This is an excerpt from chapter two of my upcoming book, ‘A Seeker’s Path’. I recently followed the Dalai Lama on Instagram (100% get around the big man if you haven’t already) and couldn’t help but write about him. He seems so bloody jolly and, as the saying goes, “I’ll have what [he’s] having.” I came to realise that “what he’s having” took a long time for him to get. This is my take on mental health practice:
The Dalai Lama tells us that, “Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.” He tells us to, “Be kind whenever possible” and that, “sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.” Excuse me, Mr. Lama, what about Jet Ski’s, fancy dinners and Instagram likes! Both Ronnie Coleman and the Dalai Lama have one thing in common: Discipline. Judging by standard Buddhist practice, the path to enlightenment — freedom from suffering — is not an easy trod. Waking up at dawn every morning, meditating for hours, removing all sense of individuality i.e. shaving one’s hair, wearing the same red robe every day, abstaining from sex, worldly pleasures and committing to the spiritual path are all examples, at least in my books, of seriously rigorous mental health practices!
Unfortunately, human beings are not entitled either to perfect mental or physical health, which begs the question: How mentally and/or physically healthy do we want to be? How many hours are we willing to put in to achieve states of consciousness akin to Buddhist monks, for example? What are our physical health goals? Are we willing to devote hours of practice to improve our flexibility, strength, speed, stamina and joint health? For how long must we meditate each day, write in our diaries, authentically connect with others and work to release our traumas from the past in order to attain a mental state congruent with our own definition of happiness?
Ultimately, this is for us to decide. Maybe people become monks because they’re in really bad ways? How else can one know happiness like that without having once experienced terrible psychological pain. In any case, just as a Bench Press pumps the chest, meditation pumps the mind. Choose your tools. Seek and you will find.
