I have always loved the phrase “custody of the eyes.”
Having one’s eyes wide open is a definition of being awake. And yet to preserve the privileged environment, the container in which we practice “waking up,” we are asked to maintain “custody of the eyes,” not to make eye contact, to keep sight in check. This sort of paradox is what makes Zen Awareness Practice so absolutely fascinating to me. It challenges all conventional notions of how we see the world.
It drops in that awakening is a process of in-sight and revelation. It requires a transformation of vision, a cultivation of the sparkling clarity of pure presence that can directly witness what is.
Our default view of the world, however, is through the lens of ego-I. It seems ego only has eyes for what’s wrong and what’s missing. Identified with ego, I am myopically focused on “me.” I am robbed of an essential insight into the true nature of things. How wonderful to be asked to practice protecting that process of “seeing,” of bringing care and attention to how we see, both literally and metaphorically.
Practice reveals that when conditioned seeing is kept in check, attention is released from ego’s custody. Life becomes the custodian of attention, and life experience can be one of being the “aperture through which the universe experiences itself.”
Keeping “custody of the eyes” allows the flowering of a way of seeing that is awareness of true nature. It evokes the attitude of mind of custody – guardianship, protection, stewardship and care. The veil of ego drops to reveal everything is the Buddha and “I see God through the very eyes that God sees me.”
“Custody of the eyes” is a practice of the guardianship of Life. It embodies the stewardship of a way of Life that is reverential and holy. It is this attitude of mind that is the Monastery.
Each time I walk through the Monastery gates, I am embraced in the blessings of love and respect that are offered to me by the pine trees, the butterfly escort, the golden grass and the open hearts of everyone who greets the Buddha within, with a deep and gracious bow.
The sign on the gate says it all – STOP. “This is a silent, religious community. If you are expected, you are welcome.” There is an immediate invitation to become the privileged space in which we can practice the seeing that reveals the Buddha within. Crossing that threshold, we make the compact to check the ego at the door as we reverently avert our eyes and embark on the path to waking up.
Gassho
Ashwini