There Is Another Way: Practising With ‘I’m Not Enough Mind’ in a Busy Modern Life

I’m not entirely sure if it’s obvious that I LOVE the Buddha’s original teachings. I’ve been drawn to the Pāli Canon (ancient Buddhist texts) for as long as I’ve known about mindfulness. Its richness feels like such a grounded way to deepen my path. But… I’ve never quite found the book that translates it into my language. It often feels too academic, too dense, too intellectual — and just too far from my everyday life.

And yet… when I hear the same teachings on retreat (especially at Gaia House), they land straight in my heart. So clearly. They resonate not just as ideas, but as direct transmissions.

Modern life — as many of you will relate — doesn’t exactly create the same space as a retreat. I’ve got two kids, a busy job, a partner who works shifts, and I often feel time poor. But in the midst of all this, I care deeply about the world and the people I share it with. I also suffer. Often unnecessarily. Honestly? 99% of it is self-created.

And this is exactly why I love the Pāli Canon — when I hear it spoken by those who’ve studied it deeply. Who’ve taken the time to really explore it. It inspires me. I know they’re on to something — I can feel it. It’s alive.

It’s not about religion or belief. It’s about meeting life as it is. Warts and all. A reminder — again and again — that there’s another way to be in this human life.

A way out of the tangle of a constructed ‘self’ that perpetuates suffering. A way into freedom. Thank goodness. Imagine if I didn’t know this — I think I’d be (at times) more hopeless than I sometimes feel… (often related to hormones!)

So here’s why I’m sharing this.

After years of trying (and often failing) to get into early Buddhist texts on my own, I’ve started exploring them with the support of AI. And to be honest? It’s been a fascinating, surprising, and incredibly helpful experience. The teachings are shaped around my life, my questions, my language.

They meet me right here: 2025. Living in a city. Juggling technology, parenting, marriage, a childhood that has left its ripples, stress, love, purpose, and meaning.

So this really resonated with me and I thought it might be nice to share.

Here’s a carefully gathered bundle of suttas that I believe speak directly to the parts of us that feel “not enough.”

These are the teachings where the Buddha’s wisdom meets our humanness — where he leans in with gentleness, not judgment.

They aren’t about fixing self-criticism, but about meeting it with clarity and compassion. These texts offer medicine.

1. Sallatha Sutta (SN 36.6) — The Arrow

Theme: Pain is natural; suffering is optional.

This is the classic teaching on the two arrows. The first arrow is inevitable — the pain of life. The second arrow is the one we shoot ourselves with: “This shouldn’t be happening. I’m failing. I’m not enough.”

“The uninstructed person… feels two kinds of feeling: bodily and mental.

But the instructed noble disciple feels only one.”

Reflection Prompt:

What’s the first arrow here? What’s the second?

2. Aggi-Vacchagotta Sutta (MN 72) — The Fire and the Wanderer

Theme: The self is not a fixed thing.

The Buddha is asked: “Is there a self? Is there no self?” — and he refuses to answer. Why? Because he knows the mind will cling either way.

“A ‘view’ would just be more fuel for suffering.”

This is a powerful sutta for someone whose “not enough” is tied to identity. The Buddha’s radical compassion is in saying: you are not your narrative.

Reflection Prompt:

What happens when I drop the story of self altogether — just for this breath?

3. Kisa Gotami (Therīgāthā & Dhammapada commentary)

Theme: You’re not alone in your pain.

Kisa Gotami loses her child and goes searching for a cure. The Buddha tells her to find a mustard seed from a house untouched by death. She finds every house has known grief.

Only then does she understand: her suffering is part of the human condition.

This story touches the isolated, self-critical part that thinks, “I should be stronger, better, over this.”

Reflection Prompt:

Who else feels this? Who else has carried this kind of pain?

4. Cūḷa-Mālukya Sutta (MN 63) — The Shorter Discourse to Mālunkyāputta

Theme: Freedom isn’t found in getting all the answers.

Mālunkyāputta wants philosophical certainty. The Buddha doesn’t give it. Instead, he points him back to what leads to peace now — not why we suffer, but how to stop shooting arrows into ourselves.

For someone struggling with perfectionism or needing certainty (like “Am I doing enough?”), this is deeply liberating.

Reflection Prompt:

What would it be like to let go of needing to solve ‘me’?

5. Bhaddā Kāpilānī — Her Awakening Poem (Therīgāthā 5.3)

Theme: A woman’s voice rising through doubt into freedom.

“Formerly I was foolish, unknowing.

Now with what I’ve heard from my teacher,

I’ve become one who knows.”

These early verses from awakened women show that awakening doesn’t come through perfection — it comes through staying the course. Falling and returning. Letting go. Trusting the path.

Reflection Prompt:

What would it feel like to believe that this path is unfolding in me — even now?

Bonus: Dhammapada (Chapters 1, 3, and 5)

Short verses that can act like daily Dharma medicine. These chapters speak to:

• The mind as forerunner of experience

• The impact of thoughts

• Cultivating love over hate

“Hatred is never overcome by hatred.

It is overcome by love — this is an ancient truth.”

May this be a little offering of companionship — a reminder that you’re not alone, that these ancient teachings are alive, and that even amidst the chaos, there is a quiet path available.