Luck? There’s No Such Thing

07 Nov 2012 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

Crossed_FingersNever forget the eternal truth, that we only ever lose when we concede we have lost. Having the courage, patience and determination to press on, even when all the signs are telling us to stop, to give in, to cut and run, can lead to unexpected results.

Remaining calm, collected, objective and compassionate, even when the circumstances may be urging you to move in other directions, is a feature of our nature that requires time, practice and patience to perfect.

I don’t think it is simply a coincidence that practice, meaning repeating a task or skill to improve your proficiency, and Buddhist practice, use the same word. As Gary Player, the famous golfer once said of his game, ‘the more I practice, the luckier I get’. Luck has nothing to do with it, as he and we know it all too well.

So if you find the odds stacked against you, get disheartened by the way events seem to be going, believe in yourself and your practice. You might be surprised by what actually happens. So apply for that job, write that email or make that phone call, what have you got to lose?

Just Another Day In Paradise

19 Nov 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: ,

BirthdaysBirthdays are funny things aren’t they? When you are little, they are the best thing next to Christmas, you count down the days and they take ages to arrive.

Then you become a teenager and your life changes almost overnight. Shortly after, one day you are a child, the next you are an adult, and so it goes on.

Certain birthdays are real milestones in life. 18, 21, 30, 40, 50, 65, the list goes on. However, 57 isn’t on any list that I know of, so today was really just another day, albeit a very nice restful one. The last twelve months have been life changing for me, cementing my faith in Nichiren Buddhism being the most important aspect of that.

But now it’s nearly over, and tomorrow will literally be just another day. So it is only left for me to thank all my family and friends for the presents, the cards and the nice greetings on Facebook and the like. I suppose I should also be grateful that I have chalked up another year. When you see the news, every day there are many, many people who don’t. So I should really be most thankful for my good fortune, life should never be taken for granted.

You Are A Winner

04 Oct 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

Intrinsic ValueThey are estimating the Friday Euro Lottery draw will have a jackpot of €100,000,000. What would you do with that kind of money? Buy a fancy car, a posh house, even buy Greece? It’s a pipedream for so many people, which is where all the money comes from, from the tickets that people buy. For many, it is, in effect, their only realistic route to such riches. Or is it?

Buying their lottery ticket once, or twice, even thrice a week, is their little bit of fantasy, their change to make it big. There is nothing wrong with such dreams, somebody has to win, sometime. But does it mask their responsibility for their own lives, futures, fortunes?

Of course, the idea behind the lotteries, scratch cards and the rest of the paraphernalia is to raise money for projects, causes and charity work that is so needed in these austere times. All well and good, it’s a bit of harmless fun, a couple of quid a week to buy the chance to live the high life.

I’ll never win it, I know that for a fact. The very first UK National Lottery was drawn on my 40th birthday, not as a celebration of that auspicious event, it just happened that way. For the first few weeks I went along with the wave of enthusiasm, the same as everyone else. When it became clear that there was more chance of being struck by lightning than picking six correct numbers, and I stopped.

Now I’m not preaching against the evils of gambling, for that is what it is. I don’t want to stop people having a little slice of fun, if that is how they want to achieve that. But we are all responsible, all in charge and in control of our own fortunes, not those fat cats at Lottery HQ. So have your fun, get excited as the balls rattle around inside Arthur or Lancelot, but never forget, your life is your responsibility, take charge with both hands, summon up boundless determination and make it happen.

Preconceptions

23 Sep 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: ,

King MidasSometimes, we find ourselves in situations, or potential situations, were we are a little unsure of what the outcome may be. Our minds race, we mull over the possibilities, the what ifs, the maybes, and it can be all too easy to form ideas in our minds as to how things will pan out.

That’s fine, and perfectly normal, as long as we don’t let these expectations run away with us. Having a preconceived idea is one thing, but pinning our hopes on that idea is a recipe for disaster. Things rarely, if ever go exactly as we imagine.

So the trick is to keep a level head, let events unfold as they will, and be tolerant, or the inevitable differences between what we expect, or would like, and what actually comes to pass.

As someone once said ‘Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it’. Conversely it has also been said that ‘That thing you wished for, the thing you never got, might have been the most fortunate moment you could ever imagine’. So muse way, daydream to your hearts content, but remember that, at the end of the day, the reality of the situation will become clear soon enough.

Share The Wealth

20 Sep 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , ,

Barn Of FollyAs a devotee of BBC Radio 4, I usually listen to Thought for the Day just before I get out of the car and get myself into the office, and today was no different. This morning was delivered by the writer Rhidian Brook and concerned the distribution of wealth. You can listen to it yourself here.

It’s a fairly well known fact that 90% of the wealth of the UK is in the hands of 10% of the population, which is a shocking state of affairs in my opinion. Of course it’s easy to be shocked when you aren’t one of the 10%, and it got me wondering whether I would be any more benevolent if I were.

Brook also relates the fable about the rich farmer who, having grown his crops, decided that he needed to store it somewhere safe, so that the peasants of the area couldn’t get their thieving hands on any of it. So he set about building a huge barn, and made it secure so it kept out the riff-raff. It must have taken quite a while to build it, but finally it was finished, and he was happy that his crops would now be safe.

Of course, there was far more than he could ever need himself, but he locked it all away and hoarded it for his old age. Ironically, the night the barn was finished, he died in his sleep. So the adage that ‘you can’t take it with you’ is anything but new. So I suppose the lesson from the story is, if you have enough of anything, money, food, whatever, you are fortunate. If you have more than enough, you are more than fortunate, and you might consider sharing some of it with others less fortunate.

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