Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Meditation and problems

I like the emphasis on clarity here:

When you commit to meditation for daily life, you are accepting that you will make time for this all-important act and that the things in your life need to be addressed. You also accept that while you may not be able to solve all your life problems with twenty minutes of meditation a day, you will be able to look at them more clearly. That is the main benefit that daily meditation for life will bring you, the clarity to look objectively at your problems and to see them not as huge obstacles, but merely as problems that have solutions.

-- Petra Kovlinksy

7 comments:

  1. Beautiful photos.

    I would like to pass on my blog and leave your comments.
    They are in Spanish but traducilo.

    You leave your comments in English after what I translate.


    Thanks a hug from Argentina

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  2. Anonymous8:12 AM

    What a nice quote. It is refreshing to read someone who doesn't believe everything is instant.

    I would say that sometimes problems are unsolvable. Then the role of meditation is to be able to peacefully coexist / learn to endure the feelings of not being in control.

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  3. I do agree with you, Richard.

    Maybe the writer's definition of "solutions" is not one that implies "fixing" or "making things go back to the way they were before." Maybe learning to accept an unsolvable problem is, in itself, a kind of "solution".

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  4. Anonymous1:16 PM

    Hi Ellie,

    What an elegant response. Thank you. It takes quite a lot to get to that degree of patient endurance.

    best wishes,

    Richard

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  5. It takes quite a lot to get to that degree of patient endurance.

    Ah, doesn't it just?

    But, as one of my meditation teachers used to say, "It's all material. And we can work with it." That way of looking at things has always both consoled and energized me in the midst of challenges or adversity.

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  6. Anonymous2:21 PM

    That reminds me of Ajahn Chah's comment about being an earthworm. The idea is to just munch away at whatever is right in front of us!

    From reading your responses I wonder if you know Venerable Wu Lin and her blog,(http://www.abuddhistperspective.org/journal/)

    I have found her very caring and helpful.

    best wishes,

    Richard

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  7. Anonymous1:43 AM

    Meditation should be practiced by everyone who wants to retain his sanity in today's insane world. This is not being cynic, but the truth of the matter is this is rightly called the age of insanity. you need some centering activity, be it meditation or something else.

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