Hidden Problems
I recently purchased some plants to put in the back yard of the temple. Up until this year I have put the most effort into making the front of the temple inviting, relaxing and hopefully a little nice. A lot of the front of the temple is taken up by parking area so the little space there is didn’t require a lot of work. Several of the trees in the front were donated as well as the concrete bench. Some of the hard work of digging holes for the fence was donated by a few of the young guys who come to the temple.
Now I have turned my attention to the neglected back yard which I am sort of landscaping in a way that is personally pleasing, though hopefully it will also be enjoyable to folks who visit the temple. I am taking it in small bites, since my budget doesn’t allow for anything massive.
Well I planted some plants and most of them are doing nicely. There are a couple that are struggling, in fact they look pretty bad and probably will die. I have looked for what might be the cause of the problem but so far have not discovered what could be causing them to turn brown and wilt back. I have checked the hole to make sure there are no air pockets and they are getting plenty of water.
Perhaps there is something wrong with the soil or perhaps some bug or fungus. Who knows? The point however is that if I decide to replant and don’t find the cause of the problem will the next plants do any better?
Our lives are somewhat the same. There are effects we experience in our lives and sometimes it is not so easy to see what is causing the effect. Sometimes the same sorts of things keep happening to us and we wonder why it is the way it is. If we are experiencing some effect there is certainly a cause for it. Through our practice of Buddhism one of the things we engage in is the investigation of the causes for our sufferings.
“They are now troubled by many sufferings. They are in the thick forests of wrong views.” (Lotus Sutra, Chapter II)
Until we discover what is causing our problems we won’t be able to move on. The continued occurrence of certain effects should be a clear sign to us that something is amiss in our lives. Frequently we may wish to blame something outside of ourselves however from a Buddhist perspective this only dooms us to continue to experience the same sufferings.
“I will expound the teachings of the Great Vehicle and save all living beings from suffering.” (Lotus Sutra, Chapter XII)
When we have problems in our lives we should approach them with the joy of discovery, the joy of eliminating the causes of future sufferings.
