The holiday season. Why are there so
many holidays crammed into such a short amount of time (in the US,
anyway)? And how many blogs are written about this time of year? And
how many of those are going to offer coping mechanisms about how to
deal with family members, how not to gain weight, and any number of
other topics that one might infer that the holiday season is to be
dreaded rather than celebrated?
There are any number of holidays both
secular & religious, and sometimes a combination of both, that a
"Buddhist" might feel a little left out of. We are not
exactly endowed with many "holidays" in general, let alone
at this time of year. Some of us celebrate Bodhi Day (AKA Rohatsu) on
or around December 8, marking the awakening of the Buddha 'neath the
Bodhi tree. There's Vesak, which combines Birth, Awakening and
Paranirvana (death) of the Buddha celebrated in may countries. And
rolling three potential holidays into one is not a great way to get
time off from work.
Thanksgiving should theoretically be a
no-brainer for a Buddhist, but with all the conspicuous consumption,
over-indulgence, family confrontations, and potential the prevalence
of booze, might make it a little rough. Christmas in a religious
sense may not hold any special meaning, and the secular version is
not quite what a renunciant, eschewing attachment, desire, and
clinging, might really feel too comfortable with either.
But I'd really like to offer a less
cynical, less resentful, less dualistic approach to the Holiday
Season:
There is the practice the Perfection of
dana (generosity) which doesn't necessarily mean giving your nephew a
video game that was last year's model, and not being a gamer, you
can't understand the look of disappointment and the forced "Thanks."
It could mean being generous with one's time, going to the yet
another get-together even if deep-down you'd really rather not.
The Four Immeasuables come to mind
also--metta (lovingkindness), karuna (compassion), mudita
(sympathetic joy or empathy) and upekkha (patience and equanimity).
I'll let you figure out how to implement each of them, since they
will be subject to your situation, causes and conditions. And if it
offers any solace, holidays are impermanent as anything else.
So go ahead and say Merry Christmas, it
might mean that you justthismuchless attached to your identity as a
"Buddhist."
And if that's all not working for you,
get on the cushion and ask “Who is this that's feeling
uncomfortable?” and see if you can answer the huatou.
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, May
All Beings Be Happy, including during the holidays.
