Meditation Becomes More Important When Work Becomes More Demanding
One of the first things people often reduce when professional assignments increase is meditation because the mind concludes that the time would be better used completing the additional work. The person thinks, “I have too much to do right now,” “I will meditate again after this project is complete,” or “Once work becomes quieter, I will return to my practice”. At first, this reasoning can appear practical because a larger workload appears to need more time devoted to completing it.
Why More Work Requires Greater Clarity of Mind
The Practitioner would be wise to investigate what an increased workload actually means. More work generally means more decisions, more communication, more deadlines, more information, more opportunities for mistakes, and more circumstances in which craving, anger, and ignorance (unknowing of true reality) can become active. The person is not simply completing additional tasks; they are making more decisions that will produce more results. This is precisely the period when the quality of the mind becomes even more important.
Reducing the very practice that helps develop calmness, mindfulness, concentration, and clarity of mind at the exact time when more consequential decisions are being made can therefore be highly unwise. The unEnlightened mind creates a future circumstance and thinks, “If I can just get to the other side of all this work, then everything will be better and I can meditate”. The challenge is that there is no permanent “other side” of work. One project ends and another begins, one email is answered and another arrives, one customer circumstance is resolved and another appears, and one quarter ends while the next begins.
The Trap of Waiting for Work to Become Quiet
If meditation depends upon reaching a future period when nothing needs attention, a consistent and dedicated practice may never develop. A wiser direction is to maintain the meditation practice through periods of increased activity and, where appropriate, even increase the time devoted to meditation because the Practitioner is making more decisions and therefore needs greater clarity of mind, not less. Maintaining a regular practice of Breathing Mindfulness Meditation and Loving-kindness Meditation can therefore become an important part of professional life rather than something separated from the workday.
Practical Ways to Integrate Meditation Into Professional Life
This practice can be integrated in practical ways according to the circumstances of the livelihood. Breathing Mindfulness Meditation can help establish mindfulness, concentration, and calmness while training the mind to cut off and let go of craving/desire/attachment before beginning the workday. Loving-kindness Meditation can help develop loving-kindness and reduce ill will before interacting with a challenging coworker or supervisor. Meditation before an important meeting can help prevent agitation from influencing the discussion, while a short period of meditation during the middle of the day may allow the mind to settle after several hours of significant activity. Depending upon the circumstances, the Practitioner may use an available meeting room, arrive early before a meeting, or set aside appropriate periods within a personal calendar so meditation remains integrated into ordinary professional life.
Consistency Matters More Than Convenience
The exact schedule will differ according to the livelihood, but the principle remains the same: the meditation practice should not rise and fall according to the workload. Meditation is not something practiced only after life becomes peaceful; meditation helps develop the mind that remains peaceful while life continues happening. A Practitioner who learns to maintain a consistent meditation practice during periods of substantial activity develops a considerably more stable foundation than someone whose meditation occurs only when external conditions happen to be convenient.
David Roylance is a dedicated Practitioner, Teacher, and published author who has taught The Teachings of The Buddha since 2005. Based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, he guides Household and Ordained Practitioners worldwide through courses, retreats, and special events on The Path to Enlightenment.
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