Posted inHenry's Messages, Koans, Original Love

Message from Henry, Original Love

August 24, 2022

What’s the Original Face from before we were born, from before our parents were born?

That’s an early Zen koan. When we see the “ original face,” our constructions of reality fall apart; they vanish. We are left in boundlessness. 

When we have a glimpse of this unconditioned boundlessness, it brings a beautiful and healing sense of belovedness to our troubled hearts. This is Original Love.

How do we learn to live, share and be guided by this love as we live our everyday lives?  It doesn’t make sense to wait for a heart-opening, mind-blowing experience. That’s too random. We can make it a little more likely to happen through practice, but it still can take a long time to come.  

On the other hand, it seems that a sense of belovedness is actually central to more ordinary, attainable and critical areas of practice: mindfulness, a sense of support and self-love, and the absorption and flow states that can arise in daily sitting.

Although these areas of practice are fluid, letting this moment be exactly as it is, is always the critical first step. We allow what’s happening to simply be. We drop all objections to this moment, we release our agendas and judgements. As we do this, a precious space can open up, where there are no problems to solve, and nothing to figure out. This is the space of original love.

Message from Henry is from our August 22, 2022 Newsletter.

footer support banner image

Support Mountain Cloud

You can show your gratitude for Mountain Cloud events, retreats, podcasts and other teachings by making a one-time gift, or by becoming a supporting member.

Donate to Mountain Cloud Become a Member