Is Fame Worth it?
Posted: Wednesday, May 30, 2007
by e
Dhammabucha Rocksprings Meditation
Fame hasn't provided many entertainers with contentment, neither has their kids, their lifestyles, or their friends . . . even non-stop partying and money can't erase the reality that they face when alone, which is the reality that they are aging, that everything is changing and shifting about under their feet, and that nothing really lasts, even fame. It can be frightening.
That's when all the partying in the world won't help, neither will drugs or alcohol; nothing helps. The only thing that might help is when the bottom drops out. Then we are faced with our naked selves, not the nakedness of pop art, but the nakedness of reality, a reality that we run from our entire lives as we wrap ourselves in fairy tales . . . so that we can go to sleep.
Religion might step in and say, "Give yourself up to . . . (whomever), or a counselor might recommend a therapy of some kind, to step outside oneself for a moment, but these escapes won't fool an intelligent entertainer for long; the promise of fame has fooled her, and "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me," applies. The questions that eat at her heart remain, because temporary answers are no better than the fame, kids, friends, fan clubs, parties, booze, drugs, and all the rest of it which promised unending bliss. Promises that she now understands were false.
Where can she turn, where can she escape to? Every night she comes face-to-face with herself, and if that becomes too painful, then she must drug herself into oblivion . . .and the doors to her escapes subtly begin to close.
Now shift to Thailand, deep in the forest where a Buddhist nun is washing her bowl after her one meal of the day. It's morning, and the villagers are beginning to walk to the rice fields with their water buffalo, to toil all day in the Southeast Asian sun. The nun doesn't have TV to watch, or newspapers to read, she only has the forest and her meditation, and she is happy. How can this be? How can someone be happy with nothing?
The nun sleeps easily, is calm, peaceful and contented. She finds solace in the simplest of things, such as a new leaf, a child's smiling face. She has no fan clubs, few even know she's alive, and yet she is happy. She has worked through all of the illusions of her youth, through the falseness that convinced her to search in all the wrong places, and she finally found a grain of truth in her solitude, and especially in her meditation that cut through her confusion so quickly.
How can it be that one with riches and fame might be close to suicide, yet one that has nothing is happy? How is it that the world promises so much, but in the end, we find the world to be so contemptuous?
. . . and David said, "Be thou not afraid when a man shall be made rich, for when he dieth, he shall carry nothing away, neither riches, nor joy, nor glory."
E. Raymond Rock of Fort Myers, Florida is cofounder and principal teacher at the Southwest Florida Insight Center, www.SouthwestFloridaInsightCenter.com His twenty-eight years of meditation experience has taken him across four continents, including two stopovers in Thailand where he practiced in the remote northeast forests as an ordained Theravada Buddhist monk. His book, A Year to Enlightenment (Career Press/New Page Books) is now available at major bookstores and online retailers. Visit www.AYearToEnlightenment.com
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Top-level comments on this article: (9 total)At some point we realize that material things are meaningless, if we are lucky. How sad that so many spend so much of their life trying to find what money can't buy. I believe Jesus makes the difference. Good article.Hello E. Raymond Rock, I am 17 yrs old and i am struggling with my desires and dreams. I know that there is a lot of work ahead of me if i am trying to become famous such as being an actor or interviewer or something else. But everyday i cant help but ENVY those actors and actresses on t.v. I just cant help it because they have money, girls, and everything. I just dont know what to do.... whether i should chase my dream....or not. Please reply back to me as soon as you can and i really did like your article by the wayThanks,Matt M
Thanks Gracie, Yes, the Buddha and Christ both were literally beggars, and they both gave similar advice to their disciples: Luke 18:22-29 [22] When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." [24] Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! [25] Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." [29] "I tell you the truth," Jesus said to them, "no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God [30] will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life." Best...............e
e, you're certainly old enough to remember the turmoil of the 60s. If you get a chance would you check out my article titled "Reality TV how about reality living" it's on the 4th. page of my articles. The stars of those days were trying to save the world, what happened after we found peace then? What led us to today's new found madness?Hi David, Thanks for the great rating on my article. It seems to me that we repeat our mistakes, mostly relying on a system or government to solve our problems, when the only long term answer is to find a way, and the inclination, to look within ourselves. Best.........e
E. Raymond, your article is extremely appropriate especially for the times we are living in. Everyone is searching and it all begins within. Sorta reminds me of that old Peggy Lee song, "Is that all there Is?" -- Thanks for a great article!Thank you Judi, Yes, your articles seem to reflect the fact that we are all looking in our own ways. "Should you desire the great tranquility, prepare to sweat white beads." (Hakuin). A thought echoed by the great contemplative saints such as St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila. Best........e
e, Your article reminded me of one of my mother's favorite sayings. "Be careful what you wish for, you might get it." Our western culture is very bad at teaching our children about what is truly important and what the true source of contentment is. Thanks for this reminder.
Thanks Jean. Your mother was a wise person. Mine, on the other hand, wasn't. She would always say, "Edward, you are a man of few words." ---(Hah)!
e, Your article reminds me of the art of mindfulness. How simple and yet how difficult to it is for some to master. Thanks for a wonderful article.
Thanks for the kind words, James. Being a writer, you know how we subconsciously dive into that deep well, come out gasping as we scribble something down that we might not completely understand, and then look back and learn from it. It's a weird thing. Best.........e
hey, I just wanted to thank you soooo much for this website because i have been struggling for a while trying to figure out if fame is worth it. everyday i see on t.v. a person who has everything and i envy that so much. This has helped calm me down. but i do have a question. What about when they die, they will be broadcasted over the news and everyone will remember them. But other people wont be. Is this a big deal?
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