I just dug up an email I sent to friends a few years ago, thought it would be helpful to remember the words of a monk whose book once inspired me. You might appreciate them, too. Here they are.
Many things we consume in our daily lives are spiked to create addiction. Not only cigarettes, but TV, ice cream, pop music, mainstream news, etc. Everything that is ubiquitous is addictive.
The quality of your life depends on your relationship to wisdom. If you choose to live your life on the comic book level, pursuing material objects and immersing yourself in drama, your life will lack subtle refinement or poetry.
Aspire to go beyond the ordinary.
Although we all need to live our lives through our conditioned character, we don’t need to act like a character. Life is not a sitcom.
Examine your life carefully and sensitively. There are areas of your life that you avoid.
If you really want to resolve your problems, you must sit with them patiently until the solution reveals itself. If a solution doesn’t come, then it isn’t your problem and there is nothing you need to do.
Follow your gut feeling about what is right and do it! Do what you need to do with a willing heart and with all the energy you can muster.
Do the difficult and meet the challenge!
Patience is the most important element in “problem solving.” Action is next in importance. We usually get it backwards.
By continually putting yourself in the present, the future sorts itself out.
Focus on the big problems. Then, the small problems will sort themselves out.
Silence is a great asset. If you don’t have any in your life, be kind to yourself and create some. Silence is a form of mercy.
The best medicines are those that work gradually to restore the original balance of the body, such as herbs and homeopathic remedies. Medicines that are formulated to kill the problem end up overkilling it. Nature will not tolerate this type of problem solving, as it presents the same situation in another form.
Keep your body balanced and nourish it with healthy food.
Illness is more a warning than a problem. It is a signal that something is out of harmony.
Moderation and balance are a way to honor your life. On one hand, there is intoxication. On the other despair and depression. When you find the middle way, your life unexpectedly gets better.
Shocking but true: we are all going to die.
The less you take things personally, the more cool and at peace you will feel.
Be modest. Be content and grateful for whatever you have.
To get exactly what you need at precisely the right time, put yourself in a mindful and reflective state of mind. You will put yourself directly into the hands of the universe.
The way in which you do things is more important than what you do. The way we do anything is the way we do everything.
If you don’t do good, who will?
Can you be as happy when things are “just okay” as when life is “high”? If you can, you have passed the course.
Leave everything better than when you came upon it.
Be careful of overthinking. This can lead to total confusion.
Meditation is not just sitting on a cushion. Awareness of reality should be seamless, continuing on and off the cushion.
Future plans are built on banana peels. Cultivate an effort to do your best in the present without expectation. Be at peace with whatever comes up, whether it is cherries, oranges, or the big jackpot.
Remember: everything, yes everything, changes.
Unplug yourself from that which drains your heart.
Don’t feel stuck at red lights. Use them as opportunities for reflection. The red light is actually our ally. If life were all green lights, we would have run ourselves over the edge by now.
Peace means no trouble. Period. If you live peacefully, you don’t make trouble.
To connect to the present moment, take five deep breaths. Five deep breaths can take you out from under any heavy situation.
Five things to encourage awakening: 1) Don’t take things personally, 2) All situations are really lessons, 3) Be a student in every moment, 4) Exceed your patience barrier (i.e., feel the distress of impatience), 5) Listen to silence.
Subdue the fear of death until death is afraid of you. Fear of death is a cultural implant.
The harder you drive your life toward money and security, the harder it is to get enough of it. You can never get enough of what you don’t need.
Life is more about letting go than about grasping more and more.
(From Meeting the Monkey Halfway by Ajahn Sumano Bhikku. Edited, with minor changes, by Ron Elkayam.)
1 comment:
This is good.
Thank you.
Read with tears.
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