
Like many dudes, when I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, I started to search the black hole of the internet to find articles about how best to âcureâ it. I quickly learned that anxiety is not âcurableâ and those who say it is are usually trying to make money off of your anxiety.
It also was suggested that meditation was something I should look into. While researching meditation, I predictably was led to information about Buddhism and anxiety. At first, I would think, âI just want to meditate, not convert religions!â But, I did start to read some snippets about Buddhism and what it talked about started to appeal to me more and more. Not necessarily the religious connotations, but the way of seeing the world and living your life.
I was brought up Christian, and I do battle every Sunday to get my kids to attend Sunday school. However, I have never been what you would call faithful. I have always had some questions. Not the place to get into them, here, but letâs just say I like the movie more than the book.
I began to dive deep into Buddhism and anxiety, and Buddhist teachings, but focused on modern interpretations, not religious texts. One of the best introductions to Buddhist thought I read was Robert Wrightâs book, âWhy Buddhism Is True.â The book did a good job connecting modern thought and life to Buddhaâs teachings. It also taught me that much of what the Buddha taught was not a God-centered religion. Buddha was a Hindu, so some of what he believed came from that religion (reincarnation, karma, etc.). In my view, people who âpracticeâ Buddhism are followers of the Buddhaâs teachings, with a side of ancient Hinduism (thatâs how I see it. If you disagree, by all means).
I do believe that the Buddhaâs teachings were largely secular, and you can incorporate them into your daily life. I think you could be a Buddhist-Christian, Buddhist-Jewish, Buddhist-Atheist, or like me, a Buddhist-Agnostic.
***Donât worry, I had to look up those terms too.
For me, it was learning about the Buddhaâs Four Noble Truths of life that really helped me to use Buddhist thought to help manage my anxiety. Each of the four noble truths has a place in my Buddhism and anxiety:
1. Suffering is a part of life
The Buddha believed that suffering is a part of all lives. You cannot escape suffering if you want to live in this world. This was a revelation to me, somehow. It helped me to understand that anxiety, and other âshit happen to meâ stuff was all a part of the ebb and flow of life. I have always believed that âthis too shall pass,â and it helped me to solidify that in Buddhism.
2. The cause of suffering is usually want and desire
This was a hard one for me to get on board with. I did not think that my anxiety, or my dadâs heart attack, were caused by me wanting a new car. However, the more I learned about Buddhism and anxiety, itâs not the action, itâs the way it makes me feel that brings suffering.
This one is all about perspective. I say I âsufferâ from my anxiety, because I want to be normal. The âsufferingâ goes away if I accept my anxiety as my way of life. My dad dying caused âsufferingâ because we wanted him to still be alive and living with us. If you are able to accept death as a natural end to life, could you mitigate the âsuffering.â
This is hard, because your anxiety, the symptoms of it, and the millions of other things that make you suffer, are unavoidable. Sometimes feeling sad about them is unavoidable as part of the human condition.
However, Buddha believed that suffering is inevitable, temporary, and possiblyânot easilyârelieved by your perspective on the suffering, or letting go of your wants.
3. The end of suffering is enlightenment
So if you or I think this Buddhist game is easy, weâre SOL! If you can master ending your suffering altogether, then you will have âenlightenment.â Thatâs the Lombardi Trophy of Buddhism! Except, most practicing Buddhists donât plan to get there. Itâs too hard.
Buddhist monks across the globeâyou know, the ones who spend all their time meditating and cleaningâtry their whole lives to achieve enlightenment and donât. Itâs not necessarily about eliminating all of your suffering, because it is a part of life. It is about following a path that will lessen it.
4. Thereâs a 8 point plan
The last noble truth is that there is a path you can follow to eliminate suffering and gain enlightenment. Again, in practice itâs going to be black diamond level hard, but remember Câs get degrees, and even a little change of thought can help to eliminate suffering.
Thereâs stuff in there about meditation (prayer), being nice to your neighbor, clean living and clean thoughtsâ¦.all things a lot of other religions get behind as well.
Really, for me, this has nothing to do with religion. I went looking for a little self-help on how to live my life and manage my anxiety, and I came across the thoughts of a guy named SiddhÄrtha Gautamaâthe Buddha. He was just a rich kid trying to figure out life.
Buddha didnât want people to worship him, idolize him or really even remember him when he was gone. His ideas were just so simple and impactful that people merged his beliefs into their own religious beliefs. You can incorporate his ideas into your own beliefs, anxiety management and life.
This is not about converting you, itâs about opening your mind up to some things that may help you as they did me.
He wonât care! He just wanted what was best for peopleâ¦..or he didnât want it. Still a little confusing.
Iâve found many books and internet sources helpful in my research into Buddhist thought and my anxiety. Here are a few resources:
- âBuddhism for Dudes,â by Gerry Strebling: A pretty simplified explainer from a former Marine.
- âThe Book of Awakening: Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You Have,â by Mark Nepo: This cancer survivor wrote some introspective, buddh-ish thoughts for each day of the year. Itâs really great.
- https://jackkornfield.com/: Heâs kind of hippy-dippy, but he speaks pretty plainly in his videos, podcasts and books. Heâs my go-to on a lot of Buddhist thought.
- https://tricycle.org/: very polished Buddhism journal. Sign up for daily dharma emails.They are good ways to get you in the right frame of mind each day.
source https://www.programage.com/news/How_Buddhist_Teachings_Can_Help_Manage_Anxiety_1614261632871583.html
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