Buddhist Belief — To DO or to BE? — There’s the Question
“By becoming attached to names and forms, not realizing that they have no more basis than the activities of the mind itself, error rises and the way to emancipation is blocked.”~~~ Buddha
We were talking last time about how to deal with the Second Noble Truth. I shared some of the insight I received after reading that inner peace was always available to every one of us. It wasn’t something to be found “out there” somewhere. It wasn’t even something that reading more books would show me. It was something to be found only in one place, and the place was our own natural being. All the work being done to find this beautiful, lasting peace wasn’t necessary. We just have to learn to be. (Now, there is a basic Buddhist Belief in a nutshell if I ever heard one.)
Why does this seem to be so much more difficult than it truly is?
A good answer to this question could be because we’re so wrapped up in “doing”, achieving and becoming, that we forget about — just “being”. We’ve been conditioned to “do” rather than “be”. Nothing could be more comforting than to realize that all we need to do is relax and find the wonderful balance that is fully complete in each of us. We just need to “be”. It’s who we are. There’s nothing missing from our true spiritual ground — our true nature. It’s all there. Once we see this amazing truth and recognize it for what it is, then our activities of life — all of our “doings” — those things we need to get done every day will take on an entirely new perspective. We’ll become more creative. We’ll find it easier to be proactive rather than reactive. We’ll experience a more graceful life rather than being lost in the drudgery of our conditioning.
We keep wanting to think there has to be something more. We think if we just look around this corner, or take that fork in the road, we’ll find something better. We’ve been conditioned all our lives to believe this way. Even in our spiritual quest we feel as though we have to “strive” for something more. We desire something higher — or we work hard to get rid of something about us that we think of as inadequate — or less than. We keep wanting to “become” something we think we’re not, when all that’s needed is be as we are. The beauty is — we already are, anyway, so it’s an easy trip. We don’t have to go far at all to get there. It is really a matter of recognizing who and what we are, rather than trying to quench our thirst for something else, for that thirst continuously perpetuates our pain — as told in the First and Second Noble Truths.
As you’ve already surmised, this blog is about basic Buddhist Belief. Did you know there are about 84,000 Buddhist teachings. (No, I haven’t studied all of those, thank you!) What has worked so well for me is staying close to the basics of what Buddha taught — which are — there is suffering and/or dissatisfaction in life — the reason for this is our own constant craving — and that making some lifestyle changes could solve the whole problem. We can do all this right here, right now. In fact we can get some great practice by doing meditation every day. You don’t have to convert to anything — you don’t have to learn any dogma — you don’t even have to use the word Buddhism. One of the reasons why I am such a strong proponent of daily meditation is because the practice of meditation is an ideal way to plug into the essence of us and block out all the conditioning — the becoming — the clinging — the craving. Even if your meditation is only for a short time when you’re getting started on your path to inner peace, those moments when you are completely in the present, the Now, are the moments when you can feel the suffering cease.
One way to determine the value of meditation is to spend some time and carefully examine our daily lives. Notice how much of your energy is devoted to the thirst that drives us. See how driven we are in our compulsiveness. We’re always plugged into everything other than our essence. We’re watching something, or listening to something, or cruising the television channels, or talking on the phone, and now that we have cell phones we don’t even have some quiet time in the car while we’re driving. There’s no time to just be. Take the time to notice your life. I would bet very few people reading this are the exception to what I’m describing.
Next time we’ll carry this line of thought a bit further. After we’ve said enough about what the Second Noble Truth is all about, we’ll embark on some understanding of the Third Noble Truth of Buddhist Belief.
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I’ve been showing you a series of short 10-minute videos produced by the BBC called “The Life of Buddha.” You can see those by scrolling back thoough the last five articles. I hope you enjoy it. This week I’d like to pass along these wise quotes of Siddhattha Gotama; the Buddha. It doesn’t matter which faith you follow or if you don’t particularly consider yourself a religious person, you will find truth in his words. Buddha civilized half the world with his teaching.
Dedicated to
Robin van Wissen
If, for some reason, the video doesn’t play when you press the play button, here’s a link to take you directly to it :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTsb-woP3jI
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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: Buddha, Buddhism, Buddhist, Buddhist Belief, First Noble Truth, Four Noble Truths, inner peace, Peace, Second Noble Truth
September 8th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Reading your words brings about a sense of peace; a reconnection with what is important in life. Thank you for the timely reminder.