Sundays With Buddha

 Be quick to do good. If you are slow, the mind, delighting in mischief, will catch you.
                                                                                                                      --Buddha



Week 44

As a sort of "part two" to last week, this lesson suggests just what you should do to keep your mind from becoming idle. It reflects the idea to be diligent, or quick to do good, for if you allow yourself to become an idle person by being slow to action, your mind, having the time given to it to become idle and produce mischief such as laziness, blame, gossip, excuses, judgements and discontent, will catch up to you.


The more idle you become, making that a habit of your everyday being, the more it will surely become your way in life. You will 'wake up' one day and realize you have been wasting yourself, and wasting away, at that.


I've had this situation in my life many times over. Whether it is a depression you constantly battle or just a lazy complacency; if you don't keep track of yourself, each day, no one else will. It's not their responsibility. Once you head down that unsteady path of being complacent--like not watching your diet and exercise (guilty), money, job, spiritual and mental health, morals, even your kids,  it's so hard to get back on track. (*To be clear, I am not comparing the pain of battling depression with mundane laziness. I have struggled with it, for many years, and it takes time, patience, and bravery to ask for help. Please, if you suffer from depression, don't be afraid to ask for help. There is no shame in needing or wanting to seek resolution.)


Be quick to do what's best for you, to make you your very best. Make a list or a template to hang on your fridge or bulletin board so you can have a sort of 'check-in' everyday to remind you of the things you can be doing every day to better yourself. I found a pretty helpful post by blogger and author James Altchur of his Daily Practice (there's also a PDF chart available by visiting here  and downloading it to print ) that you can use as an example of how to work in something to stay mindful and diligent. Use his or make your own that suits you. Not everyone is the same, by far. If I weren't up at 4 and 5:00 am already, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be. Remember, this is just an example of what some successful people do to keep themselves 'on track'. Your definition of success may be different as may be your idea of what 'on track' is.


What's important is that you learn to realize that you are important and worth the effort to have success in your life, whatever that means for you. It really doesn't matter how long it takes go get a grasp on the lessons or how many times you must trudge through learning a particular lesson. Don't focus on that. Just focus on the fact that with every lesson learned you are becoming the person you are meant to be. If you get caught up in how long it's taking, you'll lose sight of what you should be learning. Besides, the journey is just as important as the end result. That's where you truly learn what it is that you need in your life to make you happy and joyful. If you always make your journey in life a means to an end, you miss out on the lovely scenic stops you could be having along the way.


Just like any good trip, getting there should be half the fun. You don't want to sleep through the whole thing; you want to be awake to enjoy it.


Thanks for reading today...


Namaste

Nanette

Sundays With Buddha

To be idle is a short road to death and to be diligent is a way of life; foolish people are idle, wise people are diligent.

                                                                                                  --Buddha

Week 43

Though the Buddha lived and taught around 500 years before Christ, there are many similarities between the Buddha's teachings and the Bible. The idea of "idle hands" from Christianity is very similar to the lesson taught here. This is not a religious discussion, however; I am merely pointing out another similarity between the two in hopes that more understanding is felt and that there is no "right and wrong" way to becoming a more divine and loving being. 

My words are never meant to anger anyone; on the contrary it is to hopefully unite us all by teaching compassion and respect for each other and our beliefs. If we are all longing to meet at the same destination, what does it matter which path we take as long as we all take the high road? 

That being said, the lesson here is clear to me, just as the lessons in the Bible also imply in Proverbs 10:4 "Idle hands make one poor, but diligent hands bring riches", 1 Timothy 5:13 "Besides that, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not" and 1 Thessalonians 5:14 "And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all". 

This sounds like a calling for us to be diligent in helping others to succeed while it is also a warning that idle hands and idle minds are more apt to create trouble. Foolish idle people who don't care to busy themselves with matters of doing good such as helping others, creating joy around them for the sake of themselves and others, praying or meditating, taking care of their bodies, minds and finances, and tending to their own personal business, like the diligent person does, often give themselves over to mischief, gossip, laziness, and other non productive idle thoughts and actions. 

What I believe this lesson to be teaching for our modern world is that it's just as important in this time to mind our own business while still maintaining the charitable heart towards others and to pay attention to how we live our lives and each day try to do good for ourselves as well as all beings, so that we do not fall victim of our idle minds.

As I have written about before, it is definitely hard to break habits that we have perfected for most of our lives. Our ways are ingrained in us and it will take hard work, diligent work, to change. But becoming better, at least trying to put forth the effort to be better, for the sake of bettering the world, even if just your circle of it...is that not worth the effort? 

I hope you believe it is. Because that means someone else believes it is. And your effort will shine through and encourage the next, and their's will, and so on. 

Diligence.  

Thanks for reading today.

Namaste

Nanette