Most
of us are familiar with this adage: “Time and Tide wait for no man.”
Things
will not wait for you when you are late as no one is powerful enough to stop
the march of time.
This
is so true in our life when our age is catching up and health is fading. When
we are strong, we are so rushed, so busy, so caught up, and so distracted. Can
we not be so distracted now while we can, before it is late? Yes, are we sure
we can? How?
To
experience the silence of the mind, firstly we have to free ourselves from
busily telling anyone what we like, dislike and what all our endless daily
problems are – all those things that distract us.
We
have to simply stop living such a busy life, running around here and there like
a delivery person, heedlessly doing this and that. When we can simplify our
social life, we have more time to reflect, read the Dhamma or attend Dhamma
classes, talks and retreats.
When
there is less distraction, we become more focused on the Dhamma and its
cultivation; virtuous activities naturally increase as we experience living in
the now i.e. knowing that we are presently doing and awakening to the bliss of
awareness.
As
we start letting go of things that disturb our mind, kind thoughts and peace
arise. Attending retreats has its benefits and great value too: our mind
becomes more concentrated because our computer is not next to us, the cell
phone is off, no glossy magazines, daily newspapers to be available, no
television to watch, no car radio to turn on every time we drive, no
shopping to be done, no what to buy and
not to buy, and no personal cooking or grooming. These retreats offer daily
teachings and meditation instruction, a schedule of group practice and sharing,
individual sessions, interviews and long hours of silence.
There is nothing for
you to do the ‘no nothing’ at the retreat. Indeed, it is a good training ground
for healing, and transforming the mind and heart. For those who have not
attended retreats before, please give it a go.
In
our daily life, we are taught to avoid discomfort by all means, while
perceiving that the pursuit of happiness is the right to happiness. And yet
when we suffer, it is so refreshing to have the truth of suffering acknowledged
. The Dhamma helps us to face our suffering from regret and anxiety to grief
and depression.
When
we become more practiced, retreat may eventually not be a physical place away
from home as what we always used to think it to be, but also a retreat of mind,
body and speech from a hectic and heedless lifestyle, to one with the inner joy
and freedom that Buddhist teachings promise, along with a wiser way to care
for ourselves, for our family and for helping others around us from far and
near; it is akin to creating a pureland in our present life.
“ What is this life, if
full of care,
We have no time to stand
and stare.”
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