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Authors: Timber Hawkeye
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be putting compassion into action.
Buddhist Boot Camp urges you to roll up your sleeves and actually help anyone in need; and to align your habits with what you already know is best. It all begins with you and the decisions you make. Start with behavior patterns, food choices, and deciding how to most effectively use your time, money and talent to benefit others.
Pretend every person you meet is the Buddha, and you won’t be greedy, hateful or disrespectful toward anyone. Stop trying so hard to always be right or to prove yourself superior to others, and strive to connect with people instead. We are all in this boat together. Answer me this: What is detrimental to your health? Why are you still doing it?
All know the Way, but few actually walk it. —Bodhidharma
At the Root of Our Suffering
To reduce the amount of stress in our lives (as well as anger, fear, disappointment, anxiety and intolerance), we must start by reducing our expectations.
If you get road rage because of slow-moving traffic, annoyed with bank tellers for taking “too long” with other customers, hurt feelings when a friend forgets your birthday, or disappointed when the weather doesn’t clear on the day of your planned picnic, take note that most of your expectations are completely unreasonable and self-centered.
When we don’t expect a movie to be incredible, we’re not totally disappointed if it falls short of amusing. Not hitting the jackpot in Las Vegas isn’t a big deal if we don’t expect to anyway; and, for adults, it’s actually okay for a book to have an unhappy ending. Without expectations, we’re not completely deflated if our blind date turns out to be rude, or when an avocado is brown on the inside. Think about it: the only reason you’re not disappointed when you don’t find a love letter in your mailbox every day is because you’re not expecting to find one in the first place.
With the people closest to you, a simple agreement to never intentionally harm one another is sufficient to solidify a healthy and long-lasting friendship. And when we expect so little from one another, we are actually inspired to do more.
Be patient with the employees at the grocery store and the servers at restaurants. They might be moving slower than you expect because they’re sick or have a headache, and it’s possible that they just received some bad news, or that it’s their first week on the job. The problem isn’t how fast or slow they move; the problem is your expectation. They might even be working with a disability of some sort that prevents them from moving faster. Be patient.
We’re jaded by a society that promotes overnight delivery, express checkout lines, 24-hour customer service, airplanes, carpool lanes, instant rebates, instant messaging and instant coffee. Constantly encouraged to expect what we want, how we want it, and right away, we are conditioned to move more quickly, multitask, speed-read and drive through, which leaves no room in our lives for learning patience, tolerance, listening, or conscious breathing.
Slow down, people, smell the plumerias, and chew your food!
Then, and only then, will you be in a position to be kind to yourself and others.
When you release your expectations that the world should fulfill you, your disappointments vanish. —Dan Millman
The Origin of Anger
Anger is like a mask that covers hurt feelings or fear. So next time you are angry, see if you can trace the origin of that feeling to its root of disappointment, shame, fear, hurt, impatience or embarrassment. Learn to skillfully explain THOSE emotions instead of the anger, and you’ll quickly find peace from understanding the misunderstanding.
It has somehow become socially acceptable to publicly express frustration and irritation by yelling, slamming doors, giving someone the finger, or storming out of the room. For some reason, however, sensitivity and vulnerability are still frowned-upon as signs of weakness (especially with
Buddhist Boot Camp urges you to roll up your sleeves and actually help anyone in need; and to align your habits with what you already know is best. It all begins with you and the decisions you make. Start with behavior patterns, food choices, and deciding how to most effectively use your time, money and talent to benefit others.
Pretend every person you meet is the Buddha, and you won’t be greedy, hateful or disrespectful toward anyone. Stop trying so hard to always be right or to prove yourself superior to others, and strive to connect with people instead. We are all in this boat together. Answer me this: What is detrimental to your health? Why are you still doing it?
All know the Way, but few actually walk it. —Bodhidharma
At the Root of Our Suffering
To reduce the amount of stress in our lives (as well as anger, fear, disappointment, anxiety and intolerance), we must start by reducing our expectations.
If you get road rage because of slow-moving traffic, annoyed with bank tellers for taking “too long” with other customers, hurt feelings when a friend forgets your birthday, or disappointed when the weather doesn’t clear on the day of your planned picnic, take note that most of your expectations are completely unreasonable and self-centered.
When we don’t expect a movie to be incredible, we’re not totally disappointed if it falls short of amusing. Not hitting the jackpot in Las Vegas isn’t a big deal if we don’t expect to anyway; and, for adults, it’s actually okay for a book to have an unhappy ending. Without expectations, we’re not completely deflated if our blind date turns out to be rude, or when an avocado is brown on the inside. Think about it: the only reason you’re not disappointed when you don’t find a love letter in your mailbox every day is because you’re not expecting to find one in the first place.
With the people closest to you, a simple agreement to never intentionally harm one another is sufficient to solidify a healthy and long-lasting friendship. And when we expect so little from one another, we are actually inspired to do more.
Be patient with the employees at the grocery store and the servers at restaurants. They might be moving slower than you expect because they’re sick or have a headache, and it’s possible that they just received some bad news, or that it’s their first week on the job. The problem isn’t how fast or slow they move; the problem is your expectation. They might even be working with a disability of some sort that prevents them from moving faster. Be patient.
We’re jaded by a society that promotes overnight delivery, express checkout lines, 24-hour customer service, airplanes, carpool lanes, instant rebates, instant messaging and instant coffee. Constantly encouraged to expect what we want, how we want it, and right away, we are conditioned to move more quickly, multitask, speed-read and drive through, which leaves no room in our lives for learning patience, tolerance, listening, or conscious breathing.
Slow down, people, smell the plumerias, and chew your food!
Then, and only then, will you be in a position to be kind to yourself and others.
When you release your expectations that the world should fulfill you, your disappointments vanish. —Dan Millman
The Origin of Anger
Anger is like a mask that covers hurt feelings or fear. So next time you are angry, see if you can trace the origin of that feeling to its root of disappointment, shame, fear, hurt, impatience or embarrassment. Learn to skillfully explain THOSE emotions instead of the anger, and you’ll quickly find peace from understanding the misunderstanding.
It has somehow become socially acceptable to publicly express frustration and irritation by yelling, slamming doors, giving someone the finger, or storming out of the room. For some reason, however, sensitivity and vulnerability are still frowned-upon as signs of weakness (especially with
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