Buddhist Wisdom for Hard Times

How can we truly mind our mental health in the midst of such unusual times? The answer is simpler than you might think

I’m going to get real for a hot minute. A lot has happened since my last blog post. For those of you who are not already aware, Grandmaster Wong left his earthly form on the morning of March 1^st. It’s not unlike losing a parent for me, and while I’m beyond grateful for his gifts over the past 20 years and I’ve always known this day would come, it has still been difficult, as it marks an inflection point in my life- a clear delineation between before and after. With this comes the uncertainty typical of moving into the next act without really knowing one’s lines well yet. It’s a very natural feeling, but heavy nonetheless. Add to this being in a time of year where my daymaster is already weak, and in an era that is nothing short of a circus, and you begin to see how even I can struggle to keep my chin up.

But I promise this isn’t to go on and on about my feelings. I found myself one day having a heart-to-heart about all of this with my husband. He told me about a years-old interview Larry King did with Mattieu Richard, a Buddhist monk who is often referred to as the ‘Happiest Man on Earth’. In an unscripted moment, King asked him, “How did you get it so quiet in there?”. His response, so full of Buddhist simplicity, was, “it is quiet in there. We make it noisy.”

An answer so obvious. Of course I should know this, and I do, but sometimes you need to hear it again, or have it put a different way for it to soak in. Grandmaster Wong frequently talked about this idea in the context of training the mind. Buddhism takes desire as the root of all suffering, and desire is born from thought in the mind. He was fond of pointing out the supremacy of the intellect in Western thought and how it creates an assumption that we’ll become ‘morons’, as he liked to say, if we ceased to have thoughts.

Perhaps I didn’t need it to sink in as much as I do now. Perhaps I have been given a fairly ideal set of circumstances in which to cultivate my mind for the past 20 years. I’m not really sure, but when I first heard him say that, I just nodded and saw it as another cute thing that my Sifu said.

If you’ve taken my classes, you’ll know that I’m fond of saying it’s always easy when it’s easy, but that the real progress comes when it’s hard. If you’ve been feeling like it has been really hard, especially these past few years, I hear you. It HAS been hard. We are living in extraordinary times that challenge the mental health of the best of us, especially those of us who live in Minnesota. And yet, the best way to cultivate joy and peace in the middle of this is as it has been for thousands of years- don’t make it noisy in there. This applies whether we’re entering into a Qigong state, or just trying to navigate the latest current event.

So, my challenge to you is this: the next time you find yourself stuck in a thought loop that is driving you nuts, put it down- simply. Remind yourself, don’t make it noisy in there. It doesn’t mean that you’re dull and vapid. It simply means you’re choosing not to fixate on what clearly won’t help you in that moment. Do this each time you feel caught in an undertow of existential dread. See if it doesn’t bring you a little more peace amidst chaos and perhaps even some useful solutions. Non-thought certainly doesn’t solve all of the challenges facing us, but it does bring more clarity than one may realize. Peace.