American Buddhist Perspectives
In Buddhism, and increasingly in popular discussion, we speak of karma bringing us someplace or being the cause of certain events in our lives. However, very important in Buddhism (and any other religious tradition) is the place of free will or choice. Our karma may nudge us this way or that, like a negative old behavior pattern we just seem compelled to repeat again and again (perhaps hoping this time will be the last). Yet it is up to us still to choose to follow that nudge or to awaken to other possibilities.
That awakening takes awareness, stillness, calm – in a word: meditation. Meditation is a wonderful discipline – but it is just that a discipline. In my own life I too easily fall away from it – when life is too turbulent meditation becomes a chore (too many thoughts racing through my mind), and when life is tranquil and beautiful, as it is now in Montana, meditation seems unnecessary. It seems that I meditate most, and best in those in-between times. But, as with most things in life, the benefits will never really come up from the occasional sitting or even short period of sustained practice. It needs to be a part of life, built in to the very fabric of my being.
Sigh… So while there are a million and one things I could be doing now, I’ll stop, sit, and meditate for a bit.
For an excellent post on our visit to see Barack Obama last week, see Patia’s blog.
My neighbor’s kids, safe and sound after that little fire across the street.
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