11/23/2023 0 Comments Zen master![]() You may have heard of Nhat Hanh only after he died, but he was far more influential than you realize. The existence of false paths to happiness and joy has damaged the lives of millions of unhappy people who may have been better served if they were not given false promises. They have had enough being mindful of walking, of waking, of milking cattle. This is why our rural cousins who live amid breathtaking beauty want us to find them big-city jobs, even if some Indian cities are perhaps the ugliest places on earth. The fact is that the monastic pursuit of joy is as fleeting as the more material pursuits. Just because the joy of purpose is not permanent, we have allowed some men in distinctive dresses to convince us that going back to a time when all of life was monastic will lead us to happiness. We fled it, inventing purpose and risking our lives. We were stuck in a long present, without any movement towards an illusory future. We were reminded of this very recently when we were locked down in the pandemic. Modern life is the result of a deliberate and desperate attempt of humans to escape the tedium of “mindfulness". Once, we had nothing to do and we studied every moment, like animals, and it was boring. Everyone, including monks, are groping around in primordial darkness. I do not think seekers like Nhat Hanh know more than us-what we are, why we exist, and why there is something instead of nothing. ![]() In fact, I think monks are probably deeply unhappy people they are fleeing some deep sorrow, or their mental states might be more brooding than joyous. There is a perception that everything monks in maroon robes do is wise, deep and peaceful, and everything that others do frivolous and leads to anxiety. ![]()
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