When I come across many so called 'Buddha Enquirers', (as well as those who say that practice Buddhism or who proudly wear the label) what they seem to LOVE about the idea of the Buddhist Way is that it's one of peace and tranquility and quietness.
It's taken as a way where seemingly, there's no interaction, no movement, no need to really do anything much to attain the peace and harmony and tranquility within, something that so many search for and wish to attain.
And yes, that's made all the more pleasing to the eye because the dreamy images we see of The Buddha. The pictures and statues of him sitting under a tree with legs folded, of lying horizontal with not a care or worry on the face, of hands in lap and eyes closed.
Now if that was all one had to DO to become 'enlightened', we'd see millions of people around the world with ZERO worries, problems or concerns.
They'd just be sitting under a tree or closing their eyes in a dreamy state, and that would be it.
Of course, that's not the case.
Far from it.
And that's because meditating without practical application to live ones life each day in a productive and happy way, is a powerful recipe for delusion, confusion and a messed up mind. And I can't tell you how many Buddhists have messed up minds. How many non-Buddhists have messed up minds.
Get this fact: The Buddha - Siddhartha Gautama - was a human being who learnt how to master his mind. He did it by taking on teachers to help him reach deeper levels of awareness within his own mind.
And then, when he mastered the process... what he did was to use that mind technology to show others how to live with happiness and harmony. And not only to monks and those who wanted to dedicate their lives to living and teaching the mind technology, but to everyday folk, homeowners, business people.
APPLICATION
So when you have a disturbance going on externally around you, whether at home, your workplace, with friends, family or colleagues; note that the response or reaction to it is happening internally, first. And, without awareness or equanimity you'll be like a human explosive, reacting without carefully thinking... reacting without checking your own personal awareness system of what's actually going on inside your own mind.
Deeply understanding the actual breathing and mind awareness technique the Buddha used to fix his own manic monkey mind, is something that will help fix YOUR mad manic monkey mind. I personally learnt the technique beginning some 25 or so years ago because it troubled me that growing up in a Buddhist household, where dogma and recitation was the order of the day, mediation techniques were not even on the menu!
So, am I always tranquil and peaceful when an unwanted situation arises or when something I want to have happen, doesn't happen? No. Not always. At times my mind is like a burning furnace though I've learnt how to damp out the flames before my whole life catches fire.
And yes, because of living and incorporating the mind technology practice into my everyday life and into my everyday actions and activities, I'm happier more often than not.
I'd be a soul lost to the world if all I did was to learn the process and live like a hermit, a recluse, a one-man band within my own home.
There's practical power in meditating with your everyday movements. It wasn't created only for those times sitting under the tree or living in silent contemplation.
