Through The Eyes of On Ji (I)

First and foremost, help pronouncing my Dharma name. It rhymes with philosophy.

Fuh laa suh fee, On Gee. You got it!

Let’s start at the beginning…. Spring of 2016. Ok, not the beginning per say, but the beginning of my recognized Dharma journey.

Looking for a quick fix to a complicated anxious and depressed state of mind, I turned to Google (hello,21 st century!) and ended up on Amazon. (Sorry, Vimala, read on and I’m sure you will forgive me.) I wish I could say that I remember what I typed into that search engine, but I cannot. Probably something along the lines of help for anxiety and/or depression is all I can speculate. So, a book came up. It is called The New Meditation Handbook by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. The front cover said, “Meditations to make your life happy and meaningful”. I knew it was just what I was willing to try. Who doesn’t want a happy life with meaning? So, it was ordered.

How and why did this book, used as a guide, become the beginning to a journey that I would like to explore with you? Well, maybe part of the introduction will capture you, just as it did me.

“Although we wish to be happy all the time, we do not know how to be, and because of this we usually destroy the happiness we have by developing anger and other delusions.

As the Buddhist Master Shantideva says:

…although they wish for happiness, out of ignorance they destroy it like a foe.”

Wow. So, perhaps delusions have destroyed my happiness and caused anxiety and depression? I’d love to hear your thoughts…

Until next time, this is Part One of Buddhist Philosophy Through the Eyes of On Ji

~On Ji, Becky Kuczer