“DD” The Carwash
(The Dhammapada) Those with a pure heart, and who seek the Way without ceasing, will find it. It is like cleaning glass until the dust is removed.
I like to wash the vehicles my wife and I drive. Almost every weekend, I take hers and mine to the local car wash and put it through the ringer. I first start by driving through the automated wash cycle, hand dry the exterior, and then finish the process with a vacuum and a detail of the interiors. Once the automated process is through and I’ve driven to where I can park to start the detailing process, the first thing I do is find the right microfiber towels and dry the exterior so no water stains are visible on the glass. Occasionally, I’ll bring glass cleaner with me to clean the back windows from inside because two of our dogs leave nose and lick marks. If I take the proper amount of time to clean each vehicle, from start to finish, not skipping any part of the process, it takes just about two hours from leaving our house to arriving back to complete the cleaning process. However, sometimes I don’t do a total detail because something else pulls me away from it.
To finish a total detail of each car I put my head down and work without ceasing, not letting distractions get in the way, and not answering any phone calls or interacting with any texts – it takes total focus on the task at hand to get a car clean from top to bottom in a reasonable amount of time. It’s easy to look at a mostly clean vehicle and reason with myself that I’ve done enough, but I can only reach this point if the glass from the inside and out doesn’t have water marks or dog smudges, time feels tight, and I forgot to bring glass cleaner.
It doesn’t take a pure heart to wash a car. It doesn’t take positive intention or a life of integrity to get dirt off windows. It only takes effort and attention to detail if the cleaning is going to be worth the time it takes to do so.
Just like washing a car and learning the best process for maximizing one’s time and energy, seeking the Way without ceasing requires a level of detail most miss, because most people don’t look for where smudges and dirt usually arise from, nor do they have the tools on-hand to clean properly. If you never look at the glass of your subjective reality, how can you not miss the need to start seeking the Way with a pure heart?
How do we acquire a pure heart?
A pure heart is not something you can buy or rent, it just so happens to be a destination one arrives at while experiencing the positive byproducts of surrender and forgiveness during the process to get there. You can start cleaning the glass of your life by letting go of believing you’re shame and guilt, by parting with your attachment to thoughts, feelings and emotions. You cannot have a pure heart which seeks the Way without ceasing, if you choose to hold onto the belief system of the mind telling you that because shame and guilt arise within your awareness, you are these things. You must be willing to let go of that belief system and surrender over the corresponding baggage to remember to bring glass cleaner with you to the car wash.