I recently read Jack Kornfield's book "The Wise Heart". It deals with the tenants of buddhist philosophy, and seeing as how I have several buddhist friends, it seems appropriate to understand these teachings.
Toward the end of the book, it addresses what it calls the state of "I don't know". The fact of the matter is that westerners worry too much about the future. We make movies about it, talk about it, dwell on it, prepare for it, and ultimately fear it. The fact of the matter is that Dr. Emmet Brown was right when he told Marty McFly that "Your future hasn't been written yet. Noone's has, so make it a good one". Very wise advice.
No matter how hard we try, complications arise. We can either learn from them or be destroyed by them. There are always fears and doubts, but most of the time your fears don't turn out to be accurate predictors of anything. Naturally, there are things you would choose to happen in the future. CS Lewis speaks in "The Screwtape Letters" about work that helps do the part of tomorrow that belongs in the present while the day lasts but warns against dwelling on the future. Even if you do the best you can to secure a good future by doing everything perfectly, something could happen you did not expect and render your planning useless. My life is great testament to that.
In the future is fear and fantasy. People who live in the present and trust in what they know fare much better. That's why buddhism teaches men that it's ok to admit you don't know. It's far more peaceful to acknowledge the honest truth that neither you nor anybody else can predict outcome than it is to dwell on eventualities that may never arise. You know what is. The rest, you don't know, and that's ok.
Toward the end of the book, it addresses what it calls the state of "I don't know". The fact of the matter is that westerners worry too much about the future. We make movies about it, talk about it, dwell on it, prepare for it, and ultimately fear it. The fact of the matter is that Dr. Emmet Brown was right when he told Marty McFly that "Your future hasn't been written yet. Noone's has, so make it a good one". Very wise advice.
No matter how hard we try, complications arise. We can either learn from them or be destroyed by them. There are always fears and doubts, but most of the time your fears don't turn out to be accurate predictors of anything. Naturally, there are things you would choose to happen in the future. CS Lewis speaks in "The Screwtape Letters" about work that helps do the part of tomorrow that belongs in the present while the day lasts but warns against dwelling on the future. Even if you do the best you can to secure a good future by doing everything perfectly, something could happen you did not expect and render your planning useless. My life is great testament to that.
In the future is fear and fantasy. People who live in the present and trust in what they know fare much better. That's why buddhism teaches men that it's ok to admit you don't know. It's far more peaceful to acknowledge the honest truth that neither you nor anybody else can predict outcome than it is to dwell on eventualities that may never arise. You know what is. The rest, you don't know, and that's ok.
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