spend a weekend with your parents --Ram Dass
It's easy to be peaceful in a spiritual ivory tower, where your ego is unchecked and little occurs to trigger anger, frustration, or any latent negative emotional patterns. For this reason, some Buddhist monasteries require their monks to rotate between three-month shifts within the monastery walls and out in the 'real world' employed in service-oriented labor. With time, anyone can learn to quiet their mind and pacify their emotions while living a controlled, serene life. But this is really just a skill, it doesn't necessarily mean any true self-awareness or growth has occurred. I have met alot of people that could meditate quite well, calming their minds and beings on retreat, but when confronted with a true life challenge, lost it entirely, and fell back on old, often destructive, emotional habits.
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