychair
@innertalks (23747)
Australia
October 21, 2020 9:29pm CST
The Zen master, Jerzla Hoerlexki, was studying the Sufi religion.
He liked to read the works of that great Sufi mystic, and poet,
Mawlana Jalal-al-Din Rumi, (1207 to 1273).
He was reading this saying of Rumi's to himself, and he was asking himself if he really agreed with it, or not.
“What you seek is seeking you.”
"This seems to be a bit of a blanket, catch-all, statement,"
he thought to himself.
"What if I seek nothing, is it still true?"
He thought for a while, then he came up with this answer to his question:
"Love never seeks you, because it has found you already."
"If you seek love, it is because you have stepped away from love, but the step away is only with your mind. Our heart rests within love's embrace, at all times."
"When you seek with your mind, your mind seeks for what you seek, but what the mind is seeking for is not seeking you at all. It is fleeting away from you, more and more, and taking you with it."
"Drop into your heart, stop seeking, and just be the love there now."
"Nothing seeks you, nor need you seek for anything either."
The old Zen master smiled happily to himself.
He was well pleased with his own answer.
Photo Credit: The photo used in this article was sourced from the free media site, pixabay.com
When you seek, seek for nothing. Live from love instead!
3 people like this
4 responses
@RasmaSandra (98208)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
22 Oct 20
I have to agree with you and since I only have myself to love then I am going to think about adopting another cat so I also have a furry face to love. What sustains me every day is my faith and my love for the Lord,
2 people like this
@innertalks (23747)
• Australia
22 Oct 20
I have a feeling, that like me, you also love to write.
It gives me a certain satisfaction, which is missing in the rest of my life.
It will be fun to come up with a new name for your new cat.
Perhaps your soulmate might whisper a name to you from where he is too.
@RasmaSandra (98208)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
22 Oct 20
@innertalks 
most likely I will choose a cat as a Christmas present for myself
most likely I will choose a cat as a Christmas present for myself2 people like this
@innertalks (23747)
• Australia
22 Oct 20
Thanks for reading. I try to add something that I think is wise to my posts, but I could be wrong, of course.
I said the opposite of what a great Sufi Master said here. I like to try to do that too...lol...
1 person likes this
@innertalks (23747)
• Australia
22 Oct 20
@piyushbhatia1 Yes. I like to throw my own two cents worth of thoughts into the mix, or into the melting pot.
what ever the outcome maybe
@Shiva49 (28409)
• Singapore
22 Oct 20
I believe what we seek in right earnest will be fulfilled.
That also behooves us to choose the right path.
Our intention should be honorable.
When we seek a higher consciousness, what is the inspiration that drives us?
Is it to boost our ego or to better serve community with our positive reach?
When Vivekananda was lost in trying to understand life and creation, someone told him his queries would be answered by a highly revered Guru who was living in a temple premises. Vivekananda's earnestness touched a cord with Ramakrishna and it was said each was testing the other till they knew they had met the right person.
It also happened to Yogananda when he met his guru Yukteshwar, There was instant recognition as if each was seeking the other.
As for myself, I do my best and just accept what is destined and it has happened more often what I got was not what I had intended but what soothed my heart. That was in a way, the soul guiding me to the right destination.
When we follow the path of love with our creator in mind, we can't go wrong. We can then feel the pulse of creation in us.
1 person likes this
@innertalks (23747)
• Australia
22 Oct 20
Yes, with soulmates, it is like they are seeking the other part/half of themselves too.
I am just saying that not to get caught up just endlessly seeking, going all around the world to find it, for what usually can always be found in our own very backyard too.
@innertalks (23747)
• Australia
22 Oct 20
@Shiva49 Yes, it is always a good idea to stay "home" to our real self.
Many a spiritual master has told us that if we can just stay with this sense of "I am", we could be realised (self, or God realised), just by our doing of that.
1 person likes this
@Shiva49 (28409)
• Singapore
22 Oct 20
@innertalks Yes, we also look around for meaning while forgetting our own soul that is connected to our creator.
Great masters from time to time were enlightened looking within than by going around in circles, circling the globe.
Maybe, this virus has driven home the point loud and clear - STAY AT HOME!
1 person likes this
@DocAndersen (54399)
• United States
22 Oct 20
ask only for what is held in the empty hand, then you are never disappointed!
2 people like this
@innertalks (23747)
• Australia
22 Oct 20
Yes, ask for nothing, and you get everything, but if you ask for everything, you get nothing.
Nothing is everything. Everything is nothing.
The Christian Bible says this too.
It says the first shall be last, and the last shall be first, which is sort of the same thing, to my mind.
1 person likes this
