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I want to make one commitment now to save myself from suffering in distant future. The kind of suffering is same as due to unity with undesired situation. For example I might have to shake hands with my enemy. Or I might have to live under poverty.

Which single most important commitment should I make to follow every day or every moment or every week so that I may not suffer while getting united with the undesirable?

(Answer should be like start keeping right view or start practicing right view or I should start jogging or I should start meditating or start chanting mantra etc...)

Dheeraj Verma
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  • You seem to be overly preoccupied with the future, do you think it is healthy or maybe considered harmful in the long run versus mindful of present problems at hand which you actually can have control of? Disclaimer: I didn’t downvote. –  Jul 26 '18 at 15:18
  • Note to downvoter. I have upvoted this question because it has been a painful concern in my own life. Please consider downvoting as divisive speech and do provide comments with metta. – OyaMist Jul 26 '18 at 15:52
  • @dhamma4life Past has gone. Death and other sufferings are in store for us in the future. Present is the only chance to take right steps to end the suffering. I don't mind downvote or upvote because Buddha asked us to handle all situations with same equanimity. – Dheeraj Verma Jul 26 '18 at 16:26
  • Buddha said not to be trapped by either, remember. I know it’s not easy but I want you to be happy @Dheeraj. I can recommend good practical book about suffering “No mud, No lotus” if you are not prejudiced against Mahayana and open minded. –  Jul 26 '18 at 16:57
  • @dhamma4life I will be reading that book shortly. Thanks. – Dheeraj Verma Jul 26 '18 at 23:38
  • How can anyone add something that you cannot already find in the texts? E.g. the pali canon already states the path to freedom from suffering, i.e. The Noble Eightfold Path. –  Aug 01 '18 at 13:22
  • @Lanka Nobel Eight Fold Path mentions too many things. Teaching of Dhamma ( This is not me , This is not mine, This is not myself) can be a commitment. Commitment to abandon all. – Dheeraj Verma Aug 01 '18 at 13:57
  • @DheerajVerma Maybe an example of a commitment is Taking refuge (or, depending on the school, another vow). – ChrisW Aug 01 '18 at 14:02
  • @DheerajVerma. No, it dosen't. The theravada buddhist Path is clearly outlined in the Noble Eightfold Path. The Path can be displayed in a simple and shortened form, suitable for commitments or in a techniqal, complex form, encompassing the entire buddhist Teaching. A simple commitment could be the "commitment to abandon wrong speech" or the "commitment to have right effort". Ofc all the path factors should be practiced in unison since the enforce each other. –  Aug 01 '18 at 14:03
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    The buddhist practice happens not in the past or future but now. The Dhamma is visible here and now. It is mindfulness of the present moment that is the key. If you make mindfulness and vigilance your commitment, it will bridge the way for the rest of the factors. You might want to read up on the Five Spiritual Faculties. –  Aug 01 '18 at 14:05
  • There is a difference between worrying about the future and thinkinf about it in a systematic way. Saying that one should be present at all times is not only impossible but also not helpful because necessary steps are probably dismissed. If there are adversities one has to face, then one had better use some problem solving methods that are in cognitive, emotive and behavioural nature. – Val Aug 02 '18 at 20:26

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One could simply commit to the awareness of:

This is not mine. This is not my self. This is not what I am.

Notice that quote is prefaced by the following introduction that addresses the question's focus on action and consequence (i.e., form):

Rahula, any form whatsoever that is past, future, or present; internal or external; blatant or subtle; common or sublime; far or near: every form is to be seen as it actually is with right discernment as...

With right discernment comes a relinquishing of self and an openness to other questions and other suttas.

Also, given the expressed concern about consequence, there may be fear and terror here, in which case the Bhaya-bherava Sutta: Fear & Terror Sutta may be a helpful exploration.

OyaMist
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here is a sutta with what resolution to take

When, bhikkhus, the Dhamma has thus been well expounded by me, elucidated, disclosed, revealed, stripped of patchwork, this is enough for a clansman who has gone forth out of faith to arouse his energy thus:

'Willingly, let only my skin, sinews, and bones remain, and let the flesh and blood dry up in my body, but I will not relax my energy so long as I have not attained what can be attained by manly strength, by manly energy, by manly exertion.'

"Bhikkhus, the lazy person dwells in suffering, soiled by evil unwholesome states, and great is the personal good that he neglects.

But the energetic person dwells happily, secluded from evil unwholesome states, and great is the personal good that he achieves.

It is not by the inferior that the supreme is attained; rather, it is by the supreme that the supreme is attained.

Bhikkhus, this holy life is a beverage of cream; the Teacher is present.

Therefore, bhikkhus, arouse your energy for the attainment of the as-yet-unattained, for the achievement of the as-yet-unachieved, for the realization of the as-yet-unrealized, [with the thought]:

'In such a way this going forth of ours will not be barren, but fruitful and fertile; and when we use the robes, almsfood, lodgings, and medicinal requisites [offered to us by others], these services they provide for us will be of great fruit and benefit to them.'

Thus, bhikkhus, should you train yourselves.

"Considering your own good, bhikkhus, it is enough to strive for the goal with diligence; considering the good of others, it is enough to strive for the goal with diligence; considering the good of both, it is enough to strive for the goal with diligence."

http://obo.genaud.net/a/dhamma-vinaya/wp/sn/02_nv/sn02.12.022.bodh.wp.htm#p1

Community
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WQS
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Now, before I give some advice it is important that we agree on basic premises, otherwise it will be quite difficult to elicit change.

  1. You realize that you are facing an adversity (either imagined, real or even both)

  2. You understand the relationship between a situation, the thoughts, feelings and emotions and the underlying belief system that is responsible for those

    If you have by now understood the importance of beliefs and the subsequent behaviour, you know that only practise and hard work largely will help you and that prayer, chanting and meditation will only distract you in the short run and do not address your problem(s) directly

  3. You acknowledge that feeling happy or indifferent feelings in the face of adversity is unpractical because:

    a) Healthy negative emotions like sadness, regret, assertive anger etc. all help you to process the negative event properly

    b) They allow you to behave in a helpful rather than unhelpful way (since the underlying flexible beliefs are non-extreme in nature and therefore the subsequent behaviours will be non-extreme as well) and

    c) Healthy negative emotions motivate you to change the situation if possible and to accept it if you cannot.

Based on these premises it is now important to question your underlying beliefs. Usually these are formulated in rigid ''musts, shoulds, must not" etc. Question them. Are they true? Where is it written? Does it logically follow that just because you want something you therefore have to obtain it? Is it helpful to think that way?

If you think that you will end up in poverty there are of course also behavioural methods you should do like applying for a job, moving to an other city where job opportunities are better, saving money etc.

ChrisW
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Val
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