..续本文上一页indows and doors, it”s going to look for an opening. As soon as they turn their backs, it”s gone. But if the parents are kind to the child—give it good things to play with, interesting things to do at home, lots of warmth and love—the child will want to stay home even if the windows and doors are left wide open.

　　So it is with the mind. Be friendly with it. Give it something good to stay with in the present moment—like comfortable breathing. Maybe you can”t make the whole body comfortable, but make at least part of the body comfortable and stay with that part. As for the pains, let them be in the other part. They have every right to be there, so make an arrangement with them. They stay in one part, you stay in another. But the essential point is that you have a place where the mind feels stable, secure, and comfortable in the present moment. These are the beginning steps in meditation.

　　This kind of meditation can be used for all sorts of purposes, but the Buddha realized that the most important purpose is to get the mind out of the whole cycle of aging, illness, and death. And when you think about it, there”s nothing more important than that. That”s the big problem in life and yet society tends to slough off the problems of aging, illness, and death, tends to push them off to the side because other things seem more pressing. Making a lot of money is more important. Having fulfilling relationships is more important. Whatever. And the big issues in life—the fact that you”re headed for the sufferings and indignities that come with an aging, ill, or dying body—get pushed off, pushed out of the way. “Not yet, not yet, maybe some other time.” And of course when that other time does arrive and these things come barging in, they won”t accept your “not yet,” won”t be pushed out anymore. If you haven”t prepared yourself for them, you”ll really be up the creek, at a total loss.

　　So these are the most important things you need to prepare for. A lot of other things in life are uncertain, but a couple of things are certain. Aging comes. Illness comes. Death is going to come for sure. So when you know something is going to come for sure, you have to prepare for it. And when you realize that this is the most important issue in life, you have to look at the way you live your life. Meditation—the practice of the Buddha”s teachings—is not just a question of sitting with your eyes closed every now and then. It”s about how you order your priorities. As the Buddha said, when you see there”s a greater level of happiness that can be found by sacrificing lesser forms of happiness, you sacrifice the lesser ones. Look at your life and the things you hold onto, the little places where the mind finds its pleasure but doesn”t gain any real fulfillment: Are those the things you really want to hold onto

　　 Are you going to let them be the factors governing your life

　　And then you can think of larger issues. The chance for a happiness that goes beyond aging, illness, and death: Will that be the first priority in your life

　　 These are questions we all have to ask within ourselves. The Buddha doesn”t force our answers. He simply sets out what the situation is. He says that there is a possibility for happiness lying beyond the happiness that comes from simply eating and sleeping, looking after the body and having a comfortable time. This possibility is the good news in the Buddha”s teachings, especially since most of the world says, “Well, this is all there is to life, so make the most of it. Satisfy yourself with these immediate pleasures and don”t think about other things. Don”t let yourself get dissatisfied with what you”ve got.” When you think about this attitude, it”s really depressing because all it means is that you grab at what you can before you die. And whe…

《The How & the Why》全文未完，请进入下页继续阅读…