So when this statement came to my mind, my first response was yes how true. It's obvious that if we're not fighting anything, then we can enjoy peace. And when we think of peace, well for me anyway, visions of a still lake on a summers day shows up, accompanied by the sound of a tiny clear bell and perhaps even a waft of incense. Hmmmmm, or maybe Ohmmmmmmmmmm. Thats peace isn't it? Yes, perhaps, well not necessarily. We tend to have beliefs that don't always accept our situation, and the striving for things to be 'perfect', better or well just not this, means we often think its not possible to find peace when we're experiencing less than perfect jobs, relationships, lives!? You know that familiar thought, 'when I have,,,,,,,,,I'll be happy'. When I live in ,,,,,,,,, when I work at,,,,,,,,,when I stop,,,,,,,,, THEN I'll be happy, feel peaceful. The list is endless, and keeps our beloved 'peace' always in the future, unobtainable just like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Always travelling towards it but never quite getting to finally reach the pot and pick up any of that gold and hold it in your hand. So what to do then?
I remember years ago at a Buddhist class asking about whether a 'good Buddhist' just lets things happens and has to accept, even if something horrible is happening. The answer I was given was no, that's not what it means to do no harm or act in a peaceful way. The best we can do is try to cultivate a peaceful mind, with good intention, and that good intention comes from cherishing others first and not ourselves, or wishing others to be happy.
I admit at the time, I found this a bit of a cop out, a bit 'fluffy' a bit cliche and felt that it meant that we just have to be strong enough to not be bothered by rubbish things and build a thick skin that was able to deal with the most difficult stuff, all the while smiling and waving and saying 'its fine it will all be fine'. But over the years, Ive come to understand that dealing with difficulty and cultivating a peaceful mind is more about allowing movement through you. Thoughts and emotions come and go and a bit like the ocean, they will continue to do that FOREVER. Trying to control them is like trying to stop each wave in the ocean, its gonna get tiring and drain you to a flat battery pretty quickly! But,,,,,much like a samurai warrior, with stealth coolness you can learn to become more like a vessel, allowing yourself to feel all the feels without being drowned in them.
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