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Clinging to the limited, short-sighted view that sees only this world and this life

To some people it is no more amazing that we are reborn again and again through many lifetimes than that we are born here on this earth at all, even once. To think only of today and invest only in what we can see, touch, and weigh has certain very definite limitations, even in the scientific materialist’s view of reality.

When we open our inner eye, listen with our inner ear, sense divine fragrance, or intuit an impalpable yet authentic invisible presence—does that not strongly suggest to us that there is more to life than meets the eye? If we feel deeply compelled to learn and to love, we must peer more deeply into the intricacies of our experience with all its boundless interlocking levels, numerous dimensions, and myriad forms of existence.

MEETING THE CHALLENGE OF

SPIRITUAL LAZINESS

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.

—RALPH WALDO EMERSON

The Buddha warned about five primary hindrances on the path to awakening. One of them, spiritual laziness, is a direct challenge to the vigor and energy necessary for Right Effort. The words that have been used for centuries in Asia to define this challenge to enlightenment are sloth and torpor, two old-fashioned terms that include apathy, lethargy, indolence, spiritual laziness, complacency, and even depression.

Consider the Buddha’s intense passion for enlightenment: He meditated for six years in the wilderness before he realized perfect awakening under the bodhi tree just as the morning star rose over the horizon. Milarepa achieved enlightenment in a lifetime spent above the Himalayan tree line, living in snowbound caves, warmed only by the heat of his inner light. Remember the courageous effort of the Buddha’s aunt and the other women who joined her in breaking out of the strict social order of caste-bound ancient India in order to pursue a spiritual life.

All of this doesn’t mean that even the most committed Dharmacists and Dharma farmers like myself don’t have days when we detest jumping out of bed in the predawn hours to sit in meditation. When I was in a monastery, I found waking up at 4:00 A.M. every day, year round extremely difficult. When the gong sounded, my tendency was to roll over and incorporate the resonant sound into my dreams. Finally I asked the diligent doctor-monk who rang the gong if he would kindly open the door to my room and do something to get my attention. Monastic tradition prevented him from entering my cell, but at 4:30 A.M. he would crack open the door to my room and if I was still asleep, he would toss my sandals at me.

I was never fully able to become accustomed to arising so early for meditation. However, as a night owl who doesn’t wake easily, I was elated that I could do it at all. The French monk in the next room, on the other hand, was getting up at 3:30 each morning to begin his prayers and meditation routine. At sixty-two, he was older than most of our intrepid band; he felt that he had to do as much as he possibly could because he had less time to reach enlightenment than the rest of us. He was a wonderful example and inspiration, and I admired his energy as much as his kindness and genuine savoir faire.

With the hindrance of torpor, we also have to discuss the spiritual crisis known as depression and the lethargy that accompanies it. During the Buddha’s lifetime, the word depression didn’t really exist, yet there is nothing new about the age-old emotion known as despair. Today I speak to many men and women who express their despair; often they feel as though the fatigue of depression is robbing them of the energy to walk the spiritual path or even to keep living. Depression seems to overwhelm them with negativity and lethargy. They say it is hard to do anything when you feel as though you have lost your way and nothing you do can possibly matter.

Depression typically carries an overwhelming sense of feeling abandoned, alone, exhausted, and disconnected—profoundly weary from the difficult