Question: How do I have a good environment for practice when I live in a city?
Response: When we think of Buddhist practice, our thoughts often turn to idyllic images of trees blowing gently in the breeze, birds calling, and the clear blue sky above. Okay, I'll confess that since I'm at the Amitabha Buddhist Retreat Centre in Nanango, Australia, the last sentence was easy to write because it's all outside my window. I'll add that on a distant hill ridge a few miles away I can also see a state forest to the east of here.
But there aren't a lot of people living around here. The bulk of the population in Australia is in the cities, like in most other countries.
So, in the environment where most people live, how can the mind be quiet and the body at ease?
Actually, much of the agitation we feel is from self-imposed causes. We're curious. We're gregarious and enjoy the company of others. We're lazy and used to going wherever our wandering thoughts lead us. If we can learn to break some old negative habits and replace them with positive ones, we can find a good practice environment regardless of where we are.
Try to reduce the clutter in your mind. When you're out in the car, don't look at billboards. The images are designed to stir emotions like desire, anger, or fear. They're designed to get you to do something that wouldn't ordinarily occur to you. When you're at work, spend less time chatting and gossiping with others—another source of agitation.
If you're at home and alone, leave the television turned off. Programs, movies, the news are all made to keep the viewer's adrenaline pumping so they'll stay tuned through the commercials and see something they suddenly realize they can't live without. Don't read a lot of magazines and newspapers. On the Internet you can check what you need to but don't get carried away and start clicking those special offers. And don't start aimlessly surfing.
So much of the distractions in our lives are what we invite in. Instead, we can calm the mental clutter and begin to create that quiet, peaceful world where we are—in the city.