Buddhism's Impact in the Stressed & Overwhelmed West
Exploring Buddhism's mindfulness and self-care practices in an age of anxiety and stress.
I recently had the great opportunity of reading The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche, which serves as a medium through which the Western world can further explore Buddhism. Though I’ve never been particularly spiritual, instead favoring an objective scientific view of the world, I have always been curious about Buddhism and its tenets, since I’m an avid proponent of mindfulness and meditation practices. Let me say that, after reading this book, I am convinced that this is a must-read for people around the world, religious or not.
Though many in the West are reluctant to interact with Eastern religions because of their unorthodox practices, I believe the ideas I’m about to introduce you to are deeply rooted in truth and a profound element of self care that we’ve tended to neglect in our fixation on external validation.
"Death is a mirror in which the entire meaning of life is reflected." - Sogyal Rinpoche
The Roots of Meditation
I like to define meditation as training the mind to observe thoughts and emotions through great awareness and grounding in the present. For example (I’ll borrow Headspace’s analogy), imagine your mind as a road, with your thoughts as cars occasionally zipping past. Though we may not interact with these "cars" very often, sometimes one will strike us as unfavorable or unpleasant, in which case, we may chase after it, hoping to stop or contest it as more and more thoughts start to clog our mind. Soon, we get into a traffic jam, and stress builds over time. Meditation helps us redefine our relationship with our thoughts by turning us into observers.
As we meditate, the goal is to watch as our thoughts pass by uninterrupted as we focus on either our breath, a mental or physical object, or our entire body. No matter how uncomfortable, stressful, or "wrong" a thought may be, you simply let it pass and redirect your focus back on the object. It sounds simple, but it's immensely powerful if used as a regular mental exercise. As it stands, this is an amazing tool for relieving stress or even helping you fall asleep. However, in traditional Buddhism, this is taken a few steps further. Rather than simply being an occasional tool for relieving stress, Buddhism emphasizes that meditation’s goal is to be aware of any and all thoughts, emotions, or sensations taking place in the mind and body at all times. Instead of removing all thoughts and emotions and becoming an emotionless vegetable, meditation allows us to step back and realize the fact that we are never truly present in the here and now.
Through repeated practice, we detach our identities from our thoughts and bring focus into the present moment, recognizing that the past and the future are illusions. This doesn’t mean you can’t plan for the future or learn from past experiences; only that you shouldn’t form attachment to either, whether it's worrying about the future or regretting past actions. Just deal with problems as they arise in the present—the things in your control. This is an incredibly vague explanation, and I encourage you to do more research on this if you are curious.
As I’ve adopted this philosophy into my daily life, I've realized how powerful it really is in an age where we worry and complain about the most trivial things. From how we order our latte to complaining about the ref’s call during the Lakers game last night, we spend too much negative mental energy on things that simply don’t matter. Simply enjoy the present. That’s all we really have.
Our Avoidance of Death
In The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, Sogyal Rinpoche is completely shocked by the West’s culture surrounding death. He mentions how "even talking about death is considered morbid, and many people believe that simply mentioning death is to risk wishing it upon ourselves." However, Buddhism sees death as an extension of life rather than its end, and encourages us to embrace it as a means for us to live more fruitfully.
Buddhism teaches that our fear of death stems from our attachment to the ego and the subconscious belief that everything is permanent, which is why practitioners are taught to avoid attachment. This attachment is said to be the root of all suffering and prevents us from fully living in the present. Through meditation, Buddhism teaches us to let go of attachment and embrace impermanence. This is why I don’t think of Buddhism as a religion at all, but as the art of letting go. This doesn’t mean not being afraid of death (which most of us tell ourselves unknowingly). It’s quite literally being aware of it at every moment of every day.
Every day I wake up, drink some water, and start meditating. I turn on my lamp, sit at the head of my bed, and close my eyes, focusing on my breathing for 15 minutes. Afterward, however, I spend 5 more minutes vividly picturing my death: everything from the pain to sitting on my deathbed, saying goodbye to my family, the funeral, everything. I sit with my emotions and let them flow naturally. By the end of the exercise, I feel an immense sense of gratitude and compassion, and I set out to make mine and others' days the best they can possibly be. This practice shows just how powerful death can be when used as a lens for your life. Death doesn’t have to be morbid and something we avoid habitually out of fear; embracing it can give meaning to the present, the most precious thing there is, and teach us what really matters.