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ingridsummers"On a very basic level all beings think that they should be happy. When life becomes difficult or painful, we feel that something has gone wrong. According to the Buddhist teachings, difficulty is inevitable in human life. For one thing, we cannot escape the reality of death. But there are also the realities of aging, of illness, of not getting what we want, and of getting what we don’t want. These kinds of difficulties are facts of life. Even if you were the Buddha himself, if you were a fully enlightened person, you would experience death, illness, aging and sorrow with losing what you love. All these things would happen to you. If you got burned or cut, it would hurt.
But the Buddhist teachings also say that this is not what really causes us misery in our life. What causes misery is always trying to get away from the facts of life, always trying to avoid pain and seek happiness – this sense of ours that there could be lasting security and happiness available to us if we could only do the right thing.
It is so basic in us to think that things should go well for us, and that if we start to feel depressed, lonely, or inadequate, we think there’s been some kind of mistake or we’ve lost it. In reality, when you feel depressed, lonely or betrayed, or any unwanted feelings, this is an important moment on the spiritual path. This is when real transformation can take place."
I agree---these are moments when we are close to surrendering our desperate attachment to preferred patterns of being, allowing new experiences to come in.
Sometimes, though, if the sadness/fear is deep, it's hard to look away and refocus on the world around us. That's when the words and actions of others can help draw us out a little bit, just enough to see newer possibilities.
But the Buddhist teachings also say that this is not what really causes us misery in our life. What causes misery is always trying to get away from the facts of life, always trying to avoid pain and seek happiness – this sense of ours that there could be lasting security and happiness available to us if we could only do the right thing.
It is so basic in us to think that things should go well for us, and that if we start to feel depressed, lonely, or inadequate, we think there’s been some kind of mistake or we’ve lost it. In reality, when you feel depressed, lonely or betrayed, or any unwanted feelings, this is an important moment on the spiritual path. This is when real transformation can take place."
I agree---these are moments when we are close to surrendering our desperate attachment to preferred patterns of being, allowing new experiences to come in.
Sometimes, though, if the sadness/fear is deep, it's hard to look away and refocus on the world around us. That's when the words and actions of others can help draw us out a little bit, just enough to see newer possibilities.
