Repetitive work

Balancing family life and the Dhamma, in pursuit of a happy lay life.
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mario92
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Repetitive work

Post by mario92 »

Namaste i feel really disatisfied with work, is just doing the same again and again very repetitive. Sometimes i put music but that is not enough. Any thoughts in how to deal wit this? I am so disatisfied that i had stoped working while in job. I am thinking in renouncing my job. But is there some solution? Does some of you have the same experience?
sunnat
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Post by sunnat »

Repetitive, structured activity, if it is not unwholesome and if it is not stimulating can be a wonderful opportunity to practice equanimity in the face of all phenomena arising on the mind body phenomenon. Calmly observe the boredom rise and pass away, observe all things changing, develop a non judgemental relationship to feelings, whatever they may be and be happy, peaceful and liberated
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confusedlayman
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Re: Repetitive work

Post by confusedlayman »

mario92 wrote: Tue Dec 08, 2020 1:22 am Namaste i feel really disatisfied with work, is just doing the same again and again very repetitive. Sometimes i put music but that is not enough. Any thoughts in how to deal wit this? I am so disatisfied that i had stoped working while in job. I am thinking in renouncing my job. But is there some solution? Does some of you have the same experience?
its just same thing with rebirth
I may be slow learner but im at least learning...
SteRo
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Re: Repetitive work

Post by SteRo »

mario92 wrote: Tue Dec 08, 2020 1:22 am Namaste i feel really disatisfied with work, is just doing the same again and again very repetitive. Sometimes i put music but that is not enough. Any thoughts in how to deal wit this? I am so disatisfied that i had stoped working while in job. I am thinking in renouncing my job. But is there some solution? Does some of you have the same experience?
You can only drop working if you have gained enough wealth or someone else supports your living. If these conditions don't apply maybe you should look for a work that is more satisfying. If you don't have to support a family then you should be happy to have enough degrees of freedom to care for yourself exclusively.
Cleared. αδόξαστος.
Inedible
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Re: Repetitive work

Post by Inedible »

Lots of us have jobs like that. I listen to books rather than music. It helps get me through more books at work than at home.

Also, it makes great mindfulness training. Think of all those Zen monks chopping wood, carrying water, boiling rice, scrubbing floors, sweeping, and gardening. It is all boring and repetitive.

Also, it is only renunciation if you give up something you want and enjoy. It doesn't count when you give up something you hate.
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JamesTheGiant
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Re: Repetitive work

Post by JamesTheGiant »

I was a security guard for a few years, and it was a most valuable time for cultivating mindfulness and practicing the path.
The work was standing around for 8 hours looking official and not actually doing anything.

Don't waste those hours! You can be constantly contemplating, or doing various different meditations.

Inedible wrote: Tue Dec 08, 2020 7:31 am Also, it is only renunciation if you give up something you want and enjoy. It doesn't count when you give up something you hate.
Actually no, it is still renunciation if you give up things you don't like. The dhamma calls us to renounce both craving and aversion. Both things we like, and things we don't like.
It's a deeper understanding of renunciation, but most people just read it to mean renouncing pleasant stuff.
Anyway, I'm a bit off topic here sorry.
denise
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Re: Repetitive work

Post by denise »

hello mario92....a long time ago a karate teacher told us to beware the man that has practiced one movement 10,000 times and not the person that knows 10,000 moves.....do the work and don'r get crabby...... :hug:
coconut
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Re: Repetitive work

Post by coconut »

The dissatisfaction isn't from your work, but your underlying tendencies. It's the restlessness rooted in discontent.
So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāketa in the deer park at the Añjana Wood.

Then, late at night, the glorious god Kakudha, lighting up the entire Añjana Wood, went up to the Buddha, bowed, stood to one side, and said to him, “Do you delight, ascetic?”

“What have I gained, sir?”

“Well then, ascetic, do you sorrow?”

“What have I lost, sir?”

“Well then, ascetic, do you neither delight nor sorrow?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I hope you’re untroubled, mendicant,
I hope that delight isn’t found in you.
I hope that discontent doesn’t
overwhelm you as you sit alone.”

“I’m genuinely untroubled, spirit,
and no delight is found in me.
And also discontent doesn’t
overwhelm me as I sit alone.”

“How are you untroubled, mendicant?
How is delight not found in you?
How does discontent not
overwhelm you as you sit alone?”

“Delight is born from misery,
misery is born from delight;
sir, you should know me as
a mendicant free of delight and misery.”

“After a long time I see
a brahmin extinguished.
A mendicant free of delight and misery,
he has crossed over clinging to the world.”
- SN 2.18

It's not your work that makes you bored, it's discontent. You're bored because you're searching for something more enticing, because you're discontent. The mildest form of dukkha is discontent.

You should see your job like you see going to the toilet, something you have to do in order to maintain this burden of a body.
Inedible
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Re: Repetitive work

Post by Inedible »

JamesTheGiant wrote: Tue Dec 08, 2020 9:58 am It's a deeper understanding of renunciation, but most people just read it to mean renouncing pleasant stuff.
We're still on topic. And let's just say I phrased it incorrectly. How would you address the issue if you saw someone talking about renouncing hard work, earning a living, studying, eating a balanced diet, exercising, or something else that is virtuous but not entertaining. Giving it up for the wrong reasons and blaming renunciation.

Also, we should note that a pharmacy technician position generally allows a full year of on the job training before certification is mandatory. You have to be able to memorize hundreds of drugs by brand name, generic name, and function. The common abbreviations aren't easy, either. And then there is the math section, because it isn't just counting out pills. You can actually borrow study guides from your local library and get certified first without working in the field. If, for example, you have a job that lets you put your mind on more interesting things.
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mario92
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Re: Repetitive work

Post by mario92 »

Thanks all for the answers :anjali:
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BlackBird
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Re: Repetitive work

Post by BlackBird »

Inedible wrote: Tue Dec 08, 2020 1:00 pm
JamesTheGiant wrote: Tue Dec 08, 2020 9:58 am It's a deeper understanding of renunciation, but most people just read it to mean renouncing pleasant stuff.
We're still on topic. And let's just say I phrased it incorrectly. How would you address the issue if you saw someone talking about renouncing hard work, earning a living, studying, eating a balanced diet, exercising, or something else that is virtuous but not entertaining. Giving it up for the wrong reasons and blaming renunciation.
The point (correct me if I'm wrong James) is that renunciation isn't in the thing itself, but in your attitude towards things.
"For a disciple who has conviction in the Teacher's message & lives to penetrate it, what accords with the Dhamma is this:
'The Blessed One is the Teacher, I am a disciple. He is the one who knows, not I." - MN. 70 Kitagiri Sutta

Path Press - Ñāṇavīra Thera Dhamma Page - Ajahn Nyanamoli's Dhamma talks
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