"Why?" That's the question at the start. Why do you do what you do? Why do you believe what you believe?
When we begin there, we begin to seek. Seek what? Seek our path. Seek our reason for being. We all have a path we walk, be it spiritual, religious, our career, even our relationships are a path of their own. We are also surrounded by our differences, which can sometimes leave us feeling alienated and alone, but we can remove that obstacle by returning to the "why" of it all.
Many people ask me -- and I have begun to ask others as well: "Why do you practice Buddhism? What draws you to it?" Often the answers are similar, but one reason rings out in every answer I have received, even my own, and it usually starts with "I feel."
That got me thinking about one of the points our teacher, Lama Tsultrim Allione, speaks of often and it goes something like this: "We have to stop viewing ourself as an entity and start viewing ourself as an energy." If we recognize ourselves as energetic beings, we quickly get to the feeling, the somatic experience of our existence. This recognition starts to break down our obstacles and provides an opening to change the way we view ourselves and the world around us.
This teaching always brings it back to the "why" for me. Why do I sit in meditation? Simply put, I feel like a more beneficial person to others when I do. When I feel a sense of peace, it allows me the space to be peaceful and compassionate towards others.
When we get down to our feeling in the experience, that is our answer to whether we continue on or perhaps shift our path. No matter what we are doing we must ask "Why?" Does it make you feel better? Do you feel joy when sitting, when listening, when working, when praying? How does your path make you feel?
If you feel happiness and joy, keep going. If it is creating benefit in your life so that you can, in turn, be beneficial to others, keep going. If it feels disconnected, if it leaves you with more questions and no answers, if it leaves your heart aching, you must stop for one moment and ask, "Why? Why am I doing this?" Whatever answer you find, you can then meet it with the courage to shift and change or continue on.
Certainly, this does not mean that I believe, or that it is taught, that everyone should become a Buddhist. In fact, when his holiness the Dalai Lama is asked this question, without hesitation he says, "No!" Buddhism makes room for each of us to decide what path is right for us, to make room for our cultural upbringing and the tenants of the Buddha's teachings.
"Be a lamp unto yourself," is what the Buddha taught, so it is up to you to decide if what you have experienced feels like the truth for you. If it feels wrong, stop doing it. If it feels right, continue on, always questioning, always seeking, then resting in the energy of the moment until it is time to get up and take another step on your path or a new one.
Jennifer Fahey has been practicing Buddhism for more than 12 years. She has led the Chattanooga Tara Mandala Sangha since its inception in February 2009. She and her husband, Brian, have one daughter.