Most of the time we read the write up from monks but here we hearing from layperson contribution on how we can live in this materialistic world and yet be aware of the true nature of all phenomenon….impermanance ..(sankara).

Well written comments from Robert and Mickey are especially helpful to laypeople who are sort of torn between attachment to material pursuit and the teaching in Buddhism about renounciation is the only way to true salvation.

KH

Robert

Thank you.

TDM

Robert

Robert

Many thanks for allowing me to share a point or two with the mindful.

We suffer largely because we have been conditioned to believe that certain things will bring us happiness. We pursue these things in the hope of neutralizing that subtle but nevertheless palpable unease in the center of ourselves. A sense that we cannot put our finger on. The feeling that we have all experienced is feedback from our magnificent being ;feedback to guide us toward SOURCE. Its a lack of conscious connection with source that so disturbs us. Its subtle, but powerful in its affect.

So the great beings have left us with antidotes to this malady, and like all medicines , they may at first seem less palatable than the dis-ease.

Very often the admonitions of the great beings strike us harsh, severe, and even heartless. Yet, if we persist in the work of releasing our attachment to things that cannot in themselves fulfill us in an ultimate sense, we gain the freedom to relate to that which is REAl. It seems somewhat paradoxical, but in learning not to cling to things which are inherently impermanent, we discover that which is not transient. Strangely enough, a very real and profound love for everything becomes alive in us. We discover our true nature and relate to creation from a new perspective.

The great difficulty for human beings is that in order to do this successfully we must release that to which we have habitually held onto. What we hold onto causes us pain because it obscures that which would fulfill us. The great teachers are-in the end- giving us strategies to help with recognizing our habitual clinging to things which pass away. If we are using such things in our lives to assuage our inner agony , we only compound our problem.

So, the master would say, Yes, have your relationship, but do it justice by giving it your utmost care and attention from moment to moment . Never allow yourself to come to your beloved with an expectation based on the past. Recognize the extent to which you (WE & US) project upon that other instead of becoming acutely aware of the being in our presence.

Living in such a way, frees us from the resultant suffering brought by clinging , and opens us up to a new dimension of living;as well as freeing those we love in life from the burden of being responsible for our happiness. This is a profound blessing!.

Happy Holy-Days to all,
Robert

~Mickey

TDM