Looking for truth in the right place

​Looking for truth in the right place

Most people these days look for the truth or the Dhamma on the computer. In the best case some of what they find will redirect their attention to looking for the real thing (I try in what I present to engage both head and heart) but to be honest most people I meet just get hooked on the computer presentation and it just goes to their heads. Even in terms of more personal guidance a lot of people listen to guided meditation following the advise of a stranger rather than someone who knows them or by relying on and hence developing their own wisdom. If I had grown up as a meditator in the computer age I can think I would have been the same.

The computer can feel comfortable, safe and we can feel we have the advise of the experts. I understand too how convenient the computer is for people with little time. The real Dhamma, however, is part of nature. It is real, not an idea. It is to be found in nature and from our spiritual friends. It is found when we can find help to get past our own peculiar obstacles and biases, our personal insecurities. It is not by trying to avoid these. It is found when we realise the uncertainties of life, not comfort or safety. We are looking for a natural response, from ourselves and from others to each other and to the world around us, not an intellectual understanding. Then, if we can learn to see the Dhamma like this, it can always be with us.

The only people I have ever met who have such deep, genuine Dhamma in their hearts are people who have had the courage to really face themselves and the truths of life in a natural, peaceful, loving setting. The whole purpose of having monasteries is to make this real Dhamma available. It is what, over many centuries, they have been designed for. All are welcome.