Finding Solace, Somehow

VI The Heart Of The Buddha’s Teaching

Today is a tough day. We went for a doctor’s appointment only to be given some "general" information because details cannot be shared without further "investigation", and we were given an appointment for assessment for said "investigation" in 6 months, which meant that any hopes of getting the help we need would be scheduled for next year. It is a long time to wait, and it feels like forever when we helplessly watch someone we care about suffer daily meanwhile. Afterall, we are so invested in his recovery, given that it’s been our sole purpose over the last 3 years.

So on days like this, I turn to Buddhist texts for grounding. Buddhism is not my religion, but it was my uncle’s, and I always thought it might bring him some comfort to continue his learning. As I read to him, I found myself touched by the wisdom of much of the Buddha’s teachings, which also renewed much of what I learnt as a child growing up in Asia and just taking things in from the environment.

The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh is a neatly organised presentation of many of the Buddha’s key teachings, each summerised to capture the key points so it gives the reader a concise overview of the key principles of The Four Noble Truths, The Noble Eightfold Path, The Two Truths, The Three Doors of Liberation, The Four Immeasurable Minds, The Five Powers, The Six Paramitas, The Seven Factors of Awakening etc.

It is difficult to separate all of these into tiny bite sized takeaways, because they all come together in wholeness, but i will list those that helped me through days like today, meaning the themes which brought greater clarity, deeper understanding of the nature of life, or brought about more compassion and peace in difficult moments when a part of me just wants to rage against the world and give the doctors a piece of my mind, which pretty much feels like I’d like to throw a grenade at them and ask them if 6 months was a "reasonable" timeframe for them to wait for treatment.

The Four Noble Truths are Suffering, Creation of Suffering, Cessation of Creating Suffering, Path to the Refrain of Causing Suffering. This leads to the Noble Eightfold Path or Practice of Right View, Right Thinking, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Diligence, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.

A big focus of Eastern teachings is on the liberation from Suffering, and cultivating the Eightfold Path is offered as a solution. To be able to attain the 8 Right states requires commitment and dedication, a lifelong daily practice that helps us water the right seeds in our consciousness.

The Buddha also taught the truth of "dwelling happily in things as they are" (drishta dharma sukha viharin). To succeed in the practice, we must stop trying to prove that anything. If we touch the truth of suffering with our mindfulness, we will be able to recognise and identify our specific suffering, its specific causes and the way to remove those causes and bring an end to our suffering. Stopping, Calming, and Resting are preconditions for healing. Our mind and body have the capacity to heal themselves if we allow them to rest. This is in line with the Buddha’s Dharma being the practice of non-practice.

Many of the themes are interlaced; in fact, as we go along, we realise that all of these principles are contained in each other. Perhaps it is because we are used to breaking things down to take them in in little parts that we lose sight that that they are each a part of the big picture. The Five Powers are our Five Faculties in practice - Faith, Energy, Mindfulness, Concentration, and Insight. A lot of this is interlinked with the Eightfold Path.

The Six Paramitas or Perfections refer to the practice that helps us cross over to the better shores, shifting from suffering, anger, and depression to the shores of wellbeing. They are: Giving (offering of love, happiness, stability, freedom, peace), Mindfulness Trainings (of listening, protection, consumption), Inclusiveness (patience and forbearance), Diligence (watering of the right seeds in our consciousness), Meditation (touching every moment in time through the NOW moment), and (Right) Understanding. Again, we see repeated themes of the Eightfold Path. As we go through the book, it feels like the unfolding of a lotus, each petal being another aspect of the lotus flower of enlightenment revealing itself.

The Buddha taught in a deeply feminine way; it was gentle and about receptivity. Afterall, he didn’t charge into war to fight for the knowledge he received. He sat under the Bodhi tree to receive enlightenment. I found this peaceful manner very comforting, because it is easy to be in emotional turmoil when we are in survival mode every single day for extended periods of time. Reading these did not feel like a structured religious texts; rather, it felt like wise sayings that helped me find a little calm in my nights.

If the person you are caregiving for no longer has the ability to advocate for himself, it becomes part of the caregivers’ "job description" to have to "fight" for more - more attention from the doctors, more accountability (and less passing us between departments), more opportunities for rehab or treatments that may make a difference to chances of recovery, more hope (as opposed to just being a statistic on a chart). At some point, it feels like you are endlessly "fighting" with the system and trying to get through the bureaucratic BS that leaves patients in a constant state of waiting. These Buddhist teachings and the way they are presented felt like something we could integrate by simply being with them, rather than yet another thing on the to-do list that we have to fight for.

"When we hear a Dharma talk or study a sutra, our only job is to remain open. Usually, when we hear or read something new, we compare it to our own ideas. If it is the same, we accept it and say it is correct. If it is not, we say it is incorrect. In either case, we learn nothing. If we read or listen with an open mind and an open heart, the rain of the Dharma will penetrate the soil of our consciousness.

…

Be like the earth. When the rain comes, the earth only has to open herself up to the rain. Allow the rain of the Dharma to come in and penetrate the seeds that are buried deep in your consciousness. A teacher cannot give you the truth. The truth is already in you. You only need to open yourself - body, mind, and heart - so that his or her teachings will penetrate your own seeds of understanding and enlightenment. If you let the words enter you, the soil and the seeds will do the rest of the work."

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i so appreciate your presence, thank you for being here.