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Even when practicing the Dharmma, do you still get depressed from time to time?
dantepw
Veteran
Sometimes even though I keep up with the dharmma practice I still get depressed/anxious when some event which I wasn't really expecting happens.
Do you find yourself going through this or your able to still keep calm/peaceful even when some catastrophes goes on in your life?
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Sure.
Buddha is not a unicorn.
@lobster hahahahahahhahaha, that was pretty funny!
I don't think Dharma practice is meant to eliminate those things from our lives entirely. It is meant to give us tools to deal with them more appropriately and from a different perspective. I hesitate to use the terms because they have such strong attachment to psychological diagnoses. Saying "I am depressed" because I am sad about something temporarily seems (to me) to lessen the suffering of those who are diagnosed with depression disorders. I get anxious, yes. I get sad. I worry. Does my practice help me deal with those emotions and sensations? Absolutely.
It's unclear to me if you are using depressed and anxious as adjectives for relative moods or if you intend them to describe mental health conditions. I don't have depression or anxiety disorders though I do have schizophrenia. I do feel upset sometimes. For example I was upset the past few days because I wasn't hearing good out of one ear and was worried. Meditation was a resource for me then. But meditation did not make my hearing better and it did not erase my worry. It did occur to me though that even if both ears went bad I would still be able to meditate at least.
I do feel down from time to time when I have a good reason for it but I don't get depressed like I use to anymore. Depression and anxiety is real scary thing to say the least. Most of any stress clears away after practicing. Believe or not, in my case, physical stress clears up too and its almost magical. That is why I never skip practice, and I do try to do as much as possible. I thank to Buddha everyday for the merit I get. I thank Buddha for the life that I have now. I would never wanna go back for sure.
HEY! Leave Unikitty out of this! She gets pissed and sad too, you know..
I find the more skill you have in practicing, meditation practice in particular, the more calm you can stay when the poop hits the fan.
Lots of nice inputs here, guys, thanks
I find it difficult to practice when I'm feeling down, but I found it more difficult to not-practice because I feel even worse, if that makes sense, lol.
I think that everyone with a practice feels depressed at times.
Hi Dante! Hope you are feeling better.
To be brutally honest, I think some people here will disagree. I think it's perfectly fine to have these unwholesome feelings come up.
Some people have this idea that Buddhism will create only blissful and peaceful permanent states but i disagree with this.
Often I'm finding the deeper I go into truth the more turbulence it can cause and bad feelings arise. If teachers hadn't told me that this is a GOOD sign I'd probably run away and go do yoga.
It's like a drug addict, sure the drug makes you feel great. So you chase the feeling of bliss. Same in some spiritual practices/meditation. People tend to chase bliss and reject painful emotions.
However the Buddha said that this is the cause of suffering. Rejecting depressive thoughts and chasing bliss.
The truth about being a drug addict can hurt to begin with but you work through it. Then it will never trap you again.
Same on this path. You can go pretty deep and heaps of "Sankharas" or "Latent tendencies" surface.
If you push them or suppress then it only fuels it.
I always try and remember that everything is already one reality, good and bad or only our beliefs. Not necessarily Truth.
With metta
Yes, yes, and yes. Welcome to Life 101. The key is to get back up from the muck and keep on going. It is just that simple and just that hard.
Peace to all
@dantepw
From a meditative zen perspective...
If one sees...
formal meditation as a practice of allowing all of the data from what we see, hear, smell, taste, feel or think, to have an unmolested journey past our habituated impulses to control that data, then it's not the actual visitation of
depression/anxiousness/calmness or peacefulness that defines a practice so much as how little we try to direct their comings and goings.
Many moons ago depression and anxiety more often than not had their way with me, dragging me to illusion's dark places that at the time "I" felt was so 'real'...
Since practising the Dharma (in the holistic sense -meditation-metta-etc) over the years I have reached a point where"I" no longer attach to feelings such as depression and or anxiety...
I've found (well for this psycho-physical phenomenon I call my self that is) the practice of being mindful not just at cushion time-but throughout the day (each and every day) allowed an awareness to evolve, one that is constantly questioning the input of "I"s involvement as events unfold...
It's still a work in progress "I" might add, but practice makes perfect so they say
However some people are more prone to bouts of depression and or anxiety than others...
So when it comes to still going through bouts of depression or anxiety when practising the Dharma ... OMMV (One's Mileage May Vary)
I think what @karasti said holds true for many practitioners "I get anxious, yes. I get sad. I worry. Does my practice help me deal with those emotions and sensations? Absolutely."
Practice Makes Perfect (and one's perfection may vary)
Yes, but I find I'm more able to implement the 'viewer watching a movie' attitude.
I am not my moods.
"Thanks for popping by, you dickwad. I'll give you house-room while I sit and watch you create the hoops you try to make me go through. After a while, either I'll get tired of it, or you will. Either way, you'll bugger off. Until then, do your worst. It will be fun watching you try...."
Being at peace doesn't mean never feeling conflicting or difficult emotions. It means being able to maintain a steady state of mind no matter what feelings are roiling. Sometimes we think that if we have a feeling, that gives us permission to do or say whatever. As most people know, grief (for example, as something my family is dealing with) can bring out the ugliest behaviors in even the best people. Going through feelings, experiencing them doesn't have to mean acting out, it doesn't have to be a carte blanche to behave like a douche canoe. But a lot of people think it is. Even when my feelings are going crazy, I can experience them and evaluate them and work through them with a calm sense of mind rather than a chaotic, crazy, running all over mind. My practice has helped maintain that, but too many people try to practice when the poo hits the fan rather than practice when it's easy so you have that to rely on when you need it. My practice enables me to act out of love and compassion much more than simply acting out of fear and anger and sadness (or whatever). That doesn't mean I don't get angry. It just means I know better how and when to act on it.
@karasti says, " My practice has helped maintain that, but too many people try to practice when the poo hits the fan rather than practice when it's easy so you have that to rely on when you need it."
Excellent point. Keep on practicing the mindfulness and/or meditation, folks.
p.s. It helps to have a partner in crime - online or IRL.
Yes definitely!
No one is perfect we all have our ups and down. But it definitely has been a lot less intense following the philosophy.
@silver Indeed! Having a friend who is a practitioner as well would be awesome, I should start looking around.
Conflicted emotions are less likely to arise if one is undergoing a lot of cushion time, taking tranquilisers or unconcious. Cushion time is the skilful option, unless one is using it as an emotional dampener, bliss generator or other drug substitute.
This is why meditation is an on going exploration, rather than a relaxation, excitation or other interference strategy.
The Christian mystics say
Be still, and know that I am God
In dharma we leave samsara, which means in part 'wandering through'. The dukkha is there, is present but we do not cling to its misery or its passing. Easier said than done in every arising of strong feelings and life events ...
Yes, it's clear from the Second Noble Truth that craving and aversion are the cause of suffering, so wanting and not wanting are the problem. This suggests that the answer is developing acceptance and equanimity. I find it helpful to reflect that suffering too is impermanent.
I prefer "letting it go" over "letting go." As our supply of those pesky "its" begins to exhaust itself then asking "are we there yet" is no longer so important.
@dantepw In a nutshell, it would seem the simple answer to your question is Different strokes for different folks (depending on where one's at on the path......)
When using the term 'depressed' some might see it as just feeling blue ( feeling a bit down in the dumps ) which for most of us healthy minded people (of which I'm now part of) is no big deal, we know that the feeling will soon pass...I think that this is what others mean when they mention things like "We 'all' feel depressed/have our ups and downs at times"
But if one is suffering from 'clinical' depression (and or clinical anxiety) then that a whole different story....One will most probably need professional help to get on top of it first, then perhaps the tools of meditation/Dharma practice to help keep things in check....
On a more personal level.....
The deeper "I" delved into what is self (self assessment -of 'Anatta' ) the more I was able to gradually detach from the illusion of the sense of a more permanently abiding self and in doing so I'm finding a sense of freedom from attachment/no longer making up stories to feed/prolong the feelings that arise from contact with the sense doors that once reinforced the strong sense of self...
Thus I have heard "Pain (mental & physical) is inevitable! Suffering is optional ! "
And so in order to do this......
Well that's the plan....I'm sure @lobster would approve
@Shoshin great insights, dude! I really agree with it. I think the "feeling blue" fits better the case I wanted to express