What Is Most Important to You Now?

There are so many things we need in our life. So many things we want, so many things to learn. There’s so much we want to accomplish, both in terms of our mundane life as well as our spiritual journey. If you look at your list, it’s endless isn’t it?

I’ve had friends who say, “After I retire, I can really practice meditation.” And I’ve noticed that, after they retire, their list is still growing.

The great Indian master Atisha said:

This life is short, and the objects of knowledge are many.
Yet since the duration of life is uncertain,
Be like a swan, extracting milk from water
And prioritize what means the most for you.

There are so many things we need, so many things we want, so many things to accomplish. It’s not possible to do everything. Since the duration of life is short, and uncertain, if you try to do everything, then at the end, nothing is accomplished.

If you prioritize, and then focus on what’s most important for you, then you can be certain you’ll accomplish the most important thing within your lifetime. That will save a lot of frustration.

What’s your top priority?

It is extremely important for us to really narrow our list down to what’s most important. What is the most important thing? Narrow it down. Do you want happiness? What is the most important thing to do, in order to achieve that happiness? Do you want freedom? What is the most important thing for us to do to free ourselves?

Do you want to be a great, knowledgeable scholar in Dharma? What is the most important thing you need to do to achieve that? Narrow it down. Do you want experience, and realization? What is the most important thing you need to do for that to happen? Narrow it down.

Whatever we want to achieve, whatever our needs are, if we really look, it all boils down to our mind, doesn’t it? If you want to be a great scholar, you need that mind.  If you want to have realization, you need that mind. If you want to be happy, in order to achieve that happiness, you need the mind.

Without the mind and some sense of mastering our mind, there’s no way we can achieve anything.

My dog is not going to make me happy. My tablet’s not going to make me really happy. But what really brings happiness is when you have mastery over the mind.

How can we make the world better?

If everyone gets some kind of mastery over their mind–that can make the world better. What can make us really happy about everything outside is if we can change our perception, our mind’s perception, of the whole world.

If you really look closely, it all depends on how good of a grip you have on your mind. It all depends on that. If you don’t have a good grip, it’s like when your hand is sweaty, your mind will slip away. Then your mind will hit the hard floor and shatter across the room. And then you’ll weep.

So, if you look at it, in terms of priorities, there’s nothing more important than our mind. You may think, “Oh, I need to change this door.” Or maybe my first priority is, “I need to get a new stereo system for my car.” I’m just using that as an example–I don’t need that. My car has a good stereo. My only problem is I don’t have time to be in my car to listen to it.

So, you see, if you really think carefully, if you look closely, the first thing on our list of priorities should be: our mind. Usually, our mind is last on our list of priorities, isn’t it? The first one is “Look for an apartment,” then maybe the second one is “Car,” then the third may be “Dog.” Then the fourth one, “Mosquito repellant.” Fifth one, “Organic fertilizer.” Since we’re all Buddhists, I assume you’re all liberals and you like organic stuff.

And then the last one, Item #135: “Meditate.”

So, we’re missing the whole point.

I always say, Buddhism is nothing but a science of mind. So, if you really want to master your mind, we have all the methods here. We have all the methods you need: intellectually, spiritually, and what-have-you. Everything is present here in our study and practice.

Narrow it down

To clarify your priorities, you might try writing them down. Here are some things to consider:

1.  Think about your plan for this day. Or if it’s nighttime, think of your plan for tomorrow. What do you need to accomplish in this one day? Write those things down. It might be a long to-do list.

2.  Now take a look at your list: Can you really do all of those things in one day? Or this week?

3.  Now think of your whole life. Imagine it’s your very last day. What do you need to be sure you have accomplished before this day, and your life, comes to an end? What is the most important thing?