more on craving

 In another video that I showed tonight after the meditation class, Master Sheng Yen describes an abbess of a temple, who is so worried about running the temple according to her own style, and making sure that everything goes according to her plan. After the abbess seeks Master Sheng Yen for advice,  Master Sheng Yen advises the abbess to think about the contributions she is making to others, with the specific aim of uplifting others, rather than focusing on herself and her own success or failure. In other words, by focusing on others, she is less bound to feel craving for personal gain, fame or recognition. She is also less anxious about success or failure, because what she truly focuses on is what works for others. In thinking for others, why is it necessary even to "succeed", and, more importantly, whose success would it be anyway? This is yet another reminder that even ideas about success and failure are based on position, and one's perspective can certainly change on it over time.
   When a person thinks about an objective that contributes to others, they are less anxious about themselves and how they "look". I have occasionally felt this way when I was doing the timekeeper role. A timekeeper is there to protect the spiritual practice of others, but what does that entail? I think it entails a seriousness: taking the role seriously not in the sense of "for myself" but because it is needed for a spiritual practice to thrive. This approach is not about craving, but about letting go of the sense of a strong self-attachment: realizing that "being a successful" person misses the point of the role itself and how it is functioning to help others. In fact, most of the social roles that one adopts in life is not meant to garner praise or self-edification. Instead, it serves a purpose, through which we as individuals act as channels for those purposes.