No Self, No Problem by Anam Thubten

Author:Anam Thubten
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Shambhala

CHAPTER SEVEN

Realizing Our True Nature

The Heart of Spiritual Practice

MANY OF US are engaged in a never-ending search. Some of us are searching for God, some of us are searching for a guru, and some of us are searching for a soul mate. Fundamentally, this search is a long, nagging agony. Underneath it there is a sense of being separated from the universe or the divine, something fundamentally vital to us. If we look deeply into ourselves, we often find that there is a vacuum at our core. This leads to feelings of loneliness, despair, and confusion. In a futile attempt to fill this inner void we try to find meaning in our lives through attaining worldly goals and by distracting ourselves with entertainment. Some of these techniques work temporarily as a psychological Band-Aid. We get a bit of relief for a while but sooner or later our old misery is back. Nevertheless, we are tenacious in hoping that if we find just the right thing, then finally we will live happily ever after. While we are pursuing these futile dreams, all we are doing is preparing to live instead of living fully in each moment. We are preparing for an ideal life which we hope to realize sometime in the future. We are not living fully right now, here in each and every moment. Every moment of our life is wasted when it is run by this endless search. Our life is run by this preparation and it will continue until the moment we die unless we realize inner awakening.

There is no guarantee that we’re going to live for even one more moment let alone another day. Today could be our last day. This breath could be our very last breath. So, it is time for us right now to live fully as if we had already achieved everything we are seeking. This does not seem very logical to our ego. Our ego argues that we haven’t achieved the real meaning of our life and must keep searching. We are not allowed to live fully right now. We are all searching for the true meaning of life whether we consider ourselves spiritual people or just ordinary people.

The meaning of life is the main theme of most religious and philosophical teachings as well as the purpose of all of our human endeavors. Our deepest sorrows come from the feeling that we have failed to achieve this cosmic illusion. It is so painful that some people even engage in self-destructive behavior. Failure comes from the belief that we have failed in some way, not attaining our true purpose. We are not sure that we will ever attain complete satisfaction and this sense can permeate all of the corners of our life.

If nothing outside of us can bring true fulfillment, then where should we turn? This can be a very powerful and life-changing question. This is the same question that led Buddha to the path of great awakening. We might have to ask

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