Mind States: Contentment & Discontentment

To be content. To learn to be content. When we are wanting all the time, there can be a very strong discontentment. But to have just a few wishes, and just to be happy and content with what we have, can be a very satisfying state of being. If we're discontented and always wanting more and more things, we might not be available to really appreciate what we do have and what is good right here and now.

Transcript

So today I want to start with a story. There was a fisherman who would get up early every morning and go out to fish and he would catch enough fish for the day to bring back to his family to eat and he would have enough to sell a few to purchase some of the things that he needed. And after a morning of fishing he would come back mid-morning and play with his children on the beach and have a pretty delightful time playing. And then after playing with his children for a bit he would go home and spend a good part of the afternoon with his wife and maybe take a siesta. And then when evening would come he would go and spend time in the village square with his friends talking and chatting and having a really nice relaxing evening. And he did this for a long time and then one day a successful businessman came by and noticed how he was living his life and he said you know it would be pretty easy for you to take out a loan and get a boat and there's a lot more fish out there for you to fish if you can get out on a boat. And you could maybe spend a few more hours of the day fishing and then you'd be able to pay back the loan quickly and then buy a bigger boat. And the fisherman asked well why should he do that? And the businessman replied that he would have more money and then he could actually you know even buy a fleet of boats and hire people to work for him. And pretty soon he'd have enough money to start a whole company and then he could have an international headquarters near the village and run this huge fishing conglomerate of both fishing and selling fish. And then maybe after many years of doing that he'd be able to retire and he'd be very very wealthy. And the businessman said and then when you're retired you can really enjoy yourself. You can just get up in the morning and go to the sea and go fish for a few hours and come back and play with your children or grandchildren at the beach and hang out with your wife in the afternoon and your friends in the evening. And the fisherman said well that's what I'm doing already. Why should I wait until I'm retired? So to be content to learn to be content with having just a few wishes. When we want all the time we want and we want what we want there can be a very strong discontentment. But if we have just a few wishes just to be happy and content with what we have it can be a very satisfying state of being. And if we're just contented and always wanting more and more things and more experiences we might not be available to really appreciate what we do have. What's good right here and right now? One of the advantages of meditation an important aspect of it I think is that as we settle and get quieter and more concentrated we start seeing aspects of our inner life that are not available when we're running around discontent taking care of things doing things. And so we start to see those deeper levels of places of holding where we're clinging the fears that we're living under the disappointments and we learn to see them and not hold them so tightly we learn to let go. And as we let go we start feeling the layers of freedom associated with that the layers of kind of happiness and ease contentment. And this world of contentment and discontentment has a lot to do with desires. The classical language in Buddhism is that people who practice should be content by having few desires. And in the Tao Te Ching there's a wonderful stanza that I've committed to memory. It goes be content with the way things are Marvel at the way things are when you realize nothing is lacking the whole world belongs to you. Be content with what you have. Marvel at the way things are when you realize there is nothing lacking the whole world belongs to you. There are so many things to desire in this world that we live in and there's no shortage of advertising to entice us to purchase the new car the new item the new vacation home the new experience. There's so many things to do and to acquire. It's astonishing and it can be stressful to live in a world with so much temptation. So just a few wishes and a few desires looks a little different. Being available to know the cool breeze as a storm blows in. Noticing the colors of the trees and the shrubs with the changing of the season. Being available to sip tea and enjoy that. And in a sense being available for honesty about what's really happening here. As we become more mindful we become more available for truth telling. This is what's happening to have enough contentment to be settled enough to start being more honest about what's here. To see what's true and what's not true. What story are you living in? So as we navigate and find our way in this world of contentment and discontentment and we begin seeing where there's possibilities of contentment and where we get caught in discontentment just seeing and finding our way with it is enough. Just seeing and finding some freedom from the incessant desires that we have that keep us discontent is useful. When we see it there can be a settling and a quieting. We don't have to feed it be content with how things are. Feeling of enough. I am enough. This is enough. So imagine if you're standing in a long line at some government agency or maybe you're renewing your license. Maybe you're waiting at the post office and there's this long line. There's nowhere to go because you have to go through the process and imagine just being content with that because being discontented that's just kind of a waste of time. It serves no purpose. It doesn't make things go faster. It doesn't help you feel more healthy and happy. So to be available for contentment may just be the best alternative to sort of know how to let go of desires and wanting things to be different when that's not really possible. To learn how to be content with what is. When what is is actually quite amazing and wonderful. Here I am another day alive. That's simple. So I encourage you to spend the day maybe looking at your relationship to contentment and discontentment and perhaps you can begin to appreciate the greater range of ways that contentment can support you and maybe in the process of doing that you'll actually experience a more settledness. Maybe even feeling more available and for this world available for your practice available for yourself available for others. So thank you for your kind attention this morning. Thank you Lisa.

Reviews

To choose to be content
Is our most special perspective.
I. AM. CONTENT.
Is written on my MBath wall in lipstick. I see this impt mantra each time I shower!!!

Thank you 🙏

Thanks, Lisa. Helpful as always and loved "marvel at the way we are" 🌟