138. In directing Eka to 'bring your mind here', Bodhidharma exemplifies the Zen master's use of upaya (skillful means) in teaching a disciple. Not only does he divert the desperate energy of Eka's search for peace of mind but he also undercuts Eka's motivating image of what he imagines peace of mind to be. If, like Eka, we are purposely looking for something we call 'peace of mind', we are in all likelihood looking for the wrong thing. So if it is peace of mind we really want we will need to let go of our preconceptions about what it is. Just pause for a moment and reflect on what the insurance industry and the financial institutions market as peace of mind. How immune are we to the images with which the market bombards us? We would do well to heed the advice of T.S. Eliot and search 'without hope,/ For hope would be hope for the wrong thing'.
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