The Buddha taught the Middle Way path free from extremes. In his very first teaching he identified those two extremes as indulgence and self-immolation. The Buddha is encouraging us to navigate life free from these two extremes in order to fulfill our aspirations.
We have all been caught up in the extreme of indulgence. It is okay to treat yourself to nice things, enjoy good food and experience life in all its variety. The danger is that our desire and craving for the new and innovative will entrap us in a cycle of consumption and indulgence. That type of mental state is only satisfied for a little while, so the cycles of craving and becoming move faster and faster with the result being only more dissatisfaction and discontent.
The other extreme is that of self-immolation or punishing ourselves. In our culture of achievement and self-reliance, it is easy to get wrapped up in working ourselves to death and demanding that we outperform all our peers. Many of us suffer from degrees of perfectionism and fear of failure that feed negative thoughts and perceptions about who we are and what we do. This combination of culture and internal expectations creates a lot of self-hatred and loathing. Punishing ourselves is often unquestioned and overlooked, but it is something that we are all susceptible to. The danger here is that rather than meeting challenges and growing, we remain stuck in false expectations and negative mental states.
The path between these two isn't a narrow trail. It is wide and accommodating. It is a life in which we can enjoy the present with mindful awareness that doesn't get hooked by desire or negative mental states. We have a grounded outlook on our life and recognize the pressures of our culture and our internal expectations.
So much of living out the Middle Way path is having a healthy perspective of life. Having a healthy perspective gives rise to a healthy mind and a content heart. Those are among the causes for happiness, and a recipe for a good life.
No comments:
Post a Comment