{"id":35695,"date":"2020-08-14T01:58:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-14T08:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nalandabodhi.org\/?p=35695"},"modified":"2026-04-22T11:13:56","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T18:13:56","slug":"no-need-to-worry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nalandabodhi.org\/nl\/2020\/08\/14\/no-need-to-worry\/","title":{"rendered":"No Need to Worry"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Shantideva was a Buddhist master who lived in India in the seventh and eighth centuries CE. One of Shantideva\u2019s main teachings puts forth two questions which can be used in any vital situation:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\tIf you can do something about it, why worry?
\nIf you can\u2019t do anything about it, why worry?\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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A year ago, I had surgery for a cataract in my left eye. I recovered very quickly, and five months after the operation, I moved to Spain. In the first weeks of 2020, I started to notice that my vision was deteriorating in that eye. Soon, I started seeing double: there were ghosts next to the letters when I read.<\/p>

I called my doctor in Mexico, who sent me to a colleague in Madrid, urgently. The symptoms pointed to a potentially serious problem in the eye\u2019s macula, which had to be dealt with on the spot.<\/p>

And on the spot, my mind started to freak out. Or, at least, my mind made an attempt at losing it. But then I remembered Shantideva\u2019s teaching. I could do<\/em> something: consult with my doctor and make an appointment with his colleague. While I waited for the appointment, I could not do<\/em> anything else.<\/p>

When I remembered these teachings, I had a glimpse of the possibility of not worrying. And momentarily, I stopped my mind from creating its own suffering.<\/p>

I realized, experientially rather than rationally, that if I placed my attention on what I could and could not do, worrying was unnecessary. If I succeeded in not feeding the worry, it vanished on its own. In Buddhism, this is called liberation, the transcending of suffering.<\/p>

A crack opened in my neurotic mind, and I caught a glimpse of the vast and radiant space which is the true nature of mind. Fear did not disappear, but it was far more manageable, and I arrived to my medical appointment prepared for the worst and hoping for the best. Fortunately, the news was good, and this simple but profound, commonsense teaching from Shantideva had been of great benefit.<\/p>

I also realized that the great power of Shantideva\u2019s words lies in the possibility of applying them on the spot. So, when you find yourself freaking out over a challenging situation:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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  1. Realize you are losing it\u2014as quickly as possible (a regular practice of mindfulness is the best support).<\/li>\n \t
  2. Ask yourself what you can do about the situation. There might be something you can do. There might be nothing you can do. Contemplate the answers and breathe, allowing your mind to open up.<\/li>\n \t
  3. In either case (something you can do or nothing you can do), let go of worrying and rest in the space, however small, that is free of worries.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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    \n\t\t\t\t\t\"Adela\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t
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    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAdela Iglesias\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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    is a writer, translator, psychotherapist, teacher and, mother from Mexico. She is now working on a bestiary in poetic prose. She has practiced meditation for over 24 years and has been a student of Ponlop Rinpoche\u2019s since 2002.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A medical emergency gives the author a chance to apply a teaching by the Buddhist master Shantideva. <\/p>","protected":false},"author":93,"featured_media":36247,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3009],"tags":[3414,3410,3407],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNo Need to Worry - Nalandabodhi International<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A medical emergency gives the author a chance to apply a teaching by the Buddhist master Shantideva.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nalandabodhi.org\/nl\/2020\/08\/14\/no-need-to-worry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"nl_NL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"No Need to Worry - Nalandabodhi International\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A medical emergency gives the author a chance to apply a teaching by the Buddhist master Shantideva.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nalandabodhi.org\/nl\/2020\/08\/14\/no-need-to-worry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nalandabodhi International\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-08-14T08:58:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-22T18:13:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nalandabodhi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/No-Need-to-Worry.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1120\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"ceci\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Geschreven door\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"ceci\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Geschatte leestijd\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minuten\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nalandabodhi.org\/2020\/08\/14\/no-need-to-worry\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nalandabodhi.org\/2020\/08\/14\/no-need-to-worry\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"ceci\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nalandabodhi.org\/fr\/#\/schema\/person\/54e6dc8cc29e5acc249372e844d15a6b\"},\"headline\":\"No Need to Worry\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-08-14T08:58:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-22T18:13:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nalandabodhi.org\/2020\/08\/14\/no-need-to-worry\/\"},\"wordCount\":462,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nalandabodhi.org\/fr\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"emotional intelligence\",\"mindfulness\",\"suffering and liberation\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Articles\"],\"inLanguage\":\"nl\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nalandabodhi.org\/2020\/08\/14\/no-need-to-worry\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nalandabodhi.org\/2020\/08\/14\/no-need-to-worry\/\",\"name\":\"No Need to Worry - 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