Buddhist Perspective of a contented life | Daily News

Buddhist Perspective of a contented life

The late Ven. K. Sri Dhammananda in his popular book “Leading a Buddhist Life,” says: “To know the purpose of life, you will first have to study the subject through your experience and insight. Then, you will discover for yourself the true meaning of life. Guidelines can be given, but you must create the necessary conditions for the arising of realization yourself. There are several prerequisites to the discovery of the purpose of life. First, you must understand the nature of man and the nature of life. Next, you keep your mind calm and peaceful. When these two conditions are met, the answer you seek will come like the gentle rain from the sky.”

Thinkers and seers over the ages have reminded us that the precious gift of having been born as a human should never be allowed to be thrown away or wasted. No other living creature has similar faculty of intelligence, analysis or discrimination. Even the Brahmas and Devas simply enjoy reaping the fruits of their positive kammas and when they are exhausted, will be born again in lower worlds and begin suffering again.

There is a classic story about this rarity in the Pali Canon: The Buddha was speaking to a group of monks. He said, “Monks, suppose that this great earth were totally covered with water and a man were to toss a yoke with a single hole into the water. A wind from the Westwould push it East; a wind from the East would push it West; a wind from the North would push it South; a wind from the South would push it North. And suppose a blind sea turtle were there. It would come to the surface only once every 100 years. Now what do you suppose the chances would be that a blind turtle, coming once to the surface every 100 years, would stick his neck into the yoke with a single hole?”

And the monks answered, “The chances would be extremely rare, Sir.” And the Buddha replied, “And just so, it is very rare that one attains the human state.”

That is the example the Buddha gave of how rare the chances are and how precious it is to be born as a human being. If this is so, we must ask ourselves this question: Are we taking care to live our lives in a way that honours this precious human birth and makes the best use of it?

But, are we always making the right moral choices? For instance, take a particular day. Yesterday? Any day, for that matter. How many times have you uttered like this: "My thoughts are driving me mad! My mind will not be quiet! I can't relax!" The mind is notoriously resistant to being quiet, so as soon as you sit still, it seems to do everything it can to distract you. Habitual thinking kicks in, and within a few minutes, an internal dialog takes over, the body starts to fidget and trivial things that need to be done suddenly appear vitally important. This is happening to most of us, every day of the year.

The mind has often been compared to a "drunken monkey bitten by a scorpion." Just as a monkey leaps from tree to tree, so the mind leaps from one drama to another, constantly distracted.

Anapanasati

Our minds are always filled with preoccupations, and we do not even realize it. But we can just let them go and bring the mind back to something we do want to focus on. This is a beginning, calming, waking-up step. But more important is to choose positive thoughts to focus on.

Anapanasati, the meditation on in-and-out breathing, is the first subject of meditation expounded by the Buddha in the Maha-satipatthana Sutta. The Buddha laid special stress on this meditation, for it is the gateway to enlightenment and Nibbana adopted by all the Buddhas of the past as the very basis for their attainment of Buddhahood.

The term anapanasati does not mean mindfulness established only on in and out breathing. Actually, it means mindfulness established on an object all the time with each in and out breath: Initially one establishes mindfulness on the breathing itself, then on different kinds of feeling, different states of mind, then the characteristic of impermanence... and finally on relinquishment, which is the ultimate objective of the practice.

The method of practicing anapanasati, as explained in the anapanasati-sutta of the MajjhimaNikaya, is complete in itself. One can understand and practice this method comparatively more easily than the methods found in other suttas.

Way out

Anapanasati Meditation can change your life. It will help you to deal with the madness and chaos that occurs to you daily. It will deal with the challenges of your life. It will shift your priorities, enable you to make friends with yourselves, and to find answers to your problems.

Lighten the load

In a stressed state, it is easy to lose touch with inner peace, compassion and kindness; in a relaxed state, your mind is clear and you can connect with a deeper sense of purpose and altruism. A time of quiet calmness in meditation is, therefore, the most effective remedy for a busy and overworked mind. Anytime you feel stress rising, heart closing, mind going into overwhelm, just bring your focus to your breathing and quietly repeat with each in- and out-breath: Breathing in, calm the body and mind; breathing out, smile.

Let Go

Stillness is always there between the thoughts, behind the story, beneath the noise. What keeps us from experiencing our natural state of being is the habitual and ego-dominated mind. Meditation enables us to see clearly, to witness our thoughts and behaviour and reduce self-involvement. Without such a practice of self-reflection there is no way of putting a brake on the ego’s demands. From being self-centred, we can become other-cantered, concerned about the welfare of all.

Dissolve anger and fear

We do not accept or release our negative feelings so easily; we are more likely to repress or disown them. But when denied they cause shame, depression, anger, and anxiety. Meditation invites you to openly meet them, and to see how selfishness, aversion and ignorance create endless dramas and fears. Beneath these is a quiet stillness where you can get to know yourself; this is a wonderful experience. Whether you practice for just ten minutes a day or longer does not matter. You are releasing your limitations, while opening to self-acceptance and awareness.

Awaken forgiveness

Forgiveness is the greatest gift you can give yourself and others. As you sit in meditation and watch your thoughts and feelings moving through you, so you can observe that who you are now is not who you were just a moment ago, let alone a day, a week, or a month ago. Who you, or someone else, was when pain was caused is not who you are now? When you experience your essential interconnectedness, you see how the ignorance of this creates separation and suffering, so that forgiveness for such ignorance arises spontaneously.

Be aware

Awareness is the key to spiritual awakening. Through awareness you can see your dazed mind and all its mischief. Almost everything we do is to achieve something: if we do this, then we will get that; if we do that, then this will happen. But in meditation you do it just to do it. There is no ulterior purpose other than to be here, in the present moment, without trying to get anywhere or achieve anything. You are just aware of whatever is happening, whether pleasant or unpleasant. No judgment, no right or wrong. Simply being aware.


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