Self-awareness and Practicing the Buddha's Way - Assignment Example

Buddhist practice of ‘mindful awareness’ Buddha realized that among humans, the practice of being present and fully aware of surrounding circumstances is of great importance to the well-being of every individual. Most people tend to think the Buddha decried reflection on the past and making future plans, but on the contrary, he established that such activities actually occur in the present, leading to distraction. It is such distraction that he noted that creates suffering. Wu and Antony (Cap. 13-) narrates Xuangzang’s ordeal during the journey to India to retrieve Buddhist scriptures from Vulture Peak.

The numerous times Xuangzang comes under attack from ogres along the way, and the times he spends as a captive allows him to reflect upon the course and purpose of his life. The state of ‘mindful awareness’ he undergoes would later help him controlling some of the deities he works with, such as Sun Wokong, Zhu Bajie among others. It is noted that regardless of the challenges Xuangzang faced, he chose to ignore the past life he had before embarking on the journey, concentrating more on how to get to India and bring back the scriptures.

Furthermore, the state of ‘mindful awareness’ enabled Xuangzang’s accomplices to plan ways of liberating him from captivity, even by using violent means when no other means could work. Their ability to co-ordinate and execute such moves is as a result of being fully aware of what is happening around them. The ability to be at the present moment allows for the creation of qualities that bring happiness to life: qualities such as kindness, compassion, joy etc. The underlying idea here is that every individual can make a choice of being present, and being present can actually help in relieving unnecessary suffering.

Works CitedWu, Chengen, and Anthony C. Yu. The Journey to the West. , 2012. Print.