Buddhism
Monday, October 5, 2009
What is Buddhism?
In my life I have made many serious mistakes, disappointments, lies, and have hurt many people. For me the very essence of my spirituality relies on me learning to see the good in bad, no matter how difficult it may be. When I first started to study Buddhism, I learned that the true path to a good life first begins with facing your past. Karma is everywhere, no matter how little or big the evil deeds were. If you want to cleanse your spirit, you have to own up to your past. This to me was horrifying, to have to face all the shit that I have done, but I knew in my heart this was the only way. Buddhism has taught me to face my fears, and never regret. If there is one thing I know in life to be true, it’s that accidents don’t happen. Everything happens for a reason, good or bad, these circumstances in our lives are there to teach us lessons. I can look back at every hardship in my life and appreciate it and can honestly say I have learned from it. Although at the time my lesson learned may not have been clear, I always trusted in my heart that with faith I will always survive. I am the person that I am today, and proud of it, because of my past. You cannot stress over problems you have no control over, for example; if you do not have money to pay rent, worrying yourself sick will do you no good. Instead of worrying…why not take action, so you can’t pay rent….ok …what are your next available options? Another major part of Buddhism I learned is never be afraid to ask for help. Western culture teaches us to suffer in silence, not to let people know your problems, pretend everything is ok, look like a happy family. If you live your life like this then you will truly never know how many people around you were suffering right along with you. We must communicate and express our feelings openly and honestly.
It’s ok to be imperfect; and make mistakes, it doesn’t matter what you look like, it doesn’t matter who you love, it doesn’t matter how much or how little money you have, there is no such thing as being smart or dumb, it’s not about bad or good. In Buddhism we are all equal, we are all reflections of one another, in every person lies a piece of yourself. Buddhism is about loving yourself just the way you are, loving one another with openheartedness. It is being honest even when everything important to you is on the line. It’s about finding happiness within yourself, regardless of your circumstances. Only you can fill the emptiness that lies within you, we all have the capability to do so. As soon as you realize that true happiness comes from within, then you will be able to conquer all of life’s challenges with a smile. Suffering is a state of mind, not surrounding circumstances.
