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Eastern Philosophy - Buddhism
Centered around the 4 Noble truths:
1) All forms of life experience suffering
2) Suffering is caused by desire and attachment. When we cling or grasp a false
unchanging sense of self. Wanting leads to problems.
3) Goal is to attain Nirvana - a state or reality when we no longer experience suffering
and see the total dimension of reality.
The deepest part of being human (our core) is beyond suffering if a person can realize
this. Once we cut out desire we will no longer suffer.
4) The goal to Nirvana is to follow the Eightfold Path. Nirvana may not mean a change
in reality but rather a change in perception of reality.
Eightfold Path
1. Right Understanding - Learning the nature of reality and the truth about life.
2. Right Aspiration - Making the commitment to living in such a way that our suffering
can end.
3. Right Effort - Just Do It. No Excuses.
4. Right Speech - Speaking the truth in a helpful and compassionate way.
5. Right Conduct - Living a life consistent with our values.
6. Right Livelihood - Earning a living in a way that doesn’t hurt others.
7. Right Mindfulness - Recognizing the value of the moment; living where we are.
8. Right Concentration - Expanding our consciousness through meditation.
Main Teachings of Buddhism
- Goal is to attain a detached life and to reach your Buddha-nature, your deeper inner
spirituality where you become one with reality and truth. Virtuous living and meditation
help us to reach our Buddha-nature.
- Attachment causes suffering. If we need someone or something in our lives than it
holds us back from being free.
- Negative emotions and thoughts are a twisting of the fundamental nature of the mind,
but if we can get through this then we can find wisdom. For example, feeling angry is
usually a recognition that something is wrong, although we tend to blame other people
or circumstances instead of trying to deal with the reality at hand.
- Overcoming suffering is about surrendering our desires and to get in touch with our
spirituality.
- Problems occur when we view ourselves as entirely separate entities from other
people and things. Once we begin recognize our interconnectedness we can start to put
aside our egos and reach a place of true selfless living.
- We suffer because the mind splits into object and subject and becomes involved in
wanting or not wanting something.
- People tend to think that the way to be happy is to try and control the circumstances of
their lives and to try to fix whatever seems wrong or get rid of whatever bothers them.
We have to change our mind and the way we experience reality.
- We can use our thoughts to change our thinking and emotions. A loving thought can
get rid of an angry one.
- We can lessen our attachment by realizing impermanence in the world, the idea that
nothing lasts forever. Knowing this helps reduce our attachment and also gives us a
greater appreciation of what we have while we have it.
- Imagine two people who buy the same kind of watch on the same day. One person
may think “This is a very nice watch. It will be helpful to me but it may not last long.”
The second person may think “This is the best watch I’ve ever had. No matter what
happens, I can’t lose it or let it break." If both people lose their watches, the one who is
more attached will be more upset than the other.
- Buddhism doesn’t suggest that we completely abandon all of the objects of our desire
such as money, relationships, and success, but as we contemplate their impermanence
then we become less attached to them.
- Buddhism says that our experience of suffering is similar to a fly that is trapped in a
bottle. The fly tries to fly all around to escape but as long as the cap is on, fly is
trapped. Attaining enlightenment is like removing the cap from the bottle. Although
the fly may not see the opening right away it eventually will.
- Choosing a spiritual path to follow is very important. In order for our path to be
successful we need to stay committed to it. People run into trouble when they try to
piece together practices from multiple spiritual traditions.
- Following a spiritual path can be likened to hiking up a mountain with multiple trails. If
we start to hike up the first trail but then keep thinking that another way is faster, we will
never make progress up the mountain. If we keep trying different spiritual paths or
changing our minds we will never get closer to Enlightenment.
Buddhist Teaching on Karma
- The Buddhist teaching on Karma does not state that if you are good then expect
externally good things to happen to you in life, and if you are bad then bad things will
happen to you. All of our choices have spiritual consequences that may not effect life
externally.
- The greater our goodness is the more we will be able to experience happiness.
- Karma is like a seed that when planted will produce a certain kind of plant. The
outcome depends on what seed you plant and how well you care for it.
- Our intentions affect the karma we produce. If we do something good for selfish
reasons, then the action will only have limited and temporary good effects. If we have
purely good virtuous intentions our action will produce much greater lasting effects
that help us to achieve enlightenment.
- Our thoughts and desires generate karma as well. If we desire to hurt someone but
don't go through with this, the negative karma we create isn't as bad as actually hurting
the person but still is created.
- Bad Karma can be purified through using the 4 Powers.
1: Witness or support - identifying what we have done wrong
2: Regret - Having feelings of remorse about what we have done
3: Deciding - Choosing not to commit negative actions going forward
4: Antidote - Praying and meditating so that we are changed for the better