Yoga and Buddhism: Giving Us New Tools and Sharpening

Old Ones

One of the reasons that some people have problems in

life and suffer excessively is because they do not

have a strong foundation for living or a wholesome

view of themselves and others.

This leads to confused feelings about oneself such as

low or fluctuating self – esteem, a tendency to be too

caught up in one’s moods and energy swings and an

inability to handle rejections, disappointments and

the challenges that life can bring in a healthy or philosophical manner.

It can also be leading us in to ways of behaving and

acting that are offensive to others or cause ourselves

needless suffering.

For some reason, this writer has had the experience of

meeting many people in his life who had the tendencies mentioned above.

These tendencies were not limited to the economically

deprived or those who lacked an education, but just

seemed to be facts of life for many to deal with.

One prevalent factor among all of these people was

that they came from a home that was not functioning in

the healthiest manner that it was capable of.

It is no secret that our home life and how we were

raised has a profound influence on how we live out our

lives.

Too many times such a statement can be quickly

dismissed as nothing more then a child blaming his or

her parents for their problems, but it is true that

many parents have had problems with life that they

never acknowledged or dealt with and that such a trait

can lead to passing on attitudes and feelings of

anger, anxiety and aversion to the younger generation.

It is not something that is determined by the level of development in a country or even a country’s political

 situation, though such things could influence to varying degrees how well a family can function and grow.

Sometimes, whatever the situation in our family and

country and life has been, we become people of an

uneven disposition, being focused and alert at some

things, and at other times. lost and lazy.

Sometimes the way we are is a mixture of the good and

the bad, the saintly and sinner, the healthy and the

unhealthy, and the wholesome and the unwholesome.

We may be a wife beater and alcoholic and still be

loved and respected in the family and community, while

someone else may be sober, hard – working and gentle

in speech and action, and for some reason looked down

or derided for his or her ways of living.

Nothing seems to ever be fully understood or set in

stone in the world and how it and we can change.

Perhaps what we would all wish for is a way to

strengthen the good points that we have and in some

manner cultivate new strengths and insights, so that

we can live life more skillfully.

Some teachers of Yoga or Buddhism will frequently

refer to them as being tools for living better.

What they do is give us a number of guidelines about

how to think, speak and act, not in order to please

God and get a one way ticket to heaven, but to give us

the tools to help build a personal and community -

like heaven on earth.

This is not a heaven built on physical and material

comfort, wealth and convenience, but a heaven based on

a state of harmony within and a state of harmony with

others.

If we look around, and we do not have to look too

closely to see this, we will find that it is this lack

of a state of harmony that is the cause of so many

problems, and many times we are confused about how to

cultivate that state of harmony.

The temporary pleasures that sex, drugs and drink

bring us are just that, temporary.

Many of us benefit in making a sincere attempt to

establish something within that is consistently

focused and mindful.

But Yoga and Buddhism do not only give us new tools

that help us live better, but they sharpen old tools

that have become dull.

Too many times when we are exposed to something that

says it can make us better, be it a 12 - step program,

a religion or a spiritual path and practice such as

Yoga or Buddhism, we may be told that the way we are

now is not a good way.

This is not true and can do a disservice to those who

need guidance and nurturing and are sincere in the

healing, recovery and learning process.

We all have good points and strong characteristics

that have become overshadowed by life’s experiences,

our conditioning and our current habits, behaviors,

routines and attitudes.

The good things about us, or the good things that we

have forgotten about us have just become dulled and we

will find that when we practice Yoga and Buddhism not

only do we cultivate and strengthen new tools, but we

sharpen those old ones.

The ability to be loving, compassionate and

understanding to others is not something new that Yoga

or Buddhism gives us.

It is just something that has been overshadowed by our attachments and fears and greed from life.

The ability to have a focused and balanced approach to

life is not something that Yoga and Buddhism give us.

They just show us the way to attain that natural

purity that has always been there, but perhaps has

been darkened by too many drinks, or sexual partners

or some unwholesome conditioning or trauma that we

were exposed to at one time or another.

The ability to put forth the effort to reach a higher

place in life, both individually and in our work is

not something that we are not capable of, but has just

been temporarily lost due to a lack of mindfulness

about what we are capable of and the intelligence that

we all possess.

If we learn and practice Yoga or Buddhism with some

degree of sincerity and consistency, the new tools

will be welcomed and appreciated, while the sharpening

of the old tools will bring us joy and make us realize

that we have always been good people.

©2004 John C. Kimbrough

(John lives and teaches in Bangkok, Thailand. He can

be reached at johnckimbrough@yahoo.com)