Rest vs. Laziness

As we're headed into a break from class for the International Fall Festival, Gen Khedrub encouraged us to think about how to use this time wisely to recharge. He reminded us that rest, known as the power of relaxation, is one of the 4 powers and suggested that we consider how it is different from laziness. (The other 3 powers are aspiration, steadfastness and joy, and all four are to increase our effort of benefiting others; they are described in more detail in Joyful Path.)

I think about this a lot because fatigue has been my main side effect of treatment, but I also have a tendency toward laziness. How do I distinguish between them?
One way of checking is to be aware of your motivation. If your wish to take a nap feels self-indulgent, it's probably laziness, but if you rest because you need your body energized for a virtuous activity later in the day, it's probably not.

It's similar to looking at why we want to eat: Are we really hungry or just bored? Over years of practice, we get used to looking at our mind honestly. I'll admit, especially when I was a newer practitioner, I wanted to deny being angry, as though the way to being a better person was just to sweep my bad qualities under the rug (what an effective cleaning method that is!). How can you work on your faults if you won't acknowledge they're there? Purification is helpful in that you can confess them  in private to the Buddhas, and they will help you get rid of them. You can't make spiritual progress if you're fooling yourself. Geshe-la even recently told teachers (and by extension all of us), "don't pretend."

Gen Khedrub is good at describing how to evaluate our own spiritual practice, finding an area that could use some improvement, developing a wish to work on it, and making a plan for taking the next step. Sangha can help with this but many seem reluctant to offer constructive criticism when it's requested.

Sometimes when you've been sitting for a while, say, working on a project at the computer, you start to feel tired, but what you need is a change of pace, not to lie down. Taking a walk is a good test, because if it's the former, you will return with more energy, but if you're still feeling tired while walking, you should probably head back home and take it easy.

I've tried to view my body objectively, from outside, as a doctor would in assessing it. If an outside expert suggested I needed rest, that would probably be the wise thing to do. Of course, without self-grasping, there would be no laziness, but in the meantime it seems to help to view your own body as not yours.
When Geshe-la taught one Fall Festival in New York, he said that the body is outside, which was certainly not the way I thought of it, because it's me. It is outside the mind. Especially when you're sick, it's helpful to contemplate how this is true. The body is the meat jacket we put on. I find it comforting to know, even though I don't completely understand, that my body is not me. It is not even mine, as it comes from the bodies of our parents.
Thankfully Buddhism has a wide range of practices, for all kinds of experience, inclination and situations. There are many virtuous exercises you can do even lying down, some of which I've written about in Dharma on the Couch or in Bed.

Gen-la Dekyong is widely admired for her boundless energy, so when she teaches that effort comes from compassion, we take note and want to develop more compassion and to see for ourselves how it leads to more energy.