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10 EASTERN HORIZON | TEACHINGS

The most effective coping strategies are therefore 7. “It ain’t easy being Buddhist”: recognizing that
cultivating lovingkindness (metta), or being Buddhism is not an easy path and that the benefits of
nonjudgmental, compassionate, kind to oneself and practice lie in the future while we must experience
others; right understanding, or trying to see the world difficulties in the short-term.
as it truly is; and reflecting on impermanence, or the
notion that all things (including our problems) pass. The “Bad Buddhist” approach to coping was one of
the few coping strategies, along with karmic fatalism,
The other seven coping strategies, to be studied later, that had a negative effect. This was not a strategy that
were: the research team had expected to find. It instead
1. Sangha support: turning to other Buddhists for emerged from the reported experiences of the Buddhist
advice, connection, and compassion. practitioners participating in the study. Similarly, the
2. Dharma: turning to study of Buddhist teachings for existence of the “It ain’t easy being Buddhist” strategy
support. was not predicted in advance by the researchers, but
3. No-self: recognizing that there is no separate was reported by practitioners.
self because everything is interconnected and
impermanent. 13% of the participants in the survey were immigrants
4. Inter-being: understanding that everything is from other, mostly Asian, countries, while the rest were
interconnected and nothing is independent western Buddhists.
5. Right understanding: trying to see the world as it
really is. Dr. Phillips’ team intends to continue its analysis, and
6. “Bad Buddhist”: understanding that your problems to publish the results of the other seven major forms of
Buddhist coping later this summer. EH
arise because you are not practicing correctly.

Are you searching for a spiritually challenging work?

Do you enjoy meeting fellow Dharma practitioners, Buddhist leaders, and Dharma
masters? Would you like to introduce the latest Buddhist book you read recently?
How about researching into the latest web-sites on Buddhist activities around the
world? And of course, what about telling us how you first came in contact with
the dharma and what the dharma means to you today. Well, if you find all of these
interesting, we can make it spiritually challenging for you too!

In every issue of EASTERN HORIZON, we publish special chat sessions with leading
Buddhist personalities, essays on all aspects of Buddhism, book reviews, and news
and activities that are of interest to the Buddhist community. We need someone
to help us in all these projects. If you are keen to be part of this exciting magazine,
please e-mail to the editor at Bennyliow@gmail.com, and we will put you in touch
with what’s challenging for the next issue!
Let us share the dharma for the benefit of all sentient beings!