4 Let the World Speak for Itself

T

he lastof the absolute bodhichitta slogans is
“In postmeditation, be a child of illusion.” This
slogan says that when you’re not formally practicing
meditation—which is basically the whole rest of
your life—you should be a child of illusion. This is a
haunting and poetic image, not all that easy to de-
fine. The way it’s phrased tends to encourage you to
not define it. The idea is that your experience after
you finish sitting practice could be a fresh take, an
ongoing opportunity to let go and lighten up.
This slogan has a lot to do with looking out and
connecting with the atmosphere, with the environ-
ment that you’re in, with the quality of your experi-
ence. You realize that it’s not all that solid. There’s
always something happening that you can’t pin down
with words or thoughts. It’s like the first day of spring.
There’s a special quality about that day; it is what it
is, no matter what opinion you may have of it.
When we study Buddhism, we learn about the
view and the meditation as supports for encouraging
us to let go of ego and just be with things as they are.

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