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Change is Inevitable ...(Levels of) Suffering Optional
Shoshin1
Sentient BeingOceania Veteran
The world as we know it is shifting from an old comfort-zone illusion into a more challenging one.
Dharma practice remains the same, flowing with change as it always has.
The world is changing in unsettling ways.
Dharma practice is not shaken by the change.
Dharma practice is designed for times like these.
Just some food for thought to ponder...
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Comments
I am doing my changeable blogging here (early days)
https://wafrn.net/
As well as food for thought, I find thought for food...
https://brainwisemind.com/how-to-absorb-spiritual-energy/
It’s curious how despite frequent reminders we still get caught out by the desire for permanency, for cozy habits in a place where nothing changes. We had several very mild winters here, and were a little caught out by a foot of snow and ten freezing days during which we had to go and collect food shopping on foot.
It is our desire for happiness and permanency that IS the major cause or our discontent.
Buddhism is not about becoming "happy" but about learning to relax and accept life AS it IS. And the more you drop your agendas, the more you start to become aware of the richness and vibrancy of each moment of Life. You begin to smile more, and start to become curious and observant.
You also begin to be aware that just like you, all beings wish to be happy and not have any unhappiness. And this awareness gives rise to a sense of kinship with all, generating both ease and compassion .. and eradicating our sense of isolation from others and from Life.
And when bad things happen, you relax anyway, since tensing up only makes pain feel stronger. You remind yourself of the First Noble Truth and the humor of thinking we are the ONLY person alive who is exempt from any suffering. And then we relax, knowing that even THIS ... too ... will pass. Nothing is permanent, and what is bothering us will not last.
In one of the beginning classes the local Lama gave (back in the year 2000) told us he was going to give us a Very Important Mantra ... one that would work for ALL situations. The entire class held their breath and learned forward in rapt anticipation. The Lama then shrugged his shoulders, raised his palms up, smiled and said, "What's the Big Deal?) and laughed.
Since 95% of how we feel arises automatically from whatever kinds of subconscious emotional patterns we have previously fed INTO our brain, happiness really IS a state of mind, and as such it will come only from within.
When we make a "big deal" out of something we will feel a "big deal".
“It isn't the things that happen to us in our lives that cause us to suffer, it's how we relate to the things that happen to us that causes us to suffer.” Pema Chödrön
Buddhism ends up being a way to change all reaction patterns, gaining freedom from both desires and aversions, even as they continue to stream out of our alive living brain in endless flows. There may yet be MORE to this slow progression, but even after 25 years I am not yet enlightened enough to know if there IS more.
That's the wonderful thing about Buddhism .. it is a lasting journey into discovery and increasing improvement .. and who KNOWS where it will end up .. until you end up there?
@FoibleFull
Well said Can-Canada (A European Monarchy and Commoners wealth - soon to be rebranded)
Long live the moose's of Native Americana-Duh!
Vive Le Canada
True. We spend so much energy trying to fix the world back into that old 'comfort-zone' version, but that ship has sailed. Realizing the practice is actually built for the chaos, not just for the quiet moments, makes it feel a lot more like a survival skill than just a philosophy
For those suffering with anxiety (1in 5 people in the UK and rising)
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/mar/16/i-couldnt-stop-worrying-until-i-learned-about-the-630pm-rule
The mind is the cruise ship . The body is the anchor. Awareness is the captain .
Change is a never ending process.
With it is the choice. It is not a choice of rejection or acceptance.
The choice is to grow, learn, awaken
Or to walk in darkness
The choice to embrace life or to suffer in the darkness of ignorance
The choice to live or to merely exist
The choice to embrace and celebrate this which we call life.
Ther are those who would have us surrender, to stumble , to give up the power we each possess.
"I know and you don't"
"I only can save you"
"Trust me, not yourself or others"
Your choice - to empower yourself or to surrender your power to another
Your freedom - to grow, to embrace life in all it's complexity, to celebrate your life and all life to take responsibility for your life. To grow to love yourself that you may love others. To see all life as treasures. To honor your life and to equally honor others.
To recognize change as opportunity and celebrate.
Peace to all