Good news is, we don’t need to fix anything.

Sitting cross legged, sleepy and hungry this morning, the Dhamma did it again.. sprayed wisdom all over my tired and exhausted brain and bought it back to life.

There’s many things in life we perceive as a problem. No parking spaces.. problem.. no money.. problem.. no confidence.. problem.. small to big we are always talking about our problems, life’s problems or even someone else’s problems.

I repeat. Good news is, we don’t need to fix anything.

Don’t get me wrong, today’s teaching isn’t new to me, it was a good reminder though of how I can adjust my mind-set and cause myself less suffering. Who knows how many more times I’ll need to hear this but I’m grateful for every time I do.

“I have a problem. How Can I Fix it?”. Begin by understanding it. The aim here isn’t always to find a solution.. it’s to see clearly that there was never a problem in the first place and to see exactly what is there instead. In Vipassana we are conscious of our reactions to the world.. and this is another clear example of an unconscious reaction.

Maybe you have a “problem” with Pain.. and you say “I have problem with back pain”.. the problem is not the pain because pain is only an experience. The reason you perceive pain as a problem is because you want it to go away. “I have a pain and the problem is that I want it to go away”… Getting closer? Let’s get one thing straight here though, this in no way tries to make your pain or suffering less significant or less real. Only to set a course for taking the time to really examine the real issue. To see the truth in the pain, to learn something from the pain. Whether it’s physical or mental, re-shaping and examining the source and your reaction is a great path to being liberated from it.

Let’s leave this one there.. pretty complicated and emotional stuff. A step a time is just fine.

If you feel like delving deeper take a look at the short video below.

Yuttadhammo Bhikku’s Video on Problems