“One must imagine Sisyphus happy.” So ends Albert Camus’ famous essay, The Myth of Sisyphus. Camus sees the myth of Sisyphus as a parable about the absurdity of life and how even in the face of drudgery we must all decide that life is worth living and carry on. I agree with Camus on this point, yet we might ask,
“The main practice involves carrying a heavy stone up a mountain and throwing it down, only to walk back down and pick it up again.” - sounds a lot like modern weightlifting, which we do, like everything else, to pass the time and generate the feeling that we are satisfying some natural urge.
Indeed, and that could very well be the case, sublimating physical and or psychological urges into something more conducive to cultivation.
We can also see it as a way of keeping the body strong and healthy as a support for practice with the physical body seen as a foundation for spiritual practice vs systems which view the body as an impediment to realization.
Not to mention that Qiu Chuji was over 73 years when he made his long trek. Not to mention also that he declined Genghis Khan's invitation twice, before he finally relented and commenced the long walk. There are plaques commemorating this at Taiqing Gong in Laoshan. Thank you for giving us more of Qiu Chuji's wisdom here. 🙏
“The main practice involves carrying a heavy stone up a mountain and throwing it down, only to walk back down and pick it up again.” - sounds a lot like modern weightlifting, which we do, like everything else, to pass the time and generate the feeling that we are satisfying some natural urge.
Indeed, and that could very well be the case, sublimating physical and or psychological urges into something more conducive to cultivation.
We can also see it as a way of keeping the body strong and healthy as a support for practice with the physical body seen as a foundation for spiritual practice vs systems which view the body as an impediment to realization.
Not to mention that Qiu Chuji was over 73 years when he made his long trek. Not to mention also that he declined Genghis Khan's invitation twice, before he finally relented and commenced the long walk. There are plaques commemorating this at Taiqing Gong in Laoshan. Thank you for giving us more of Qiu Chuji's wisdom here. 🙏