Let’s shatter a simple myth, you will not ever find inner peace.  Peace pervades you whole being already, so how can you find something that was never lost?  You will not ever find inner peace.

When you finally get tired of pursuing peace you sit down to rest and realise the obviousness of your situation - it was the pursuit for peace that perpetuated the illusion of suffering and struggle.  In the absence of this pursuit, it is simple - the wind whistling through the trees, the smell of coffee in the morning, the tingle of energy through the body, breathing in, breathing out.  In that instant, your struggle ceases and peace becomes obvious.  This is not just inner peace, but a silence that pervades the universe.

Inner peace is a myth perpetuated by the illusion of inside and outside, and that we have to do something inside to manifest something different to what is plainly aware all around us.  When you let go seeking peace inside like it is somehow different to the outside, when you see the outside as the same as the inside, peace is!

How To Apply This

Next time you feel the need to seek inner peace, take a moment to stop and actually question the need.  That is not to say we should not do things for good reasons and to cultivate peace, but this approach changes the view of our reality and shifts the focus onto releasing that which hinders our ability to rest into and be the peace that is.  Examine and look into the drive, that subtle longing that says “You are not happy now, you must seek something to be happy”.  Examine this until the illusion is seen through.  Sit still and rest with this subtle but powerful urge to chase and seek.  Notice its tendency to hint “What you have now is not good enough”, take a breath and accept fully the reality of the moment. 

An act of kindness lifts the spirit. Meditation is also always great!

In this audio Jagaro explores how we approach our life and meditation practice, and how we can refine and develop it through examining our moods, attitudes, approaches and morality. It is not something we often reflect upon, “Is my approach to this right?” Instead we just set out doing meditation in any old manner in hope that it would yield good results. This is much like setting out on a journey without reflecting upon if the direction we are walking is right and if selected mode of transport is the best for our journey or if it is in good condition. This can have far reaching affects on the results that yield from the meditation. Our morality, defines the greater context to our life for wholesome action and thus wholesome results, providing light amongst the darkness.

In this talk Jagaro begins be discussing moods and how we are often at result of our moods, and thus bound by the conditions of moods and that which impacts on our lives. As we develop we realise we can have positive influence over our moods and to a greater extend attitude. Positive attitude however is just an approach, not a cure-all, and so we must evolve to really yield wholesome outcomes. Morality is this evolution, a maturation of our practice through mindfulness which is revealed to us as we travel the path. Morality however can be practiced as a formula, as an approach, from the outset of our meditation practice until we come to understand its benefits through wisdom. This is the function of the 5 precepts in Buddhism, or even the 10 commandments in Christianity. In this way morality not only provides a solid foundation for our life, but upon further inspection is revealed to be an absolute necessity for maturation of mindfulness, the fruits of the practice and ultimately liberation.

An article I wrote about this often discussed topic.

Namaste,

Jagaro