Peace is Every Step - Essay Example

of the BUDDHISM PEACE IS EVERY STEP PART Buddhism is a religion founded by SiddharthaGautama, who lived around 25 centuries ago. Siddhartha exposed the truth of life, death and existence and that is why he was called the “awakened or enlightened one” i.e., Buddha. Buddhism is a religion with a very realistic basis. It does not possess any theology or any kind of worship of the deity. The central belief of Buddhism is contentment with the way things are and cessation of struggle to survive and reincarnation for false yearnings and desires. Siddhartha Gautama was born in Lumbini near Nepalese Indian border, Kapilavastu. He was the son of King of Sakya tribe. Siddhartha was trained like a warrior as well as he was also coached to possess spiritual knowledge. He was married at the age of sixteen and was happily living with his beautiful wife of thirteen years until one day he left for an excursion. On his way, he encountered four different sights that guided him to an ultimate truth of life. He met an old man, a sick man, a corpse and a monk. Siddhartha saw that people have little control over their lives and with this he left his life as a prince and indulged in self mortification to find the truth. While sitting under a tree, he experienced the Great Enlightenment, a way to escape from suffering. With his teachings, Buddha travelled a lot teaching his doctrine and attracting followers. (Harvey, 1990) Buddha’s initial teachings are about four noble truths. First noble truth is about life and its suffering. Human nature is imperfect co-existing in an equally imperfect world. Life is full of sorrows and torments, but sprinkled with some happy moments as well. Nothing is permanent in this world not even pain and suffering. Second truth is the reason of first noble truth. It is our attachment to the transient things of the world i.e., our ideas and perceptions of surroundings, our craving and clinging for the best that becomes the basis of our suffering. Detachment from such ideas and dispassion is the only way to end this suffering, which is the third noble truth. Fourth is gradual path of self-improvement. It is detailed as the eighth fold path. The eighth fold is the basis of Buddhist teachings and includes morality, meditation and wisdom (Naht, 1999). Right Knowledge, thinking, speech, conduct, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration lead a person to realization that selfishness and greed cause sufferings. Buddhism uncovers the material basis of our relationship to this world and our always unsatisfied expectations. Due to impermanence we are always at a miserable or dejected end of our lives just because we expect a lot from something that is constantly changing and shifting its priorities. In any case we cannot solidify our relationship to this world that is so unpredictable and so unfaithful at times. For example, if we are studying business and hope to build a specific carrier, but when we come into practical life we experience that our knowledge is just not enough to compete with other colleagues in the same field. The priorities have shifted from theoretical knowledge to practical internships and training programs that you lack. In this way, you strived for a goal, but still could not reach it due to its impermanence and you will continue struggling until the end of your life and still may lack something or the other. Samsara is another fundamental concept of Buddhism, which means journeying the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. According to Buddha people don’t possess individual souls, individuality is just an illusion. Rebirth is the concept in Hinduism and Buddhism, an ongoing cycle of birth. A person’s feelings, doings, impressions, karma are passed on to his next life and not his physical self, making him similar to his previous life. Nirvana is also considered as an opposite of Samsara. It is not an actual heaven, but a condition of being in heaven, if only in the state of mind. It is achieved by eliminating greed, hatred and ignorance within a person to break the cycle of death and rebirth. Life is suffering and so rebirth should be undesirable and that is achieving nirvana.(Huwang,Soon-il,2006) PART 2 Peace is every step is book by Thich Naht Hanh, who is a Zen master and through simple instructions he tells us marvelous ways of meditation, conscious breathing and enlightenment. THE DANDELION HAS MY SMILE In the vignette, Hanh preaches us how to find reasons to smile. A smile is a priceless gift, not only to ourselves, but also to people who surround us. To begin a day with a smile is an effort to spend a happy and contented day ahead. For this, we can make reminders in our bedroom, which reminds us to smile as soon as we open our eyes and adjust ourselves to the activities of another day ahead. After sometime we will forget about the reminder, but will not forget to smile. We can find reasons to smile in small things and activities even after a rainy day. Smile is a fine social gesture. It can eliminate half your worries by assuring people that you are calm and contended. It also comforts people surrounding you that if you can deal with your worries and problems and smile at the same time, then they can do that too. Smiling face attracts people and authenticates the authority of the bearer. If we apply this significant advice of Hahn’s to our lives, not only our social lives, but professional and marital lives will also prosper and we will see improvements in our moods and of those surrounding us. THINKING LESS While doing conscious breathing, which is a way of meditative breathing, it is better if you worry less about the things that are already out of our control. People think a lot these days, often to such an extent that they need tranquilizers and sleeping pills to relieve them. During conscious breathing a person ceases to think, as all of the mind’s concentration is on breathing process. It leads us to our inner selves and we get in touch with our body, more than to our minds for a few moments. The process of breathing and peaceful and less thinking heals the elements, which are bruised and broken inside us. It not only refreshes us, but also improves our strength and immunity against any kind of harm. Conscious breathing is a type of meditative exercise and I start my day with it to stay peaceful and calm all day. With this, less thinking and pondering over people’s attitudes and moods and insignificant stuff like these; help not only save time, but also keep us away from a lot of misunderstandings and troubles. COOKIE OF THE CHILDHOOD Hanh states a childhood experience of enjoying a homemade cookie with his dog, in his front yard. He used to give all the attention to his cookie while he was having it and no consideration was given to anything else. Every moment of our present lives is significant and precious than the moments that are gone or will come in the future. It is a gifted new chance to make our future better from the past. Eating alone with full concentration is a small meditative exercise to show that things which we consider insignificant and take for granted are so precious and in the future we might not even have them. This does not only apply to eating, but any other activity such as walking, sitting, talking on phone, doing dishes, can be enjoyed just like that. AIMLESSNESS In Buddhism, aimlessness is often practiced and is found more helpful for peaceful living. We need to sit, just to enjoy the sitting and not worrying about the incomplete tasks lying ahead, need to walk just to enjoy the walk, not worrying about the destination. We need to be aware of the activities we are indulging into and feelings we sense. We don’t enjoy health unless we get sick. We don’t enjoy wealth unless we are poor. We suffer just to enjoy the living. With such aimlessness and selflessness, even a suffering is a worthwhile blessing. It tells us the significance of a single moment we live, a single breath we respire, and a single step we take. Buddhism does not encourage goal setting and then struggling to achieve it with madness. In such cases, battles between the competitors arise and someone always gets hurt and discouraged. We need to take a step back and see life as it already is. It is not necessary where we are going because eventually we end up where we ought to be. It is all inside you already, your aims, your strengths, and even your destinations. Stopping does not always hinder our success, but sometimes heals our positive potentials to achieve that success. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Top of Form Kazuo, Maida G, George P. Csicsery, Leslie A. Gladsjo, Ha?nh Nha??t, and Ben Kingsley. Peace Is Every Step. Oakland, CA: Festival Media, 2005. Top of Form Hwang, Soon-il. Metaphor and Literalism in Buddhism: The Doctrinal History of Nirvana. London: Routledge, 2006. Internet resource. Top of Form Harvey, Peter. An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History, and Practices. Cambridge [England: Cambridge University Press, 1990. Print. Top of Form Nha??t, Ha?nh. The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy & Liberation : the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, and Other Basic Buddhist Teachings. New York: Broadway Books, 1999. Print. 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