(For Podcast, click here. For ITunes version, click here.)
When we were all children, most of us wanted
the freedom to stay up late or watch TV and we thought that was what happiness was all about. Then, as we became teenagers, we wanted the
freedom to stay out longer and be with our friends and we thought that would
bring us happiness. Then, we got out of
the house, away from our parents and wanted the freedom that being on our own
would bring, the freedom that money could buy, being able to buy and do the
things that we thought would make us happy.
This desire for freedom in some form or fashion seems to be an important part of our psyche. So, here we are today. At whatever point you
are in your life you are here, right now.
Now, when you think about being free, what comes to mind? What is the freedom you desire? It’s powerful to be able to acknowledge that, even though we’ve grown up, we may still might feel enslaved to our old ways of
thinking about ourselves and the world, we may still feel enslaved to any
thought or emotion or sensation that arises within us.
In a superficial way, freedom is sometimes described as an ability to chase after any desire that we have. We want the freedom to eat what we want to eat, to drink what we want to drink, the freedom to act on any whim that strikes us. But what Buddha discovered is that acting on any whim that arises is actually no freedom at all. In fact, it becomes the worst kind of imprisonment. We are imprisoned by our desires, forced to act on them, unable to withstand the feelings of withdrawal that arise if not acted upon. What Buddha discovered was that NOT acting on every whim of desire was the FIRST step towards ultimate happiness. Starting with a willingness to see clearly what these whims are all about, we start to see the world at a deeper level of richness, of fullness, of true reality, of true freedom.
Stephen Batchelor points out that we are our own jailers. We keep seeking freedom from what is. Instead, we can learn to harness present awareness into a freedom to be, into a freedom to choose the best response for each situation. In Buddhism, the desire for Ultimate Freedom is one of the tools that we can harness to find the long-lasting peace and happiness that we’ve been looking for all along. As adults, we are no longer constrained by our parents, or at least not physically. But we may feel constrained by our unskillful habits or constrained by our emotions or even our thoughts, constrained by our illusions about what life is about or constrained by what we think we are supposed to be doing. It’s easy to get lost in the shackles of illusions that keep us from being completely happy and at peace. The Buddha taught that the only obstacle to complete freedom and happiness is our own misguided way of thinking.
The very important first step to finding this deep sense of happiness, is to disengage from the constant need to become entangled with our passing thoughts and emotions.
Buddhism teaches us to focus our desire on this inner freedom of choice. Emotions or thoughts will continue to arise, and yet we always have the freedom to choose IF to react and then HOW to react.
When we become aware of our emotional and mental entanglements, only then, we can see them more clearly, see them for what they are—only illusive and illusory, and only then can we become free of them.
In a beautifully written book entitled Wake Up to Your Life, Ken McLeod gives an eloquent description of how bringing attention to our thoughts and emotions can free us from their hold. He gives a four-step process for dismantling these old patterns.
And when compassionate attention becomes the habit, then we are truly free to live our lives in peace regardless of what arises.
Let's not wait for some magical time when we get it right every time. Let’s start now, working at it, with each thought and emotion, a fresh opportunity to practice, and with each opportunity, we open ourselves to this incredible freedom little by little. Over time, our lives do become magical, in that sense of wonder and deep happiness from the experience of inner freedom. We have everything we need to experience the freedom of living.
Today we continue our book series on Buddhism Without Beliefs by Stephen Batchelor. This morning, I would like to talk about how
Buddhist practices are designed to help us find and experience unlimited
freedom—this is a freedom beyond all others—it is the inner freedom that is
available to everyone. How can we
liberate ourselves from the cycle of suffering through the practice of these
teachings? To do so, we can look at
how craving, aversion and ignorance causes us to suffer in the first
place.
In a superficial way, freedom is sometimes described as an ability to chase after any desire that we have. We want the freedom to eat what we want to eat, to drink what we want to drink, the freedom to act on any whim that strikes us. But what Buddha discovered is that acting on any whim that arises is actually no freedom at all. In fact, it becomes the worst kind of imprisonment. We are imprisoned by our desires, forced to act on them, unable to withstand the feelings of withdrawal that arise if not acted upon. What Buddha discovered was that NOT acting on every whim of desire was the FIRST step towards ultimate happiness. Starting with a willingness to see clearly what these whims are all about, we start to see the world at a deeper level of richness, of fullness, of true reality, of true freedom.
Stephen Batchelor points out that we are our own jailers. We keep seeking freedom from what is. Instead, we can learn to harness present awareness into a freedom to be, into a freedom to choose the best response for each situation. In Buddhism, the desire for Ultimate Freedom is one of the tools that we can harness to find the long-lasting peace and happiness that we’ve been looking for all along. As adults, we are no longer constrained by our parents, or at least not physically. But we may feel constrained by our unskillful habits or constrained by our emotions or even our thoughts, constrained by our illusions about what life is about or constrained by what we think we are supposed to be doing. It’s easy to get lost in the shackles of illusions that keep us from being completely happy and at peace. The Buddha taught that the only obstacle to complete freedom and happiness is our own misguided way of thinking.
The very important first step to finding this deep sense of happiness, is to disengage from the constant need to become entangled with our passing thoughts and emotions.
Buddhism teaches us to focus our desire on this inner freedom of choice. Emotions or thoughts will continue to arise, and yet we always have the freedom to choose IF to react and then HOW to react.
-Matthieu Ricard, "Working with
Desire" (Tricycle, Summer 2004)
“If we know how to focus on our
inner freedom,
we can experience all sensations within the pristine simplicity of the present
moment, in a state of well-being that is free from grasping and expectation.”
When we become aware of our emotional and mental entanglements, only then, we can see them more clearly, see them for what they are—only illusive and illusory, and only then can we become free of them.
In a beautifully written book entitled Wake Up to Your Life, Ken McLeod gives an eloquent description of how bringing attention to our thoughts and emotions can free us from their hold. He gives a four-step process for dismantling these old patterns.
- Recognize: When we have sensations or emotions or thoughts, we begin to pay attention to them early on.
- Disidentify: We can start to see these sensations or emotions or thoughts as NOT who we are, see them as just ephemeral desires or aversions arising and allowing them to fall away
- Develop a practice: We practice not identifying with them. Each time a thought or emotion arises, we have an opportunity to form a new habit, to pay attention, to examine it and disidentify with it, so we can see it more clearly.
- Cut through with practice: Each time a thought or emotion arises, we can apply the antidote to it, the antidote of awareness and compassionate attention. Again and again, until compassionate attention becomes the habit.
And when compassionate attention becomes the habit, then we are truly free to live our lives in peace regardless of what arises.
Let's not wait for some magical time when we get it right every time. Let’s start now, working at it, with each thought and emotion, a fresh opportunity to practice, and with each opportunity, we open ourselves to this incredible freedom little by little. Over time, our lives do become magical, in that sense of wonder and deep happiness from the experience of inner freedom. We have everything we need to experience the freedom of living.
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