Buddhist Belief — “Nirvana is Just a Breath Away”
“Of little importance is the loss of such things as wealth. But a terrible thing is to lose wisdom. Of little importance is the gaining of such things as wealth. Great is the importance of gaining wisdom.”~~~ Buddha
There are still some things to discuss in relation to the Third Noble Truth as taught by Buddha. We’re still talking about the basics of Buddhist Belief and how we can find our way out of the crazy cycle of suffering and dissatisfaction and into a place of peace, wisdom and compassion. The key thing to keep in mind as you read these explanations offered here, is this: it’s going to mean we have to let go of something and doing so probably won’t be a piece of cake. In fact, as I mentioned in a couple of previous articles, it’s a bit scary, isn’t it?
Let’s face it — we like to cling to things — wanting and craving are things we’ve always done and it’s hard to stop doing it.
Letting go is like the “yo-yo” of Nirvana. If you’ve been reading here, you’ve learned that Nirvana is the end of suffering, right? If you’ve ever played with a yo-yo (I still get mine out every once in a while and play with it until I get bored), you know you toss the yo-yo out to the end of its string and then it come rolling right back up to your hand again. It’s the same sort of thing with letting go of our wanting, clinging and craving. If we meditate for a while, we can sometimes do a pretty good job of staying in the present and finding some peace with “what is” in the moment. But as soon as we come out of our meditation — a whole bunch of desires come zipping back into our minds. Just like the yo-yo climbing back up the string into our hand.
Once we start meditation regularly every day, we may find we’re able to maintain staying in the present without desiring and clinging for longer periods of time. But those darn causes of suffering seem to find their way back into our lives eventually, right? Same thing with the yo-yo. Once you practice with it, you can learn to make it “sleep” and stay down and spin at the end of the string. You can even learn to do some tricks like “walk the dog” and “rock the cradle” before you have to give the string a tug and send the yo-yo back into your hand. As we meditate more and more we’re able to release and let go. Still, all those years of conditioning bring us right back to our conditioned place of clinging and craving.
The other thing you’ve probably noticed, if you have begun a daily practice of meditation, is you tend to get really great ideas either during your meditation or right after. Some of them even feel like a touch of enlightenment. We can’t wait to write them down — or go tell someone about them. They’re so cool! The ideas may be great! They may even have some real wisdom in them. But, clinging to them? Isn’t that just another sort of attachment? It’s sort of like “Nirvana perfume“. You’re getting a whiff of it but you don’t quite know where the bottle is.
If only we could realize that the inner peace — the Nirvana, is right there — it’s just on the other side of each moment of craving — of holding on. This is where the ultimate of “Letting Go” comes in and must take place. As one of my favorite authors and lecturers, Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, says in her wonderful book, “My Stroke of Insight” — “Nirvana is just a breath away!”
It’s all right there. The great inner peace. The wholeness. The delightful and the joyful. The profound. The simple and uncomplicated. The unknowable. And, as this writer is beginning to realize, the indescribable.
It’s not wrong to enjoy great poetry or wonderful literature. It’s not wrong to feel great emotion when listening to a beautiful symphony or a love song. It’s not wrong to admire great talent, great art and craftsmanship or to learn from a good teacher. However, these wonderful things are truly nothing when compared to the simple experience of the freshness of the present moment — the peace and the power of the Now. These will never fade away for they are the truth — they are “what is” — they are all there is.
I haven’t planned my next article as yet, but I’m guessing it will be a wrap-up of things I’d like to share with you about the Third Noble Truth. After that, we’ll get into the Fourth Noble Truth of the teachings of Buddha and Buddhist Belief.
I’d also like to repeat my recommendation I made in the last article. Please read on …
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A question that often is asked by readers of blogs like this which relate to Buddhist Belief is this: “What do I do to become a better person?”
Obviously, my hope is that you’ll become a regular reader of this blog as it’s my goal to help us all to answer that question with some clarity.
There’s another book I’d like to recommend to you that does a great job of answering that question. It’s by Sharon Salzberg and is entitled: “A Heart as Wide as the World: Living with Mindfulness, Wisdom and Compassion“.
Basically, she says if you want to be a better person, simply start acting like one! Makes pretty good sense to me. Sharon Salzberg is one of the best selling Buddhist authors in the United States. I feel that one of the main reasons for this is because you can understand what she has to say. She’s also not afraid to use her own experiences as examples.
Buddhism, and Buddhist Belief for Sharon Salzberg, for myself, and for many others is about the day-to-day steps needed to connect with the Buddha within each of us. The first step is believing that it is possible to do so, to see “Buddha nature” in everyone, including oneself.
Meditation may be the best way to make that connection, according to many Buddhist authors, and Salzberg agrees, but her deconstruction of mindfulness, of being aware of everything as it is happening presently, may be the second most important step toward enlightenment.
To practice mindfulness, Salzberg explains, is not to place a value judgment on any experience or emotion. They simply are what they are. Besides, if everything is fleeting, there is no need to support the idea of “good” or “bad.” It’s simply a matter of time before our sensations and environments will change anyway.
Since the last blog post was about anger, I’d like to quote from Sharon’s book:
“Anger, in itself, is not best viewed as bad or wrong. It is simply another state of mind that arises in reaction to circumstances,” she writes. “It is natural to feel angry at times … but we need to understand how anger functions and how it affects us, not condemn ourselves for feeling it.”
This book is at its best when Salzberg tells a personal story to explain the tenets she is trying to teach. Examples of when her own anger arises out of jealousy or miscommunication lets readers know she is no different than anyone else, thus leading to her appeal. In her writing she shows that there are a multitude of inner struggles to deal with on our path to enlightenment, regardless of your religious belief.
In this book, Salzberg focuses on everyone’s ability, no matter what their background or character, to become a better person. It’s about compassion! When we can learn to respect our fellow human beings and ourselves, we will grow to who we truly are and experience true inner peace.
You can got this book at this link: A Heart as Wide as the World.
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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
Tags: attachment, Buddha, Buddhism, Buddhist, Buddhist Belief, detachment, First Noble Truth, Four Noble Truths, inner peace, Nirvana, Peace, Second Noble Truth, Third Noble Truth