What is your motivation for practice?

[Jetsun]

Mine are:

 

1 - To try to make myself feel better, I don't want to suffer ever or even feel bad for any length of time

 

2 - I want to be special, whether it is wiser or more compassionate or spiritual, basically I want to be better than others especially my friends and family

 

How about you?

[子泰]

To live an easy life

Edited August 26, 2013 by dazed

[Chang]

To make progress in both the physical and spiritual areas of my life.

[Jetsun]

To make progress in both the physical and spiritual areas of my life.

Why do you want to make physical and spiritual progress?

[Jetsun]

To live an easy life

Yeah, I suspect its a blessing you never get what you want out of all this though

[Rara]

Mine are:

 

1 - To try to make myself feel better, I don't want to suffer ever or even feel bad for any length of time

 

2 - I want to be special, whether it is wiser or more compassionate or spiritual, basically I want to be better than others especially my friends and family

 

How about you?

Careful with point 2 that you made. Being "better" than others feed ego and will lead you down the path of alienation. Find practical uses for your self-mastery like helping those around you. They will immediately look up to you as a "wise one" anyway if you can offer such simple and effective support.

 

My reasons for practice:

 

1. My eyes have just been open to the matrix that the "real world" is for about 11 years. So my practice helps me cope and transcend the illusion

 

2. Self-help. I have a history of anxiety, depression and anger. I wanted to change, to stop hurting myself and people around me. I still fuck up, but these days less often and I can fix it easier when it does

 

3. Sheer interest. Philosophy and meditation just feel right for me. I feel that I am evolving by the second

[rex]

"There is nothing better than those mysteries by which, from a rough and fierce life, we are polished to gentleness and softned. And initia, as they are called, we have thus known as the beginnings of life in truth; not only have we received from them the doctrine of living with happiness, but even of dying with a better hope." Cicero

[Vanir Thunder Dojo Tan]

Mine are:

 

1 - To try to make myself feel better, I don't want to suffer ever or even feel bad for any length of time

 

2 - I want to be special, whether it is wiser or more compassionate or spiritual, basically I want to be better than others especially my friends and family

 

How about you?

 

 

 

2 is a contradiction in and of itself and not any measure of "improvement" but the commonplace normal mentality.

 

1 is what i try to shar universally amongst all people and not jsut myself.

 

 

 

Those are my reasons for being here. it is part of my practice to improve not only myself, but everyone "below" me before I can feel better about myself.

Edited August 26, 2013 by Northern Avid Judo Ant

[RiverSnake]

I enjoy cultivation and the fact that it's always stretching, pushing and expanding me in so many fundamental ways. I get a lot of joy and fulfillment out of it, it's what I have found to be of most value for me.

 

My 2 cents, Peace

[skydog]

I believe sometimes one thinks one knows why they do something, but they only believe a certain thing is why they did something, when perhaps many logical, and non logical and sub conscious things are involved.

 

For example Alan Watts might talk about contemplating the idea we are all selfish, but this is only a contemplation to bring people to balance, the viewpoing that we are all loving might be just as valid as thinking one is being realistic and "admitting" they did something for selfish reasons.

[Protector]

If you do things only when you feel motivated, you won't get anything done

[Jetsun]

but the commonplace normal mentality.

 

Yeah that's exactly what it is, I fooled myself for so long that I was in it for more noble or higher reasons. But what I have discovered is that you don't get what you want. You get baited in with thoughts of getting what you want and once you are deep enough the rug gets pulled out from under your feet and you see that you won't ever get it, but you have gone too far to back out. Which suggests that there is a deeper intelligence than your surface desires, a force more powerful than ego driving the whole process.