Becoming

Sometimes, when I awaken in the morning, I wonder who I will be that day. It seems we are invited to inhabit different roles as if we are actors in a play; we inhabit characters with different scripts adapted to our circumstances. For instance, I am a son, brother, husband, friend, Dharma teacher/practitioner, etc. And these are only a few roles. As Shakespeare reflected in his play, As You Like It:

All the world’s a stage,
And all the people merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one person in their time plays many parts…

So, we are essentially shapeshifters; beings who take on many different forms to blend into their surroundings. If it were not for our approval issues, we would be able to play even more characters and adapt to more circumstances. Unfortunately, we are always assessing situations, measuring our interaction with others by our likes and dislikes, our preferences—not by their needs. If we let go of strong ego-oriented preferences, we become more skillful shapeshifters; we become what is necessary to benefit others.

We are continuously in the process of becoming. In the Buddhist tradition, the time between death and rebirth is called the bardo of dharmata. Dharmata is the naked, unconditioned truth, the nature of reality, or the true nature of phenomenal existence. When we die, we merge into the spaciousness of this essential nature of things. If we have more work to do, we take rebirth. So, the bardo of dharmata is often referred to as the bardo of becoming.

All moments are like bardos of becoming; a continuous flow of opportunities to freely experience the true nature of things—and be reborn in a form that benefits others. When we realize bodhicitta, the heart/mind of compassion, there is nothing to do but incarnate love; to become an emissary of compassion. Our dharma practice calls us to surrender the need for validation so love has a chance to flow without any impediment.

Who will you be today?