In recent years our knowledge of modern technology has increased considerably & as a result we have witnessed remarkable material progress but there has not been a corresponding increase in human happiness. There is no less suffering in the world today & there are no fewer problems. Indeed it might be said that there are now more problems than ever before.
Superficially it looks like our world is improving. We know so many things we didn't know before & can do things we never even dreamt of but if we look a bit more deeply we will see that there are many problems that never existed before. Terrifying weapons have been invented, our environment is being poisoned & new diseases are appearing. The result of an unbridled pursuit of happiness is that our planet is being destroyed & our lives are becoming more complicated & dissatisfying. People are suffering more from stress, anxiety & low self-esteem. It is clear that something is deeply wrong & that manipulating external conditions will not help solve these modern problems.
The reason for this is the problems are internal problems & we can't solve these with external solutions. Happiness is part of our mind, it is a feeling, so the real source of happiness must lie within our mind not in external conditions. If our mind is peaceful we will be happy all the time but if our mind is unpeaceful we will never be happy however much we try to change our external conditions.
Odiyana Kadampa Meditation Centre is running a 4 week course entitled Meditations for Modern Problems. The classes will be held at Holmes Chapel Library on Monday nights. All classes start at 7.30pm and run from 2nd September for 4 weeks. Each class comprises 2 meditations and a talk, then discussion over tea and biscuits.
For further details contact:
Odiyana Buddhist Centre
The Heysoms
163 Chester Road
Northwich
Cheshire
CW8 4AG
www.meditationincheshire.org
Tel – 01606 77034