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Thoughts and impressions on applying Buddhist principles in daily life, and modern applications of Buddhist concepts.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Establishing my True Self
In the past month I've experienced a dramatic transformation in my life. It's not that I've lost the weight I want to lose, or have bought new clothes, or changed my hairstyle. Rather, I've had a dramatic change of attitude about myself and my life.
I tend to be a very busy person; I've had about a dozen things on the go for the past few years, which has led me to feel burnt out, drained, cranky and generally discouraged.
But as a Buddhist, I came to realize that this negativity was in fact the opposite of what I was trying to develop in my life. In Buddhism, the goal of faith and practice is to raise our life condition, to strengthen our lifeforce to fulfill our goals, our mission and purpose in life. While part of this practice is about taking action for others, that action must be based on a positive life condition--one of compassion and understanding--not negativity manifested as feeling tired, weary, discouraged, doubtful and unhappy.
It occurred to me that if I were to continue all my volunteer activities--on top of my professional work--with this kind of attitude, my spirit would eventually be crushed by the weight of my negativity. No matter what good I was doing, if I did it begrudgingly out of obligation instead of genuine care for others, my efforts would be in vain. Some way, somehow, everything would fall apart and I'd have wasted all the effort.
I realized that to make the most good, I had to start from a good place, a positive perspective, a hopeful foundation. I had to change my attitude.
This realization came to me after a senior in faith, Tony Meers, general director of SGI Canada, said in a study session that we are experiencing our Buddhahood, our "true self" when we aren't feeling discouraged, disempowered, doubtful and hopeless. When we feel empowered, encouraged, hopeful and confident about who we are and the purpose of our actions--that's when we are experiencing our true self of Buddhahood.
It seems simplistic, but it made so much sense to me. I had heard similar guidance before, but it never had as much impact and relevance as it did when I heard it earlier this month. Hearing what he said made me realize that I had to change my attitude to make the most of my time and effort for valuable, community-building, socially-conscious activities. If I am able to maintain this attitude throughout my daily existence, I am then revealing my true self--my Buddha nature--and all the benefits of that state of life will manifest itself.
It may seem hard to believe that simply by changing my attitude can make any different, but it has. The past month, I've had this endless amount of confidence and the energy to get things done. Despite being physically tired, I can nevertheless work and stay focused and keep working until the task is done. I'm far more efficient with my time, am able to manage my time better, and waste far less time procrastinating than I used to. It's as if all the energy I wasted on my negativity has recharged me to the point I'm like the Energizer bunny.
The key has been my constant Buddhist practice of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. And it's not just the time I spend chanting, but the quality of my time doing it. I'm more focused in what I want and that focus has given me so many wonderful opportunities at work, in my volunteer activities and everything else I do.
There is a saying that Buddhism is "win or lose." You either win against your negativity or you lose. Before, it didn't seem like a "big deal" because there is always tomorrow to make things better, and I'm not doing "that bad today." But if you become focused, you have no choice but to win against your negativity because otherwise you'll fail in what you need to do.
In the past month I've experienced a dramatic transformation in my life. It's not that I've lost the weight I want to lose, or have bought new clothes, or changed my hairstyle. Rather, I've had a dramatic change of attitude about myself and my life.
I tend to be a very busy person; I've had about a dozen things on the go for the past few years, which has led me to feel burnt out, drained, cranky and generally discouraged.
But as a Buddhist, I came to realize that this negativity was in fact the opposite of what I was trying to develop in my life. In Buddhism, the goal of faith and practice is to raise our life condition, to strengthen our lifeforce to fulfill our goals, our mission and purpose in life. While part of this practice is about taking action for others, that action must be based on a positive life condition--one of compassion and understanding--not negativity manifested as feeling tired, weary, discouraged, doubtful and unhappy.
It occurred to me that if I were to continue all my volunteer activities--on top of my professional work--with this kind of attitude, my spirit would eventually be crushed by the weight of my negativity. No matter what good I was doing, if I did it begrudgingly out of obligation instead of genuine care for others, my efforts would be in vain. Some way, somehow, everything would fall apart and I'd have wasted all the effort.
I realized that to make the most good, I had to start from a good place, a positive perspective, a hopeful foundation. I had to change my attitude.
This realization came to me after a senior in faith, Tony Meers, general director of SGI Canada, said in a study session that we are experiencing our Buddhahood, our "true self" when we aren't feeling discouraged, disempowered, doubtful and hopeless. When we feel empowered, encouraged, hopeful and confident about who we are and the purpose of our actions--that's when we are experiencing our true self of Buddhahood.
It seems simplistic, but it made so much sense to me. I had heard similar guidance before, but it never had as much impact and relevance as it did when I heard it earlier this month. Hearing what he said made me realize that I had to change my attitude to make the most of my time and effort for valuable, community-building, socially-conscious activities. If I am able to maintain this attitude throughout my daily existence, I am then revealing my true self--my Buddha nature--and all the benefits of that state of life will manifest itself.
It may seem hard to believe that simply by changing my attitude can make any different, but it has. The past month, I've had this endless amount of confidence and the energy to get things done. Despite being physically tired, I can nevertheless work and stay focused and keep working until the task is done. I'm far more efficient with my time, am able to manage my time better, and waste far less time procrastinating than I used to. It's as if all the energy I wasted on my negativity has recharged me to the point I'm like the Energizer bunny.
The key has been my constant Buddhist practice of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. And it's not just the time I spend chanting, but the quality of my time doing it. I'm more focused in what I want and that focus has given me so many wonderful opportunities at work, in my volunteer activities and everything else I do.
There is a saying that Buddhism is "win or lose." You either win against your negativity or you lose. Before, it didn't seem like a "big deal" because there is always tomorrow to make things better, and I'm not doing "that bad today." But if you become focused, you have no choice but to win against your negativity because otherwise you'll fail in what you need to do.
