Buddhist Meditation and Philosophy
Two transformative moments early in my journey
In my early twenties during my back-packing travels in Asia there were many defining moments that set me on my life’s path. I’ll share a couple with you here.
The first one, in 1987, I was in Thailand. It was day seven of my first ten-day silent group meditation retreat. We were in the meditation hall; the session was a 45-minute-long sitting practice. During the session I had a roller-coaster of experiences that included: boredom, frustration, anger, pain, jealousy, confusion, depression, peace, acceptance, and clarity. When the bell chimed to signal the end of the sit, I opened my eyes, and I realized two things:
Everything is impermanent. All thoughts, feelings, ideas, emotions – they come and go. They are always in flux. The sun moves in the sky and the day goes on, always changing, changing, changing. There is nothing that stays the same for even one second.
My experience comes from within me and not at me. The were no external events that made my thoughts and emotions go all over the place during those 45 minutes. It was purely an inner experience. I could not blame anything or anyone.
Then, two months later, I was wandering around the grounds of the Dalai Lama’s temple in Dharamsala, India. I noticed a small plaque over the door leading into the main shrine room. I remember standing there, looking up, reading and re-reading what it said:
“If you can, help others. If you can’t, at least don’t cause harm.”
So clear!
In that moment I felt that this covered everything I needed to know. But, it turned out, that advice is not as easy as it sounds to implement in real life! Haha! However, this essential guideline remains a daily aspiration.
It is very natural for me to infuse ideas and concepts from Buddhist thought and practice into my classes and teachings. I have absolutely no interest in converting anyone – a Christian concept, one that I grew up with. I am interested in sharing what is practical, what will stimulate your curiosity, tools to strengthen your mind, cultivate resilience, and grow your love.
“Compassion is the spiritual principle from which all other positive inner values emerge. We all appreciate in others the inner qualities of kindness, patience, tolerance, forgiveness and generosity, and in the same way we are all averse to displays of greed, malice, hatred and bigotry. So actively promoting the positive inner qualities of the human heart that arise from our core disposition toward compassion, and learning to combat our more destructive propensities, will be appreciated by all. And the first beneficiaries of such a strengthening of our inner values will, no doubt, be ourselves. Our inner lives are something we ignore at our own peril, and many of the greatest problems we face in today’s world are the result of such neglect.”
– The Dalai Lama, excerpt from Beyond Religion