Buddhism As Education

Everyone wants to be happy but happiness cannot be achieved in isolation. The happiness of one depends upon the happiness of all and the happiness of all depends on the happiness of one. This is because all life is interdependent. In order to be happy, one needs to cultivate wholesome attitudes towards others in society and towards all sentient beings. The best way of cultivating wholesome attitudes towards all sentient beings is through meditation. Among the many topics of meditation taught by the Buddha, there are four specifically concerned with the cultivation of Loving Kindness, Compassion, Appreciative Joy and Equanimity. These four are called the Four Immeasurables because they are directed to an immeasurable number of sentient beings and because the wholesome Karma produced through practicing them is immeasurable. The Four Immeasurables make up "True Love", which brings joy to ourselves and to the ones we love. If our love does not bring joy to ourselves and to both o...

The realm of the Gods (God here does not refer to an almighty creator) or the higher heavens are different planes of increasing refined levels of sensual bliss and gratification. Gods are able to enjoy beauty by their own goodness. They are beings with beautiful subtle bodies who delight with music and dance, and exist in extended peak experiences in which one dissolves into experience of pleasure, merging with the beloved, temporarily crossing the boundaries of ego. Such experiences can be cultivated in meditation but are dangerous as they induce complacency with what is only temporary. After a long time, the gods will fall from their state of bliss. Unless they realize their impermanence and start living the spiritual life, they will be reborn into the lower realms when they had depleted their positive Karma in Heaven. Gods in our World Human Gods such as Kings and Queens in earlier times live in a royal life full of wealth and power. They are able to satisfy any desire at their comm...