Acceptance

Acceptance is accepting what is. True acceptance is accepting what is happening in the outer world and the inner world, accepting the situation and also the response happening in our inner space. When complete acceptance happens one gets established in true self and connects with life at a deep level.

There is a beautiful Zen story, once there was a great master, his disciple was also a great enlightened master called Suzuki, when his master passed away Suzuki started weeping and crying deeply. All the disciples surrounded him and asked ‘Master what is this, you are an enlightened being, how can you cry like this?’

Suzuki said ‘I don’t care about enlightenment, I can’t be insensitive to this situation, I am crying because I’ll miss his physical presence, of course I know he can’t leave me because in essence we had become one but that is different, I enjoyed his presence, his graceful actions, I’ll miss being around him. These kind of masters are rare happening and it’s amazing to be around them, I’ll miss it that is why I am crying’

One disciple asked ‘Then what about the teachings you have been giving us all these years, accept what is happening – acceptance, acceptance, acceptance, what happened to the teachings, have you taught us this without you yourself experiencing?

Suzuki beautifully explained’ There are two levels of acceptance. First, accepting whatever is happening outside i.e. accepting the situation and surrendering to this moment, to what is. But when that surrendering happens it does not mean that you have to be insensitive, it can create strong emotions in you, you have to accept that also, it is acceptance at the internal level, the second level of acceptance, the inner acceptance, is also important.’

Usually we try to accept the situation in the outer world, but we feel that if we accept the situation then we should be behaving peaceful, collected and calm. We do not work on the acceptance at the inner level, true acceptance is accepting the outer world and the response of the outer situation in the inner world. External acceptance is taught to us almost as a moral value, from childhood we are taught to accept and to be strong, and calm, but inside we struggle.

Suzuki said ‘I’ve accepted that the master has left the body, the same way I accept the response in my inner world – the pain, the suffering and the separation. When you accept whatever is happening in the outer and inner space then you unclench and relax in restful awareness.’

What Suzuki describes as relaxing in restful awareness can also be called surrender, surrendering to what is. Echart Tolle in his book The Power of Now says:

Surrender is the simple but profound wisdom of yielding to rather than opposing the flow of life. The only place where you can experience the flow of life is the Now, so to surrender is to accept the present moment unconditionally and without reservation.

Acceptance of ‘what is’ immediately frees you from mind identification and thus reconnects you with being.