“The practice is never for ourselves alone.”

~ Joseph Goldstein

sometimes there is a misconception about meditators being “navel gazers” and meditation just being some form of “self-help”. and this may be true for some (btw – not that self-help is a bad thing! self-help can be a very beneficial pursuit on one’s journey to and practice of healthy living.)

but from a Buddhist perspective, meditation practice is not about just oneself. how can it be? one of the foundations of Buddhism is recognition of our interdependence. we don’t exist in a silo. as Buddhists, when we meditate, we meditate for the benefit of all beings (which does also include ourselves). our intention to “wake up”, is to do so for the benefit of others. and on a practical level this makes a lot of sense. if we are more at ease, clear headed, open hearted, and stable, then we bring these qualities to those we interact with.

of course, we don’t have to be Buddhists to have and set such intention. each of us, as we sit down to meditate no matter our tradition or non-tradition, can do so with the intention to wake up to ourselves and our lives not just to our benefit, but to he benefit of those around us as well. we can dedicate whatever benefits of clarity, strength, stability, open heartedness, calmness, ease, and insight we have to those around us on outward to everyone we encounter and even those we may not encounter.

may we practice in such a way, that all life benefits from our practice.

~j

#meditation #path #practice #EngagedBuddhism #bodhisattvas #JMWart #JinpaLhaga