Trader and Buddhist Monk
How often a day do we long for something? We long for something to be different or to stay the same. I often think we long most to simply want for nothing. This is practically the definition of luxury: to want for nothing. When you imagine staying in an expensive
, luxurious hotel the image is of comfort — even that someone would come and ready your room for sleeping– turning down the covers, dimming the lights, drawing the drapes, putting on soft music. Our greatest fantasy is that our needs and wants would be met even before we could imagine them. Probably the first and last time we had this in any sort of pure form was in the womb. Some religions tell us that we can hope for the same in the afterlife.
For those of us with outrageously busy lives, the idea of doing nothing, being comfortable and free of longing is one of the most wonderful fantasies we could invent. So, where to find this on Earth? Buddhism tells us that longing is suffering and that study and meditation practice will help us cut this at the root. But, are there other moments as well? Perhaps those moments when we stop attending to our own wants and needs: when we are in awe of something beautiful or touching, when something catches us by happy surprise, and moments of close attunement with another person or being such as a child, a partner or friend, or even a pet. Let yourself be awed and suprised and allow yourself to enter into another’s world. You might find at those moments that wanting and longing evaporate.
