I have been reading up on Buddhism lately. Based on what I have seen so far I would define the concept of Nirvana as "lasting peace of mind." It is hard to summarise a spiritual path in a single blog post, but Buddhism tells us that: Life Stinks (sometimes), the cause of all suffering is wanting life to be something it's not, and that we can escape suffering by giving up our "ideals" and accepting life as it is.
Some of this I find hard to swallow. If life is less than optimal, why shouldn't we try to create better circumstances for ourselves? Do we "settle" for less and stay where we are? Isn't that the definition of mediocrity, at least by western standards? Like most spiritual paths, Buddhism focuses on spiritual growth as a priority. Better luck in your next life. I feel conflicted about this. I do.
What I did find useful was the Eightfold Path to Nirvana. Things we can do (or not do) everyday to be more centred, happy and relaxed.
This is how I understand the Eightfold Path:
- See life as it is, not how you want it to be.
- Don't try to shoehorn life into your idea of what it should be. The same goes for other people, we can accept and love rather than change them.
- Speak plainly. No drama. No manipulation.
- Keep life simple :-)
- Be grateful for your job and do it well. We don't all need to win Nobel Prizes. Spiritual pursuits are important too. Let's keep the job in perspective, and focus on what makes the heart & soul happy.
- Balance is king! The middle road is sustainable, being a goody two shoes, not so much! I take this to mean that we all make mistakes and that's OK.
- Cultivate self-awareness, how do we speak, act and move about? This is the first step towards mindfulness, which encourages us to be present in our daily lives and fully aware of who we are.
- Live in the Now! Meditate
Personally, I thought about the first point and I still want to manoeuver my way around situations that don't feel right. If you don't enjoy your job, find a new one. Don't despair. It won't last forever. Better things are always around the corner. I also think that we have a shared responsibility towards people who have it hard. Maybe the person who was born in abject poverty can't do much to rise above it, but the rest of us could help by rethinking our systems. War, poverty and inequality are the result of systems we have created. We can fix it - part of that might mean healing unbalanced egos, too. Why do people act out?
We can also share insights on how to do well within that system - for example, there are lots of things that I learned in business school that would be helpful for others to know and apply, and I can help by sharing that knowledge. We all have practical ways to help or lift others - often with a change in perspective. We can all do our part, in ways that are probably quite easy for us too. And that’s OK, it doesn’t have to be hard, just effective when it comes to helping others. I’m thinking that when we were kids, sharing and helping was a formative experience. And that empathy is still needed. But it might be easier to get everyone on board if we all pitch in, in whatever way is easiest and most effective for us to help out.
Just thinking of the end result …
Thank you for reading!
Regina
Ps … Buddhism may place an emphasis on compassionate action, I’m not sure. My Reiki classes did, and that tradition has Buddhist roots. Apologies if I got that wrong.
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