One of the keys to Enlightenment is seeing yourself for what you really are.
A good example is my Logic class. So far I've been able to get through all of my classes with minimal effort, except for Logic. I didn't know what it is about the subject that I cannot grasp, but that wasn't the point. Last night I was expressing anger and frustration as I was trying to do Logic homework, when I was really angry at myself. I haven't been applying myself as much as I can - I know that I have the capability of doing well in the class - and I have been squandering my extra time, which I could have been using to study.
Admitting that to myself is not enough, however, I have to also do something about it. I need to work harder so that I can hopefully bring my grade up to a B by the end of the semester.
I have not been honest with myself and I have suffered for it. This is the importance of being true to yourself.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
The Third Noble Truth
"This is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering: it is the remainderless fading away and cessation of that same craving, the giving up and relinquishing of it, freedom from it, nonreliance on it."
The cessation of suffering is as difficult as it sounds, probably even more so. With the exception of the Enlightened few, we are all living in a cycle of suffering, but we have the power to end it. We must relinquish our worldly desires and misconceptions of our self. We must meditate and we must keep our bodies healthy. Only then will we obtain Enlightenment and end the suffering of this life and any life that may be in store for us.
A common misconception, one that I had at first, was that the end of suffering meant the end to all of your problems. This simply is not true. Once you are able to see yourself and everything else around you for what it truly is, however, you are able to see your problems from a different perspective.
It is difficult nowadays, in my opinion, to obtain Enlightenment because of all the distractions that this world has. In simpler days it would have been much easier. Because of this, I do not believe that I will obtain Enlightenment in this life. I do not feel have the time and ability necessary to do so, but I study the teachings of Buddha in order to improve myself. I am happy that I have discovered Buddhism, and I hope that I may inspire others to study its wisdom. I am content with studying and practicing.
The cessation of suffering is as difficult as it sounds, probably even more so. With the exception of the Enlightened few, we are all living in a cycle of suffering, but we have the power to end it. We must relinquish our worldly desires and misconceptions of our self. We must meditate and we must keep our bodies healthy. Only then will we obtain Enlightenment and end the suffering of this life and any life that may be in store for us.
A common misconception, one that I had at first, was that the end of suffering meant the end to all of your problems. This simply is not true. Once you are able to see yourself and everything else around you for what it truly is, however, you are able to see your problems from a different perspective.
It is difficult nowadays, in my opinion, to obtain Enlightenment because of all the distractions that this world has. In simpler days it would have been much easier. Because of this, I do not believe that I will obtain Enlightenment in this life. I do not feel have the time and ability necessary to do so, but I study the teachings of Buddha in order to improve myself. I am happy that I have discovered Buddhism, and I hope that I may inspire others to study its wisdom. I am content with studying and practicing.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
The Second Noble Truth
In the second Noble Truth, we find suffering's origin is in tanha, or craving. There are three types of craving: a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for existence, and a craving for non-existence. The problem with craving is that it is never-ending; once one fulfills their current desire, another surfaces. This is exemplified by the famous quote by John D. Rockefeller, after becoming the world's first billionaire, when asked "How much money is enough money?" He replied, "Just a little bit more."
The craving for physical pleasure goes deeper than what it may appear on the surface. It's not just pleasures of the body, such as food, drink or sex, but also our desire to control the world around us. Everyone wants their little piece of the world to be exactly how they like it, but in order to stem our craving for control, we must realize that control is futile. Think of Newton's first law - for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. All of our attempts to control the world around us are resisted by an equal, opposite force, and we exhaust ourselves trying to change the world to suit our needs, instead of accepting things for how they are.
Another, non-physical way that we try to control the world around us is through the use of labels. They allow us to figuratively pin a word or two upon something, putting it in its place, and move on. Labels create a barrier between ourselves and the object we're labeling. Once you label someone as ignorant, for example, you tend to disregard anything that person says from then on, even if what they have to say is important. Labeling yourself can be just as detrimental - when you label yourself as say, a liberal, you tend to view others as either "liberal" or "non-liberal" and treat them accordingly. Stereotyping is easy to do, however, and often we'll find ourselves doing so to save time and effort. We must make this extra time and effort in order to better see the world for what it is - not what labels we, or others, create that tell us what to see.
We often try to control our existence because we are afraid to die. We want to hold on to our things, our loved ones, our lives, when we need to accept the fact that death is as natural a part of life as birth. We need to live a healthy life, as an unhealthy body can distract us from obtaining Enlightenment, but I feel that we need to let go of the idea of perpetual youth.
Sometimes the opposite occurs, and we want death as an end to suffering, or because we are unable to control what we desire. This is self-destructive and brings about even more suffering. Being able to accept the release of control of the world around you is a big step toward getting away from the desire of death, or at least it was in my case.
The funny thing about control is that you can't control it. The more you attempt to control your desires, the stronger they become. It's the same as suffering - the way to defeating it is to find its origin, and seek understanding in why you desire and how the desire can be bad for you.
In my next post, I'll talk about the third Noble Truth, the cessation of suffering.
Thank you for reading,
Jeff L.
The craving for physical pleasure goes deeper than what it may appear on the surface. It's not just pleasures of the body, such as food, drink or sex, but also our desire to control the world around us. Everyone wants their little piece of the world to be exactly how they like it, but in order to stem our craving for control, we must realize that control is futile. Think of Newton's first law - for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. All of our attempts to control the world around us are resisted by an equal, opposite force, and we exhaust ourselves trying to change the world to suit our needs, instead of accepting things for how they are.
Another, non-physical way that we try to control the world around us is through the use of labels. They allow us to figuratively pin a word or two upon something, putting it in its place, and move on. Labels create a barrier between ourselves and the object we're labeling. Once you label someone as ignorant, for example, you tend to disregard anything that person says from then on, even if what they have to say is important. Labeling yourself can be just as detrimental - when you label yourself as say, a liberal, you tend to view others as either "liberal" or "non-liberal" and treat them accordingly. Stereotyping is easy to do, however, and often we'll find ourselves doing so to save time and effort. We must make this extra time and effort in order to better see the world for what it is - not what labels we, or others, create that tell us what to see.
We often try to control our existence because we are afraid to die. We want to hold on to our things, our loved ones, our lives, when we need to accept the fact that death is as natural a part of life as birth. We need to live a healthy life, as an unhealthy body can distract us from obtaining Enlightenment, but I feel that we need to let go of the idea of perpetual youth.
Sometimes the opposite occurs, and we want death as an end to suffering, or because we are unable to control what we desire. This is self-destructive and brings about even more suffering. Being able to accept the release of control of the world around you is a big step toward getting away from the desire of death, or at least it was in my case.
The funny thing about control is that you can't control it. The more you attempt to control your desires, the stronger they become. It's the same as suffering - the way to defeating it is to find its origin, and seek understanding in why you desire and how the desire can be bad for you.
In my next post, I'll talk about the third Noble Truth, the cessation of suffering.
Thank you for reading,
Jeff L.
The First Noble Truth
Before laying into the Noble Truths, a little explanation and background is needed.
Siddhartha Gautama was the first Buddha, or Enlightened One. He was an Indian prince who left his heritage behind, denying himself worldly pleasures, in order to find the Truth. He sat under a Bodhi tree and vowed never to leave his meditation until he found the Truth. 45 days later it is said that he finally achieved Enlightenment, an awakening of the mind. Here he discovered the four Noble Truths.
The four Noble Truths center around dukkha, or suffering. The path to Enlightenment is the cessation of dukkha. In Enlightenment, we cease suffering by understanding its origin, and by removing ourselves from suffering's origins, we remove ourselves from suffering.
The first Noble Truth is entitled "The Nature of Suffering".
"This is the noble truth of suffering: birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair are suffering; union with what is displeasing is suffering; separation from what is pleasing is suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering; in brief, the five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering."
While this may seem depressing, it is the truth, is it not? We always are in some sort of discomfort and we are always trying to end it. The problem is we can't end it, no matter how hard we try. It doesn't matter what pills we take, food we eat, what science has to offer us, at some point, we will feel pain, discomfort, suffering. The idea is not to relish in suffering, however, it is to open our minds to the idea that suffering is a part of life, like all else, and attempting to evade it or eradicate it indefinitely is pointless, and in fact, causes more suffering.
The five aggregates subject to clinging that the first Noble Truth refers to are called Skandhas, and they are ways in which we attach ourselves to the world around us. By relinquishing these attachments, we are able to achieve Enlightenment.
The first aggregate is rupa, or physical matter, whether inside or outside the body.
The second aggregate is vedana, which is sensing whether a certain object is pleasant, unpleasant or neutral.
The third is sanna, and is the perception that our mind gives an object, such as the sound of a bell ringing.
The fourth is sankhara, is represents the ideas, opinions or prejudices that are triggered by an object.
The final aggregate is vinnana, or consciousness.
This is all well and good, but how can we apply all of this to everyday life? Most people out there, including myself, are not able to meditate until we achieve enlightenment, or it is not our desire to do so. We can still use these teachings to improve ourselves, to achieve a heightened awareness of ourselves and our surroundings.
The five aggregates are a good start. For the first, we need to detach ourselves from physical objects and from our physical selves. This doesn't mean to throw everything we own away; it simply means we need to detach ourselves from our dependency on material goods. It's a difficult thing to do, especially in our American culture where self value seems to be attached to how much stuff a person owns. We can still enjoy personal property but we must also look at it with the perspective that the object will not end our suffering. We must also consider the same perspective for our physical bodies - indulging ourselves with rich food and drink, drugs or physical pleasure will not end suffering.
I believe the second and fourth aggregates work together, in a way. Take any object around you, and it will evoke a sense of pleasantness, unpleasantness or neutrality, and your past experiences and knowledge about the object will come to mind. These cloud your mind, and keep you from seeing what something truly is, and is why we must detach ourselves from these two aggregates. One of the most unfortunate and common examples is our observation of people from a different race, religion or background. We can let our aggregates negatively effect our ability to see the person for who they truly are, and this in turn can evoke feelings of hatred, fear, and/or distrust.
In my next post I will discuss the Second Noble Truth, Suffering's Origin.
Thank you for reading,
Jeff L.
Siddhartha Gautama was the first Buddha, or Enlightened One. He was an Indian prince who left his heritage behind, denying himself worldly pleasures, in order to find the Truth. He sat under a Bodhi tree and vowed never to leave his meditation until he found the Truth. 45 days later it is said that he finally achieved Enlightenment, an awakening of the mind. Here he discovered the four Noble Truths.
The four Noble Truths center around dukkha, or suffering. The path to Enlightenment is the cessation of dukkha. In Enlightenment, we cease suffering by understanding its origin, and by removing ourselves from suffering's origins, we remove ourselves from suffering.
The first Noble Truth is entitled "The Nature of Suffering".
"This is the noble truth of suffering: birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair are suffering; union with what is displeasing is suffering; separation from what is pleasing is suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering; in brief, the five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering."
While this may seem depressing, it is the truth, is it not? We always are in some sort of discomfort and we are always trying to end it. The problem is we can't end it, no matter how hard we try. It doesn't matter what pills we take, food we eat, what science has to offer us, at some point, we will feel pain, discomfort, suffering. The idea is not to relish in suffering, however, it is to open our minds to the idea that suffering is a part of life, like all else, and attempting to evade it or eradicate it indefinitely is pointless, and in fact, causes more suffering.
The five aggregates subject to clinging that the first Noble Truth refers to are called Skandhas, and they are ways in which we attach ourselves to the world around us. By relinquishing these attachments, we are able to achieve Enlightenment.
The first aggregate is rupa, or physical matter, whether inside or outside the body.
The second aggregate is vedana, which is sensing whether a certain object is pleasant, unpleasant or neutral.
The third is sanna, and is the perception that our mind gives an object, such as the sound of a bell ringing.
The fourth is sankhara, is represents the ideas, opinions or prejudices that are triggered by an object.
The final aggregate is vinnana, or consciousness.
This is all well and good, but how can we apply all of this to everyday life? Most people out there, including myself, are not able to meditate until we achieve enlightenment, or it is not our desire to do so. We can still use these teachings to improve ourselves, to achieve a heightened awareness of ourselves and our surroundings.
The five aggregates are a good start. For the first, we need to detach ourselves from physical objects and from our physical selves. This doesn't mean to throw everything we own away; it simply means we need to detach ourselves from our dependency on material goods. It's a difficult thing to do, especially in our American culture where self value seems to be attached to how much stuff a person owns. We can still enjoy personal property but we must also look at it with the perspective that the object will not end our suffering. We must also consider the same perspective for our physical bodies - indulging ourselves with rich food and drink, drugs or physical pleasure will not end suffering.
I believe the second and fourth aggregates work together, in a way. Take any object around you, and it will evoke a sense of pleasantness, unpleasantness or neutrality, and your past experiences and knowledge about the object will come to mind. These cloud your mind, and keep you from seeing what something truly is, and is why we must detach ourselves from these two aggregates. One of the most unfortunate and common examples is our observation of people from a different race, religion or background. We can let our aggregates negatively effect our ability to see the person for who they truly are, and this in turn can evoke feelings of hatred, fear, and/or distrust.
In my next post I will discuss the Second Noble Truth, Suffering's Origin.
Thank you for reading,
Jeff L.
An Introduction
One of the best things that ever happened to me was pure chance. I was working at a credit union at the time, and had transferred to a branch that was closer to home. A guy named Chris worked there, and we quickly struck it off. Among the things that I came to find out about him was that he was an ex-Marine and a Buddhist. At the time I had a lot of questions regarding my personal beliefs and philosophy, and he lent me a paperback book called Buddhism Plain and Simple. Reading this book opened a door in my mind that had long been closed, locked and bolted. I felt renewed, rejuvenated, enlightened and really alive for the first time in a very long time. I read it and a couple other books on Buddhism, and I was on top of the world.
However, over time I've not dedicated time to studying Buddhism or renewing my personal beliefs. Because I put this aside, I have lost my way. I should have known that maintaining a personal philosophy requires dedication and practice, but I'm like the person who takes his prescription until he feels better, doesn't follow through with it, and becomes sick again (I'll admit I do this too sometimes).
The reasons I've started this blog, and I want to continue to do so, as I have a tendency to start one and give up on it in a week or so, are twofold: I want to give myself an outlet to renew my views on Buddhist teachings, and secondly, I want to help others. The past year of my life has been full of changes: I've moved in with my fiancee - we're getting married in less than three months - and I've gone back to college. It's important for me to get my life straightened out, and I think this blog will be a good therapeutic tool in doing so. Also, if anyone out there comes across this and changes their life for the better because of it, that would be great. If can at least entertain someone for a few minutes, that's good too.
I encourage everyone reading to please comment and discuss, whether you have a question or an idea to share. Constructive criticism is welcome as well.
On my next post, I am going to start talking about the four Noble Truths and how they pertain to everyday life.
Thanks for reading,
Jeff L.
However, over time I've not dedicated time to studying Buddhism or renewing my personal beliefs. Because I put this aside, I have lost my way. I should have known that maintaining a personal philosophy requires dedication and practice, but I'm like the person who takes his prescription until he feels better, doesn't follow through with it, and becomes sick again (I'll admit I do this too sometimes).
The reasons I've started this blog, and I want to continue to do so, as I have a tendency to start one and give up on it in a week or so, are twofold: I want to give myself an outlet to renew my views on Buddhist teachings, and secondly, I want to help others. The past year of my life has been full of changes: I've moved in with my fiancee - we're getting married in less than three months - and I've gone back to college. It's important for me to get my life straightened out, and I think this blog will be a good therapeutic tool in doing so. Also, if anyone out there comes across this and changes their life for the better because of it, that would be great. If can at least entertain someone for a few minutes, that's good too.
I encourage everyone reading to please comment and discuss, whether you have a question or an idea to share. Constructive criticism is welcome as well.
On my next post, I am going to start talking about the four Noble Truths and how they pertain to everyday life.
Thanks for reading,
Jeff L.
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