by Stephen Lau
Zen is The Way: So, stop suffering from human pain!
Depression is a disease of the mind — a manifestation of deep internal pain. Many individuals suffering from depression have a distorted perception of self-worth. Instead of accepting who they are, they want to be what they wish they would like to become. Their hunger for that “realty” often fosters delusions and a host of other mental problems, such as confusion and distress. Depression is not The Way of Zen.
(Find out how to heal your depression by using your mind from my website Rethink Your Depression, which shows you how to develop new perspectives on your depression.)
A depressed individual may feel the pain (which is “real” to that individual), but does not have to suffer from the pain.
Human pain may not be an option, but suffering is often a choice. Sadly, suffering is often unknowingly self-inflicted through explanation, rationalization, and overindulgence. With or without them, human pain is still there, whether you like it or not. But you need not welcome or reject it. And you don’t have to turn your pain into perpetual suffering. The pain is there; you need not prolong your suffering unnecessarily.
According to Buddha, all human pain comes from desire. Longing for something you cannot have creates pain. In life, pain occurs when expectations are not met. In Zen, every moment remains with that moment. For that reason, everything is changing, and impermanent. Therefore, to desire or crave permanence from something that is impermanent is a disease of the mind.
Unlike modern psychiatry, The Way of Zen is not to question, analyze, or dwell upon pain. Modern psychiatry “analyzes” emotional pain in an attempt to avoid that pain. Ironically, according to Zen, that is exactly how the setting for suffering is created. The Way of Zen may not free you from pain, but it can certainly free you from suffering, which is often self-induced, self-inflicted, and self-perpetuated. Don’t rationalize your pain; just accept it.
Zen is The Way in that human pain is natural. Just learn how to receive it, although you don’t have to welcome it.
“To separate what we like from what we dislike is the disease of the mind” Sosan
In Zen, pain is simply pain: nothing more and nothing less. Striving to explain it, or dwell upon it, is depression, which is not The Way of Zen.
If you think you are facing constant internal pain and frustration from never-ending problems in life, then turn to Zen. In life, you are either happy or you are not; there is no in-between. Short moments of happiness or pleasure, such as achieving a life goal you have set for yourself, may temporarily relieve you from the internal pain. But after that, you are back to where you were — pain and unhappiness.
Being happy and pain free do not require you to meet your own standards or certain social standards. Neither do you need approval from others; it is all you mental choices.
Ancient Keys of Joy: Follow the ancient meditation techniques fully adapted to modern age to discover the ancient secrets of authentic happiness without pain. You will learn what true happiness is, and what it depends on; how your thoughts and emotions are interconnected to create the reality of your happiness; and how your thoughts can create the reality you truly want to experience. . . . This book may change your perspectives on human pain and human happiness.
Copyright© by Stephen Lau
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