The Giant Buddha of Nara

In Nara, Japan, inside the Todai-ji Temple, there is a giant seated statue of the Buddha. Thousands of people visit each day, drawn by that massive, impassive Buddha, surveying the centuries.

It reminds us of the immense scale of the universe and the smallness of our body. Yet the smallness of our physical self starkly contrasts with the limitless nature of our innermost self, which is akin to, even identical with, the enormous force of will that continuously creates and sustains this vast universe, the will embodied so vividly in that statue. Whether we know it or not, what draws to that Giant Buddha and to nature's grandeur is that kinship between us and the greatness. We have within us that singular, unifying force of will.

To help reveal that connection in us, we relax into our body, bring total attention to the whole body with the active intention to strengthen the sensation throughout our body, and sit patiently in the silence, drawing that cognizant stillness into us. Established in that stillness beneath our usual sense of self, we open our will on the inside to let the greater will come into us, flow through us, as us. That greater will brings an influx of light, which through repetition becomes normalized. Beyond that light, we stand before and merge into the One Will, which embraces and creates us along with everything else.

Each of those steps marks a waypoint in our ascent toward our Source, our journey of return. At each step we open to a new, higher, and wider world. This takes sustained practice, years of practice to establish some of the steps. And each step increasingly generates its own value, bringing us closer to the freedom and flow of the Divine precincts and to the force behind the Giant Buddha. The revealing of that force in us may well be part of the purpose of existence, both our own and the universe as a whole, as we, with our birthright of free will, allow the One Will to penetrate down the levels through us.

The milestones of our ascent are also the milestones of the descent of the One Will toward this material world. At first it is undifferentiated in its unity. Next, the One Will gives itself and its freedom to the timeless wisdom in the world of creative light, the world of potential, the storehouse of possibilities. The One Will continues its descent by entering individual beings in the world of consciousness, the cognizant stillness, the mediator between the individual will and manifestation. And finally, through those who are open to it, the One Will penetrates the material world.

For this week, please work toward that greatness exemplified and embodied in the Giant Buddha of Nara.

Follow @innerfrontier

About Inner Frontier Send us email