It's hard to Juggle between Spiritual and Worldly lives

By Admin

Date → Saturday, January 1, 2011

Tags → 5 Aggregates , hard to juggle , Noble 8 Fold Path , spiritual path

Sukihotu,

Happy new year. May 2011 be a good year for you.

I maintained 2 blogs. I've this blog, Buddhist Bugs where I dedicated my thoughts on Buddhism. And I also have another blog Uncle Bugs where I share my thoughts on creativity and innovation. And yesterday being the 1st day of a brand new year, I wrote an article to share what I think of a few future technologies that will brace us. You can read it here.

However, I couldn't say the same when it comes to spirituality, especially Buddhism. If you noticed the underlined message in that article, I discussed about creating new gadgets that makes life easy, better and safer. There is nothing wrong with that. Except that it helps us to continue to live as a human being in this samsara world.

Whence, in the world of Buddhism it's the opposite. In Buddhism, we are taught to let go. Completely letting go of things and feelings in order to achieve eternal happiness.

There is this phrase in the Buddhism.

Sabba papassa akaranam

Kusalassa upasampada
Sacitta pariyodapanam
Etham Buddhanasasanam

To abstain from all evil
To cultivate the good
and to purify one's mind
This is the teaching of the Buddhas

Which mean not committing any wrong doing, either through body, speech or mind. In another word, give-up the bad, practice the good. And this is the heart of Buddhism. Letting go.

I'm not trying to say, inventing new gadget that makes human lives better and safer for others is not good. But, by being sucked into believing that creating new gadgets like this solves human problem is a wrong view.

This is a tricky situation. I'm always caught into this illusion. My profession is an inventor and even though I know creating new invention that makes live better and improved the environment is good. But I've always got caught in this rat life. I'm always trying to accumulate and accumulate non-stop to pay bills. Day in day out I am accumulating things, and more things to pay bills and more bills. This is really a mad rat life that I'm living in.

However, being a practicing Buddhist, I tried to juggle and find a balance in both my spiritual and worldly lives. I need to strike a balance because I have a family to feed, bills to pay and I've not join the Sangha yet. Therefore during work, I've constantly reminded myself that I need to let go too. As long as I am a human being and is conditioned to the 5 aggregate, I'll suffer. I'll meet death and be reborn again and again in this samsaric world if I don't let go.

Obviously, you can see I'm still lost in my own samsara world. Even though the Buddha has already shown us the way out of this cycle of death and re-birth through the Noble Eight Fold Path. But in reality, it is still very hard for me to let go at this moment of time.

If you have any comment on this, I would be pleased to hear from you. Pls share.

Once again Happy New Year.

Mettacittena,

Bugs Tan

2nd Jan 2011