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FACE TO FACE | EASTERN HORIZON 37

Are there specific teachings from the scriptures that or become reactive in response to it. This can be
the Buddha addressed the youths of his day? exhausting and disempowering, especially if we think
there is no way to relieve our stress unless specific
This is an interesting question, but my knowledge of the circumstances change. For example, we might think our
scriptures is not enough to answer it comprehensively. stress will only be relieved if our supervisor transfers to
One scripture that comes to mind is the Sigalovada a new department, if we get a promotion we covet, or if

Sutta, in which the Buddha encounters a young we migrate to Perth.
householder worshipping the six directions according
to his late father’s wishes. The Buddha skilfully reframes The Buddha’s teachings offer an alternative by getting
this practice to teach Sigala how to live a meaningful us to consider how it is the way we think about a
life and create virtue as a householder. He addresses situation that causes feelings of stress to arise. This
key issues that young people of all times and places approach is empowering because if we can identify the
are concerned about: how to relate to entertainment internal causes of our stress, we can alleviate our stress
and intoxicants; work and wealth; friends, parents, by shifting our perspective, without necessarily having
and different members of society. It might be a helpful to change our environment. And if we do decide to take
exercise for young people today to reflect on and discuss some course of action, it will not be a reactive impulse
this scripture in relation to circumstances that they but one that is well-considered.
encounter in modern life.
In terms of specific Buddhist teachings that might be
Another scripture that comes to mind, only because helpful, I like applying the four truths for noble ones to
I am familiar with it from translating it from Tibetan analyse different situations in modern life. In this case,
into English, is The Eight Auspicious Ones. The main duhkha or unsatisfactoriness is arising as our experience
interlocutor of this sutra is a young man named of stress at work. Is the true cause of duhkha our evil
Superior Skill who asks the Buddha about how paying boss/ competitive colleague/ horrible workplace? If so
respect to buddhas might help him to overcome his then getting a new boss/ beating our colleague/ changing
fears of being harmed by others, especially at court our workplace should bring the cessation of stress. Does
and in battle. Perhaps this is not too different from a pursuing this path work? How long does that cessation of
young person today consulting with a monastic about stress last?
how to handle competition at work! In response, the
Buddha teaches him the practice of mindfulness of eight Or could it be that stress is arising due to our own
particular buddhas. craving—for material gain, a good reputation, praise,
and sense pleasures? What if we recognized that the
From the scriptures, we can see that the Buddha things we’re obsessed with and chasing after are
taught according to the dispositions and interests of impermanent? What if we cultivate a good motivation
his audience, which could be quite different despite for going to work instead, such as simply being of
similarities in age. I would be curious if there are benefit to our community? Might applying the Buddha’s
scriptures specifically focused on addressing issues teachings on overcoming craving make a difference to
that young people encounter. our state of mind and well-being? We have to test out
the Buddha’s teachings in our own experience and see if
Many young people today are stressed with work they bear out.
in our fast-paced work environment. How can
Buddhist teachings help them on this matter? Though meditation is core to Buddhist practice, yet
many young people have short attention span and

When we attribute the causes of our stress to our will not be able to sit for long in meditation. So what
external environment, we wind up putting a lot is the best way to attract them to meditation?
of energy into trying to change our environment