Report 48

Or perhaps we need to think about the many distractions we make for ourselves in modern day life. In fact, the way we live now seems to be geared towards distracting ourselves away from having to think too much about existence, about filling our lives with distracting entertainments of various kinds. I know I seem to fill my life with gadgets of one kind or another. Even one life doesn't provide enough distractions for me, so I find myself going into another life, Second Life.

Is there some kind of lack of something that we need to fill? I notice when I come home from silent retreats I feel so calm and peaceful, but immediately go to my computer and resume my normal distractions of E-Mail, Facebook, Twitter and Second Life. Why do I complicate my life? Isn't it a kind of subtle conditioning that we will only be happy when we get the next thing, whether it be a new relationship, house or car. TV programmes show couples looking for a "Place in the Sun" where presumably they will find the place of their dreams. My practice could be about simplicity and being content where I am -- with having no resistance to what IS in my life.

Shunryu Suzuki said: "Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine."