A Sacred Hobby
Sojong Reminder from Anam Thubten
Dear Dharma friends,
There are bigger issues that often beckon our attention such as illness and death. People on the path often reflect on death and prepare for more conscious dying since death can knock on our door at any given moment. Such reflection often leads us to a deep understanding of the nature of reality—unborn, deathless. Similarly, we also learn how to deal with illness so our mind won’t spiral down in an abyss of despondency or fear. Yet, death is an event that occurs only once in life. Illness is not part of everyday life. It’s wise to learn how to deal with both of them even though they might live in the distant future, far from the here and now.
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Beside those major events of life—two of four rivers of existence along with birth and old age—there are a variety of events happening all the time. Many of them are not pressing issues that can shake the foundation of our life. Because of this apparent peace in everyday life, we can be unaware of how we are dealing with all these small events as the days go by. It’s possible that we’re reacting to them without any emotional eruption that could cause a major uproar. Reacting can work while eluding our own awareness, nor will the world outside notice our reactions.
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When the mailman knocks on our door, we might not like how she or he looks; suddenly, money issues pop in our head, and we start to ruminate on the same old storyline about going broke; we have dark thoughts upon seeing a politician’s image in the news who we don’t agree with; we might lose our temper on the phone trying to solve a problem with tech support or a representative of a company. The list goes on. What about being upset at the fact that someone at home left his or her dishes in the sink? Without knowing it, in relationship to all these events, it is possible that our mind is meeting all these seemingly insignificant situations from our old patterns, from being irritated to being personally offended.
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This is why every day is such ample ground for us to practice awareness and mindfulness. Meeting with everything in awareness can be the most rewarding experience, which comes along with the joy of finding harmony between oneself and the world. Practicing Dharma in the true sense means practicing not only during some occasions, but throughout the day. This could sound like a Herculean task. In reality, this could be truly enjoyable, our sacred hobby.
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During this Sojong reminder, let’s reflect on the way we are relating to people and events in each day. It’s possible to see that there are patterns getting in the way here and there, and especially that there might be certain things that trigger our patterns. Let’s notice them without judging and set our intention to bring more awareness into daily life.
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With palms joined,
Anam Thubten
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