Common Sense & Linking the Chain

The phrase “common sense” often gets a bad rap – understandably so, since what might seem like common sense to someone, may be a perspective with which others disagree or find illogical. When we use the phrase “common sense”, ultimately we mean it literally – as in, a sense of commonality and universality – the sense of responsibility for the wellbeing of ourselves and others. 

As an ideal to strive for, “common sense” can also refer to a view or perspective that “makes sense” – a way to interpret our experience of life in a manner that is simple, grounded, and clear. In this context, “common sense” means having cultivated the capacity to discern with precision which types of actions of body, speech, and mind are appropriate for any given situation. 

“Common sense” also means what is most reasonable, most integral, and most functional. When we think about it, we recognize that what’s most sensible is actually what’s most practical – and what’s most practical is that which accords directly with reality. Therefore, we cannot claim to possess common sense unless we also understand the nature of reality in its entirety. Common sense is “the basic sanity of reality”, “the way things work”, or “the rules of the game of life”. Were we to master the rules, know the laws, and so on, we would be free and empowered to deliberately create or produce a truly wondrous life both for ourselves and others. 

The mark of an authentic teacher is someone who can gather a group of people together and direct the conversation in such a way as to highlight the commonalities that are present in the room. What sort of commonalities does such a leader reveal? Number one is the commonality of motive: when we wake up every day, do we wish to pursue the best possible experience of the day, or do we wish to pursue the most terrible experience? Even if we are a little lazy or half-assed about our effort, deep down we all still wish for the best – the maximum experience. By directing our attention to our commonalities, a real teacher can lead us toward the second question: how do we actually begin creating the experience of greater peace, greater freedom, greater connection, and greater clarity of purpose?

As we mature along the Path, we inevitably feel ourselves drawn to becoming a teacher – a natural and necessary part of the process. When the time is right, we will organically gravitate toward this role as a way to contribute directly to the harmony and clarity of our friends and our environment. As we approach this space, there is a threshold we all must cross that triggers the “arrogance dance,” as we call it. When we perceive our connection to others, and experience their pain as our own, we naturally feel compelled to offer helpful advice or even profound teachings – but we think that maybe we are arrogant or presumptuous for attempting to do so. Sometimes, the very people to whom we try to offer help are the ones who accuse us of being arrogant. Our initial heartfelt efforts are often misunderstood or dismissed, precisely because our friends and communities are accustomed to viewing us a certain way – as anything other than a teacher! 

There exist impressions or sentiments that a teacher is just supposed to be “a humble, supportive, and good person”, that “we are our own teachers”, and that “everything is our teacher” – these are examples of distorted perspectives that are proliferated wherever there is an absence of an authentic or legitimate spiritual lineage. In a healthy relationship with a lineage, there is “a negative tension” that results from the “energy build up” of working directly with our root teacher, like the drawing back of a bow and arrow – and an equalizing “positive tension” that results from the “energy release” of the distilled and organized ideas that we share with others in the form of teachings, pointers, essays, talks, and so on.

In a traditional context, giving a teaching is referred to as “turning the wheel” – not reinventing it! When we are really “plugged in” (to our spiritual line), teachings flow through us naturally and effortlessly – as a service both to our lineage and to those on the receiving end of the teachings. The more we plug in to our lineage, the more sensitive we become to our own needs and the needs of others on whom, as we often say, we depend for every conceivable thing, from food to language to love. The more sensitive we become to the needs of our students, friends, and communities, the more clearly we can discern what words and metaphors to use in order to “give a teaching”.

Authentic lineages are held together by a force akin to electricity. Our connection to the lineage becomes deeper through our commitment to service and the pursuit of clarity, and over time we become like a high-tech electrical apparatus designed to carry a high voltage electrical load. Mentors and the lineage holders demonstrate to us what “high voltage” means: the fully-integrated sense of commonality and responsibility, multiplied by the competence to act with maximum impact. Our precious mentors carry a certain “vibe”, a force that evokes admiration and inspires us to emulate them. This vibe that we feel when we meet real mentors is, in fact, the presence of the entire line of mentors who have been its stewards.

By cultivating the wish to help others – and the refined sensitivity and ability to do so – we ourselves step into the responsibility of stewardship, becoming new links through which the force of the lineage flows.