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Dharma for Modern Life |
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Applying the Dharma to modern life is easy when we are in a special and elevated state of mind. Somehow the concerns of everyday life just fall away. But it's hard to practice it when the car breaks down, the computer crashes, our overdrawn credit card is refused at the top of the supermarket queue, and we are told our child is the school bully. Suddenly all the spiritual gain seems lost. Buddhism, that fabulous and deeply moving spiritual experience, will have to wait for another, better day. Yet when all our worldly support structures have collapsed under us it is then that we most need the Dharma.
Housework is a constant fight against chaos, dirt and decay. Parenting means wrestling with guilt, anger and emotional turmoil. Relationships are a highly unstable synergy of two berserk minds. Making money is a stressful compromise between necessity and greed. Growing old entails loss of health, looks and loved ones. That is why, when I teach the Dharma or I practice psychotherapy with my clients, I make sure I address the concerns of daily life. Often these concerns bring up questions that we are too embarrassed to raise with the lamas, or even the Western sangha. Too often we leave the practice in a precious box, waiting to be in the right mood, finding the perfect flower for the altar. We need to learn how to practice all the time, how to be contemplative, compassionate and wise, especially when we really don't feel like it. The Buddhist teachings are actually terrific for this. While being infinitely subtle and profound, they are at the same time practical and worldly, with the sublime wisdom methods effective even, and especially, for the often plainly ridiculous concerns of Western life...
This article can be read in its entirety in Mandala |
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The truth is that samsaric suffering pervades absolutely everything. When we think life is fairly normal and humdrum, we are suffering subtly but no less intensely. The very fabric of our lives is constant disappointment and loss.