Discernment of one's path takes time. We fall in love with what is new and positive, but without maturity we can't yet keep our feet on the ground. Practice helps us to meet the challenges of the conditioned mind and its narrow focus on comforts. In this issue of the Mountain Record we offer perspectives on the inner experience of discerning one's spiritual journey, be it through meditation, prayer, creative expression or an exploration of different means. Tibetan dharma teacher Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche speaks of discernment as wisdom arising naturally from our intrinsic nature-our buddha nature-which knows right from wrong, wholesome from unwholesome. Shugen Sensei describes the particular journey of a monastic discernment in the Mountains and Rivers Order as helping to clarify and reaffirm the Bodhisattva vows of all practitioners. Teresa of Avila explores the allegory of the interior castle as the practice of self-knowledge. And theologian Belden C. Lane takes us on the mountain trail with the mystical poet Rumi, who offers the heart coming fully to life as it yearns for the Beloved. Includes writing by the teachers of the Mountains and Rivers Order, Thanisarro, and Annie Dillard.
