Simplicity is Hard Work

In an old essay Sangharakshita takled about the firm, diligent effort required to live a so-called simple life. My experience seems to confirm that.

Sometimes the simple life is expressed as a life where a person doesn't do very much. I've found that when I've tried to employ that attitude the result has been less than satisfactory. Things that need attention can get left aside, which will more often than not lead to a later unnecessary complication.

I think the living of a simple life, like the Buddhist path in general, is a process-not a goal. It's less a matter of freeing-up time than it is a wise use of the time and talents we have.

To put this idea to the test I've stripped my practice of ethics down to a daily reflection on two questions: How can I be more useful? How can I be more mindful?

These questions form the essence of my practice, at the present time.

Return to the Blog

I'm finally back, after a particularly busy few weeks. Life constantly rearranges itself, though, and I now have some time to practice my typing once again.

I'm now serving on the board of the Northwest Dharma association. This has been great fun, so far. I'm particularly enjoying the opportunity to meet with a wide variety of practitioners from assorted backgrounds and traditions. Interesting people, all.

In September I'm off to Nepal to do some volunteer work in a hospital there. I'll need to save the details of that for another post.

A week in the Dominican Republic has left me rested and reasonably relaxed and I hope to direct more effort toward developing thise skills.

Perpetual Organization

Because my job is a little unusual, involving a lot of travel and odd hours, I'm constantly arranging and re-arranging my weekly schedule. This week I'll be on the road Wednesday through Friday or Saturday. So, I have to plan my life accordingly.

When I first started doing this I thought (and still think) it was a great opportunity to consolidate and simplify my material possessions. I thought I could live more simply by making the clothes I own, some personal items etc, more portable and more manageable. Well, the opposite has been the result.

I actually found that doubling everything led to a more simple way of living; that if I had one pile of stuff for home and another for travel, that things would be much easier to organize. So that's what I've done. I now have twice as many clothes, two shavers, two toothbrushes and so on.

This has proven to be a much simpler way of operating. So, I still think that living a 'simple life'
is mostly concerned with living a morally unambiguous life, however that works out. It doesn't
automically mean just reducing material posessions.
.

Mindfulness at Work

Same old theme this last week; Slow Down!

I sometimes get in a rush at work, which does nothing but reduce my efficiency and creates the possibility of making a mistake. Most of the time I manage to be at least nominally aware of what I'm doing but if I let the momentum of the situation take over then I can get into trouble.

Patience with my self, then is the latest emphasis. I sometimes get impatient with other people, too. I suppose that As I develop patience for myself (or, rather, let go of impatience) this other thing will take care of itself.

I think that sometimes we spend a great deal of psychologizing when all we really need to do is meditate. Moving beyond our hangups is ofter easier and more effective that trying to figure them all out.

More Meditation Musings

Every time I seem to 'get' where my meditation practice is leading me I become aware that I can't talk about it very much. This seems to be a pattern in my meditation practice. There is an aspect of secrecy or intimacy or something that makes it difficult to communicate in a general sense.

I think intimacy is probably the best word to use. In that sense it's not very different than lovemaking with a close partner, to use a more worldly example. If I share the experience with the world (just verbally!) it reduces the intrinsic value of the experience, and leads to a reduction in the sense of depth and intimacy.

Make sense? Beats me...

Dalai Lama

Yesterday I attended a panel discussion about the subject of compassion. The distuinguished included His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Joan Halifax Roshi, and several other contemporary spiritual leaders from a variety of faiths. It was one of the most inspiring events I've ever attended. I learned a great deal, not so much by the discussion itself, but more by the demeanor and sincerity of the panelists, many of whom have suffered a great deal more than I likely ever will. Nevertheless, these amazing people managed to keep a sense of humor and generate a level of compassion and caring that those who have suffered less (including your's truly). So now I really have no excuse!

Between the morning and afternoon panel discussions a gigantic orchestra and choir of about 600 members were led by conductor Gerard Schwarz in a rousing rendition of Beethoven's, Ode to Joy. It was a most fitting choice given the tone of the discussions and the general attitude of those in attendence.

Meditation and intention

There's been a lot of discussion around the idea of intention at our center lately. A recent duscussion emplasized that acting with intention is really the only thing we can do, and expect any success. We can't predict results because we can't contol things. All we can really do is try to understand the motivations behind our actions (our intentions) and go on from there.

Therefore it's necessary for us to know ourselves as deeply as possible, so we can understand our intentions and motivations, and endeavor to act from the highest of those.