Mental Resilience by David Listen: My Blossoming Awakening

The Mental Resilience talk delivered by David Listen on July 30, 2022, was organized by Dharma Drum Vancouver Centre for Young People (DDYP). David is a life mentor, professional mental health counsellor, lecturer, and former Chan/Zen Buddhist monk who has helped many develop resilience and mindfulness.
I first learned about David through Dharma Drum Vancouver Centre (DDVC)'s simultaneous interpretation training group last summer. Since then, I have listened to several of his talks with the topics of Resolving Anxiety, Letting Go, and Grieving. Mental Resilience, the topic of this talk, attracted my attention because I feel overwhelmed and sometimes depressed with the recent increase of stress levels from both my work and my personal life. Recognizing the importance of putting aside time to take care of myself mentally, physically, and emotionally allows me to stay healthy as an individual so that I can continue to fulfill my responsibilities and help others.

During the talk, David shared with us four key Buddhism perspectives to help us deal with difficult situations and challenges:

1. Precepts: refers to a wholesome lifestyle which creates stability and harmony. For example, we must create a routine that incorporates healthy diet and routine exercise with the aim to minimize harm and maximize benefit and health. We should also follow Buddhist ethical guidelines to be selective regarding the activities we choose to do. For example, we should not steal, kill, or be intoxicated. All in all, we must act with the intention to benefit others and ourselves to avoid the emotional burden of guilt and conflict.
2. Stability: refers to any concentration practices such as meditation, playing musical instruments, and practicing mindfulness. Doing so helps develop stability of our minds and keeps us calm and stable at all times.
3. Wisdom: allows us to gain realistic perspective of the world and understand impermanence. In other words, life changes every moment. With the understanding of impermanence, we become less attached to ideas and feelings so that we can be more flexible and resilient, especially when things don't go our way.
4. Community and Social Support: we all depend on one another in this community and in various social groups. Being in this community supporting each other also helps develop resilience.

Last but not least, another way to develop resilience is by repeatedly exposing ourselves to challenges and stepping out of our comfort zones. David shared his own experience of how he overcame the fear of public speaking through continuous practice.
Coming out of this talk, I have learned to stay focused on precepts, stability, wisdom and community support. To self-reflect and put theories into actions, I have started eating healthier by preparing well-balanced meals. Also, I make sure I have at least 7 hours of sleep every night and I am aiming to practice 20 minutes of yoga each day. Recently, I started reciting The Lotus Sutra's Universal Gate as my daily mindfulness practice. During my spare time, I plan to continue providing support and giving back to the DDVC community. David Listen's talk has helped me now feel a blossoming awakening.

Written by Christine Tseng （曾韻帆菩薩） 2022.08.08
Photo: Dharma Drum Vancouver Centre 2022.08.08