The Observer
Imagine you are sitting upon your meditation cushion, your eyes, in a soft downward gaze watching the world and everything in it. You are free of being influenced by the world or needing to alter events occurring within it. As you sit, witnessing life play out, you notice the subtle shifts in your breath, indicating when something has caught your attention.
As you observe this energy in motion, you may also know how vibrant and clean you feel. In this state of Non-Self, you are the observer and participant, the drop of water and the ocean. You may even understand when your mind struggles to separate you from everything. However, at some point, because you are human, hunger finds you. You draw in a deep, supportive breath, stand up slowly and prepare to forage for sustenance. Stepping away from your cushion, you know anything you do or say that feels different from this state of Grace will either support your return to your meditation or will need to be cleared upon your return.
I am sharing this story because I was requested to share my thoughts on Noble Livelihood, the fifth of the Eight-Fold Paths of Buddhism, last month. For those of you new to these teachings, Buddhism is about knowing that in life, there is suffering, and we are the cause of our suffering. However, if we make changes to our lives, then there can be a cessation of our discomfort, and knowing that helps us develop life-supporting traits that absolve us of any further suffering. We call those traits the Eight-fold Path.
Noble Livelihood (or Right Livelihood) is the fifth path of the eight and embodies a standard that each person can follow in pursuing an honest occupation. How does this relate to meditation? First, let's look at the five precepts that one observes in this path and how one can achieve a Noble Livelihood. Let's start by refraining from taking life, which seems simple enough. Next, refrain from taking that which is not given to us. Followed by refrain from the misuse of the senses (too much or unhealthy sensual pleasure), refrain from wrong speech (lying or gossiping), and refrain from intoxicants that cloud the mind. Deeper down into these precepts, Noble Livelihood is asking us to respect others and our world fully. It means being responsible for our actions and taking only a fair share of the earth's resources.
Livelihood, to me, very simply is about being self-sustaining. If we are willing to be flippant with how we receive our sustenance, it will follow us back to our meditation. A good friend of mine says, "it's like throwing mud on the windshield of a spotless car." Too true. I like this first word in each of the precepts, "refrain." I believe it asks us to be aware of what we are choosing because there will be times when we will be challenged or unable to honour a precept. Such as drinking a cold beer after working on a hot day. The point here is to do the very best that you can. If you are already experiencing Divine Livelihood, I know you know it is a gift. For those struggling to put food on the table, their return to pure meditation may take a bit more time. For their definition of what is required may be more out of necessity than choice. We all do what we can. The key, especially now as we see so many trying to make sense of these times, is to do the best that we can, limit the amount of correcting we will need to do and be kind to ourselves. The more we can be in the role of the observer, perhaps the easier our decisions are. We will find a way to be at peace with the world around us because we choose to.