Buddhism As Education

Today, many people are seriously ill. Why do people become ill? Where do illness come from? The root cause is our anger. If we can calm ourselves down and stop being angry, there will be no more illness and when we learn that we will be healthy all the time. Although there are still many people and reasons out there that can make us angry, we Buddhist call them, our karmic creditors, we do not have to be so obedient and get angry when they irritate us. If we become angry once they irritate us, then we are being fooled. We have to know the truth. They are here to make me angry. I know that and I will not follow their will. On the contrary, I will smile at them. In this way, no one can harm me. Who can actually harm us? Actually, we can only be harmed by ourselves, due to our own actions. If we can learn these, no matter how hard others try to irritate us, we will be impervious. If we can impervious, we will truly see through to the truth and let go of everything. When bad cau...

What is the purpose of the Dharma? Just like other spiritual traditions, Buddhadharma is an instrument for training the mind - something we use to try to work out the problems that we all experience; problems that originated mainly at the mental level. Negative emotional forces create mental unrest, such as unhappiness, fear, doubt, frustration and so forth; these negative mental states can cause us to engage in negative activities, which in turn bring us more problems and more suffering. Practising Dharma is a way of working out these problems, be they long-term or immediate. In other words, Dharma protects us from unwanted suffering. Buddhadharma means bringing discipline and inner tranquillity into our mind. Therefore, when we talk about transforming our mind and developing inner qualities, the only way we can do this is to utilize the mind itself. There is nothing else we can use to bring about such change. Thus, we should realize that much of what we do not desire - unwante...

In our practices, we think that noises, cars, voices, sights are distraction that come and bother us when we want to be quiet. But who is bothering whom? Actually, we are the ones who go and bother them. The car, the sound are just following its own nature. We bother things through some false idea that they are outside us and cling to the ideal of remaining quiet or undisturbed. Learn to see that it is not thing that are bothering us, that it is we are the ones who go out to bother them. See the world as a mirror. It is all a reflection of mind. When you know this, you can grow in every moment and every experience reveals the truth and brings understanding. Normally, the untrained mind is full of worries and anxieties, so when a bit of tranquillity arises from practising meditation, you easily become attached to it, mistaking states of tranquillity for the end of meditation. Sometimes you may even think you have put an end to lust and greed or hatred, only to be overwhelmed by t...

There are two levels of practice. The first is the foundation, a development of precepts, virtue or morality in order to bring happiness, comfort and harmony among people. The second, more intensive and unconcern with comfort is the practice of Buddha Dharma directly solely towards awakening, towards the liberation of heart. This liberation is the source of wisdom and compassion and the true reason for the Buddha's teaching. Understanding these two levels are the basis of true practice. Virtue and morality are the mother and father of the Dharma growing within us, providing it with the proper nourishment and direction. Virtue is the basis for a harmonious world in which people can live truly as humans, not animals. Developing virtue is at the heart of our practice. It is very simple. Keep the training precepts. Do not kill, no stealing, do not lie nor committing sexual misdeeds or taking intoxicants that will make you heedless. Cultivate compassion and a reverence for all li...

One develops right understanding by seeing impermanence, suffering and not-self in everything, which leads to detachment and loss of infatuation. Detachment is not aversion. An aversion to something we once liked is temporary. Imagine some food that you like - bamboo shoots or sweet curry, for example. Imagine having it everyday for five to six years; you would get tired or fed up with bamboo shoots. If someone were to offer you some, you would not get exited anymore. In the same way, we should see impermanence, suffering and emptiness in all things at all times i.e. bamboo shoots. We seek not for life of pleasure but to find peace. Peace is within oneself, to be found in the same place as agitation and suffering. It is not found in a forest or on a hilltop, nor is it given by a teacher. Where your experience suffering, you can also find freedom from suffering. To try to run away from suffering is actually to run towards it. Investigate suffering, see its causes and put an end...

When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you do not blame the lettuce. You look into reasons it is not doing well. It may need fertilizer or more water or even less sun. You never blame the lettuce. Yet if we have problems with our friends or our family, we blame the other person. But if we know how to take care of them, they will grow well, like the lettuce. Blaming has no positive effect at all, nor does trying to persuade using reason and arguments. That is the experience. No blame, no reasoning, just understanding. If you understand and you show that you understand, you can love and the situation will definitely change. Understanding Understanding and love are not two things, but just one. Suppose your son wakes up in the morning and sees that it is already quite late, he decides to wake up his younger sister in order to give her enough time to take her breakfast before going to school. It happens that she is grouchy and instead of saying "thank you for w...

In Buddhism, the word "suchness" is used to mean "the essence or particular characteristics of a thing or a person, its true nature". Each person has his or her suchness. If we want to live in peace and happiness with a person, we have to see the suchness of that person. Upon seeing it, we understand him or her and there will be no trouble. We can live peacefully and happily together. When we bring natural gas into our homes for heating and cooking, we know the suchness of gas. We know that gas is dangerous - it can kill us if we are not mindful. But we also know that we need the gas in order to cook, so we do not hesitate to bring it into our homes. The same is true of electricity. We could get electrocuted by it, but when we are mindful, it can help us, and there's no problem, because we know something about suchness of electricity. A person is the same as well. If we do not know enough about the suchness of a person, we may get ourselves into trouble...