See Others' Needs First
Sojong Reminder from Anam Thubten 4/2021
Dear Dharma friends,
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The world often praises selflessness and those who embody it. Selflessness is the primary virtue of many traditions and is closest to the divine or highest ideal. In our collective imagination, it is the perfect practice of a true noble and heroine among humans. Perhaps in our minds, it seems like something quite difficult to practice as we are often lost in an internal world run by ego.
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This raises a question. How can we practice this virtue in our daily life while not using it to reject or deny our own needs? In this world, it’s not very practical to literally be selfless. If we honestly ask ourselves whether or not we want to practice selflessness, we may feel quite uneasy about making a commitment to such a noble path. We may even think that we’ve already failed in this noble practice on the path to enlightenment. But maybe the practice is more about not being so self-centered, which is an aspiration many of us can actually hold in practice. Being self-centered is not intrinsic to the nature of who we are as human beings. It’s a deeply rooted habit that can be changed.
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The primitive parts of our psyche are often trapped in the relentless, myopic perspective of just caring about ourselves. We fear what might arise that could cause us distress, and we think we need to defend our own interests, or we believe that our wellbeing matters the most. Such habits seem to exist solely for serving our happiness from the ego’s perspective, while they only cause us to be more conflicted inside.
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We can keep from becoming trapped by these habits by bringing the wellbeing of everyone into the picture: practicing compassion for the world in its sorrow, holding others in our hearts, and working for the greater good. By doing so, we can heal the illness of ego, and our hearts will be free. We can begin this practice at any given moment. It doesn’t require us to be anything more than who we already are.
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During this sojong, we might like to reflect inside in order to see all of the habits that have bound us throughout our lifetimes. Let’s vow to become conscious of them, to practice the Dharma of love and wisdom, and to become greater and greater within.
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With palms joined,
Anam Thubten
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