●Enlightenment (How Buddha found his philosophy)
Buddha was born as a prince of the Indian Buddha tribe about two thousand one hundred years ago. He had no trouble living in a wealthy family with promised future, but he wanted change and discarded his position as the prince. He practiced a lot of austerities with the help of his mentor, but he couldn't find his answer or sense of enlightenment. He went out alone leaving his home.
He made up mind and decided not to leave before he got enlightenment. He sat in meditation with strong determination. He finally found himself living and got his philosophy on the morning of eighth day at the
very moment when he saw Venus in the sky.
He found himself living in a complete manner among everything, and he also was amazed by the creatures around him breathing in their perfect style.
He realized that nothing is more pleasant than to live in this world as a human being, and he got through all his long-standing agony and questions.
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Buddhism is that kind of finding, and we should experience the realization that anyone can achieve following his teachings. |
●Selflessness is the reality of everything
Buddha realized through his experience that we have no entity of ourself, and he captured a substantial part of everything including himself.
Ordinary people cannot think that way. We tend to think of us as having our core in our central part, and we take everything to benefit us. Also we try to be good-looking persons.
If this works well, it is all right, but we cannot always realize our wishes. Sometimes we tend to stick to our desire, bringing ourselves into difficult situations and hurting others. Then we go astray in an unwillingly different world. If our desire of becoming rich comes true, we become more greedy, fulfilling our desire endlessly. After all, we try to protect our property, and we have no place to rest on.
In this way we tend to think we have our own self, and we recognize things in relation to ourselves. This is what the Buddhism calls "wisdom, " but in reality what we take ourselves is not true. What we think of ourselves is not the real ourselves, but the pattern of ourselves created by discretion, so it is a provision of ourselves.
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Through getting away from the provisional ones and grasping the real ones, and living freely, we can achieve the true value of life and happiness. |
●To attain our original goal
We should be away from ourself which creates judicious mind and attain the peaceful state of mind Buddha taught. In order to reach this state of mind, we practice meditation using our body and mind.
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In Zen practice we sit cross-legged in a religious meditation, and we do everything in our daily life in the zen manner. |
When we sit away from thinking of ourselves, we will find there is nothing distinguishing us from the things around us. Then we will attain the power of the judicious mind that is far beyond our discretion.
Shinran, the priest said that this is easy when we are away from ourselves, and this is the most difficult.
When we recognize what we are by practicing Zen, we can grasp the real state of things around us. Then we improve ourselves, complying with the things around us.
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