Breakthrough Newsletter

Wisdom Teachings

Wisdom teachings have been around for thousands of years in many cultures.  For much of that time they were suppressed or hidden as the inner teachings of various religions, reserved for the elite. Today, wisdom teachings and the meditation practices that are an integral component of them are out in the open.

In a nut shell these teachings say that we can overcome the conditioning that keeps us from realizing our potential. We can go beyond belief and transcend all limitations and experience "oneness", free from self imposed stress and the suffering it brings.

No Need for a Cave

There has been a great misconception that to receive and apply Wisdom Teachings one must leave the mundane world of commerce and householder relationships, do intense mediation practices and go to a monastery or a cave or wander in the desert or forest with no possessions.

While renouncing the material world may be a way to achieve the promise of unity there is the possibility of integrating the teachings into daily life and using relationships and the challenges of material life as fuel for the work of experiencing our full potential and living and working optimally.

In the World but Not of It

In the Zen tradition there is the idea that both before and after enlightenment there are the mundane chores to be done, chopping wood and carrying water.

In other traditions there is the story of the yogi who spends years in a cave until he experiences what he thinks is ultimate realization. He comes down from the mountain and freaks out when confronted with the noise and jostling of the market. Sufi mystics live in the world but are not of it.

While it is very helpful, formal meditation practice is not essential. The bottom line is, "meditation need not be separate from life and its daily ups and downs.  If you are to experience peace in this everyday world, you need to watch, understand and deal with your anger, desire and ignorance as they occur. Only when you cease to be involved [identified] with your emotions can the peaceful nature of your mind emerge. This peaceful nature enables you to live every moment of your life completely."[1]

Integration

What does it mean to integrate wisdom teachings into daily life? 

It begins with desire and intention to get rid of unnecessary stress and the suffering it brings so as to live optimally. That intention fuels the effort required to break out of unhealthy, unskillful patterns of behavior which are driven by unfounded beliefs and mental models and by conditioning that gets in the way of effective living. 

What are some of these beliefs? One example is the belief that we cannot achieve a high degree of peace and clarity because we have no time because there is too much work to do or we live in a noisy city or have not met the right guru. Another is the belief that we can't be more productive because our organization and its processes are dysfunctional.

We make the effort to get in touch with our inherent intelligence by looking at things with an open mind. We question everything. We explore the reality that everything is impermanent, that we create unnecessary suffering and that our identification with who we think we are is often misguided.

Integrating Mindfulness

We add to that the intention to be mindful of whatever it is that we are doing at the moment we are doing it - walking, working, cleaning, washing your hands, etc. There is no need to reserve a special time or place. Suppose you are driving. You have to pay attention to the road, other drivers, etc. You cannot afford to allow yourself to be distracted for long by random thoughts, or your cell phone or the radio. If you do you will probably get into an accident. So you notice the distraction and you bring yourself back to the task at hand, the driving.  This is mindfulness meditation in action. A distraction occurs, you notice it and you bring yourself back the present moment and the activity you have decided to focus on. 

Driving is an easy one because there is so much at stake.  Suppose you are eating. It is much easier to allow yourself to be distracted without life threatening consequences.  But if you are distracted you may not be aware of how the food tastes or of how much you are shoveling into your mouth. As with the driving you can recognize the distraction and bring your attention back to the eating.

How about sitting on the bus or walking down the street or waiting for something or someone? You can let your mind roam or you can choose to be conscious of your surroundings, the sensations of your body or your posture.  By doing so you are training the mind to be less driven by the random thoughts of past, present and future so you can be better able to choose what you want to think about and do.

There is no need to strain yourself. "It is not necessary to be in the moment every single moment of the day. What is important is that you learn to get out of the constant mental run-around and be more focused and grounded."[2] Relax and cultivate the art of free flowing while being in control of your mind.

Relaxed and mindfully aware there is now the possibility to go beyond conditioned likes and dislikes, relating to things as they are. Then relationships become healthier, effort is better directed and performance becomes increasingly effective.