To the young man who asked: WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH MY LIFE???
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- Опубликовано: 5 июн 2024
- I have the BEST Patrons ever! Not surprising, then, that one of them asked me the BEST question ever. You ready?? This young man asked:
WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH MY LIFE??
In this week's video I offer this young man 4 things to consider re: his question.
1) An actress who gave up her career right after she'd starred in a movie alongside Neo himself, Keanu Reeves, told me why she quit Hollywood to take up Zen practice:
I've learned that there's a big difference between success and fulfillment.
2) A Zen student, a plumber, once told re: his line of work. "A job ain't there to give you meaning, purpose, and hope. A job is there to pay your bills."
He then delivered THIS zinger:
It's not WHAT you do that provides fulfillment, but HOW you do it.
3) Even if your job sucks, give it your clean best. Try. If it's not right for you, you'll know pretty quickly and then you can move on.
It's always easier to move on and never look back when you bring a path to its natural conclusion instead of running away.
4) Alas, we want to find that one thing to do in life that we're really really good at, and we want that one thing/stone to kill like ten different birds! We want it to pay our bills, make others respect and love us, we want it to provide us with a deep sense of fulfilment AND enough money to retire (early) on. Etc....
Well, I don't know about you, but in my case, when I look at the broad sweep and scope of my life, my failures have ultimately led to as much fulfillment and joy as my successes. In my experience we're all making this up as we go along, and maybe the goal is not to "earn our keep" as a human being, but to live out this adventure as fearlessly and openly as we can, and let the chips fall where they may.
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Кино
Apologies guys but I'm going to have to repeat my second favourite quote of all time - "We are not here to win. We are here to be defeated, by greater and greater things." - Rilke.
Nuff said!
D
Holy crimeney! That is an absolutely great quote, heard it long ago and forgot it now I'm going to tweet it -- thank you
A really good talk which will be useful for so many people whether they practice Zen or not. Having had all kinds of jobs and no career it still worked out OK. Now retired and consider connecting with the Buddha dharma at 20 years old as the most significant event in my life.
I really like that, all kinds of jobs and no career. That sounds like a rich working experience my friend.
Good advice. The quality, mindfulness, surrender that you bring in what you do is more important than what you're doing itself. This is a major emphasis in Zen. The search for meaning both in life and in your occupation seems to be a modern phenomena, a misunderstanding largely caused by our self-centeredness.
When I start thinking about these things, I remind myself of ancient zen masters who lived quite secluded, simple lives. Or the taoist story about the master butcher who has perfected his craft. It's absurd to think they were 'not fulfilled'.
Such a good point, and so simple. It’s about fulfillment, perhaps, and not facility or mastery or success or acknowledgment, etc.
Rainer Werner Fassbinder, a german filmdirector of the 70s is supposed to have said: „Happiness is to be used up according to your abilities.“
First this sounded pretty rough and small to me, but it unfoldes the longer you live with it…
Great quote, great director! Thank you.
@@zenconfidential25
🙏🏽🌼
I don't understand. Could you please explain what that quote means?
@@JustSomebody0
Sorry, my English isn‘t good enough to explain it any better.
Maybe the orher way round: It‘s happiness to give all you possibly can until you have nothing left.
Giving is happiness. And espacially so, when you can give from your own gifts.
What is „your own“ anyway? What‘s the difference between giving and recieving?
Very wise advice, and beautiful paintings ❤
Thank you so much! (And my gf thanks you too!)
Very good video.
Thank you.
Thank you for saying so.
Hey Jack, thanks for the talk. Though Tom Cruise wasn't in Rumblefish. Did you mean 'the Outsiders'?
You're right, I just googled it, it WAS Outsiders. Thank you!
Great video. And inspired advice for one of life's universal and hopefully continuous questions. Even works for those on the outskirts of 70. Regarding "war stories" from old soldiers, if curated as skillfully as yours they're thought provoking, useful and entertaining. Thanks.
Thank you, dear friend. And welcome to the crew over on Patreon!
The wonderful recent Wim Wender movie Perfect Days follows a toilet cleaner who finds fulfilment at work.
I am on the cusp of doing a video on that remarkable film, thank you.
Beautiful.
"you better wash your bowl!" ❤
Wash those bowls!!
Thinkin' Donny's language was probably a bit f*ck*n spicier.
It got pretty spicy! ;)
I did hear that Sasaki roshi at the beginning of his American tenure got his students to do all kinds of odd jobs, and change jobs every few months... 'and now you should be a painter' lol ... all jobs are the same 😅
Yeah that was def him!! ;)
I guess the question now is if you feel happy or rather have regrets for not becoming this or that...
No regrets! You?
Weeelllllll ............. maybe 1 or 2 regrets.........;)
Even 1 regret can be many, depending on its severity.
very. good. point. :)
If you're in Vienna, maybe you can meet writer Jonathan Carroll.
I’ve got to a find away to meet him! He’s a great writer.
One of my favorites. We're friends on Facebook.
I'm gonna friend him now. Or try to...
Hi, I am doing my Jukai soon and I can't afford a new Rakasu or know how to make one. Do you know anyone selling one? Or know where to get one cheap?
Hey my friend, who is performing the jukai ceremony. They should be able to shepherd you through the process and guide you to the right rakasu, as depending on the lineage they will vary. That said, the only crew I know that sells accurate Rinzai ones in the States is stilsitting.com, and yeah, they are really pricey!! Might you search for a used one somewhere? I just did a quick search and found this one on etsy: www.etsy.com/listing/1030730712/rakusu-soto-style-rinzai-optional?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=rakusu+zen&ref=sr_gallery-1-1&sts=1&content_source=a77a8366181429ed87fdba34e0ee19f88621e5d3%253A1030730712&organic_search_click=1
@@zenconfidential25 Thank you!
Just start a RUclips channel 😅
Too bad my marriage came to its natural conclusion. However, time to move on.
I'm sorry to hear that. The first sentence you wrote dovetails so nicely into the second.