What happens to your spiritual practice when you are extremely happy? And what happens to your spiritual practice when things are going horribly, and you are extremely unhappy? Do you hold your practice at the centre of your life, or do you let your happiness or misery dominate your reality? That is what this slogan is about. It advises us to be patient under all conditions.
It is hard to maintain a steady spiritual practice. In conditions of extreme happiness or misery, it is much easier to come up with excuses to avoid practice. At times of intense pain or pleasure, sadness or happiness, we allow the intensity and drama of the moment to take us over, and lose our bearings and motivation for diligent spiritual practice.
On the one hand, if we are feeling joyful, we think we don’t need practice. We get caught up in pleasure and our wish to maintain it, so we focus on enjoying ourselves and we forget to work for the happiness of others. Or we may think that our spiritual training is complete, that we have “graduated”. Spiritual practice and the cultivation of loving-kindness are thrown out the window. The danger of “the good times” is that we might step away from a practice that can carry us all the way to death with a joy that depends on no conditions.
On the other hand, if we are feeling miserable, we might think there is no point to practice, that practice isn’t helping. We turn inward and think, “Why me?” We get caught up in whining and complaining. We forget that life inevitably brings both pleasure and pain. We are too miserable to make practice a part of daily life. We make the excuse that we don’t have good conditions for practice and need to wait for conditions to improve.
So, once again, spiritual practice is ditched due to preoccupation with ourselves, in this case, with our misery. Instead of waiting for the “right conditions” the idea of this slogan is to engage spiritual practice steadily and consistently. In fact, every condition is a right condition to turn to our spiritual practice.
This slogan recommends patience. Patience is not a form of passivity where we have no power over what life might throw at us. Patience is not an invitation to helplessness. Patience allows us to face whatever arises in our lives in a creative and beneficial way. It affords us courage and dignity under all conditions. In spiritual practice, we are training to transform ourselves into better people as a direct result of our experiences. When we practice patience, we are showing that we understand that whatever is happening in our lives, it is sure to change. This is the truth of transience.
Today’s practice: Notice the waxing and waning of your inspiration for spiritual practice. What patterns do you see? What would be threatened if your practice were more steady and continuous?
This column is a long series of short essays exploring the meaning of the Lojong Slogans. It is inspired by the work of Judy Lief.
Kuya Minogue is the resident teacher at Creston’s ZenWords Zen Centre. For more information, she can be reached at 250-428-3390.
