Burnout
Over the past several days I have written a lot about the idea of quitting one’s practice. Here at the temple I see a lot of folks come through the door. Of course some do so only as a class assignment, others are simply curious with no real interest in actually practicing. There are some though who actually do begin to come regularly and seem genuinely interested learning more and practicing Buddhism.
So what is it that can keep people motivated to continue their practice, or what is it that prevents them from continuing.
In traditional Buddhist mythology it was considered that there were either certain types of obstacles or demons that would naturally occur that prevented or tried to prevent someone from attaining enlightenment or continuing their practice.
It is important to understand that these are fundamentally naturally occurring conditions within each of us, though they may manifest in various unique ways depending upon our lives.
Primarily today, as I have been for several days, lets look at what’s going on inside us. Pretty much everyone knows something about burnout. That said I thought it would be handy to list some of the symptoms of this familiar condition. These symptoms include exhaustion, disillusionment with people, or the organization. Also included are the loss of interest, low motivational energy, absent or missing work or practice.
There are some ways to avoid burnout and I’ll talk about how these apply to our practice of Buddhism. The first advice is to look again at what is the purpose of our practice. It is important, as I have mentioned several times in the past few days, to look at the reasons why we practice Buddhism – to attain enlightenment, to eliminate suffering in our lives and the lives of others, to enable all beings to attain enlightenment. These are a few of the overarching fundamental reasons.
Next is to look at how we are doing our daily practice – is it consistent, is it sincere or are we merely going through the motions, are we taking shortcuts?
Number three on one list I see for avoiding burnout is giving. As Mahayana Buddhists, giving is the first of the Six Perfections. There are many ways to manifest giving.
Number four is to take control and manage your time. Several times I have talked about examining our priorities. What is important to us and do we actually put the important things first or do we give them short shrift?
Exercise is important and I think it applies in our Buddhist practice. Without a healthy body we cannot expect to foster a healthy mind. The body and mind are inseparable.
These are just a few ways we can approach renewing and continuing our Buddhist practice.
“Do not wish to live in the burning house of the triple world! Do not crave for inferior forms, sounds, smells, tastes or things tangible! If you cling to them and crave for them, you will be burned by them. Get out of the triple world quickly and obtain the teaching of the Three Vehicles: the Sravaka-Vehicle, Pratyekabuddha-Vehicle, and Buddha-Vehicle! I now assure you that you will never fail to obtain those vehicles. Exert yourselves, make efforts!” (Lotus Sutra, Chapter III)
