Finding Our Perfect Puzzle

Recently in a discussion with some friends, the mention of coming from different religious backgrounds came up. One woman explained how she had been raised in a community of sincere, moral members of a certain religion. She went on to say that she had never quite felt as if that belief system was the one for her.  She hadn't quite fit.

Someone else replied that it wasn't "right." The young woman and I both responded that, no, it wasn't that the religion wasn't right. Rather it wasn't the appropriate belief system for the woman. With that an analogy came to me.

The religions and faith traditions and ethical teachings are like beautiful jigsaw puzzles. Like a missing piece from the puzzle, people come along and naturally walk up to the puzzle their parents belong to. These new people see their place in the puzzle and easily move into it. Previously, their parents had stood gazing at the same puzzle and had likewise immediately seen where their place in it was. Odds are it was a place close to their parents.

But sometimes, people come along and just don't fit into that puzzle. They try. They go to one place where a piece is missing and move around, trying some way to fit. But they don't. They try another empty spot and another and another. But nowhere do they find the empty place where they effortlessly slide into and fill their space perfectly. 

There is nothing wrong with the puzzle.

Neither is there anything wrong with the individual.

Both are perfect. They just don't fit together.

And so people can spend years trying first this puzzle and then that one, looking for that space they fit in. All the puzzles are beautiful. There is nothing wrong with them. The fit just isn't there. So it's on to another puzzle.

Then, imagine the person, now feeling very much like a lone puzzle piece walks up to yet another puzzle, sees yet another empty place, walks up to it thinking "Here I go again," sighs and tries to settle in and realises "Wow, I may fit here!" And gradually, not daring to hope, the realization slowly dawns that this time, finally, the fit is right.

In a world of perfect puzzles, another piece has found its place.

Our True Nature

In the world today there are many beliefs, religions and cultures, many different viewpoints of how to explain our world and our relationship to it. But although we seem to have so many differences, we really have so many similarities. Do not kill, do not steal, do not lie. Do all that is good and nothing that is bad. Do unto others as you would have done unto you. Remember the kindness of others and repay the kindness with gratitude.

Whether we call it caring for and respecting others or loving-kindness or compassion, we believe in helping others, in giving of what we have or who we are, to those who need our help or our wisdom. Today, many people are searching for wisdom, for the understanding of why we are born, why we live, and why we die. We are compelled by conflicting emotions. We are compelled by logic. When we hear of other beliefs the feelings of many people range from fear to curiosity, from surprise to fascination, from suspicion to cooperation.

Everywhere we look, we see societies with greater diverse cultures, societies with more differences, societies that often emphasize these differences. Today many people look outside of themselves, to these differences, believing that they are the reason why so many are so unhappy. But the reason lies within us.

As human beings, we undergo the sufferings of birth, old age, sickness, death, hardships, unfulfilled wishes, separation from our loved ones, and association with those we dislike. The failure of people to understand the real cause of their unhappiness—their suffering—is increasing this very suffering.

To overcome this suffering we need to achieve ultimate wisdom. Accomplishing this is the main objective of our learning and cultivation. Everyone has the potential to realize this state of ultimate wisdom, because it is already an intrinsic part of our nature. It is not something we can obtain externally.

But most of us have become confused through general misconceptions and therefore, are unable to realize this potential. However, if we can break through this confusion, we will realize this intrinsic part of our nature. Thus, the Buddhadharma is an educational system aimed at uncovering our own innate true nature.

10 Ways to be Happy

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Anger and Clarity

We often think that anger will spur us on to taking action. For example, we think that it will strengthen our resolve and provide the energy we need to remedy a bad situation. But then in our practice, we are told to let go of our negative habits, like anger, that have arisen. To learn to detect the rising of such emotions and stop them from becoming stronger. How do we resolve this seeming conflict?

Underlying our anger in such circumstances is the wish to "do something." But the energy that comes from anger is blind, not insightful. Such anger burns through our good intentions and leaves us exhausted.

With clarity, we will be able to determine whether or not the situation can be allowed to play itself out without any harmful, negative consequences. If the situation looks like it will result in negative consequences, then our becoming angry will not help. Only with a clear, rational mind will, we discern the wisest way to react.

One Hundred Percent

We do not need to wait for the big challenges in life to work on developing our virtue. We can work at increasing virtue in small, everyday ways. We can practice moderation in eating just what we need to be healthy and in sleeping just enough to be rested. We can work on our patience while waiting in line at the post office and on our impartiality when two children are each telling us their version of how the glass was broken.

Gradually, we will become more adept at our practice and as we encounter life's more difficult challenges, we will be better skilled at reacting wisely and calmly.

I realize this sounds very simple and obvious, but unfortunately, even small acts of virtue require much effort on our part to accomplish them perfectly. So while this may sound simplistic and repetitive, the question we need to ask ourselves is "Am I doing this one-hundred percent of my time with one-hundred percent of my effort?"