does the "practice" help you in worldly tasks?

Exploring Theravāda's connections to other paths - what can we learn from other traditions, religions and philosophies?
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purple planet
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does the "practice" help you in worldly tasks?

Post by purple planet »

when you practice the "path" does one become better at preforming whatever tasks he wants to preform ?
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Ben
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Re: does the "practice" help you in worldly tasks?

Post by Ben »

Yes
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

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daverupa
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Re: does the "practice" help you in worldly tasks?

Post by daverupa »

Define your terms: what are worldly tasks?
  • "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.

    "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.

- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]
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lyndon taylor
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Re: does the "practice" help you in worldly tasks?

Post by lyndon taylor »

I think he's talking about making money at other people's expense, I don't know about Israel but that's almost the only way to make lots of money in America.
18 years ago I made one of the most important decisions of my life and entered a local Cambodian Buddhist Temple as a temple boy and, for only 3 weeks, an actual Therevada Buddhist monk. I am not a scholar, great meditator, or authority on Buddhism, but Buddhism is something I love from the Bottom of my heart. It has taught me sobriety, morality, peace, and very importantly that my suffering is optional, and doesn't have to run my life. I hope to give back what little I can to the Buddhist community, sincerely former monk John

http://trickleupeconomictheory.blogspot.com/
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Sam Vara
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Re: does the "practice" help you in worldly tasks?

Post by Sam Vara »

purple planet wrote:when you practice the "path" does one become better at preforming whatever tasks he wants to preform ?
Speaking personally, I have. More importantly, I have become better at choosing the tasks I want to perform.
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purple planet
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Re: does the "practice" help you in worldly tasks?

Post by purple planet »

actually im asking this mainly thinking about taking care of my old dog thats the same thought i got in all the questions in other threads - but it is also about making money for your family for instance - and it dosnt have to come on others peoples expanse for example a doctor that works privetly - if he works good and fast may take care of more people help them more and make more money - which he can donate - he can take care of monks also and give them more time to practice the dhamma in this life for example
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Sati1
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Re: does the "practice" help you in worldly tasks?

Post by Sati1 »

Yes, but you cannot expect that your definition of "success" and "what you want" will not change as you advance on the Path.
Sati1

----
"I do not perceive even one other thing, o monks, that when developed and cultivated entails such great happiness as the mind" (AN 1.30, transl. Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi)
"So this spiritual life, monks, does not have gain, honor, and renown for its benefit, or the attainment of moral discipline for its benefit, or the attainment of concentration for its benefit, or knowledge and vision for its benefit. But it is this unshakable liberation of mind that is the goal of this spiritual life, its heartwood, and its end," (MN 29, transl. Ven Bhikkhu Bodhi)
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lyndon taylor
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Re: does the "practice" help you in worldly tasks?

Post by lyndon taylor »

Buddhism is just as likely to lead the busy doctor to work less and focus more on meditation and family, the idea that practicing Buddhism is going to lead you to work harder seems a bit of a stretch, I can see how mindfulness could lead you to be more in the moment with doing work tasks, but it also leads you to realize that material success and working harder for more money than you need is just a distraction to the spiritual life.
18 years ago I made one of the most important decisions of my life and entered a local Cambodian Buddhist Temple as a temple boy and, for only 3 weeks, an actual Therevada Buddhist monk. I am not a scholar, great meditator, or authority on Buddhism, but Buddhism is something I love from the Bottom of my heart. It has taught me sobriety, morality, peace, and very importantly that my suffering is optional, and doesn't have to run my life. I hope to give back what little I can to the Buddhist community, sincerely former monk John

http://trickleupeconomictheory.blogspot.com/
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m0rl0ck
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Re: does the "practice" help you in worldly tasks?

Post by m0rl0ck »

Ben wrote:Yes
:goodpost:
“The truth knocks on the door and you say, "Go away, I'm looking for the truth," and so it goes away. Puzzling.” ― Robert M. Pirsig
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DNS
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Re: does the "practice" help you in worldly tasks?

Post by DNS »

lyndon taylor wrote:I think he's talking about making money at other people's expense, I don't know about Israel but that's almost the only way to make lots of money in America.
Only way? What did Barack Obama do to exploit others? He is a multimillionaire (mostly from book sales). Who did he step on along the way to the top? He was a community organizer and civil servant all his life. People voted for him and bought his books on their own free will. How about the doctors who donate their money and time to help others but are also well-off financially? Some physicians participate in doctors without borders. I knew a dentist who was well-off and dying of cancer. He still donated his time in Mexico to dentists without borders.
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Re: does the "practice" help you in worldly tasks?

Post by binocular »

David N. Snyder wrote:Only way?
lyndon taylor wrote:I think he's talking about making money at other people's expense, I don't know about Israel but that's almost the only way to make lots of money in America.
:candle:
Hic Rhodus, hic salta!
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DNS
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Re: does the "practice" help you in worldly tasks?

Post by DNS »

Okay, then perhaps it is just a disagreement over the percentages. From my own observations, it is more like the other way around with most gaining their wealth through wholesome careers and endeavors (with some exceptions of course).
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Viscid
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Re: does the "practice" help you in worldly tasks?

Post by Viscid »

If by 'practice' you mean 'meditation' then: a little bit. Meditation has been shown to improve attention, memory and emotional regulation, and if success in completing your 'worldly tasks' depends on those skills it could indeed help. However if a healthy adult were to develop a meditative practice, I doubt they'd become any more successful, materially, than if they had never practiced meditation.

If by 'practice' you mean the totality of the Noble Eightfold Path, then it depends on the person. If an individual had substance abuse problems or a disorder which prevented them from becoming more successful, then perhaps adopting a fairly rigid moral and behavioural framework would allow them to operate in a way which brings them greater material success.
"What holds attention determines action." - William James
culaavuso
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Re: does the "practice" help you in worldly tasks?

Post by culaavuso »

3 Reasons Everyone At Google Is Meditating
Drake Baer wrote: Beyond that emotional self-regulation, Duane says that his meditation practice helped him to focus--which he reports is part of the reason that he landed a promotion placing him in charge of nearly 150 people.
Google Course Asks Employees to Take a Deep Breath
Caitlin Kelly wrote: Johanna Sistek, a trademark lawyer, says the emotional skills she refined in the class help her focus on her many tasks, despite a fire hose of professional demands. Like most of her colleagues, she still faces “instant deadlines” but says they no longer freak her out.
SamKR
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Re: does the "practice" help you in worldly tasks?

Post by SamKR »

purple planet wrote:when you practice the "path" does one become better at preforming whatever tasks he wants to preform ?
Not always. At least not always in the initial phases of the practice.
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