There's No Such Thing as Enlightened Retirement

Viðtal við Jack Kornfield: https://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/buddhism/2000/06/theres-no-such-thing-as-enlightened-retirement.aspx

 

What are your biggest sticking points when it comes to meshing spiritual practice with the rest of your life? Oh, I've got so many! [laughing] Buddhism talks about the possibility of transforming greed, hatred, and delusion. But sometimes need turns into greed. When I get angry or unmindful, it really helps having a teenage daughter around to say, "Dad, aren't you supposed to be a meditation teacher?" She is my teacher.

   There's a wonderful story from Pir Vilayat Khan, the 84-year-old head of the Sufi Order in the West, where he says, "Of so many great teachers I've met in India and Asia, if you were to bring them to America, get them a house, two cars, a spouse, three kids, a job, insurance, and taxes...they would all have a hard time." It's not that life is supposed to be all pleasure and no pain. It's difficult, and with understanding, it's very easy.

Not a dead one

 

An Emperor asked the old Zen master, “What happens to an enlightened man after death?”
The master replied, “I would not know.”
“But you are a Zen Master!” exclaimed the shocked Emperor.
“Not a dead one!” quipped the old man.