Dharma practitioners don't just meditate.

The Buddha's teachings get a lot of press about meditation. A lot of people may even equate the Buddha's teachings with meditation. That's what the Buddha did, right?

The Buddha did not just teach about meditation.

Meditation is a critical step in a much larger process of developing insight and wisdom. The development of wisdom evolves through three phases- study, contemplation and meditation.

When we study, we learn key concepts and principles. We are exposed to ideas and use reason and logic to determine their validity.

Contemplation is the process of building connections, coming at the material from different angles and reflecting on our experience of the teachings we have been studying. Contemplation involves deeper aspects of our mind and heart, often within the sphere of contemplation we will experience flashes of insight or meaning that seem to come from outside our own conjecture.

Meditation is the process of moving beyond concepts and into direct experience. We can talk about what chocolate tastes like, we can compare it to other regional varieties, but at some point we need to actually taste the chocolate. Meditation is a direct experience of the teachings.

We gain a certain type of knowledge and wisdom through study. We gain a different type of knowledge and wisdom through contemplation. The wisdom of meditation is the wisdom of direct experience.

The fundamental problem that all dharma practitioners are trying to resolve is the human condition complete with all of its negative and positive aspects. We as humans experience a lot of pain and suffering. Mental illness runs rampant through our communities affecting both young and old. But we also see great examples of virtues like compassion, generosity and wisdom. As dharma practitioners work to solve this problem, they rely on the process of study, contemplation and meditation. Over and over again, they cycle through these processes, continuously trying to resolve the nature of their own human life, and sharing that wisdom with others.

Slowly, and tirelessly they gain wisdom about how to work with suffering and practice virtue.
Slowly, and tirelessly they gain wisdom about how to live with suffering and share virtue.
Slowly, and tirelessly they discover freedom in the midst of suffering and learn how to embody virtue.
Slowly, and tirelessly they learn how to embody virtue and discover freedom in the midst of suffering.

Forging the trail.

We can give people our respect. We can show them unconditional love and kindness. We can be patient and understanding. We can be generous and lend them a hand. We can give them a break, offer them a second chance and let them start over.

Others deserve this. It's something that we can give.

But it's often not enough. Ultimately, it's not something we can give.

You must do the work, the inner work of recognizing your own self-worth and potential. You need to do it for yourself.

You have to do the hard labor of stopping, looking within and resolving the tension in your own heart and mind. You need to look through your own self-deception and confusion.

Others can help us on this journey. They can point the way, offer support and guidance. But we must do the work ourselves.

We must forge the trail through the landscape of our lives.

The thread that holds it together.

A single thread is insignificant. It has little structural integrity and is easy to break. A single thread is unworthy of praise and often goes unnoticed.

A single thread in a weave can bring the whole thing together. It adds strength, form and creates function. If that single thread fails, the whole system can start to fall apart.

We can all find meaningful ways to contribute. Our contribution doesn't need to be the whole cloth. It can be enough to be a single thread that contributes to a larger meaningful purpose.

Becoming.

Becoming is one of the twelve links of dependent origination.  It immediately follows craving and fixation and is part of the larger cycle leading to birth, aging, sickness and death.

The source of becoming lies in suffering, pain and dissatisfaction. Our unresolved condition leads to the experience of a deep satisfaction and the desire to escape that pain and sorrow. Craving and desire gradually build and grow in our mind until we eventually become fixated and attached.

Atttachment can take many forms. We can be attached to physical forms, ideas, perceptions, and routines. We can be fixated on food, habits, mental states or feelings. Anything that we perceive to be a solution to the suffering we are trying to escape.

That attachment gives rise to becoming. Becoming forges new tendencies, new actions (karma!). It becomes the patterning that eventually gives rise to a new life.

We continually cycle through these experiences. Birth isn't just our birth into this life. We are always going through the cycles of birth and death. We enter into new relationships, new jobs, new endeavors. We manifest new aspirations, accomplish new goals.

Birth is the result of becoming. We live hundreds of lifetimes in this one life.

Birth always leads to aging, sickness and death. We eventually grow tired of the way things are. We start to notice the problems and inadequacy of situations. Things start falling apart. The truth of suffering once again becomes apparent in our lives.

The habit that we have is to then start the process of craving and desire all over again. Seeking out a new rebirth. Seeking out a better life.

In our confusion, we cycle again and again.

Primary occupation.

We live in a culture of accomplishment and becoming. We strive for success and recognition. We are told that your title is important and that moving up is a good thing. Each day we try to move more and more to done.

As Dharma practitioners, our primary work is the inner work of coming undone.

We work to loosen the tight knot of rigid beliefs and limiting concepts.
We work to let go of grasping onto our notion of self and our experience.
We work to undo the conditioning of biased perceptions and mistaken notions.
We work to untie the restricting fetters of negative emotions and mental states.
We work to undo the effects of ignorance and dualistic perception.
We work to let go of anger and attachment.
We work to escape from the confines of anxiety and feelings of helplessness.

We peel back layer after layer of our conception of self.
Layer after layer, we come undone.

The result of this work is that we become more open and honest about ourselves and who we are. Being more open and honest with ourselves, we can be more understanding and receptive to others.

Inner work, outer benefit. By doing the work, you benefit yourself. By doing the work, you empower yourself to benefit others. Bringing benefit to others, as a matter of fact, is part of your job description.