Unexpected Freedom

Truly Comfortablemiserable, depressed or lonely. Having good friends,physical health and emotional comfort are natural ways ofbeing happy, but the practice of purification means goingagainst our preferences, countering the belief that we needthese comforts to be happy. If we don’t understand howthese different dimensions of spiritual practice function – ifwe don’t understand the place of comfort through havingour preferences met, and the place of challenge that comesthrough going against our preferences – then we can getconfused. If we try to engage with the teachings of theBuddha or any great spiritual master who challenges ourusual preferences, yet while doing this we feel inwardlydepleted and diminished, without confidence and wellbeing,we can make ourselves feel a whole lot worse.Going Against PreferencesThe practice of purification requires our coming to see thereality of preferences very clearly. And this inevitablyinvolves the challenge of countering our desires. Thereneeds to be a context of contentment for us to do this, but atthe same time going against preferences is not going to becomfortable. It’s important to understand this, becausewhen we apply ourselves to practices that challenge us, andwe feel unhappy or discontented, we can think thatsomething is going wrong.The wise way to relate to our preferences is to recognisethat everyone has them but that, when they are notunderstood, they limit our experience. We all prefer to haveagreeable sensations – it’s completely natural to have bodilypreferences. In meditation for example, we are encouragedto be still, to discipline the body, to focus attention untilbody and mind are in harmony and we attain to one-107