Everything happens by itself

[iamom]

A recent discussion with a close friend of mine about nonduality came to mind when I read the following song in the most recent Nondual Highlights (Issue #2436). I sent her the poem in an attempt to elucidate my thoughts on the subject more clearly than I could Saturday night.

Happiness cannot be found
through great effort and willpower,
but is already present, in relaxation
and letting go.

Don't strain yourself;
there is nothing to do.
Whatever arises in the mind
has no importance at all,
because it has no reality whatsoever.
Don't become attached to it;
don't identify with it
and pass judgement upon it.

Let the entire game happen on its own,
springing up and falling back like waves -
without changing or manipulating anything -
and everything vanishes and reappears, magically,
without end.

Only our searching for happiness
prevents us from seeing it.
It's like a rainbow which you pursue
without ever catching.
Although it does not exist,
it has always been there
and accompanies you every instant.

Don't believe in the reality
of good and bad experiences;
they are like rainbows in the sky.

Wanting to grasp the ungraspable,
you exhaust yourself in vain.
As soon as you open and relax this grasping,
space is there - open, inviting and comfortable.

So make use of this spaciousness, this freedom
and natural ease.
Don't search any further.
Don't go into the tangled jungle
looking for the great elephant
who is already quietly at home.

Nothing to do,
Nothing to force,
nothing to want -
and everything happens by itself.

-- Lama Gendun Rinpoche