If the Buddha Got Stuck_ A Handbook for Change on a Spiritual Path - Charlotte Sophia Kasl [6]
Houston Smith continues, “Days later, in the early morning, as the stars glittered in the eastern sky, his mind pierced the world’s bubble, his identity as Siddhartha collapsed into and was restored with the effulgence of true being. The Great Awakening had Arrived. Over time he became known as The Buddha, which means the one who is awake.”
The Buddha resisted all attempts by others to make him into a god or deity; rather, he encouraged all people to awaken to their Buddha nature. Buddhism became a path of learning through experience—if you don’t truly know something in your heart and reflect it in the way you live, you don’t yet know it fully. The Buddha was active as a teacher, and his life became a model of balance between teaching and retreating into solitude, which he did periodically throughout his days and for three months out of every year.
The steps in this book parallel the Buddha’s journey.
The first step is to be aware of your unrest, unhappiness, and longing for something richer, more balanced and meaningful. The second is to Show Up for life in a myriad of ways. With curiosity and fascination, go beyond your prescribed life and explore the world beyond your usual rituals, beliefs, and habits—bringing electricity and spark to your life, challenging yourself, having fun, meeting new situations. You might sign up for a class, travel to a place you’ve never been, go to a lecture on an unfamiliar topic, seek counseling, or take a day off for pure pleasure.
You may not know why you are pulled in a certain direction, but you let yourself follow it, having new adventures, doing things in different ways. Siddhartha never would have become intrigued about suffering if he hadn’t slipped out of the palace and seen the poverty-stricken people on the road. He didn’t have a particular agenda; he was simply curious. By showing up and exploring new avenues, you open yourself to new possibilities.
In the third step, Pay Attention, you go deeper into the experience of inner self-awareness on a moment to moment, daily basis. Your senses and body are attuned more deeply, you listen more carefully, and your hearing becomes more nuanced.
You pay attention at many levels. You notice when you are tense, afraid, hungry, tired, or in need of comfort. You attune to what energizes and delights you, as opposed to what drains or feels lifeless to you. You notice when you want to be with others and when you seek solitude. Paying attention is grounded in the body and expressed through these questions: “Does this feel right for me?” “What do I really want to do?” “What is my body telling me?”
You also start to notice your mind—how opposing voices argue, censor, judge, and reel off the same stories day after day. You become aware of the allegiance you pay to rules and beliefs—being nice is good, angry is bad, you should never talk back, you can’t do that—and start to notice the limitations these thoughts create.
Step four, Live in Reality, is about sorting out the past from the present. Is this flare of anger connected to my childhood or is it appropriate to this current situation? Am I feeling relaxed and clear—like a grownup—or am I uneasy and afraid like a child? Am I seeing that person for who he is, or as a stand-in for someone else? We ask ourselves, What is really true? Truth and integrity shine together in this stage, opening the door to deeper and more spontaneous, enjoyable relationships.
Step five, Connect with Others, lies at the heart of our journey. Genuine connections ease anxiety and help assuage our essential aloneness. They provide the secure base from which we can venture into scary places, celebrate our joys, and take risks, knowing someone is there to either cheer for us or catch us if we fall.
In step six, Take Action, we move from thinking to doing. Taking action becomes the process