Finding Our Middle Way

We must always find the right balance between work, play and study; also with our diet and taking care of our health. If we are too strict with ourselves, work too hard or play too much, there won’t be any balance. We can make ourselves sick with stress or become lazy from lack of structure and routine. If we diet too much, neglecting what our bodies need, we can become sick and malnourished.

Balance isn’t just about work, school, and play. It’s about finding time to spend with people too and balancing time among friends and family. Many of us are so busy with our own personal lives; we can easily forget to become more involved with people in our lives. It can be a quick “hello” and just let someone know that you’re thinking of them and hope they are well. To find a balance between caring for ourselves and caring for the wellbeing of others is also important.

Some people can be the opposite of that example. We sometimes care so much for other people, that we neglect ourselves and our own wellbeing. If we do not take care of ourselves, we may become ill and then we won’t be able to help other people who are dependent on us.

Everyone’s balance will be unique to themselves. Some people like to work too much, others like to have more fun. But, we all need a bit of both to find our own balance. Balance gives a happier and healthier life.

“Man sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. Then he is so anxious about the future that he doesn’t enjoy the present: the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.” – Dalai Lama XIV

Work and Mindfulness

Most people who work Monday to Friday have their weekends free to do other things and get a break from work. Last weekend, I worked a little bit on Sunday and tomorrow, I plan to do the same again. It made me start to think about work and mindfulness.

Most people have to work. Some people like their work and happily do it. Some people are content with their work, but rather have a dream job or a job that paid more. But, whatever the work that we currently have, we need to be content with it enough to do a good job and be mindful at the same time.Being mindful at work keeps me focused. Sometimes I am so consumed by my work that I lose track of time, or the opposite happens and time moves too slowly and I wait impatiently for 5 o’clock to come. Those moments are caused by living too much in the future, either wanting to get the work done or wishing it was over, rather than being “in the moment.”

Too many people work like this. Detached from the outside world, yet still very “connected”. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If permitted, a reminder for mindfulness can be placed at your workstation or desk. I keep a bamboo plant and Buddha statue at my desk, similar to the set-up in the photo above. (Photo credit: epSos.de)

My moments of mindfulness throughout the day come when I can look out the window at my desk. I am very fortunate to have my desk facing big windows, in a room shared by six other coworkers. After staring at a computer screen for most of the day, I enjoy to take a moment of mindfulness and look out the window. I see flocks of pigeons flying from building rooftop to rooftop, or over the church steeple to an apartment building. Seagulls fly by, and sometimes crows. It’s simple to watch these birds fly by, and is a reminder of a way of life outside a building divided by walls and doors, filled with cubicles, desks, chairs and computers. The birds have no concepts of “business”, “deadlines” and “client relations.” They are just birds. They do “bird things.” They fly, eat, sleep, and find company with other birds.

Bird – Seagull enjoying the sunset (Photo credit: blmiers2)

Finding moments to bring us back to the present moment in a world filled with expectations, due dates, requirements, conditions and rules helps to develop peace of mind. Wherever you work, find something to bring you back to the present moment. Whether it’s watching the customers at your restaurant eating and conversing, walking to the store or cafeteria to get your lunch, doing a task attentively, or taking a few moments to breathe while gazing out a window at work, we can all find moments to bring mindfulness into our daily work routine. Doing so may just create a happier mind that can take on whatever challenges may come up.

Mindfulness – A Break from “Mindless” Routine (Photo credit: RelaxingMusic)

Pause More, Think More, Love More

I believe as a society, we need to learn to be more compassionate and kind to others. But, as much as we may try, we will get frustrated and forget. That doesn’t mean we have failed; it just means that we must try again and with more effort than before.

I try to keep this in mind, but every so often, I forget and get caught up in a moment or emotion. We all do. A neighbour is too noisy, a driver in front of me doesn’t know how to drive properly, whatever it may be that day, and I get caught up in the feeling of how I am affected rather than how it may affect the other. In moments of stress, when we start to react instead of thinking things through slowly, we can return to our Buddha nature where nothing influences one way or another and we remain still, unaffected and can remain calm and ultimately contented. When we turn away from selfishness to selflessness, our ego diminishes and our concern for other increases.

We need to pause more, think more and love more.

Remember to return to yourself, Buddha nature, to find inner compassion and kindness for all. (Photo credit: Rocío Lara)

Ignorance, Emptiness and the Heart Sutra

My apologies for being on hiatus for these past few months or so. My fibromyalgia had taken over me and the winter was very harsh this year, causing me much pain. But, now that spring has arrived, it’s one time of the year when I start to feel better and can do things again. Here, I will try to continue my blog posts. My thanks to everyone who has come to visit although there haven’t been any new posts.

The XIV Dalai Lama: One of our most compassionate teachers of our modern time.

“Suffering is nothing but existence enslaved to ignorance.” – Dalai Lama XIV

In the Heart Sutra, there are listed twelve links of dependent origination:

1. Ignorance
2. Volitional Action
3. Consciousness
4. Name and Form
5. Sense Sources
6. Contact
7. Feelings
8. Attachment
9. Grasping
10. Becoming
11. Birth
12. Aging and Death

At the beginning there is “ignorance”. Ignorance can be considered a ‘root’ of all suffering. When ignorance is removed, there is enlightenment. When we see things as they are, and not how we perceive them or want them to be, we then see things as “empty”. Ignorance of knowing that things are empty of inherent existence causes strife.

The order listed above is the causal process of an unenlightened existence from Ignorance leading to Aging and Death. If this process is reversed from Aging and Death towards Ignorance it shows the causal process to cessation and towards an enlightened existence.

These causes show interdependence and that ignorance is the greatest barrier to remove to once and for all find enlightenment.

No matter how smart we may be with doctorates or Ph.D.’s or even street-smart, there is ignorance. We are all ignorant as infants, and as we grow we learn and become less ignorant about our surroundings. However, the fundamental nature of unenlightened existence remains. We hold deeply a sense of “I” and “mine” from the time we are children and it continues into adulthood. We perceive things as we see them, not as they really are. We project feelings of joy and resentment on things making them appear pleasant or disapproving. But those things are just as they are. The affect that they have on things can change our opinion about them, but they are all interdependent and come only into existence based upon those conditions.

Buddhism isn’t about becoming “indifferent”. It’s about realizing how we think, feel, act and react. We don’t need to become ascetics and renounce our comfort, but we shouldn’t become attached to them as a source of our happiness. It would be ignorant to think that the most expensive house on an exotic island or Beverly Hills would make us forever happy, because conditions will change, and new situations will arise and the feeling of the new house will diminish. You may still be happy in the house, but the happiness will come and go. The new house will never satisfy happiness forever. That is what ignorance does to us.

This is a short post, my first in a while, but I hope it is helpful.

I wish everyone a good weekend where ever you are.

Namaste.

Rethink Environmental Habits – Think Green

Many of us are thinking about our impact on the Earth. I have started to make a commitment to do more. In North America, many of our habits have had a negative effect on the environment and we have done these things for many years. Here is a list of some things that I will be changing in my daily routine in 2013:

– Switching to more Earth friendly household cleaners, such as “Green Works” by Clorox. Some other name-brand cleaners are switching to formulas that have no phthalates and/or parabens. I will be reading labels more closely.

– Switching to more natural shampoo, conditioners, soaps and even lotions. Although these are more expensive than those found in pharmacies and beauty store departments, they are more natural and have less toxins. I have done a lot of damage to my hair over the years, and with the endless amount of products, it hasn’t seemed to improve the quality of my hair. Maybe less is more, and more natural is best. Unfortunately, I just purchased a bottle of regular shampoo/conditioner, but when that is finished I will search for a more natural product, and I still have a bar of soap left, which I will buy a better alternative next time.

I might try this shampoo & conditioner next time.

– Switch to household items made of renewable materials. This can be kitchen utensils or hairbrushes made of bamboo, paper towels from recyclable paper/material, even dog toys that are from pet friendly recyclable resources (made from plastic bottles).

– Carrying reusable cloth bags wherever I go. This is a hard one for me to remember, because growing up plastic bags (free) were available everywhere. Liquor stores here now only offer paper bags, and almost everywhere else charges $0.05 a bag, but I still find myself saying ‘yes’ to plastic. Bad me. Solution: I’m going to buy those mini-foldable bags that can fit in a purse or pocket. It’s a new habit to form, without feeling like a “bag lady” wherever I go.

These may seem simple, but they are small steps to change habits and impact. We’re all creatures of habit and when we learn to do something a certain way and have been taught that way for months, even years, it’s difficult to form new habits overnight. But, with gentle reminders, notes, and persistent logic, we can change these habits for the better.

Namaste.

A Bodhisattva Prayer

I wish for all sentient beings may find happiness,
may all sentient beings find peace,
may all sentient beings be free from suffering;

I wish for all sentient beings find compassion for themselves and others,
may we work together to attain enlightenment,
change our ways of selfishness to selflessness;

I wish for loving-kindness, compassion, patience, and peace,
for all sentient beings near and far,
this is my bodhisattva prayer.

Metta has no limits.

Always Keep Beginner’s Mind

The idea that we should always maintain a “beginner’s mind” is something that we should always remember. No matter how much we think we know about something, if we think of ourselves as “experts”, we won’t think there is anything more that we could possibly learn.

For example, my husband started a job at a new place. He has been in the same type of industry for over 10 years. There’s not much to learn skill-wise, but he has developed a system of doing things that he feels works best. When he started the new job, he started to complain how they do things. I told him the philosophy of “beginner’s mind”. This new place has a system in place that they feel works, and I suggested that he learn that system too. Not only for keeping his job, but there may be new ways of doing things that he hasn’t thought of. Coming to a new place isn’t always about changing things or trying to make things better, it’s about learning and being open to the idea of learning new possibilities.

My job is different. Every day there are new things that come up and things I haven’t seen before. I must maintain a beginner’s mind in order to keep myself open and avoid becoming overly confident in my abilities of what I do know. If you think you know everything there is to know about something, why would you keep yourself open to anything else?

“If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything, it is open to everything. In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few. ” ― Shunryu Suzuki

Happy New Year!

From my family to yours and the universal Sangha, I wish everyone peace, compassion, loving kindness and good health for 2013.

May you achieve all your goals and continue the path to Enlightenment.

Gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā!
Gone gone, gone beyond, gone altogether beyond, O what an awakening, all hail!

All the best for 2013!

Happy 2013!

 

Resolutions for the New Year

Another year is almost over and it’s time to reflect on what we have done and what we will do in the next. Did you accomplish the goals you set for yourself in 2012? Did you try new things? Learn new things?

I’ve done a lot in the past year and a lot has happened. It’s been a very trying year for me and my husband. Diagnosed with fibromyalgia, my husband losing his job, my pug having a nose and ear infection, it’s been stressful. But, having read many Buddhist texts, these hardships do not decrease my happiness. My “needs” are met and much more, that such troubles do not decrease my contentment. My stability is tested, but I keep going.

Lately, I have been thinking what I want to do in the New Year. I want to contribute more to community and society. These past 10 or 15 years, I have thought mostly of myself and immediate family. I want to donate more money to worthy causes that are close to my beliefs and feelings, that I feel can make a difference. I want to re-establish communication with my family in Ukraine and learn more about my family history. I will continue to learn Ukrainian and perhaps become more involved in the Ukrainian community. I will continue to study Buddhism and commit to meditating more often. Throughout all these efforts, I will use loving compassion and kindness and the teachings of the dharma.

These are some of my plans for the New Year. However, things are very unsettled financially at the moment. Buddha has taught that we must take care of ourselves before we can take care of others. If we are not well then we are of little help to others; if we neglect our own wellbeing, we can’t properly care for others. I give myself two to three months to get settled and re-evaluate my financial situation and then begin to make contributions to my future and the futures of others. Ultimately in the New Year, we need to focus more on what we can do for others. That is my main goal for 2013. It may take several weeks before I can save up enough money to donate, but a little every day will add up.

The Dalai Lama has said (to paraphrase) that if you are to be selfish, be wise about it. Donating enough money in one year can be claimed on your taxes in the next year. It sounds smart and it helps other people and yourself in the end of the year. Although a tax break isn’t my reason for donating, but instead of acquiring more stuff that I don’t really need, I can donate it to worthy causes.

Wishing everyone a prosperous, healthy and happy New Year.

 

Happy New Year!

 

Remembering To Practice

Buddha (Photo credit: eschipul)

It’s been a rough couple of weeks. Remembering all that I have studied has brought me to the point in my spirituality where I am now. In samsara, we constantly get what we don’t want and don’t get what we do want. And when things go wrong or not the way we planned as we’re humming along our way, it’s hard to keep ourselves open to compassion.

I have found myself saying cruel words and feeling closed off to others. However, I know there are people who are in worse situations than I am at the moment. It’s exactly moments like this in life in which all the teachings of Buddha come to good use. It’s easy to cultivate compassion and tranquility when everything is going right, but when things go less than perfect, bam! Where’s the compassion then?

The journey isn’t perfected. It changes every day in our favour and sometimes against us. We must practice when times are good and even more when times are bad. We can’t be tested to see how strong we are until we face hardship. But, if we practice a little everyday, the journey will become easier.