Buddhist Belief – It’s Not My Job — Or Is It?
“Just as the dawn is the forerunner, the vanguard of the rising sun, so too, possession of virtue is the forerunner, the vanguard of the rising of the Noble Eightfold Path.”~~~ Buddha
In the last article, we talked about the three aspects of the Fourth Noble Truth which we may need to put some of our focus upon as we progress in our learning about the Noble Truths of Buddhist Belief. These are the sila (virtue or ethics), the samadhi (meditation or concentration) and the prajna (wisdom and awareness.).
We also made the point about how these three aspects are mutually supportive of each other. They belong together, rather than as individual steps to be taken along a path.
The concept of developing a strong sense of virtue, ethics and self-discipline is important when we bring the practice of meditation into our lives. We can eliminate the need for any paranoia if we learn to live more virtuous, ethical lives. If we’re not constantly telling a different set of lies to different people all the time, we won’t have to worry about who we told what to so we won’t get caught in our fibbing. As long as we’re being honest and straightforward with people our lives will be remarkably simpler. If we’re always deceiving others, who are we truly hurting? It’s ourselves catching the brunt of the suffering, especially when we get caught in our deceitfulness. It will be easier for us to be more relaxed and open when we meditate if we’re not fretting about some sort of ethical mishap in our lives.
In Buddhist Belief teachings, Buddha talks about karma, and how the wheel of karma grinds very fine. Our ethical mistakes have a way of catching up to us eventually. We can dump tons of toxic waste into our oceans and we may never see any consequence at all. But, what about our children and our grandchildren? Can you see how our unethical actions of today could be a serious, unpleasant surprise to them someday? As the saying goes, “What goes around, comes around.” It’s an inescapable truth.
Bringing true responsibility onto our lives should be high on every one of our priority lists. How often do we see people today shirking their responsibilities? Or, how often is it where we see people who do something that is less than moral — even reprehensible — refusing to accept the responsibility for their actions, even to the point of looking for someone or something else to blame?
Let’s face it. We’re only going to kid ourselves when we try to mislead others. We are the ones who should be the role models for the generations to follow us. If we won’t step up and take on this responsibility, who will? This has become true in a critical way over the past few years. It’s time to begin to turn this around and begin living morally unimpeachable lives. As we do this and as we enter into the development of our focus, our concentration, our meditation, our samadhi, we won’t be distracted by all the complications caused by unethical living. We’ll be able to live simply and be at ease, not only with ourselves, but with others as well. We’ll be able to tune in to the real truth within us.
When we are able to live in a wholesome way, we’ll be able to find our way to much deeper focus in our meditations. When we are in the place of inner peace — our focus will allow for us to see the wisdom within us where we’ll gain spiritual understanding, compassion and love. When those aspects are working together, we see how our personal self-control and power over our actions will increase. These things can’t happen if our character is weakened by ethical misdeeds.
Can you see the relationship of these three aspects of the Fourth Noble Truth? Sila, samadhi, and prajna – morality, meditation and wisdom? They develop from each other as they enhance each other. If you put all this into the concept of wisdom, then isn’t it wise to be good to others — not to bring harm to them? If you think of this in terms of karma, and you know no one wants to be harmed — then why would you intentionally harm anyone? Not very smart, is it? Remember, “What goes around, comes around!” Isn’t it wise to be focused and able to concentrate, rather than being scattered all the time? You don’t have to meditate for hours and hours every day, but bringing a regular, daily practice into your lifestyle, will teach you how to be focused in your every day life. That’s smart!
So often, there is a tendency to believe that living a healthy, spiritual life is complicated. I think this belief is one of the many distractions our egos like to bring about. Making spirituality a big mystery is one sure way to bring more foolishness into your life. Yes, it is about your lifestyle — and we all know how we resist change of any kind. However, here’s the truth — we always have a choice. We can either go along with Buddhist Belief — or not. We either do it — or we don’t.
It’s up to you.
Let’s pick up at this point in the next article.
See you in the next articles.
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I’ve been a member of the Spiritual Cinema Circle for several years. This membership has been a wonderful pleasure. Each month I get a DVD with a feature film and 3 shorter films. It’s mine to keep. I don’t have to send it back. So I can share it with friends or watch them again whenever the mood strikes.
This coming month the feature film is called, “After Life“. If you had to choose one memory in which you would spend eternity, could you? This is the premise of “After Life. This thought-provoking film is available to you if you become a member before November 14, 2008.
The real beauty here is you not only get this feature film — you also get three more shorter films — (I’ll tell you about them in a moment — plus I’ll show you a video preview of the films for this month! ) — you get all four of these films on a DVD you get to keep as part of our free trial offer for new members. All you have to pay for your first month of films is a nominal shipping and handling cost.
After Life is a Spiritual Cinema classic and this year’s carefully chosen “hidden gem.” It’s a film from the recent past that embodies the essence of spiritual cinema. After Life, which was released ten years ago on the U.S art house circuit (with very little publicity), disappeared too quickly. Spiritual Cinema Circle is thrilled to offer this unique film to its subscribers.
In After Life, a team of counselors meet each week with a new group of people who have recently died. They are there to help them choose a memory from their lives that they will live out for all of eternity. As film crews gather to re-create the chosen memories, the subjects have just three days to decide which memory is the one to take with them.
Spiritual Cinema Circle scours film festivals and seeks out cutting edge filmmakers to find the most soulful, heartfelt and uplifting films to offer its subscribers.
Also, we have: Against the Wind (Short Film): In this sweet short about life, an elderly man examines his past and his present, looking for that one thing that keeps him going.
And …Second Life of the Sugar Bowl (Short Film): A man wanders through Paris before dawn while the flea market vendors are just setting up their wares. He’s searching for something specific as he begins to collect an odd assortment of junk…junk that becomes treasure for someone he loves.
Plus … Speed of Life (Short Film): This short documentary introduces us to a courageous young woman who was making her mark in the competitive snow-boarding world when she was struck by a mysterious illness that changed her life forever. Amy has gone on to change the lives of many other athletes, showing us all that facing life’s challenges can be part of the fun of living!
Receive After Life and the 3 great short films free (plus nominal shipping fee), by visiting Spiritual Cinema Circle at this link:
Spiritual Cinema Circle Free Trial
– be sure to do this before November 10.
Here are some video clips so you can get a glimpse of what’s being offered:
Enjoy the films,
I know I sure do — they’re a bright spot in every month.
“Spiritual Cinema Circle is providing a great service to those who want to evolve and be entertained at the same time.”~~~ Deepak Chopra
Start your Free Trial Today
Spiritual Cinema Circle Free Trial
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For those who wanted me to repeat the links for the books I’ve mentioned in the last few articles, here they are again — and I’ve added one more:
Eckhart Tolle’s amazing best seller, “A New Earth”
Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor’s wonderful book, “My Stroke of Insight” — “Nirvana is just a breath away!”
An this one by Sharon Salzberg and is entitled: “A Heart as Wide as the World: Living with Mindfulness, Wisdom and Compassion“.
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Always remember this wonderful quote from Buddha ….
“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”~~~ Buddha
Shanti everyone, … (A sanscrit word meaning, “Let there be Peace. Peace, beautiful Peace. Peace within, Peace without. Peace in this world. Peace for all beings.”)
“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”~~~ Buddha
Have a peaceful day!! —
Ron Rink
http://www.theleaderinside.com
http://www.wecould2.com
http://www.buddhistbelief.com
Tags: Buddhist Belief, Buddha, Buddhism, Buddhist, First Noble Truth, Four Noble Truths, Second Noble Truth, Third Noble Truth, Nirvana, inner peace, peace, attachment, detachment, Fourth Noble Truth, Eightfold Path, karma
Tags: attachment, Buddha, Buddhism, Buddhist, Buddhist Belief, detachment, Eightfold Path, First Noble Truth, Four Noble Truths, Fourth Noble Truth, inner peace, karma, Nirvana, Peace, Second Noble Truth, Third Noble Truth