Whether it's your spiritual home or your physical home, feeling that you are at home is of critical importance to your peace and happiness. Being at home promotes feelings of safety, of love, of being where you are supposed to be, of being where your are supported.
Many years ago, I read the phrase, "In going and returning, I never leave home." When I reflected on those words, I understood that my spiritual practice is my home, and so no matter where I am, I feel at home. That applies not just to your spiritual self, but to your physical self.
What a wonderful thought. But how does one accomplish that?
Doing meditation/prayer on a daily basis wherever you are is a critical starting point (I've meditated every day for 30 years wherever I've been). But feeling at home—one with yourself—requires more than that. It requires freeing yourself from the distractions and stressors of the world you live in. The experiences still happen, but you come to react to them with dispassion, not with emotion.
At the core of this teaching is the fact that we are all born with the Buddha nature/the divine essence/the child of the Universe within us. (See my posts, "True Self" and "Buddhism and the Divine.")
Once you come to understand this and believe that this is true, then it requires the rather arduous and lengthy process of freeing yourself from the control of your ego-mind. It is unfortunately not the case that by believing in your true self, you automatically free yourself from your ego-mind.
Were it only that simple, There are stories in the sutras and elsewhere of people in the distant past who experienced instantaneous enlightenment, but I know of no modern account of that nature. Even the Buddha wandered for 6 years trying different teachings before sitting under the boddhi tree for 49 days and experiencing enlightenment.
Read my post, "How to Free Yourself from the Control of Your Ego-Mind" for a quick description of the steps/path to achieving that end. I should make clear that the goal is not to achieve enlightenment, "just" to free yourself mostly from the control of your ego-mind—a state very close to enlightenment. If you want to read a book rather than a lot of posts, see my book, How to Find Peace of Mind.
I use the word "just" because this task is a major challenge. And if one achieves it, "mostly" freeing yourself from the control of your ego-mind, you have come as far as most of us mortals get on the path. But knowing what enlightenment is can be very helpful in the process of freeing yourself from your ego-mind. For a Mahayana description of enlightenment—perfected wisdom—see my translation of and commentary on The Heart Sutra on this website.
This is a path on which you can expect there to be many bumps in the road; you will make some steps forward only to take some steps backward, The ego-mind is very powerful and deeply rooted within you; it is the only self you have ever known and forms your self-image. So connecting by default to your true self requires much work and discipline, But you will have moments even early on when you experience the comfort of your true self, and it is those experiences together with your faith in the Buddha's teaching that will give you the strength to persevere in your efforts.
I wish you well on your journey home.
Many years ago, I read the phrase, "In going and returning, I never leave home." When I reflected on those words, I understood that my spiritual practice is my home, and so no matter where I am, I feel at home. That applies not just to your spiritual self, but to your physical self.
What a wonderful thought. But how does one accomplish that?
Doing meditation/prayer on a daily basis wherever you are is a critical starting point (I've meditated every day for 30 years wherever I've been). But feeling at home—one with yourself—requires more than that. It requires freeing yourself from the distractions and stressors of the world you live in. The experiences still happen, but you come to react to them with dispassion, not with emotion.
At the core of this teaching is the fact that we are all born with the Buddha nature/the divine essence/the child of the Universe within us. (See my posts, "True Self" and "Buddhism and the Divine.")
Once you come to understand this and believe that this is true, then it requires the rather arduous and lengthy process of freeing yourself from the control of your ego-mind. It is unfortunately not the case that by believing in your true self, you automatically free yourself from your ego-mind.
Were it only that simple, There are stories in the sutras and elsewhere of people in the distant past who experienced instantaneous enlightenment, but I know of no modern account of that nature. Even the Buddha wandered for 6 years trying different teachings before sitting under the boddhi tree for 49 days and experiencing enlightenment.
Read my post, "How to Free Yourself from the Control of Your Ego-Mind" for a quick description of the steps/path to achieving that end. I should make clear that the goal is not to achieve enlightenment, "just" to free yourself mostly from the control of your ego-mind—a state very close to enlightenment. If you want to read a book rather than a lot of posts, see my book, How to Find Peace of Mind.
I use the word "just" because this task is a major challenge. And if one achieves it, "mostly" freeing yourself from the control of your ego-mind, you have come as far as most of us mortals get on the path. But knowing what enlightenment is can be very helpful in the process of freeing yourself from your ego-mind. For a Mahayana description of enlightenment—perfected wisdom—see my translation of and commentary on The Heart Sutra on this website.
This is a path on which you can expect there to be many bumps in the road; you will make some steps forward only to take some steps backward, The ego-mind is very powerful and deeply rooted within you; it is the only self you have ever known and forms your self-image. So connecting by default to your true self requires much work and discipline, But you will have moments even early on when you experience the comfort of your true self, and it is those experiences together with your faith in the Buddha's teaching that will give you the strength to persevere in your efforts.
I wish you well on your journey home.
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