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Buddhism in the "Now"
I have a few questions. First, I've been studying buddhism for a few years now and a few quesitons seem to be lurking. First, the idea of the now. When we live in the now and that is the point, how do we plan for the future?
Also, the idea of suffering. In buddhism they talk about how attaching yourself to things brings suffering. My question is, is there are things I want to attach myself too. I know that they might bring sadness in the future but I don't care.
Can you clarify these two things for me?
Also, the idea of suffering. In buddhism they talk about how attaching yourself to things brings suffering. My question is, is there are things I want to attach myself too. I know that they might bring sadness in the future but I don't care.
Can you clarify these two things for me?
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but asserting that...we prepare for the future in this moment.
so if i have bills to pay, i pay them now. i also become aware of the fact that i have to pay for bills now. i am also thinking about the bills and thinking about planning about taking care of the bills now.
if you don't attach to the outcomes of your clinging, then that is non attachment.
if that were truly the case, then wouldn't you of not attached to begin with?
imo having desires but not caring about the outcomes brings huge amount of detachment and indifference (in the negative sense).
i think its very important that we suffer because we cling. that is our teacher. how else are we supposed to learn anything? we learn from our suffering. our suffering becomes the basis for our compassion towards ourselves and others. in our compassion we let go because we see clearly (wisdom) into the functions of suffering/clinging/ignorance.
I really wish to have this clarified.
And what about the present? As soon as we say one moment is the present it is gone.
Since the past, present, and future are all assigned in relation to eachother that means that they are dependently arisen. Which means that 'future' has no quality in itself, rather it is just a point defined in relation to other points.
Here's something I read:
If you are depressed you are stuck on the past
If you are anxious you are stuck on the future
If you are at peace you are resting in the present (in touch with what is here)
The whole reason to notice the ego is thinking is because we don't control those eight things (pleasure pain etc). So if we get obsessed with those things we suffer.
This doesn't mean we don't try to create works of art, raise children, run businesses.
It means that if you are obsessive of your car and it gets a scratch you freak out. But buddhism teaches you to let go and accept what happens.
Force is never used to let go. Rather clear vision that the car is impermanent leads you to the wisdom to let the car go.
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Another use of ego is to mean pride. Almost the same thing.
"Jeff, I like that point. By the time I write this sentence the present is gone. I get it. Okay, so I understand that the present is now. How do I plan for the future when I must live in the present. Not only that, with the logic you gave how do I ever not live in the present. For example, if the present is now even though I am thinking about the future, I am thinking about the future in the present moment. I don't understand the idea of living in the present when I need to set goals and plan for the future."
Its no problem to plan for the future but we are not 'lost' in the future. We know we are planning for the future rather than 'lost' in thought. Its kind of like another relaxation. We plan but we don't get neurotic and afraid. We know the future has surprises
Okay, so what that means to me is not trying to control the reprocutions of your actions. Just let things happen. Is that correct?
I've experienced this with losing people and you feel very intense but the feeling burns bright in you rather than being against the feeling and saying 'it is not ok'..
We have tapes in our head that tell us things are not ok. Its good because we want to be happy and that is good. But the buddhist medicine is to know that those tapes are just thinking.
In a sense you have more control because your thoughts control you. And buddhist
practices to have peace. Thus the thoughts are not in control. By thought I mean thought worlds like a depression or something. A depression is made up of passing thoughts and feelings. It isn't true reality it is just clouds in the sky. And they won't be there forever
My answer to your last question regarding ego & essence and living a peaceful life v's being in the music/being in love, is that you appear to assume we have multiple personalities. I'd say this isnt true. There is only the one "you", listening and loving the music, experiencing those feelings, and at the same time taking note of that experience. I'd say use your awareness of your feelings of love and challenge yourself to increase that experience, to feel every single part of it, to let it grow and expand until all of your awareness is completely filled with it.
The non-attachment comes when the music stops. Rather than living a life of misery until the next concert, simply step out of the show and love the very next part of life that hits you. Love walking back to your car. Love saying goodbye to a dying friend. Love seeing a pretty girl walk by. Love cleaning the toilet.
To me one of the main points of observing your feelings in every moment is to recognise old habits and to change them.
the body and mind. in just watching with mindfulness we are being present.
all experience arises within our subjectivity. to watch such experiences is to practice.
you say the word being. that is very important. when there is just being, is there a problem?
but none of it is mine. none of it is graspable. none of it stays. just sitting in zazen i realize the peace that is always here even while the storms come and go.
the peace or contentment is about relationship. to be okay with pain, to be okay with love. to accept it all unconditionally. it isn't something you do, but rather you be with it all. you don't push/pull. you just let it be. you let it run its course. thus in zazen all is okay and all is welcomed. this is right practice.
but of course we want the good and shun the bad. but the more and more we practice, we can honestly welcome it all. for they are all teachers.
The goal is not to remove sensation, such as having no taste buds or numbing the feeling. Rather, as we become more alert, we taste what is in front of us more directly. If you are thinking of dessert, you don't taste the broccoli as well. If you're thinking about sex, you don't taste dessert. If you're thinking about sleep, you don't feel the sex. If you're dreaming about broccoli... well, who dreams about broccoli?
The point is that when we let go of the forward momentum of our thoughts, recognize they pull us away from being alert in the now, we see more clearly and really begin to taste our food. Pain still happens, then fades. Music happens, then fades. We don't have to hang onto them, as the beauty of love, as you put it, is flowing through us at all times. We only need to let our mind settle so we have the space to experience it.
So, you live in the Now, but in the sense that you extract every ounce of juice out of the now. It's like the old saying "Live every day as if it is your last, but as if you are going to live forever".
So you buy life insurance/medical insurance, but you don't worry about it. I was reading that many people in Britain do not have a will, which potentially causes great suffering to their loved ones if they die. Why do they avoid making wills? Well British people are scared to contemplate their own death, so they prefer to live in denial. That's not living in the present and being aware of the Now: it is fear of the future. And as a result of that fear, they fail to take the compassionate step of making a will, should the worst happen.
There is a difference between not fearing the future, and living in it. The future is unknowable, so there is no point in worrying about it or imagining how it will be. We shouldn't let our imaginations run away with us. But that does not mean we pretend the future isn't going to happen. We plan, we make sensible preparations, but the rest we don't worry about.
Same as the past. We'd be idiots if we neglected the past and refused to learn from it. Mistakes can be useful learning tools for the future, and guilt can motivate us to do better next time, or to make amends for wrong doing. What we don't do is live in the past, living with regrets and nostalgia, saying what might have been... that too is letting our imaginations run away with us.
The key is acceptance: we accept what went before, learning as much as we can from it but not dwelling on it; we accept what will be, acknowledging that we can never really know how it will be or how we'd react to events. We accept that what is, is. If we can change it, good, if not, then we accept.
But most of all, this present moment has so many riches which we'd miss if we were living in the past or the future. Worries and regrets have their place, but we must never give them centre stage in our lives because Now is the time where we live.