Post 7 - Buddhism

I personally believe in the Four Noble Truths because these truths are not religious or dogmatic, they are basic statements of life and the reality of our human experience. The first Noble Truth is that life means suffering. We are born to an impermanent world, one that is in constant change and upheaval. No matter how hard I may try to avoid suffering it is inevitable. I will get sick, I will age, my loved ones will pass away, I will one day die and I have no control over any of these events.  When I feel joy or happiness, even satisfaction, those feelings eventually fade as well. I have suffered a lot in my brief existence and I know that life is suffering. It is not only suffering, there are positive things as well, but the suffering is always there in all of our lives. The second Noble Truth is the origin of suffering is caused by our attachment to things, objects, people or emotions.  The reason for our suffering is the “craving and clinging” to things that are only temporary and transient, even love can be temporary. I know that for me, even love causes this suffering. I know it is said that love should never cause suffering but how could it not? I know that I want to be emotionally and physically close to the one I love and when I cannot I grow petulant and sad. When the person you love disappoints you, it causes pain as well. It is not their fault that you suffer; it is simply the nature of things. We are imperfect beings in an imperfect world. Our attachments to the people and things we love causes suffering inevitably when those things pass away. The third Noble Truth however tells us that the cessation of suffering is attainable. We don’t have to suffer if we can detach ourselves from our cravings and attachments. By beginning to think and understand dispassionately we remove the cause for our suffering. If I can learn to let go of my love and accept a relationship for what it is, temporary and transient, I can begin to ease the suffering caused by my attachment. I will not be so displeased that I cannot be with my loved one; I will not be hurt when I am disappointed. I can simply stop my suffering by removing my desperate attachment to keeping my love alive and flourishing. The fourth Noble Truth is the path to the cessation of suffering. This path is called “the middle way” is a path that does not go to extreme indulgence or extreme asceticism. This middle way is a balance. To me this means that I do not have to stop loving or caring, I simply need to remove my attachment and love dispassionately, if there is such a thing. I can love a person or thing for what they are while understanding that they shall fade or pass one day too. To me the Four Noble Truths teach that suffering is inevitable unless we learn to accept life for what it is, otherwise will be disappointed and suffer accordingly.

The 8^th Fold Path is a way to live that will help us on the middle way. Some may see it as a difficult path, but to me the ideas are simple enough to understand how they can benefit our lives even if we do not believe in Buddhism. First there is Right View which means to see things as they really are. The idea of Right View begins with understanding the Four Noble Truths that life is suffering. If we can understand this idea we can begin to understand the world around us with the hope that one day we can see the true nature of all things. This is the easiest idea to follow because it is the mindset that prepares you for the rest of the path. Next follows Right Intention, our efforts to follow the path depends on the intention within in us. This means to have compassion and goodwill for all things and to resist desire, anger and other negative emotions. If I have Right Intention it makes it simpler to achieve Right Speech. With goodwill and compassion within my heart, Right Speech is to speak truthfully, warmly, friendly and gently to all people. I must avoid speaking harshly or angrily and to only speak when it necessary, thusly avoiding idle gossip or chatter. This idea is a wonderful idea that more people should employ whether Buddhist or not. If I continue to follow the 8 Fold Path, the next fold is Right Action. I commit to not harming other sentient beings, taking what is not freely given and avoiding sexual misconduct. This idea is more difficult for me to follow because in my view, not harming other sentient beings would require vegetarianism. I’m not sure if all Buddhists are strict vegetarians but I know that for me it would be difficult to make this transition. I can commit to not taking what is not given and avoiding sexual misconduct because these actions not only hurt other people, but in the end hurt myself as well. Right Livelihood is also an easy concept for me because, while I don’t have a career as of yet, I attend school and volunteer as an advocate for sexual assault victims. I do not deal in weapons, meat, drugs or alcohol. Instead I am focused on helping others and benefiting the community as much as I can. The last three folds on the path are the most difficult and time consuming, though not impossible to achieve. Right Effort involves me learning how to control my emotional and mental states, avoiding negative states or abandoning them if they do arise and encouraging positive emotional states. So when I begin to grow jealous, scared or angry I must learn to do away with these states and focus on being content and dispassionate instead of filled with anxious emotion. This is difficult, especially since I have typically indulged my emotions, but it helps one to grow and succeed in life. Right Mindfulness requires me to be aware of myself; of my emotions, feelings, mind and body. Awareness is so vital to becoming a whole person, it is something I strived to before learning of the 8 Fold Path and one I will continue to work on. To be aware is to know yourself and it also means that one is fully in the moment. Writing in journal/blog can help in the contemplation of self. Right Concentration is the last step on the 8 Fold Path. Right Concentration is to be able to focus fully on one object or idea, normally through meditation. Since I’ve started this class, I’ve begun to meditate to focus myself and learn more about it. To be able to focus fully is vital to life, to school, to understanding the true nature of things.

I would have to say that I definitely prefer Buddhist Philosophy to Hindu Philosophy. Hindu Philosophy still seems to focus on Gods and the transcendental idea of soul. Buddhism is different. It is an atheistic religion that relies only on a person’s determination to understand reality and their efforts to achieve liberation. The core philosophies of the 4 Noble Truths and the 8 Fold Path is closer to my personal reckoning of the world and the way it works. My thoughts are that life is suffering and that’s ok, because everyone suffers. It is part of being alive. I particularly am drawn to the idea that there is no self and there is no everlasting part of the self that continues after we die. Instead who we are is the result of karmic forces that have shaped us into the person we are, but that the person we are can change just as easily as the wind if we allow it. There is no core self that I must come to grips with, there is only me, the sentient being who is this mind and body. A whole being that will one day return to the stream of consciousness that is the universe. Granted karma will influence my next rebirth and potentially follow me into the next life, but I will still be a blank slate when I am reborn. I also like the idea of the Buddha. The Buddha was just a man who searched for the truth until he found it, and we all have the potential to be Buddha and reach enlightenment.