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Search Results: desire
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Working With Desire
In Tibetan Buddhism, there are three traditional approaches to disturbing emotions, including afflictive desire. The first method is to develop an antidote. In the case of desire, one such antidote is the cultivation of nonattachment to desired objects. This way, the practitioner can neutralize afflictive desire. With the second method, the practitioner, rather than focusing on a desired object, instead examines the nature of desire itself, and in discovering its insubstantiality, frees himself of its pull. With the third method, which is said to be a powerful catalyst but also the most difficult and dangerous technique, the practitioner uses desire as path, turning its energy into fuel for practice. The metaphor commonly used for the latter method is the peacock, which eats poisonous substances only to make its feathers more brilliant. More » -
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Pushing the Limits
All phenomena, the Buddha once said, are rooted in desire. Everything we think, say, or do—every experience—comes from desire. Even we come from desire. We were reborn into this life because of our desire to be. Consciously or not, our desires keep redefining our sense of who we are. Desire is how we take our place in the causal matrix of space and time. The only thing not rooted in desire is nirvana, for it’s the end of all phenomena and lies even beyond the Buddha’s use of the word “all.” But the path that takes you to nirvana is rooted in desire—in skillful desires. The path to liberation pushes the limits of skillful desires to see how far they can go. More » -
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Conceptions of Happiness
Happiness is awakening to the question "Who is happy, who is unhappy, who lives, and who dies?" True happiness is uncaused, arising from the very nature of being itself. We seek happiness only when we are asleep to our true nature—dreaming that enlightenment is over there, somewhere else. But we are all, already, what we are seeking. Buddhas seeking to be Buddhas. Ha! How ridiculous.—Adyashanti, San Francisco Bay area teacher who draws upon Zen and Advaita Vedanta We're always trying to free ourselves from misery but we go about it the wrong way. There are a lot of small sweetnesses in life that we ignore because they're so fleeting. It's very important to look at what lifts our spirits and brings us happiness—to cherish those moments and cultivate appreciation. Happiness comes from being receptive to whatever arises rather than frantically trying to escape what's unpleasant. —Pema Chödron, from True Happiness, a Sounds True CD set More » -
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Love Becomes Her
I grew up an only child in suburban Los Gatos, California. One of my closest friends, Maria, came from a large, warm, rambunctious Chilean family. I envied the love that seemed to surround her. Maria’s most cherished possession was her bicycle. She rode it everywhere and took very good care of it. She had such a passion for that bike that she learned everything about how it worked and what it needed, and eventually got a job repairing bikes for other people. The love she felt for her bike made it glow—made it seem like the most desirable object on earth. More » -
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Finding What's Right in Front of Us
A parent and practitioner explores the difference between free time and freedom. Having a baby has been an unquestionable blessing for my wife, Maile, and me. Our son, Navarre, now three months old, has been a healthy, happy, and loving presence in our lives. And yet, despite the immeasurable pleasures of being his parents, we find ourselves faced with a challenge familiar to all new parents: adjusting to the absence of free time. We both remember when our lives were very different. For a good part of our twenties, before we met, Maile and I were both wanderers. I spent years traveling through the U.S. and Asia, visiting Buddhist monasteries and even joining a global environmental walk. More » -
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Ego in the Shopping Cart
View the print version of this article in PDF format How would you define consumerism? In a practical sense, consumerism is a belief system and culture that promotes consuming as the path to self- and social improvement. It’s a complete political and economic ideology, sponsored by sophisticated marketing techniques that generate significant profits while stripping the earth of resources. As a dominant cultural force, consumerism offers products to address every dissatisfaction while actually creating social conditions that undermine equity and environmental stability. More »
