THANISSARA 39
form is needed to thaw hearts, illuminate minds, and ignite the flame
of awakening. We too must transmute the terrors of our times into
that same fearlessness, strength, and clarity, generating a collective
emotional intelligence that can manifest as a great surge of enlight-
ened activity to overcome the onslaught of destruction.
Like the Buddha-to-be, we have come to the end of the extremes
of pleasure and of the path that crushes life, nature, connection, our
bodies, and others’ bodies. At this devastating yet ripe moment, we
have to stop. The guiding hints we need do not come from the ratio-
nal mind. They come from the unexpected. We must listen. This is
how I experience the movement of the sacred feminine. She whispers
to the heart. She roars sometimes, too. She comes in the form of
emissaries like Greta Thunberg, who, before the shadow kings of the
world who wield inordinate power, stands with a scrap of paper say-
ing, “Your time is up.”
Siddhartha, under the bodhi tree, with citta—mind–heart—gath-
ered, unified, and focused, relinquishing all known paths, explored
the depths of the great mystery. He was ready, as we must be ready,
to leap beyond. With the complete ending of ignorance and the con-
sequent collapse of the house of self, the radiance of the liberated
mind shone forth, filling all realms with elation.
This extraordinary release from suffering and death could only be
witnessed by one being, one who had been there all along: the most
ancient one, the keeper and sustainer of life, the one who sees all
and who is the burial place of all. The one who gives and takes back
everything, and the one who can recreate herself. As the Buddha’s
hand reached to Earth and touched her, she confirmed: you are Bud-
dha, the Awakened One. You are the One Who Knows.
This knowing, witnessed and supported by Mother Nature,
sparked a “direct path” for generations to come. This knowing is
our birthright. It is our refuge. And it is the source through which
the sacred feminine now rises to guide us through this most perilous
time.