Slogan #53
Don't vacillate.
To vacillate means to waver between different ideas or actions. In reference to our lojong practice, slogan 53 is encouraging us not to dither but to unconditionally and enthusiastically commit to compassion training 24/7. “Don’t vacillate” can also mean cultivating equanimity and balance; instead of living in the extreme highs and lows, this slogan is exhorting us to find a steady practice right in the middle of life. Equanimity is derived from the Latin words "aequus" and "animus" meaning “even mind” and acts as a circuit breaker to protect us from our brain’s ancient circuitry of the “fight/flight/freeze/appease” responses of the sympathetic nervous system. Can whatever passes through your mind be held with such spaciousness that you stay even-keeled and aren’t thrown off balance? Be aware of passing thoughts and feelings without identifying with them and without reacting to them. Notice how pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral feeling tones come and go. They’re constantly changing and are not a dependable basis for happiness. View everything you do as a practice. Ride the wave of everything that is your life.
In Buddhism, the Three Marks of Existence refer to the basic tenets of reality: suffering (or shit happens), impermanence (or everything changes), and “no-self” (or don’t take it personally). The first glass of muddy water is indicative of a life full of distractions and noise while the second and third glasses illustrate the process of meditation and the settling of the sediment to the bottom of the glass revealing a clear, pristine view of reality.
“Furthermore, as muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone, it could be argued that those who sit quietly and do nothing are making one of best possible contributions to a world in turmoil...it should be obvious that action without wisdom, without clear awareness of the world as it really is, can never improve anything.”
Alan Watts