The lotus purity of the mind - Drama

Hm, think i can use this title to share a lot.
Plenty of learnings tied to the lotus...

I have been chasing after a taiwan drama serial these few days.
And while watching, while getting into all the emotions, the back of my mind is also analyzing the characters using the Dharma.

But while I can see the confusion, the dukkha, the greed and attachment, I am still drawn towards it, towards the emotions of the show. in fact, I let the emotions, the expectations of love, overwhelm me. I know at some level that all those are impermanent, but I cant stop myself when being touched, from being affected, from questioning the conventional aspects of life. (which are all empty at the end of the day)

So there I am, this being, trying to watch a show, but being confused on all levels.
Should I stop watching because I am over involved? Or should I continue and try to analyse and apply the Dharma? OR what?

It saddens me to see the confusion and hurt, and false expectations of the characters. Yet, on the worldly level, I myself seek and want the false promises of worldly love.

There is this internal struggle going on while I watch.
And I know that I am also defiling my mind while watching, but I am not able to train my mind to view it all in terms of the Dharma, not able to watch and use the suffering (of the characters) as my nutrients, to nourish and strengthen my resolve to practice the Dharma, to seek enlightenment.

The lotus rises out of the muddy water, and yet is pure. the mud is its fertiliser, its nutrients, and it allows it to grow.

When will I reach that stage, where everything, every happening around me, will become my nutrients, and propel me onwards towards enlightenment?

Are we up to that level

Expectations can be a very frightening thing...

We try to cultivate, but we expect so much, so fast, but that is not how it works...
Cultivation and practice truly takes time, patience, and effort (of course RIGHT EFFORT).

IF we are not at that level yet, there is no need to torture ourselves too much.
I used to feel disappointed and disillusioned whenever my practice is not up to what I expected.

But over time, as I understood more, I have allowed myself a little slack once in a while. Coz we are still humans afterall. We are not enlightened ones, so there will be defilements, there will be obstacles, there will be times when we expect too much from ourselves.

As long as our motivations are pure, as long as we are working towards the end goal of liberation, of benefiting other sentient beings, and we hold those aspirations and thoughts in our mind, I say we practice at a level that is comfortable for ourselves.

While we need to keep moving forward and progressing on our path towards enlightenment, walk the middle path. Take a break when you are tired.

You look very pretty when you smile

Heard that years back. Let's not go into whether it was a pick up line. The key focus here is the mind frame of that smile.

Do you think it is true, that a smile can make a difference? I have since agreed that to be the truth. Provided of course, that the smile was sincere and came from the heart.

When you are in a happy mood and you smile, it makes a whole load of difference to your mind frame.

The state of the mind does affect. And yet conversely, a smile, even faked, can cheer you up a little.
Try it! Smile like the Buddha = )

No passport to happiness

The Vesak celebrations at orchard that just passed, had the theme "passport to
happiness"

I somehow reflected on that (I would like to think meditated but I didn't LOL) and it
seems to me, that that might not be a perfect theme or tagline.
By focusing on a Passport, it seems to indicate the need of external factors to
bring about my happiness. You need to obtain a passport before you can go where
happiness is. Of course it can be read in more than one way, but the immediate one
that jumped out at me was external places and events.

Happiness, our own happiness, should be controlled by ourselves, by our mind, and
not solely dependent on what you have, where you go, or even who you hang out with.
And yes, we should have that internal passport which can lead us to happiness, which
is the four approaches of hearing, contemplating, cultivating, and realizing.
But so very often, people missed that, and zoom in straight to the historical
monuments, locations of Buddhism, or the free distribution books, as if having loads
(without the effort of the accompanying practice) is sufficient.
We are totally missing the point. We create our own happiness! And we do not need an
external passport for that.
Externalities can only bring us that far. At the end of the day, it is still our own
cultivation and reliance that matters.

Of course, it is different for Vesak at orchard coz it was a marketing strategy to
attract more. But I can't help feel that the meaning of happiness is skewed in this
sense. Because many are not touched on the important level of real practice.  

I need to meditate more

It's been quite some time since I blogged. But I must say, I have learnt a lot these few weeks/months. I just havn't really had the time to digest or internalise. So much new info and understanding.

And it's sort of, where do I start... with my new job, the interesting and meaningful work, the classes I attended and learnt from, or the "realisations" that I have had in the tiny little ways, or the teachers, people that I have met and benefited from...

Truly, because I havnt sat down to meditate on it all, I can't put them all down in words here. But suffice to say, my time has not been wasted. Tho of course, they could have been put to better use. Like my cultivation practice and/or meditation.

100 hundred days and counting

So fast. No wonder people say that time flies...It does truly. Esp when one is not mindful enough.
Life goes on, and you get drawn back into the daily rush and work. Forgetting simple or even important things. Not being conscious of each and every breath. Letting stress and worry dictate and drive your life, your every thought, every moment. Is that really what you want out of your life???

It is definitely not what I want for mine, but it is honestly hard to keep aware, to be mindful, to be present.
Like the lotus, we should all try for bring pure even though we are born of the mud. To capture the nutrients of the suffering around us, to remind us that THERE IS SUFFERING.

And truly, there is suffering, so much so much.

Happiness is a mindset

In fact, almost everyone knows about that. (Or maybe not, and I am assuming too much)

But how many of us can truly practice and have happiness in every single moment?

Driven to its core, happiness is easily achieveable. Ask any psychologist. They might just tell you, positive thinking. And that is what happiness is!

Of course for Buddhists, we take it a step further. Yes, happiness can be derived thru mind training, from positive thoughts, by showing compassion, etc. In fact, happiness is your peace of mind. If your mind is peaceful, you will not have disturbing thoughts, your emotions will not fluctuate, and all is well and happy.

We all have what it takes to be happy, at the bare minimum level.