#MastersofSocialIsolation no. 5. Buddha. An ancient Buddhist sutra, “On Knowing the Better Way to Be Alone,” describes an encounter between Buddha and a monk named Thera, who liked to live alone. After hearing from Thera a description of his life, Lord Buddha instructed him on...
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“the better way to be alone”: “It is the way of deep observation to see that the past no longer exists and the future has not yet come, and to dwell at ease in the present moment, free from desire. When a person lives in this way, he has no hesitation in his heart. ...
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...He gives up all anxieties and regrets, lets go of all binding desires, and cuts the fetters which prevent him from being free.” The implication of this sutra is that there is no particular merit or value in simply being apart from other people.
If solitude is to bring us happiness, the physical act of sitting quietly must be joined by a corresponding internal stillness or quiet. In his commentary on this sutra Thich Nhat Hanh writes: “To return to the present is to be in contact with life. ..
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...Life can be found only in the present moment, because ‘the past no longer is’ and ‘the future has not yet come.’ Buddhahood, liberation, awakening, peace, joy, and happiness can only be found in the present moment. Our appointment with life is in the present moment. ...
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...The place of our appointment is right here, in this very place.”
In a time of social isolation it is hard not to think of other places we would like or ought to be. But when those choices are out of our hands it is an opportunity to try being where we actually are.
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