Looking at Life

differently

p l dhar

Looking at Life
differently

p l dhar

Why this topic ?

?
Stress, confusion arises from living life
unconsciously . Looking at life very
superficially
Living Consciously, looking at life deeply,
with insight reduces confusion and stress .

Conscious vs Unconscious living

Unconscious living : following the rat race Default
world view : hedonistic materialistic world view
Happiness lies in sensory pleasures obtained through
things, power, name, fame, .

Its consequences :
Cut throat competition, acquisitiveness, consumerism,
aggressiveness, strife, stress, continual dissatisfaction,
ecological and moral disaster

Conscious vs Unconscious living

Let me decide what I should be doing ?
What do I need to feel good ?

Money
Career growth
Name and fame
Using my skills for betterment of society
Understanding the phenomenon of Life

How do I prioritise these objectives ?

Prioritising the Objectives

Analyzing our experiences
Competition vs cooperation
Grabbing vs sharing
Self-centered vs altruistic actions

Anger vs forgiveness
Jealousy vs joy at others success
Deceit (smartness) vs truthfulness
Attachment vs dispassion
Pride vs humility

Analyzing our Experiences

We get much greater joy and longer lasting
satisfaction in actions motivated by compassion,
altruism, self-less ness, detachment, humility
Actions motivated by pride, selfishness, jealousy,
attachment give momentary excitement but leave
us tense and apprehensive

All Humanity is One in these Conclusions

Analyzing our Experiences

Handling difficulties

Failure, loss
Injustice, betrayal, blame
Bereavement
Aging, chronic (terminal) illness, death

BMW syndrome & anguish WHY

Understanding the
Phenomenon of Life

ME ?

Understanding the Phenomenon of

Life

The wisdom of impermanence

Even this will pass away

Who upon a signet ring,

Carved a maxim strange and wise,
When held before his eyes,
Gave him counsel at a glance,
Fit for every change and chance:
Solemn words and these were they:

Even this will pass away

Trains of camel through the sand

Brought him gems from Samarqand;
Fleets of galleys over the seas
Brought him pearls to rival these,
But he counted little gain,
Treasures of mine or main;
What is wealth? the king would say,

Even this will pass away

Mid the pleasures of his court

At the zenith of their sport, when the palms of all his guests
Burned with clapping at his jests,
Seated midst the figs and wine,
Said the king: Ah, friends of mine,
Pleasures come but not to stay, Even this will pass away
Woman, fairest ever seen
Was the bride he crowned as queen,
Pillowed on his marriage bed
Whispering to his soul, he said
Though no monarch ever pressed
Fairer bosom to his breast,
Mortal flesh is only clay!

Even this will pass away

Once a javelin pierced his shield.

Soldiers with a loud lament
Bore him bleeding to his tortured side,
Pain is hard to bear , he cried,
But with patience, day by day, Even this will pass away
Towering in a public square
Forty cubits in the air,
And the king disguised, unknown,
Gazed upon his sculptured name,
And he pondered, What is fame?
Fame is but a slow decay! Even this will pass away

Struck with palsy, sore and old,

Waiting at the gates of gold,
Said he with his dying breath
Life is done, but what is death?
Then an answer to the king
Fell a sunbeam on his ring;
Showing by a heavenly ray,

Even this will pass away

Theodore Tilten

The dawn of Wisdom of impermanence

marks the beginning of

Looking at Life differently !

Due to the lack of this wisdom

(avidya) we get attached to
-our body
-our thoughts, views, name and fame
-sensory pleasures & sorrows
-relationships

and suffer !
Humanity is ONE in this suffering

Getting established in this wisdom

we understand :
-Sensory pleasures CAN NOT give abiding
satisfaction
-Grasping / resisting sensory stimuli are the
real cause of suffering

We

Getting established in this

wisdom
we see the path to freedom :
Thoughts, emotions are also evanescent
& would cease naturally provided we do
not interfere
If we train our mind to merely observe
whatever arises in the mind or body we
become more and more Tranquil and
Equanimous at peace with ourselves
and the world.
We

There are no problems in

Life...only situations

Respond unwisely : suffer

Respond wisely : grow

Wise response
is.

Accepting what we can not change, changing what we

can, and knowing the difference between the two !
{pragmatism}

Wise response is...

every situation conceals
an opportunity to evolve
by reducing Clinging,
Aversion and Ignorance
No impulsive reaction to
situations : we ACT
Consciously - we gain
response-ability

As C A I reduce we gain
Insight into the Laws of Nature

As we sow, so we shall reap

we get what we give

..We realize

We are not distinct

differentiated individuals
But intimately interconnected at the body
level & the mental level with the whole cosmos

Imbued with such wisdom we can

easily prioritise our Objectives
Money
Career growth
Name and fame
Using my skills for betterment of society
Understanding the phenomenon of Life

and be more happy and peaceful !

Examples of a few people who

looked at life differently

Albert Einstein
A human being is a part of a whole, called by us
universe, a part limited in time and space. He
experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as
something separated from the rest... a kind of
optical delusion of his consciousness.
This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting
us to our personal desires and to affection for a few
persons nearest to us.
Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison
by widening our circle of compassion to embrace
all living creatures and the whole of nature in its
beauty.

Victor Frankel
Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the
human freedomsto choose one's attitude in any given set of
circumstances, to choose one's own way."
"'He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how.'"
"When we are no longer able to change a situationjust think of
an incurable disease such as inoperable cancerwe are
challenged to change ourselves"
"Fundamentally, therefore, any man can, even under such
circumstances, decide what shall become of him - mentally and
spiritually. He may retain his human dignity even in a
concentration camp."

Morrie Schwartz
This disease is knocking at my spirit. But it will
not get my spirit. It will get my body
Aging is not just decay once you understand
you are going to die, you live a better life
because of that

When people say , oh, if I were young again

You know what that reflects? Unsatisfied
lives. Unfulfilled lives. Lives that haven't found
meaning. Because if youve found meaning in
your life, you dont want to go back. You want
to go forward.
People havent found meaning in their lives, so
they are running all the time looking for it.
They think the next car, the next house, the next
job.

Morrie Schwartz
I delight in being a child when it is appropriate to be
I delight in being a wise old man when it is
appropriate to be.

I believe in being fully present. that means you should

be with the person you are with. I try to be focused on
what is going on between us. I am not thinking about
something we said last week. What is coming up this
Friday..
When some one wanted to go ahead of me in traffic, I
would raise my hand, wave and smile. You know what,
a lot of time they smiled back.
Do the kinds of things that come from the heart. When
you do, you wont be dissatisfied, you wont be envious,
you wont be longing for somebody elses things. On the
contrary, youll be overwhelmed with what comes

Facing the Future

Every journey begins
With but a small step.
And every day is a chance
For a new, small step
In the right direction.
Just follow your Heartsong.

I want people to know

my life philosophy,
to remember to play
after every storm

Mattie Stepanek
(1990-2004)

Looking at Death differently

What the caterpillar calls the end of the world,

the master calls a butterfly.
-Richard Bach

Thank You !