From Illinois, he travels the country (globe, really) raising funds for the Blue Lotus Temple, donations for the Peradeniya Teaching Hospital in Sri Lanka (his hometown where he raises money for incubators and equipment for mothers and babies), and teaching meditation. For this evenings class, the discussion was "How to Find Peace & Happiness in Everyday Life." Like always, Bhante gives everyday practical advice, leads a discussion and infuses the time with humor. Tonight we learned, Bhante used to be a horn honker. (He is no longer unless needed for safety.)
Bhante arrived with a friend early, gave me big smiles and a big hug, and then sat to eat dinner quietly. AS people arrived, he sat in silence in my white wicker chair in our classroom, still holding that loving smile.
I looked around the room witnessing beautiful faces filled with willingness to listen. I saw yoga students, friends, family, and some people I could not recognize. In that moment, however, we were all united in our practice of finding happiness everyday.
"Life is short," Bhante said. He continued to say how we choose to "come here." Here meaning earth, incarnate at this time. He advised that we make the most of it, appreciating and being present in every moment we are given as we do not know what tomorrow brings.
He also discussed how human beings are born with suffering. He himself is not exempt. "I realized one day I had nothing to worry about. And then I started trying to find what could I worry about." He said our human minds are conditioned to suffer. We worry about everything! And apparently, if we have nothing to worry about, we find something to worry about to fill that space in our minds. The Buddha said, "life is suffering." It doesn't mean though that we are destined to be trapped in this cyclical nature. Instead, as Bhante said, we use our meditation practice.
We can sit on a cushion, breathe, bring attention to our breath. We use this tool as our training. And then, in the real everyday world, that is when we bring it into practice. That is the test. Do we become more tolerant of others? Do we feel compassion for those suffering around us even the one person in the world who drives us the most crazy?
One of the most powerful comments he made tonight was about forgiveness and suffering. He once had someone ask him about forgiveness. He said, there is no such thing in the way he was raised/taught. He had to do extensive research to find the answer to this. What it boils down to is, can we let it go? What was done to us is not right or condoned. However, the person we hold anger towards does not feel our anger necessarily. It does not really affect their daily life. It does, however, affect ours. It is the root of our suffering. It is our feeling to hold onto or to let go.
As a group, we went through a loving kindness meditation. In that moment, we loved everyone. We loved ourselves, our families, our friends and neighbors. We loved the people in our town, and we sent love around the room to each other. Tomorrow, when we awaken and start our day, perhaps we can use this tool to bring us towards a happy life.
“In the end these things matter most:
How well did you love?
How fully did you live?
How deeply did you let go?”
- Buddha
