VIDEO: THE ESSENCE OF MEDITATION BY YONGEY MINGYUR RINPOCHE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=une3UM9k21s&t=72s
Today I will talk about letting go. First a quote:
When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.
When I let go of what I have, I receive what I need.
Tao Te Ching
All of us here at Lake Chapala who have moved from our long‐time homes in the US and Canada to retire in Mexico, have gone through a kind of letting go and then transitioning into a new life. We had to let go of family, friends, homes, neighborhoods and everything familiar to us, and then make the transition into the new life here.
This can be joyful. One reason why it is so important to be able to let go: moving on helps us to let wonder and joy in our life.
Buddha had some interesting things to say about change and letting go. A primary observation of Buddha is that all things are impermanent, everything changes. We all want happiness that lasts, but, because of the impermanence of things, it is impossible to find lasting happiness in things – they are all temporary.
Buddhist mindfulness practice teaches a way how to deal with this: Pay attention, on purpose, non‐judgmentally, to the present moment, and then when it is over let go of the experience, no matter how pleasant or unpleasant it may be.
The Buddhists teach that attachments, clinging, holding on to something that is passing, brings discontent and suffering.
The problem comes from ideas we have about happiness, and what brings us this happiness. As long as we look for happiness from things, then any happiness will be fleeting, since all things are impermanent. But some people find a different source for their happiness; they find it from within themselves, when they quiet the mind, through meditation or some other way, and open up to this very moment, the now.
My goal in life is to be happy each day. I have developed a way that helps me in this. I have added something to the standard Buddhist approach. As I experience the present moment, before I let it go, I relish it for a bit. Life is a gift. I am grateful for this gift. To show my gratitude, I revel in the moment. What else is there to do?
Another Buddhist story suggests an attitude, finding joy in the moment: Buddha told this story:
A man traveling across a field encountered a tiger.
He fled, the tiger after him. Coming to a precipice, he caught hold of the root of a wild vine and swung himself down over the edge. The tiger sniffed at him from above.
Trembling, the man looked down to where, far below, another tiger was waiting to eat him. Only the vine sustained him. Two mice, one white and one black, little by little started to gnaw away at the vine.
The man saw a strawberry near him. Grasping the vine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other. How sweet it tasted!
VIDEO: DAILY CALM | 10 MINUTE MINDFULNESS MEDITATION | LETTING GO