Why Am I Sad?

 

The question rises to the heavens – Why am I so sad?  Why is it that I feel like doing nothing?  Why does sadness dog me?

The answer from Spirit:

Everything in life must be in balance.  When you have what you call “good times”, then your energy ebbs up to a height.  To be in balance, it must come down – you call this sadness.  If you stayed in the middle, without emotion, you would not feel happy or sad.   This is the way of things.

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Remember that all things are part of life and life balances through ups and downs.  

Many Blessings,

Judy

On Being Happy - A Buddhist Story

 

 

  Picture of Buddha's first sermon - from Wikipedia

Clients come to see me for a variety of reasons.  Recently, however, clients come in and talk about how they feel, and they talk about how they are not happy.  The best teaching story about happiness that I have read comes from Buddhist teachings.  

Here is a story about happiness.

"Once I was staying with my mother in London. At the time she was the housekeeper for a very wealthy Canadian who lived in a luxury flat just off Hyde Park. They all went off for a while, and I had the flat to myself. There I was in London, living in this luxurious flat with two huge colour television sets and all the food I could possibly eat! I had enough money for whatever I wanted, lots of records, lots of everything. But I was so bored!  I told myself, "Please remember this. If you are ever tempted to think that physical comfort gives happiness, remember this." 

But then, another time I was staying in a cave, not my cave but another cave, which was very small. It was so small that you couldn't stand up in it, with a tiny box you could only just sit in, and that was the bed as well. It was full of fleas, so I was covered in flea bites. You had to go half a mile down a very steep track to bring up water. There was also almost no food at all, and it was hot. But I was in bliss. I was so happy. It was a very holy place, and the people there were wonderful. Although from a physical point of view the situation was difficult, so what! The mind was happy. I remember that whole place as being bathed in golden light. Do you see what I mean?"   from Ani Tenzin Palmo, from "Reflections on a Mountain Lake: Teachings on Practical Buddhism'

Each person reading this story will have a different take away, and that is a good thing.  What I hope that everybody understands from this story is that our happiness stems from how happy we are at the time we examine our happiness.

As the last line of the "Loving Kindness" Meditation says, "May you be happy!"

Many blessings,

Judy

Some Thoughts About Karma

 

A while ago, a reader asked me to write more about karma.  Here are some quotes about karma that come from Buddhism.

I started learning and practicing Buddhism several decades ago.  And, I am still learning as there are so many nuances to the Buddhism way of life.

The online Dictionary.com defines karma as:

kar·ma

NOUN

1. (in Hinduism and Buddhism) the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existence.

   
   

I translate this as meaning that how you manage yourself in your past lives will determine how you are treated and regarded in this lifetime.  Many think that karma is only about past evil deeds coming back to haunt them in this life.  However, past life kindnesses and closing of loops of bonds with people are also part of the clearing of karma.  More about this in a later post.

Some thoughts:

"I am the owner of my karma. 

I inherit my karma. I am born of my karma. I am related to my karma.  
I live supported by my karma. 

Whatever karma I create, whether good or evil, that I shall inherit."

The Buddha, Anguttara Nikaya V.57 - Upajjhatthana Sutta

Many blessings,

Judy