In this special video for all subscribers, Lama John talks about how we often make resolutions for the coming year on New Year’s Day, of all the positive things we’re going to do in the coming year, all the things we’re going to achieve, to win, to gain — a healthier body, a bigger bank account, more friends, more fun. Visions of all the health, wealth, and prosperity we can imagine for ourselves.
But from a Buddhist perspective, it’s better to make resolutions for all the things we’d like to lose — our anger, anxiety, depression, insecurity, fear of old age and death. In this way, we can lose that erroneous sense of self that is the root cause of all our suffering. By letting go of that self, we can shed the layers of our suffering and find true enduring happiness, once and for all.