Finding a Mentor

Some bloke at work has attempted to mentor me. It's a real nice gesture, but he's a fuckin moron lol

>>18237818
>Someone with years more experience than me and can tell me what underlying problems im dealing with

So.... You're basically looking for someone to "fix" you?

Sorry bro, ain't no such thing. Even Buddhist teachings will tell you that others can instill within you the seed of it, but the path to enlightenment is your own to walk, and it's only through your own struggles that you can gain it.

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You can spend hours, days, weeks, months listening to every one of Alan Watts' recorded lectures... and there's nothing wrong with that.

But, it won't solve any of your problems.

>>18237855
but where do i walk to? im so lost and angry. I had a huge falling out and am now just wandering around. searching for enlightenment. true happiness

>>18237860
That's not entirely true. It won't solve your problems because you won't implement it into your life. You'll listen and forget like everything else. Never having tried to truly and actually pursuing something. Of course this is the same for everyone unless you are one of the few who stick with it and you find out everything is already the way it's supposed to be. The answer is that there is no answer. "Nirvana is the realization that there's nothing to search for. Its symbolized by simply "whew!""

>>18237863
You can search and search for happiness but never find it.
First you need to be happy with yourself and where you are. If you aren't happy with yourself or where you're at then work to change it.

Your own search for happiness is most likely a cause for your unhappiness.
Life is like a river and we're all caught in its flow. You set your own goals and desires and work towards them yet you'll never have full control over the currents of the river that guide you along. Most important thing is being happy where you are right now. Don't stop working towards where you want to be but don't let a failure of your expectations get you down, because sometimes the river was never meant to flow that way and it was never in your control.

>>18237885
thats not fair you know nothing of my ethic. i could very well be willing to listen and act upon what i am told
>>18237885
so just set goals on what i want and do them? knowing that life is never fully in my control?

>>18237893
>>18237893
Listening and acting upon what you're told isn't necessarily beneficial. Depends on what you're listening to and acting upon, but you're right, I don't know your ethics so I can't judge on whether or not those are right for you.

You're looking at that the wrong way. Keep doing what you want to do and working towards your goals. Just don't let those goals become the only thing that can make you happy. Worry about finding happiness where you're at. Having expectations on how your life should go can only create more pain if life happens to take you down a different path. So keep doing you, keep going for what you want to be, but don't get too caught up in the expectation of where you'll be along this journey of life in a few years of following those dreams. Because life is unpredictable, so focus more on enjoying it in the moment rather than an expected happiness down the road once you achieve something you desire.

>>18237863
>I had a huge falling out and am now just wandering around. searching for enlightenment. true happiness

Actually... happiness isn't really what Buddhism, the dharma, or the Tao is about.

Effectively what most eastern philosophy is basically about is coming to terms with the world. It's about living your life in that moment and coming to be at peace with the reality of it.

IIRC there is a daoist saying that goes something along the likes of: every day I am born anew, every night I die. My life is a cycle of thousands upon thousands of rebirths.

And it's about dedicating and devoting yourself to the tasks of that day, and not letting other thoughts pollute and distract your mind from what there is to accomplish in front of you.

In Buddhism i believe that suffering is actually one of the core precepts. Without understanding suffering, you cannot understand, you cannot become enlightened, you cannot get true satisfaction and will only dwell in complacency and ignorance. So in a sense, you could say that your enlightened "true happiness" is actually just a deep satisfaction of knowing your own path and appreciating the what it takes to get there.

So even on a spiritual/religious level--unless you're looking at straight up cults--your cure all, eternal living bliss doesn't really exist. It all requires you to put in effort and struggle and suffer for it.

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>>18237818
https://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PLFfM65xLnO-GGdbO5yYuQvaKOhG6j1Ih7&v=Bsyplaii9p4

The only advice I can give you from experience is, to never try and find short cuts. We are used in this hyper-modern world to have things done quick. One click away and whatever it is that you desire is yours. But then a problem comes along in life and it takes forever to be solved. Patience is something you have to practice every day, and understand that things will never solve over night, and doing something about your problems, actively trying to solve them is the only way to solve them.

Some people want problems to go away by themselves but that's not the answer. Life is about successes that are achieved through many failures. Pain and joy, the balance, life is about falling and getting up every time, and you become wiser and ready for the next hit. Pain is always something that feels like it's going to destroy you but it won't if you don't let it.

Don't try and skip ahead of the curve, just take every day one step at a time, learn from your mistakes and always move forward.

Trust me, not even the wisest person in the world has all the answers.