About Buddhism
I have a very simplistic view of the Buddhist Spiritual belief system that I would be happy to share. Thich Nhat Hann (a Vietnamese Buddhist Monk) once said: “Buddhism encourages you to examine your beliefs every day.” If you find one day there is a better way, then Buddhism encourages you to follow it. What a wonderful concept. Buddhism encourages growth over religious precepts.
About 2500 hundred years ago an Enlightened master called the Buddha influenced the whole world with his teachings. He was the son of a king and had everything a person could want, until the day he discovered the suffering people had to endure. He renounced his kingdom and sat under the Bodhitree to find the cause of suffering. He struggled to attain enlightenment until one day a new insight set him free. In deep meditation, under the Bodhi tree, he heard a Sitar teacher talking to his student as he passed nearby. “If you have the strings too tight they will break, but if they are too loose they will not play.” These words opened the Buddha to the “Middle Path” of balance and Enlightenment descended upon him.
Buddha’s first discourse was on the Four Noble Truths of life. I have my own interpretation: 1) Suffering Exists- This is about being real and not resisting life. Accepting it as it is, good or bad. 2) There is a cause of suffering 3) The cause of suffering is desire. 4) Non-Attachment to desire gives freedom from suffering. Then, the Buddha went on to offer the Eight Fold Path as a way to Enlightenment.
Today we can still benefit from the “Middle Path” of the Buddha and discover the Non-Attachment of the Noble Truths. May we all help each other to grow and evolve. Good luck on your Spiritual path. We are all One!
Blessings!
