Surrender? Let Go? Be?

“Regardless of time and place, the whole practice of Dhamma comes to completion at the place where there is nothing. It’s the place of surrender, of emptiness, of laying down the burden. This is the finish.” – Ajahn Chah

While the quote above is talking about a Buddhist practice, within the system of Reiki we also hear these kinds of statements more and more: surrender, let go, be. They have become catch phrases so to speak. Oh just surrender, oh just let go, oh just be. But is that really so easy? Of course not. When we practice the system of Reiki we need to be brutally honest with ourselves about what we are experiencing; else it just becomes another ego trip. We start to fool ourselves that we really do surrender, that we really have let go, that we really can just Be.

To really surrender means that we are in a state of emptiness, non-duality. Not clinging to any thought, with no attachments whatsoever. That is true surrender; it does not come easily, but can come with sustained practice. Not just saying in your mind, I am surrendering. That is merely an intellectual concept and not a direct experience. The intellectual concept of surrendering will not hold, will not lay bare that great bright light of overflowing energy of love and compassion. That can only start to happen when we truly surrender, when our whole mind and body are in that state of emptiness.

“If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace. If you let go completely, you will have complete peace.” – Ajahn Chah

This is the same for letting go. To truly let go we have to be in that state of emptiness, complete peace. Not just for one moment, but throughout our entire practice session, and eventually throughout our whole daily life, today!

“Letting go” means letting go of not only distressing and unpleasant things, but also every kind of fixed idea. We carry around so many fixed ideas such as “you” and “I,” “good” and “bad.” You made all of these fixed ideas, and as long as you cling to them, it’s impossible for you to become one with your true nature.”
– No River to Cross: Trusting the Enlightenment That’s Always Right Here by Zen Master Daehaeng.

Then what about just Be? Again that is the same; to really Be, we have to let go of our clinging to the past, present, and future, being in that state of emptiness, non-duality. That is the real state of to “just Be.” Thus when making these kinds of statements about surrender, letting go, and being, please check.

What do we have to check? We have to brutally and honestly check within ourselves to see if we are still clinging to certain outcomes, expectations, sensations, etc… Are we still clinging to certain hopes and fears? Are we still feeling the need for protection? Are we still occupied by something in our mind? Are we holding onto the idea of doing something, onto the idea of openness, of the need to connect or even the need to be interconnected? If so, then we are not truly surrendering, then we have not yet truly let go, and we are not truly being. We are holding on, we are still clinging onto something. But that is okay too; it’s not a reason to become frustrated or impatient in our practice or with ourselves. It is a process. All of this is just a sign that we need to continue, more often as we can, the meditation practices which Mikao Usui placed within his teachings.

Then one day we might be in that state of mind of complete surrender, complete let go, complete Be. And at that moment there is no need to say: “I am surrendering”, “I am letting go”, “I just Be”. Why? Because at that moment we have realized that there is no “I” at all. It is so simple and yet so complicated. Thus, the next time you hear a teacher make statements about surrendering, letting go or being, please check. And check yourself when you make these kinds of statements. Be honest with yourself. Because it is only through being honest with ourselves that we truly can lay bare these states of mind. The more we do this, the more we can stop reaching or striving for, talking about or trying to get to…surrender, let go, be. We can just be there, in the emptiness of non-duality.

Frans Stiene

Based in Holland, Frans Stiene teaches in North America, Europe, UK, Australia and Asia.
Frans is also the author of Reiki Insights, it is the continuation of his previous book The Inner Heart of Reiki, taking your personal practice and understanding of the system of Reiki yet another step deeper.

ihreiki.com/about/reiki_teachers/frans_stiene/