Abandon any hope of fruition

As we continue discussing the Lojong (mind training) teachings by Atisha, we come to Slogan #28:  Abandon any hope of fruition

What? Give up Hope?

This is actually a fundamental Buddhist teaching.  I gave a similar talk back in January of 2009, and I remember it was the month when President Obama was inaugurated.  Most of you may know that he had written a book called, the Audacity of Hope.   I felt a little un-American promoting such a strange concept of giving up hope! 

But let’s talk about what hope implies.  Hope by its very definition includes that there is some reason that we want things to be different.  That there is something that is not good enough in this present moment, that we are not good enough in this present moment. If you’re hoping for anything, you’re wishing things were different than how they actually are. 

Pema Chodron calls this one of the most powerful teachings of the Buddhist tradition, and she says that as long as you are wishing for things to change, they never will. As long as you're wanting yourself to get better, you won't. As long as you have an orientation toward the future, you can never just relax into what you already have or already are.  The very definition of hope is future focused.

We are all trying to make our pain go away, but with hope we are trying to make it go away by not accepting what is truly happening in this moment right now.  Buddhism teaches that everything we need is available to us in this moment, ALL we have to do is to  continually practice being fully present.  In this moment, you might be feeling sad or happy, depressed or aggravated, or irritated or sleepy.  In this moment, ask yourself the question, “What am I feeling and thinking in this exact moment?”  We have to be in touch with what is really going on to have a place to start.  Not to wallow in any misery, but to acknowledge it as fact. To start where we are.

I also found it interesting that Pema said that she realized that she was holding onto hope for herself as well.   She admitted that she had been unconsciously thinking for decades that she was going to come to a place in the future when she was really enlightened, that there was something going to happen sometime in the future.  After decades of practice, she realized that the enlightenment had been happening all along the way, inch by inch, step by step, in each moment, and she let go of hoping for some big bang in the future. Letting go of hope for the future enabled her to cherish the gifts in each moment. 

In Buddhism, we are learning to full accept this present moment, with all the messiness that may imply.   Not in some esoteric, conceptual way, but right now, right here, as you read this, in this moment, accepting yourself just the way you are.  That’s the first and most important step to finding happiness in life.  It doesn’t mean that you will never change, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t things you can do differently, but you can begin each moment by living from the truth.

I have a dear friend who is a recovering alcoholic.  Ten years ago, he had pretty much destroyed his entire life with drinking—job gone, family gone, friends that remained were just drinking buddies.  He hit bottom and began going to AA meetings. Around him swirled money issues, bankruptcies, pain, anxiety, fear, the realization of the havoc he had wreaked on his own life and the lives of others.  It wasn’t enough to hope that the future was going to get better, he was in an intense pain in the here and now.  He told me that one way he got through it was to find some moments of peace, by letting go of the past and forgetting about the future, JUST for the hour that he spent in the AA meetings. He told himself that in that hour, he could set aside all his troubles, and just be there, and recognize in that hour, there was no pain except the pain in his mind. He was able to find enough peace to carry on, to make the changes needed, by just being fully present.  That was ten years ago.  It worked.

There’s a new I-Phone app called, “Last night didn’t happen” and it erases all twitters, facebook updates and pictures from the last 12 hours.  Of course, we know we can’t erase what actually happened, and this is not encouragement to act irresponsible, but the past is done.  Jack Kornfield says that wisdom is giving up hope for a better past.  

There was a t-shirt that a comedian was wearing on Comedy Central.  It said, “You are here”.  You are here.  That is it.  You are not in the past, You are not in the future.  You are here.  Reading this, in this moment.  We need to remind ourselves of that on a regular basis. 

So, now that I’ve destroyed everyone’s hopes, let’s see what we can replace that with. 

Inspiration: The exact definition is Divine guidance or influence exerted directly on the mind and soul of humankind.  Inspiration is incorporated in the the first two steps of the eightfold path:  Right View and Right Intention.  We can begin each moment with a passion for practicing presence.  The very word, Inspiration is also the word for breathing in. As we breathe in, we can be reminded, of the innate wisdom within us.  We can be inspired in each moment to make skillful decisions.  Each present moment, we are creating the future.  Not by passively hoping, but by actively being inspired to greatness.  Even if greatness is just about not responding in the old ways.  

This week, allow yourself to be inspired with each breath.  Try letting go of hope.  Just be present with each inbreath and outbreath.   Abandon any hope of fruition.  There will never be a special moment in the future when you will be fully enlightened.  You are being enlightened little by little in every moment of every day, and giving up hope actually helps.