The Buddhist Message - 'Release and Benefit'

I will always struggle with finding the right terminology to convey my ideas here, and in particular (especially) on this topic. People of coarse, have different experiences with the various meanings of words.

What do I mean by the Buddhist message being "Release and Benefit"?

Well, yes, there is the historical doctrinal rendering of release or 'liberation' as being the true and absolute ending of reoccurring rebirth and deaths, but that's kind of abstract to most of us. What I'm trying to describe here is more so about the robust core of what Buddhism has to offer you in your life as you know it today.

I don't discount the more profound and traditional renderings at all, it's just not how the average person will experience the results of Buddhist practice in the short term.

How the principle of "Buddhist liberation" has come to reveal itself to me personally (in the short term) is more accurately described as an experience of "release".

Release from what?

Release from stress, from the balled up anxiety within, from the (very real but subtle) immanent terror that lurks in the back of my mind - as the ground of an experience that is not well understood.

We are all terrified on a deep level and this effects not only our own experience, but how we relate to others and our environment.

What are we terrified of?

Loss.

We fear loss and we fear it in a very big way! The fear we carry makes us grab at something, anything. Look at your hands when you grab and grab hard. There is tension there - big time tension!

The thing to always remember about Buddhism and Buddhist practice is that it is really and truly always ultimately about release - never ultimately about tension. This is true on many and various levels.

What about benefit?

The teachings didn't really start to sink in for me until I noticed that in my real life experience (as opposed to my ideas about my life) I did have moments where it -Buddhist practice- actually provided noticeable relief (liberation) from a state of pain, stress or suffering of some kind.

This is very important, and it's not really talked about all that often among Buddhists themselves except in the abstract. Buddhism SHOULD bring a noticeable benefit to you in some way - and I don't mean 'only in a future life' etc..

This could be something like when dealing with a loss of some kind. Recognizing (noticing) where you have become tied up in a "no win" situation (like loving someone or something that cannot fulfill you ) can bring very "real world" benefits to you here and now. Being "tied up" is a state of tension. Releasing that tension (in a healthy and sustainable way) brings benefit. And when that benefit happens it confirms that you are on the right track.

So one thing to look for in Buddhist practice is that - given time, at some point - it should pay off to some degree in this life, in the present. It should bring a noticeable benefit to you and in your personal outlook on things. You should feel it. You may not reach the farthest shore YET, but you should eventually feel something of what that might be like.

Not every Buddhist agrees with me on this. I have had one practitioner even tell me, "In this life you are stuck. You only get benefit from Buddhist practice in your next lives." That - ladies and gentlemen - is a bunch of crap!

Inside each one of us is the potential to fully realize our destiny - and realize it right now. I firmly believe that. Yes, we have particular circumstances and challenges, but it is only ourselves that stand in the way of seeing circumstance as opportunity. There is a path, a method, a way out. There is hope - all is not lost. We are not "stuck".

But without some tangible benefit -even if its relatively small- it's hard to sustain the reasoning to persevere on this or any sort of path. So look for that, demand a robust Buddhism. Demand that it bring a real sense of benefit to you in this very moment.