What’s YOUR Goal?
Posted: Monday, August 30, 2010
by e
Dhammabucha Rocksprings Meditation
What are goals anyway? Even enlightened people have goals. When they have to pee, they look for a bathroom! And that's the reason for goals; to relieve discontent in one way or another or to head off perceived discontent in the future.
Also, we all must make choices. I would suggest that a decision to pee or not to pee on the floor instead of a restroom is more of a decision based in the moment rather than a goal which is future oriented. A decision is more immediate. You don't have to work toward an intuitive decision. One has to work toward a goal, however.
In other words, insight is a kind of fearless pick-up game where one sees the immediate circumstances as they change. Whereas chiseled-in-marble goals can become irrational when situations change yet we doggedly adhere to them. This dogged determination superimposes an outdated projection regarding the realities of the moment.
Insight, on the other hand, accommodates changing situations. Insight is also always fearless, not worried about results, and not concerned with praise of blame or any of the other eight worldly winds that blow people around. Insight is simply being true to oneself, listening to that still, small voice in ones heart that is so often covered up by untamed desire and ambition.
There are urges, tendencies that differ with individuals. Again, I would not paint these tendencies with a broad brush of goals, but tendencies requiring a level of understanding here and now, and not something that is conceptualized in the future.
Goals, of course, are set to better oneself. This means that there must be an awareness of a present pain or discomfort requiring change. Ergo; goals! Which also means, in effect, that goal setters are suffering. It's coincidental that those that espouse goal setting are voicing what the Buddha voiced 2600 years ago - that life is suffering.
Delusion, being what it is, however, dictates that most caught up in the world of forms will not agree to the statement that life is suffering, and argue that life is not suffering at all; but that life is a lark! Why then must goals be introduced to change things? This is the question.
Either life is great, and there is no real suffering, or goals are necessary to improve one's life which is now viewed as substandard. Therefore, goals seem necessary to avoid future suffering, but we can't have it both ways - that goals are necessary even though life is never suffering. That is not logical.
This is why the goal of changing oneself fundamentally seldom works (I am not talking about a temporary goal of becoming a doctor by studying medicine, or an athlete by training the muscles and mental attitudes, or what one needs in order to get along in the world) This article is reaching toward deeper psychological and spiritual levels.
So, since one doesn't really want to change, he or she puts off fundamental change with the excuse of time, where one must work on oneself gradually. Conversely, just a moment of real insight into what a person really is underneath all the facades is enough to effect a change immediately. You'll have to think a bit about this one!
Real change means understanding life as it truly is. A goal setter may see life as quite substantial, relatively unchanging or very slowly changing, so slowly that it doesn't matter. A goal setter may also view life as exciting and fun, new challenges and never ending creativity and experiences. Also, a goal setter may view ego or himself as eternal, if not in body, then in a spirit that looks a lot like the body!
Conversely, insight into reality would view life and the entire universe quite the opposite; ever in flux, unpredictable, stressful and conflicted in many ways. One cannot count on anything to be the same tomorrow as it is today. Insight will understand the falsity of an eternal ego, viewing ego as a self construction of the mind that is wholly dependent upon cause and effect. This is the insight that frees the mind from the tyranny of self and all the perceived responsibilities of maintaining a cumbersome ego.
The principle of anatta (no self/soul), is pretty much confined to Buddhism. While the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) build an idea of an eternal self, which is self-admittedly a dualistic idea with God over there, and themselves over here, Buddhism eliminates the middle man (God, Jesus, Buddha etc.) and simply applies the mind to itself until the mind becomes awakened to anatta (no self), which leads to total liberation.
Therefore, these two different points of view -on one hand the substantiality and eternalism of ego, and on the other seeing through the falsity of a substantial ego - defines the religions.
Insight can be developed through meditation. However, when you "meditate about something" that's not meditation, that's contemplation involving thought. In order for insight to arise, which cuts through the process of thought and introduces intuition, the mind must become unobstructed. In other words, the insight that the Buddha's mind acquired was not a result of "thinking" about how to help humanity, but clearing the mind so that it could insightfully "see," and what it saw indelibly was how humanity suffers. That kind of impact is great.
Once the mind becomes open and still, insight becomes very strong and usually precipitates unusual effects. Without that insight, one would simply become another good Samaritan. Instead, the Buddha pointed the way to absolute freedom, even freedom from religion. "Buddhism," he claimed, was just a process, just a raft to get to the other shore which should be discarded when one becomes free from self delusion.
So the goal of enlightenment, as it turns out, is not a goal at all, but an acknowledgment. A capitulation to our conceit that clearly points out that without an enlightened mind, discontent, in the form of uncontrolled and never satisfied ego, will continue to rule our lives.
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More commentsWhat I most like here is that the whole article is about Goals. But, writer has tried so hard to make people understand that what really our goals are. I am thankful to you Mr. E. Raymond Rock.Thanks Theodore for reading and commenting.Best.....e.
It is amazing to me still that moments happen in life which strike you as odd and then you come across something such as your article which reinforces your own beliefs that you are not the odd one.I was with a client (which I don't take money for either - it is an avocation not a job) who came to me for some counseling. Her real question was can you help me figure out what my goals should be. She had read the title of a lecture I will be doing and assumed from the title of the lecture I was going to have some magic solution of how to create her goal list. When she asked me what my own goals in life were (the pre session interview that many clients feel it necessary to engage in). When I said I have no goals - I have everything I ever wanted and so much more already.Needless to say my client was very confused and thought that it was odd. I will be emailing her shortly here and directing her to your article.Wonderful and perfectly articulated.mwah (my wishes are heartfelt)Carla
"It is amazing to me still that moments happen in life which strike you as odd and then you come across something such as your article which reinforces your own beliefs that you are not the odd one."Beautifully expressed! We should all be as odd as you!Thank you Carla. Metta......e
Good. Thanks for sharing...Thank you so much Chiradeep.Best.....e
My goal is to become CEO one day and it shall come. I have matured much faster than many of my peers and come the distant with my career as a youngster. I have achieved several of my goals to include buying a home, earning my BA, and owning assets. I am happy yes indeed!Great James. May your happiness continue.Best.....e
I love your stuff on "insight". This is the kind of content that you seldom read. Your particular "western" background combined with your "eastern" training is very appealing and entertaining. Keep up with the profound an elucidate it with your inestimable vigor.What a nice comment! Thank you so much Christofer. Christian training and Buddhist practice certainly makes some strange bedfellows!
Eddie, you got me this time. I'll have to read this over many times, I'll keep at it. I'm having a hard time wrapping my arms around "insight".Bob
Enjoyed your "decision & goals" definitions - as a middle school teacher for 32 years, I'd have to say that we made a thousand split second decisions each and every day...it was constant...and it did wear me out, eventually too,...which in turn helped me to reach my goal, to get out of there and retire....lol great job - dave
This is a really interesting take on meditation. I have to admit that I was a bit confused about the opening paragraph but I was glad I went on to finish what is an interesting article. Thank you.Thank you Lisa. I hope your meditation is progressing well.Metta.....e
Very interesting article E. Most people are afraid to look within themselves, I think deep enough to become free from their own bondage.There is no other way to real freedom. The freedom we now think is real is just bondage disguised if we look outside for it. Thank you so much Linda.Best.....e
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