“To learn to see more deeply, practice having no opinions for a time. Be willing to say, “I don’t know”. This “not knowing” allows space for true knowing, because the intellect is not the center of spiritual knowledge and wisdom; this is the higher function of the heart within the heart. “ Max Strom, from A Life Worth Breathing.
Last night I was watching the NCAA Men’s Basketball Semifinal game between Duke and West Virginia, and had a rather surprisingly profound heart opening moment. When it happened I was reminded of how many times I have robbed myself of experiences like this because of my opinions, my views, and my judgments of people and their past behavior.
Bob Huggins, the coach of West Virginia is not someone you would characterize as warm and fuzzy . He’s had some media run-ins, racist rants, DUI’s etc. So it’s easy to simply dismiss him as a big oaf. But then something extraordinary happened. One of his players went down with a torn ACL, and was writhing and screaming in pain. At first there was nothing anyone could do because he couldn’t be still long enough to be helped. Then after a few moments Huggins came over, knelt beside him, cradled his head in his hands, and began to console him. No one knew what he was saying. It didn’t really matter. It was just such a powerful moment to see that much love and compassion flowing from one person to another. It was the final 5 minutes of De Sean Butler’s college career and his team was about to lose. Huggins was doing everything in his power to take away all of Butler’s physical and emotional pain.
I couldn’t get the image out of my mind last night. Then I went to yoga this morning and had trouble getting up from Sivasana. My heart felt like it was going to explode. Afterwards, during breakfast, I started reading a Thich Nhat Hanh article on hidden Boddhisatvas. That's when I finally lost it and the tears begin to flow. So much love, so much peace.
Thank you Bob Huggins.
In the words of a very wise Buddhist Master, “appearances are deceptive and our opinions are unreliable. “
