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Guided Meditation: Wholeheartedness; Dharmette: Ten Reflections (2 of 10) Purpose - Gil Fronsdal

The following talk was given by Gil Fronsdal at Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA on April 23, 2024. Please visit the website www.audiodharma.org for more information.

Guided Meditation: Wholeheartedness

Good morning, everyone. Welcome. I find myself sitting here somewhat quiet.

The background of our discussion and meditation today is these ten reflections, or ten foundational aspects of a human life, that are useful to think about and reflect on. Today, the topic is purpose. In relationship to purpose, I would like to talk about confidence—the confidence to do whatever our purpose is wholeheartedly.

Whatever we have to do in the moment, that is what is important. One of the aspects of purpose is not the purpose of the activity, but the purpose of doing something wholeheartedly. Our life is too precious to do things half-heartedly. Even if it is a mundane task, even if it seems like not such an important thing that we are doing, the fact that we are doing it is important.

There is something very profound about giving ourselves fully to the task at hand—to the doing, to the fact that we have the capacity to engage in something. If we are cleaning the kitchen, we should not do it half-heartedly. We should do it as if it is the most important thing, even if it is not so important in and of itself. Our ability to be alive at any given moment and give ourselves to our activity is important.

So, the task of the meditation is to give yourself to the meditation wholeheartedly.

What would that look like for you? For these thirty minutes, this is the purpose. The purpose is not to strain; to strain is to do things in a certain kind of half-hearted way because we are leaving out so much of who we are. Rather, do it in a relaxed way, an open way, an inclusive way, bringing as much of who we are here into the experience. There is purpose to that. There is a way of finding fulfillment not in the task we are doing, but in how we do it—the freedom we find to give ourselves to it in a full, wholehearted way.

Assume a meditation posture. Part of the value of the meditation posture is to adopt a posture that feels like you can now give yourself to the task of meditation, that you can really be present for it in a nice way. A posture of attention, a posture of presence.

Gently close your eyes. Part of the purpose for closing the eyes is so that we are less likely to be distracted, and we can give ourselves over to this simplicity of just sitting. In Zen¹, they use the expression "just sitting" for meditation. What are you doing? I'm just sitting. Not thinking about other things, not thinking about what I'm going to attain or accomplish in meditation, not thinking about what happened yesterday, not judging myself. Just sitting. Just sitting here.

In that expression, "just sitting," is the idea of a wholeness, a wholeheartedness, a fullness of being here for this experience. There is purpose to that. There is value to that. So, have confidence in just sitting, just being here with our experience.

Take some deep, slow breaths. Relax as you exhale. As you settle in, relax into your body. Let your breathing return to normal, and with normal breathing, continue relaxing your body in ways that are easy. There is a way in which relaxing the tensions of the body allows us to be more whole in our engagement in meditation; more of us can be included here.

Just sitting. Just breathing. There is a deep satisfaction in the body, the heart, and the mind to be fully involved in the task at hand. There is purpose to just sitting, being present here and now. Through these next minutes, give yourself over to this purpose of being here gently, quietly, without strain. Be willing to let go of whatever takes you away from being here fully in this moment's experience, until you appreciate that it isn't the experience that is important, but rather the wholeheartedness and freedom that comes with choosing to be aware with this now.

[Silence]

When there is confidence, faith, or inspiration in the purpose of meditation, perhaps you can give yourself over more fully to the task at hand. There is value in a wholehearted, relaxed attention to here and now.

[Silence]

And then, as we come to the end of this sitting, appreciate that we have the capacity to bring kindness and friendliness to the people we encounter in our daily life. We have the capacity to bring respect, attention, and well-wishing. This is profoundly valuable for the people we encounter and for ourselves in our relationship to others.

There is a purpose to living with kindness and respect. There is value and meaning to living in a way that supports others in their lives, and thereby supports ourselves. We end this meditation preparing ourselves to go out into the world, or encounter other people, on the foundation of meditation—to do so with kindness, care, respect, and well-wishing.

And so, we say at the end of the sitting, as a way of expressing our intention, our purpose, our aspiration:

May all beings be happy. May all beings be healthy. May all beings be safe. May all beings be peaceful. And may all beings be free.

May we, in whatever way that we can, see the purpose and find purpose in these aspirations, so we contribute to making it possible. May all beings be happy.

Thank you.

Dharmette: Ten Reflections (2 of 10) Purpose

Welcome to this second talk on the ten profound reflections that we can engage in to live a Dharma² life, a spiritual life, a whole life. These ten reflections are not just good for Dharma practice; they are actually very important reflections for any human life because they point to the totality of profound concerns and ways in which we are animated and motivated to live a full life.

Yesterday I talked about meaning. Today, following up and closely connected to meaning, is purpose. Tomorrow will be agency, followed by autonomy, identity, dignity, community and kinship, and then healing and reconciliation. Each of these is worth giving time to. We are going through these somewhat quickly over the ten days we are meeting, but I am hoping it gives you a valuable orientation for how to think about and consider your life.

So, today is purpose. As I said, it is closely connected to meaning. Meaning sometimes provides a sense of purpose for how we are living our life in some large way, but also the purpose for the particular activity we are engaged in at any given time.

Even if we stop at the gas station to put gasoline in our car, we could ask: "What is the purpose for doing that?" "Well, it is to put gas in my car." We check it off; we recognize the purpose.

But you can ask the question more deeply: "Yes, but what is the purpose of having gasoline in my car?" "Oh, so my car can take me places." "But what is the purpose for that?" "The purpose for that is so I can do the things that are important in my life: visit the people who are sick, or go to work and be able to support my family." "And what is the purpose for that?"

There are layers and layers. Keep asking, "What is the purpose? What is the purpose?" until we find that maybe what we are doing doesn't really have a valuable purpose. Sometimes the purpose is just to become wealthy or have promotions at work. That might seem very important and drive a person's behavior day and night, but when we really get down into the roots of our being, our life, we might find that it doesn't really support us. It is not so great to have that be the primary purpose of our life.

We go to the gas station to get gasoline. What is the purpose there? Maybe the purpose is to pay the cashier—if we still do that—and to have a human interaction with someone; to take the time to look at them, say hello, and see what is possible. We could add purposes to what we do that animate it with something of really great value.

Reflect on this: What is the purpose of my life? What is the purpose of my work? What is the purpose of my activity? Am I imbuing it with a purpose that is valuable?

This relates to the Buddhist idea that whatever we are doing should be considered as to whether it is wholesome or unwholesome, beneficial or not beneficial, skillful or not skillful, healthy or unhealthy. This idea of being "wholesome"³ means that not only is it wholesome and valuable in and of itself, but it also brings good consequences. In Buddhism, the sense of purpose is to do the things that are consequentially beneficial.

Do they benefit my own spiritual growth? How does stopping to get gasoline benefit my spiritual growth? Well, maybe it doesn't really benefit it to multitask, to be on the phone and pump gas at the same time. What is beneficial is to really have the stability, the calm, and the centeredness to just be there for the activity of getting the gas. It becomes a training ground for presence and attention. Over the long term, we are really developing our capacity to be here and present so that we are not divided or distracted. Something deep can well up inside; we can develop the practice in some important way.

Or, is it beneficial for other people? When we pay a cashier, does that have any benefit for them—the way we do it? I have had some wonderful conversations with cashiers in the supermarket, especially early in the morning when there are not a lot of people there. It is a wonderful chance to have some connection. I don't know if some of the cashiers remember me, but I remember them, and they have a warm place in my heart just because they are there early in the morning and we had this nice connection.

In Buddhism, one sense of purpose is that there is a path of practice. There is a path of spiritual growth that we can be engaged in, and that is extremely valuable. It is very meaningful to be on a path to liberation⁴—to freedom. Liberation from all forces that are harmful, all forces that diminish us, contract us, or move us away from a path of openness, joy, and generosity. These are all considered wholesome things.

It is valuable to have a sense of purpose that motivates us, that gives us a reason to wake up in the morning. It gives us a reason to go to work, for example, not just to get a paycheck, but to do something more profound for ourselves and for others. Whatever we are doing, we see it as part and parcel of this profound, meaningful thing to do, which is to live a Dharma life—a life that is on the path of practice.

The Buddha made a remarkable statement that inspired me very much when I heard it for the first time, and still does. He said—and this is my paraphrase—"Do what is wholesome. If it were not possible to do what is wholesome, I would not teach you to do what is wholesome. But it is possible to do what is wholesome."

So, know that it is possible. We can do this path. We can cultivate ourselves. We can develop ourselves. We can do what is healthy and skillful and purposeful. It is invaluable to have a sense of purpose that has meaning, that has value, that we really feel is important for us, so that when we go about our life we are connected to this deep sense of purpose.

This sense of purpose is also a wonderful reflection to have when you are thinking about anything you are going to do or making any decision. Ask the question: "Why do I want to do this? What is the purpose of this activity? Does the purpose really serve what is most valuable for me or for the world around me?"

Many times we do simple things, or things which are meant to distract us or relieve us of some of our stresses and challenges. That might be very purposeful and meaningful to do. But sometimes it actually takes us away from ourselves and doesn't help us do the really important work that needs to happen in order to heal, to develop, to help us move into this world in a full and dedicated way. So, keep checking in with yourself. What is the purpose of this?

To add to that: "Is there a purpose I can add to this?" "Yes, I have to do this, and it's a drag, but can I now imbue it with a higher purpose?" Don't settle for the obvious purpose—"I'm just getting gas." Can I imbue getting gas with a higher purpose, or a deeper purpose, or whatever metaphor you like for this? Why am I doing it?

To find a profound, important, or valuable sense of purpose for our life is invaluable. It can be found at any time at all, even if we are on our deathbed. Even there: "What is the purpose here and now?" Is the purpose now, as I am dying, to linger in my resentments about what happened twenty or thirty years ago? Is the purpose now to worry about the future that I have no control over anymore because I only have maybe minutes or an hour left?

There is purpose to letting go fully. There is now a possibility to let go in a deep, full way, to be really present here and now without the extra tension of past and future—worries, regrets, anticipations, dreams about the future. Just here. So fully that even the sense of dying disappears because it is just breathing, just here, now. There is purpose to this kind of freedom of being here for this.

I have offered you some words of my own on this topic. I don't present these ideas as being the definitive discussion about these ten qualities we are talking about. I am just trying to offer you some of my reflections and what is valuable for me, with the idea that hopefully, it will be a catalyst for you to think about this for yourself. Maybe you will come up with a very different understanding for each of these ten reflections than what I have presented. But if my reflections have prompted that reflection, great; I am happy for that. These are a really important part of the life, and there can't be someone else's answers to what these mean for any of you.

Spend some time now, for the next twenty-four hours, reflecting on purpose. What are the purposes that you live by? Is there some sense of purpose that is really foundational or fundamental, deeper than anything else? Something that can animate any more obvious purposes? The reasons why you do things—can you imbue them with a really deep life purpose or deep spiritual purpose for yourself and for others?

Reflect on purpose, why you do things, and see what you learn. Keep asking the question: "Well, I have this purpose now. What is the purpose for that purpose? Why is that so important?" Just keep asking that and see how deep you can go, or how you can go through the different levels and layers of your heart and mind to understand yourself better and better. If you have friends you can talk to, or paper you can journal on about this topic, great. Take it as far as you have time and interest to do so.

Thank you very much. Tomorrow we will do this very important topic of agency, which is related to meaning and purpose. Thank you.