Most people equate choice and freedom. It seems so reasonable. Freedom means you are free to choose, right? It means you are free from restrictions. If you can’t choose, then you are not free. And it would seem to follow that the more choice you have, the more freedom you have. But it doesn’t work out that way.
Rock climbing, I reflected later, comes down to three points: - willingness, even if you end up falling onto a rope or mat - know-how, knowing how to use your body and the equipment properly, and - capacity, having the strength and ability to grip or push or hold. Later, it struck me that Buddhist practice comes down to the same three points
A simple question, you say. Well, how do you answer it? With your name? With your family pedigree? With your job? At some point, you see that nothing you say really answers the question and you stop — at the edge of a vast open space. “This can’t be who I am?”, you say, and turn away. Let’s start again. Who are you?
