There are 16 steps to NATO Battle Procedure, which is used by leaders of the Canadian Armed Forces to prepare for an upcoming mission. Step 10 is to “complete your estimate and plan; deliver back brief.” In short this means that you are to consider all factors, develop different courses of action and choose the most desirable one, and tell your leader about it to get their blessing. It is Step 10 for a reason: the steps before it are necessary to feed into this estimate and to inform a proper outcome.
When I was in the Army, I found that Step 10 would always yield new insights if applied correctly. However, if it is applied incorrectly, no new insights are generated and the estimate will be incomplete or inaccurate. This is called “Situating the Estimate”. Situating the Estimate happens when the person holds on to their original assumptions or views, instead of being open to new information obtained in the various steps. As one might assume this is not ideal. I am guilty of doing this more than once!
I think that this is a great example of what many of us practitioners are guilty of. We situate the estimate of our practice. Whether it is an individual sit, a dharma class, a retreat, or the entirety of our practice, many of us will go into it with an outcome in mind. We come into the practice with expectations and are therefore closed off to the actual experience of practice. This is such a shame, because I find one of the best aspects of practice to be its illumination of the present, and what that actually entails. However, this requires a genuine openness, which precludes any preconceptions. To genuinely reap the benefits of continued practice, one needs to show up to the cushion and be ok with whatever happens; one needs to earnestly abandon attachment and aversion.
When I attended a 1000-Armed Chenrezi Wongkur this year, Lama Linda said to the group that the mantra for the deity is one that she has found “jumps around” and can be difficult to follow. It doesn’t necessarily flow as smoothly as other mantras, and can get jumbled. This is something that I have definitely found to be true, as I frequently find myself completely messing up the mantra; it’s actually kind of amusing when it happens! As I continue to practice with this energy, I can’t help but wonder if part of what this Deity is teaching me is to renew my focus, and not let my mind wander into the future thinking I know what the outcome will be? Could it be that it is jumbling around on purpose, in a way? Almost as if it has an agenda of its own. Or, could it more simply be a suggestion from the universe, through the teachings of the Tathagata, that an appreciation of what is currently happening is more wholesome and beneficial than thinking I know everything? That the present moment is more beneficial and wholesome than Situating the Estimate?
I therefore humbly submit that we could all take a lesson from NATO Battle Procedure, and make sure we are not Situating the Estimate! Isn’t it funny how, even within a process meant to enable people to defend and kill, one can walk away with wisdom?
- Bodhi
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