Buddhism in daily life - Mindfulness in every day tasks Archiv
364 Episoden
5 Minuten
Buddhism in connection with friends and family ...
...or: No human being is an island.
We live with countless other people in our daily lives. Friends and family come very close to us.
As Buddhists (or people interested in Buddhism), we are often faced with the question of how we should treat our loved ones in our daily lives.
Should we be lenient, or assertive? How do we bring our beliefs into our daily interactions?
Should we address grievances, or better keep quiet?
The path of Buddha was the path of the middle, but also the path to truth.
What is true may be said, yes, it must be said. As a Buddhist, one should (always) tell the truth.
From experience I know that problems do not disappear if you "keep quiet" about them.
But: always with a proper amount of kindness; our words and actions must show the love we feel for our "loved ones".
We should always point out solutions, never being too determinate, always friendly but determined in the matter.
The most important thing is that a Buddhist life results in the creation of an example. "Preaching water and drinking wine" is certainly the wrong approach.
Show those around you how you approach things from your Buddhist worldview. Actions speak louder than words.
If you come to the conclusion that it can make sense to talk about the philosophy of Buddha, then do so. But do not impose the teaching on anyone.
Find the necessary and important time to take care of your loved ones, to do things together that are important to everyone.
Be responsive to needs and preferences, inclinations and desires.
And remember: what is true must be said!
SOMETIMES I THINK WE ARE NOT A FAMILY, BUT A BIOLOGICAL EXPERIMENT
- AL BUNDY - FICTIONAL CHARACTER FROM A US SITCOM
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(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
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...or: No human being is an island.
We live with countless other people in our daily lives. Friends and family come very close to us.
As Buddhists (or people interested in Buddhism), we are often faced with the question of how we should treat our loved ones in our daily lives.
Should we be lenient, or assertive? How do we bring our beliefs into our daily interactions?
Should we address grievances, or better keep quiet?
The path of Buddha was the path of the middle, but also the path to truth.
What is true may be said, yes, it must be said. As a Buddhist, one should (always) tell the truth.
From experience I know that problems do not disappear if you "keep quiet" about them.
But: always with a proper amount of kindness; our words and actions must show the love we feel for our "loved ones".
We should always point out solutions, never being too determinate, always friendly but determined in the matter.
The most important thing is that a Buddhist life results in the creation of an example. "Preaching water and drinking wine" is certainly the wrong approach.
Show those around you how you approach things from your Buddhist worldview. Actions speak louder than words.
If you come to the conclusion that it can make sense to talk about the philosophy of Buddha, then do so. But do not impose the teaching on anyone.
Find the necessary and important time to take care of your loved ones, to do things together that are important to everyone.
Be responsive to needs and preferences, inclinations and desires.
And remember: what is true must be said!
SOMETIMES I THINK WE ARE NOT A FAMILY, BUT A BIOLOGICAL EXPERIMENT
- AL BUNDY - FICTIONAL CHARACTER FROM A US SITCOM
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
Please rate us on Apple, Google or Spotify podcast to help us promote the show
12 Minuten
Buddhism - The Message
The message of Buddhism, which is also to bring enlightenment here, is characterized by wisdom and knowledge.
The wisdom of the right way. I would like to try, as briefly and understandably as possible, to reproduce here at least a part of the essential contents of Buddha's teaching, the Dharma.
Everybody, or most of us, have heard a lot about Buddhist concepts, and some of them have entered our language, for example terms like "karma" or "nirvana". But what is behind them? Now, it is not possible to go into everything in detail here, and for some terms I do not want to do it at all. If I wanted to explain "Nirvana", it would be as if I wanted to describe the color theory as a blind man.
The goal of Buddhism is liberation from suffering through knowledge. Compassion and humanity are qualities that relieve us from the cycle of eternal rebirths, and this only with the help of our own will and mind.
When about 2500 years ago Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha (which means the "enlightened one"), found "enlightenment" under a Bodhi tree, and thereby freed himself from all ignorance, he subsequently showed all people the way to highest and lasting happiness. Here, we best begin with the "marks of being":
"Anicca": everything is transient!
This is an indisputable fact, scientists already calculate us the end of this planet and the solar system, even if only in millions or billions of years.
"Dukkha": Life is suffering!
"Anatta": The doctrine of the "I-lessness", the "not-self".
From the "characteristics of being" the "four noble truths" are derived:
1. the truth of suffering
Which brings us back to the point, life is suffering. This is an undisputed, even if gladly suppressed fact. But just because we do not want to admit the uncomfortable, it is nevertheless true. The inescapable fate we face is birth, illness, old age and death. Being away from the people and things we love. Being with those who are repugnant to us, and the desire for the unattainable. The sensations are different, sorrowful or not. But nevertheless, it is undeniable that there is no life without these things. So it is fair to say, life is suffering! Now it is not that there is nothing that makes us happy or gives us pleasure, only it does not last, and true happiness requires permanence. As much as we enjoy something, we can't keep it, no matter how hard we try. It ends. And since we cannot hold anything in the last analysis, we suffer.
2 The Truth of the Cause of Suffering
3 The Truth of Overcoming Suffering
4. The Truth of the Way to Overcome Suffering
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(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
Please rate us on Apple, Google or Spotify podcast to help us promote the show
The message of Buddhism, which is also to bring enlightenment here, is characterized by wisdom and knowledge.
The wisdom of the right way. I would like to try, as briefly and understandably as possible, to reproduce here at least a part of the essential contents of Buddha's teaching, the Dharma.
Everybody, or most of us, have heard a lot about Buddhist concepts, and some of them have entered our language, for example terms like "karma" or "nirvana". But what is behind them? Now, it is not possible to go into everything in detail here, and for some terms I do not want to do it at all. If I wanted to explain "Nirvana", it would be as if I wanted to describe the color theory as a blind man.
The goal of Buddhism is liberation from suffering through knowledge. Compassion and humanity are qualities that relieve us from the cycle of eternal rebirths, and this only with the help of our own will and mind.
When about 2500 years ago Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha (which means the "enlightened one"), found "enlightenment" under a Bodhi tree, and thereby freed himself from all ignorance, he subsequently showed all people the way to highest and lasting happiness. Here, we best begin with the "marks of being":
"Anicca": everything is transient!
This is an indisputable fact, scientists already calculate us the end of this planet and the solar system, even if only in millions or billions of years.
"Dukkha": Life is suffering!
"Anatta": The doctrine of the "I-lessness", the "not-self".
From the "characteristics of being" the "four noble truths" are derived:
1. the truth of suffering
Which brings us back to the point, life is suffering. This is an undisputed, even if gladly suppressed fact. But just because we do not want to admit the uncomfortable, it is nevertheless true. The inescapable fate we face is birth, illness, old age and death. Being away from the people and things we love. Being with those who are repugnant to us, and the desire for the unattainable. The sensations are different, sorrowful or not. But nevertheless, it is undeniable that there is no life without these things. So it is fair to say, life is suffering! Now it is not that there is nothing that makes us happy or gives us pleasure, only it does not last, and true happiness requires permanence. As much as we enjoy something, we can't keep it, no matter how hard we try. It ends. And since we cannot hold anything in the last analysis, we suffer.
2 The Truth of the Cause of Suffering
3 The Truth of Overcoming Suffering
4. The Truth of the Way to Overcome Suffering
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4 Minuten
Don't worry, be happy - or: how do I become free!
We all know the song, but do we know the message?
Already when we hear the song we feel good. Our body starts to move, everyone I know this song puts a smile on their face.
And the words of Buddha have the same effect on us.
Without thinking, our mood changes, we become positive.
What felt bad suddenly feels good.
The facts and our counterpart have not changed, but our way of looking at things is different.
This happens without thinking, it happens "by itself".
If the mother or the boss says: "don't worry about it", "relax", "it will be alright", then we take new courage and suddenly everything is not so bad anymore.
Buddha also said "don't worry, be happy", but in a different context.
We know the power of these words, but we don't use them for ourselves.
So, why don't we use these words? Maybe once on a trial basis, just for a day?
Of all the worries I had, most did not materialize
- Sven Hedin - Swedish Geographer - 1865 to 1952
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We all know the song, but do we know the message?
Already when we hear the song we feel good. Our body starts to move, everyone I know this song puts a smile on their face.
And the words of Buddha have the same effect on us.
Without thinking, our mood changes, we become positive.
What felt bad suddenly feels good.
The facts and our counterpart have not changed, but our way of looking at things is different.
This happens without thinking, it happens "by itself".
If the mother or the boss says: "don't worry about it", "relax", "it will be alright", then we take new courage and suddenly everything is not so bad anymore.
Buddha also said "don't worry, be happy", but in a different context.
We know the power of these words, but we don't use them for ourselves.
So, why don't we use these words? Maybe once on a trial basis, just for a day?
Of all the worries I had, most did not materialize
- Sven Hedin - Swedish Geographer - 1865 to 1952
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
Please rate us on Apple, Google or Spotify podcast to help us promote the show
7 Minuten
The 108 Temples Tour or the Journey of the Chan Knights
108 TT
or the journey of the Chan Knights
"Sometimes I am a master, sometimes a disciple, it depends with whom I exchange my energy," said the wise monk.
The 108 Temples Tour is to visit the 108 sacred Buddhist sites in Nepal, India, China, Tibet, Korea, Bhutan, Taiwan, Vietnam, Japan, and will end at Shaolin Temple China. It traces the journey of the Buddhist teaching, from its foundation by the historical Buddha Siddharta Gautama, to its expression in modern times, following both historical routes and dates, and contemporary development.
Protagonists:
Protagonists of the journey are Shi Heng Zong, Taema Jun as well as Rainer Deyhle (Shaolin Rainer), and other Chan followers. Taema Jun is a Korean meditation master who, following a dream, meditated for seven years in the Shaolin Temple China, striving for "enlightenment". There he met Rainer Deyhle, who founded the Shaolin Temple Germany and also meditates himself. Shi Heng Zong leads the Shaolin Temple Europe in Kaiserslautern as abbot. Today these disparate people are brothers in spirit and follow the teachings of Buddha and the teachings of his 28th patriarch, Bodhidharma, who is considered the founder of Chan (Zen) Buddhism.
Why a 108 Temple Tour?
The Buddhists Shi Heng Zong, Taema Jun and Rainer Deyhle want to look at the work and teachings of the historical Buddha and his 28th successor (Bodhidharma) in a new light. They see this journey as a kind of "Buddhist Dr.", want to absorb the energy of the holy sites, meet wise masters on the journey, exchange and meditate with them, and then carry this energy back home with them. At each temple, the protagonists want to make "108 prostrations" to honor Buddha.
Locomotion:
The participants of the 108 temples tour will travel together by bus (tour bus).
Start:
The journey will start from the birthplace of Buddha, Kavilavatsu, in the foothills of the Himalayas, in present-day Nepal. Another important stop will be the "Buddha Tree" under which Siddharta once found his enlightenment. The tree stands on the banks of the Nairanjana River, near the village of Uruvela, now Bodh Gaya.
Other possible stops on the trip:
The 108 temples tour will include Varanasi (first proclamation of Buddha's teachings, the first Sangha), the bamboo forest at Rajagrita (King Bimbisara gave Buddha a bamboo forest), the town of Shravatsi (Buddha taught there; today Jetavana Monastery), the place of Kushinagara near Lambini (Buddha's place of death), the 8 stupas with Buddha's relics (Buddha's relics were distributed in eight stupas in Rajagriha, Vaishali, Kapilavastu, Allakappa, Ramagrama, Pava, Kushinagar and Vethapida).
After venerating the most important sites of the Buddha, the protagonists follow the life path of Bodhidharma. The birthplace of the monk, the temple where he became a monk and other important sites of his life in India will be visited.
Furthermore, the protagonists will follow the journey of Bodhidharma to China, from India by ship to Guangdong (Canton) to the former imperial city of Nanking, to the Shaolin Temple China.
The climax and end point of the journey is the arrival at the Shaolin Temple China, where Bodhidharma meditated for nine years. In the cave of Bodhidharma, the protagonists will now make 1080 prostrations to absorb the special energy of the place.
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
Please rate us on Apple, Google or Spotify podcast to help us promote the show
108 TT
or the journey of the Chan Knights
"Sometimes I am a master, sometimes a disciple, it depends with whom I exchange my energy," said the wise monk.
The 108 Temples Tour is to visit the 108 sacred Buddhist sites in Nepal, India, China, Tibet, Korea, Bhutan, Taiwan, Vietnam, Japan, and will end at Shaolin Temple China. It traces the journey of the Buddhist teaching, from its foundation by the historical Buddha Siddharta Gautama, to its expression in modern times, following both historical routes and dates, and contemporary development.
Protagonists:
Protagonists of the journey are Shi Heng Zong, Taema Jun as well as Rainer Deyhle (Shaolin Rainer), and other Chan followers. Taema Jun is a Korean meditation master who, following a dream, meditated for seven years in the Shaolin Temple China, striving for "enlightenment". There he met Rainer Deyhle, who founded the Shaolin Temple Germany and also meditates himself. Shi Heng Zong leads the Shaolin Temple Europe in Kaiserslautern as abbot. Today these disparate people are brothers in spirit and follow the teachings of Buddha and the teachings of his 28th patriarch, Bodhidharma, who is considered the founder of Chan (Zen) Buddhism.
Why a 108 Temple Tour?
The Buddhists Shi Heng Zong, Taema Jun and Rainer Deyhle want to look at the work and teachings of the historical Buddha and his 28th successor (Bodhidharma) in a new light. They see this journey as a kind of "Buddhist Dr.", want to absorb the energy of the holy sites, meet wise masters on the journey, exchange and meditate with them, and then carry this energy back home with them. At each temple, the protagonists want to make "108 prostrations" to honor Buddha.
Locomotion:
The participants of the 108 temples tour will travel together by bus (tour bus).
Start:
The journey will start from the birthplace of Buddha, Kavilavatsu, in the foothills of the Himalayas, in present-day Nepal. Another important stop will be the "Buddha Tree" under which Siddharta once found his enlightenment. The tree stands on the banks of the Nairanjana River, near the village of Uruvela, now Bodh Gaya.
Other possible stops on the trip:
The 108 temples tour will include Varanasi (first proclamation of Buddha's teachings, the first Sangha), the bamboo forest at Rajagrita (King Bimbisara gave Buddha a bamboo forest), the town of Shravatsi (Buddha taught there; today Jetavana Monastery), the place of Kushinagara near Lambini (Buddha's place of death), the 8 stupas with Buddha's relics (Buddha's relics were distributed in eight stupas in Rajagriha, Vaishali, Kapilavastu, Allakappa, Ramagrama, Pava, Kushinagar and Vethapida).
After venerating the most important sites of the Buddha, the protagonists follow the life path of Bodhidharma. The birthplace of the monk, the temple where he became a monk and other important sites of his life in India will be visited.
Furthermore, the protagonists will follow the journey of Bodhidharma to China, from India by ship to Guangdong (Canton) to the former imperial city of Nanking, to the Shaolin Temple China.
The climax and end point of the journey is the arrival at the Shaolin Temple China, where Bodhidharma meditated for nine years. In the cave of Bodhidharma, the protagonists will now make 1080 prostrations to absorb the special energy of the place.
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
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4 Minuten
Diamond Sutra - Chapter III "The Venerable Buddha spoke."
Buddha asked:
"WHAT DO YOU THINK, DISCIPLE, IS THERE ANY DHARMA (LAW OR TEACHING, OR EVEN BASIC PART OF THE WORLD, E.G., NIRVANA) THAT I TEACH?"
THE DISCIPLE REPLIED, "THE BUDDHA HAS NOTHING TO TEACH, FROM-THE-WORLD-WORSHIPPER."
WHY DID THE HISTORICAL BUDDHA ASK HIS DISCIPLE THIS QUESTION?
BECAUSE EMPTY IS FORM, AND FORM IS EMPTY.
WHEN A DHARMA LECTURE WAS GIVEN, IT REALLY MEANS THAT THERE WAS NO LECTURE. THE TRUTH CANNOT BE GRASPED, NOR CAN IT BE EXPRESSED.
NEITHER DOES IT EXIST, NOR DOES IT NOT EXIST!
THIS IS THE PRINCIPLE OF ALL WISDOM
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Buddha asked:
"WHAT DO YOU THINK, DISCIPLE, IS THERE ANY DHARMA (LAW OR TEACHING, OR EVEN BASIC PART OF THE WORLD, E.G., NIRVANA) THAT I TEACH?"
THE DISCIPLE REPLIED, "THE BUDDHA HAS NOTHING TO TEACH, FROM-THE-WORLD-WORSHIPPER."
WHY DID THE HISTORICAL BUDDHA ASK HIS DISCIPLE THIS QUESTION?
BECAUSE EMPTY IS FORM, AND FORM IS EMPTY.
WHEN A DHARMA LECTURE WAS GIVEN, IT REALLY MEANS THAT THERE WAS NO LECTURE. THE TRUTH CANNOT BE GRASPED, NOR CAN IT BE EXPRESSED.
NEITHER DOES IT EXIST, NOR DOES IT NOT EXIST!
THIS IS THE PRINCIPLE OF ALL WISDOM
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5 Minuten
Diamond Sutra Chapter II
Chapter II
THE VENERABLE BUDDHA SAID, "FROM-THE-WORLD-WORSHIPPER, WILL THERE BE PEOPLE IN THE FUTURE WHO WILL HAVE REAL FAITH IN YOUR TEACHINGS JUST BECAUSE THEY HEAR ABOUT THEM?"
VENERABLE BUDDHA SAID, "HUNDREDS OF YEARS FROM NOW, PEOPLE WILL STILL ENJOY MY WORDS, AND SOME WILL ALSO FIND ENLIGHTENMENT. TO PUT TRUST ONLY IN WORDS SEEMS DIFFICULT AT FIRST, BUT FAITH AND TRUST ARE GOOD COMPANIONS ON THE WAY TO TRUTH."
"BEFORE ME AND AFTER ME, PEOPLE WILL PLANT THE GOOD SEED, TENS OF THOUSANDS OF BUDDHAS PROCLAIMED AND CONTINUE TO PROCLAIM THE TEACHING OF OVERCOMING SUFFERING."
SO WHAT DID THE BUDDHA WANT TO TELL HIS DISCIPLE?
ALL PEOPLE CAN BE OR BECOME BUDDHAS IF THEY WANT TO.
ENLIGHTENMENT IS NOT AN EXCLUSIVE RIGHT RESERVED ONLY FOR THE HISTORICAL BUDDHA; ON THE CONTRARY, THIS PATH IS OPEN TO EVERY HUMAN BEING. EVEN BEFORE THE BUDDHA THERE WERE ENLIGHTENED PEOPLE, AND AFTER HIS PASSING THERE WERE AND ARE OTHERS.
IN ORDER TO REACH THIS DESIRABLE STAGE (A HAPPY LIFE WITHOUT SUFFERING), HOWEVER, ONE MUST FIRST GIVE IT A CHANCE.
WHAT IF THE HISTORICAL BUDDHA WAS TELLING THE TRUTH, IF THERE REALLY IS A BUDDHA SLUMBERING IN ALL PEOPLE?
GIVE THE PHILOSOPHY 24 HOURS, TRY TO LIVE A WHOLE DAY ACCORDING TO THE TEACHINGS.
WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE TO LOSE? NO ONE WILL NOTICE, JUST FOR YOURSELF!
PUT REAL TRUST IN THE WORDS OF THE SUBLIME FOR 24 HOURS, TRY TO MAKE YOUR THOUGHTS FREE, NOT TO JUDGE AND NOT TO CLING TO ANYTHING, JUST ONCE AS A TEST, FOR ONE DAY.
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Chapter II
THE VENERABLE BUDDHA SAID, "FROM-THE-WORLD-WORSHIPPER, WILL THERE BE PEOPLE IN THE FUTURE WHO WILL HAVE REAL FAITH IN YOUR TEACHINGS JUST BECAUSE THEY HEAR ABOUT THEM?"
VENERABLE BUDDHA SAID, "HUNDREDS OF YEARS FROM NOW, PEOPLE WILL STILL ENJOY MY WORDS, AND SOME WILL ALSO FIND ENLIGHTENMENT. TO PUT TRUST ONLY IN WORDS SEEMS DIFFICULT AT FIRST, BUT FAITH AND TRUST ARE GOOD COMPANIONS ON THE WAY TO TRUTH."
"BEFORE ME AND AFTER ME, PEOPLE WILL PLANT THE GOOD SEED, TENS OF THOUSANDS OF BUDDHAS PROCLAIMED AND CONTINUE TO PROCLAIM THE TEACHING OF OVERCOMING SUFFERING."
SO WHAT DID THE BUDDHA WANT TO TELL HIS DISCIPLE?
ALL PEOPLE CAN BE OR BECOME BUDDHAS IF THEY WANT TO.
ENLIGHTENMENT IS NOT AN EXCLUSIVE RIGHT RESERVED ONLY FOR THE HISTORICAL BUDDHA; ON THE CONTRARY, THIS PATH IS OPEN TO EVERY HUMAN BEING. EVEN BEFORE THE BUDDHA THERE WERE ENLIGHTENED PEOPLE, AND AFTER HIS PASSING THERE WERE AND ARE OTHERS.
IN ORDER TO REACH THIS DESIRABLE STAGE (A HAPPY LIFE WITHOUT SUFFERING), HOWEVER, ONE MUST FIRST GIVE IT A CHANCE.
WHAT IF THE HISTORICAL BUDDHA WAS TELLING THE TRUTH, IF THERE REALLY IS A BUDDHA SLUMBERING IN ALL PEOPLE?
GIVE THE PHILOSOPHY 24 HOURS, TRY TO LIVE A WHOLE DAY ACCORDING TO THE TEACHINGS.
WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE TO LOSE? NO ONE WILL NOTICE, JUST FOR YOURSELF!
PUT REAL TRUST IN THE WORDS OF THE SUBLIME FOR 24 HOURS, TRY TO MAKE YOUR THOUGHTS FREE, NOT TO JUDGE AND NOT TO CLING TO ANYTHING, JUST ONCE AS A TEST, FOR ONE DAY.
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
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7 Minuten
Diamond Sutra
"The venerable Buddha spoke"
newly interpreted by Shaolin-Rainer
The Diamond Sutra records dialogues of question and answer between the historical Buddha and one of his disciples (the Subhūti).
This sutra can be compared to the Bible or the Koran in terms of its importance. Buddhist core sentences are formative in this work. "Form is emptiness - emptiness is form" is the central statement here.
The authenticity of all words of the Diamond Sutra could not be confirmed beyond doubt until today, it can only be assumed who was the author, and whether the content was 'glossed' or even 'instrumentalized'. However, it is certain that the philosophy of the historical Buddha is passed on here at least in the sense after.
Translated, the title means something like "The perfection of wisdom, which is so sharp that it can split even a diamond".
The first time the Diamond Sutra was 'written down' was in Tibet (about 600 years before Gutenberg printed the first Bible in Germany).
After studying the Diamond Sutra, the seeker should no longer see only the surface, but look behind events, phenomena and people.
How we perceive something is how it appears to us. But appearance is not always being.
For people of modern times, the original text falls out of today's world, is written in a language of a bygone era, which seems antiquated and takes away the fun of reading. In its original version, not many interested people find access to the words and worldview of the historical Buddha.
Therefore, I have taken the liberty of dressing the Buddha's words in modern sentences.
Chapter I "The venerable Buddha said".
"Disciple, you must know that the meaning of my teachings is beyond thoughts and words".
So what was the Buddha trying to tell his disciple?
In my opinion, what is meant here is the self-energy that springs from words, thoughts, people or even things.
A glass of water has hardly energy, a wave however already. Both is only H2O.
Where is the logic here, how do the states behave among themselves?
Some words spread like a "wildfire" (I have a dream), others fade away unheard in the room.
Some thoughts change whole countries and regions (Marx - Das Kapital), others evaporate on the way to the bathroom.
Some people have self-energy (for example Muhammad Ali), others cannot tie their own shoes.
Even some things have their own energy, self-energy. For example, a special work of art like the Mona Lisa. Thousands of people want to see it, the picture next to it goes down completely.
And if emptiness is form, and form is emptiness, what does that mean in our daily lives? What is the meaning beyond thoughts and words?
The disciple's first question in the question and answer game with the teacher was, Exalted One, what is the best way to direct the mind? The venerable Buddha spoke, disciple, by overcoming suffering. One who overcomes suffering can attain nirvana. But no one can get beyond all suffering; suffering will always remain a part of human beings. But the way we deal with suffering can be changed. Good is not always good, and bad is not always bad. Depending on how we look at it, whether with serenity or in anger, the result of looking at the same thing can even change the thing itself completely.
Emptiness is form, and form is emptiness.
A gifted football coach said: "like bottle empty".
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
Please rate us on Apple, Google or Spotify podcast to help us promote the show
"The venerable Buddha spoke"
newly interpreted by Shaolin-Rainer
The Diamond Sutra records dialogues of question and answer between the historical Buddha and one of his disciples (the Subhūti).
This sutra can be compared to the Bible or the Koran in terms of its importance. Buddhist core sentences are formative in this work. "Form is emptiness - emptiness is form" is the central statement here.
The authenticity of all words of the Diamond Sutra could not be confirmed beyond doubt until today, it can only be assumed who was the author, and whether the content was 'glossed' or even 'instrumentalized'. However, it is certain that the philosophy of the historical Buddha is passed on here at least in the sense after.
Translated, the title means something like "The perfection of wisdom, which is so sharp that it can split even a diamond".
The first time the Diamond Sutra was 'written down' was in Tibet (about 600 years before Gutenberg printed the first Bible in Germany).
After studying the Diamond Sutra, the seeker should no longer see only the surface, but look behind events, phenomena and people.
How we perceive something is how it appears to us. But appearance is not always being.
For people of modern times, the original text falls out of today's world, is written in a language of a bygone era, which seems antiquated and takes away the fun of reading. In its original version, not many interested people find access to the words and worldview of the historical Buddha.
Therefore, I have taken the liberty of dressing the Buddha's words in modern sentences.
Chapter I "The venerable Buddha said".
"Disciple, you must know that the meaning of my teachings is beyond thoughts and words".
So what was the Buddha trying to tell his disciple?
In my opinion, what is meant here is the self-energy that springs from words, thoughts, people or even things.
A glass of water has hardly energy, a wave however already. Both is only H2O.
Where is the logic here, how do the states behave among themselves?
Some words spread like a "wildfire" (I have a dream), others fade away unheard in the room.
Some thoughts change whole countries and regions (Marx - Das Kapital), others evaporate on the way to the bathroom.
Some people have self-energy (for example Muhammad Ali), others cannot tie their own shoes.
Even some things have their own energy, self-energy. For example, a special work of art like the Mona Lisa. Thousands of people want to see it, the picture next to it goes down completely.
And if emptiness is form, and form is emptiness, what does that mean in our daily lives? What is the meaning beyond thoughts and words?
The disciple's first question in the question and answer game with the teacher was, Exalted One, what is the best way to direct the mind? The venerable Buddha spoke, disciple, by overcoming suffering. One who overcomes suffering can attain nirvana. But no one can get beyond all suffering; suffering will always remain a part of human beings. But the way we deal with suffering can be changed. Good is not always good, and bad is not always bad. Depending on how we look at it, whether with serenity or in anger, the result of looking at the same thing can even change the thing itself completely.
Emptiness is form, and form is emptiness.
A gifted football coach said: "like bottle empty".
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
Please rate us on Apple, Google or Spotify podcast to help us promote the show
6 Minuten
Bodhidharma
Who was Bodhidharma?
Bodhidharma was a Buddhist monk and the founder of the Shaolin Temple; for this reason, he will be told about it here. As with all historical figures, stories continue to be "embellished" and "made more vivid" from generation to generation.
Bodhidharma (short: Damo) lived approximately from 444 to 529 AD; he was born in India or Persia and is said to have had blue eyes, which is why Chinese chronicles called him the "blue-eyed devil". He was also trained in martial arts, such as Vajramushti (Indian style) or Pahlavani (Persian style), which subsequently had a great influence on Shaolin Kung Fu.
How Damo came into contact with the philosophy of Buddha is not known. At that time, countless monks and itinerant preachers were traveling throughout Asia to spread their teachings, but of course also to make a living. Probably Damo met a follower of Buddha, who trained him to become a Buddhist monk.
According to the understanding of that time, a monk had to live ascetic and abstemious, preach, and wander (wandering monk). Certainly, there were monasteries already at that time, but the majority of the various scholars did not find shelter in a temple. Thus, they had no choice but to earn their living by "itinerant preaching".
Damo, however, traveled much further than other Buddhist monks. He traveled across the Himalayas to China to the court of the Chinese emperor Wu-Di. The latter led China into a "golden age". Unimaginable wealth and sensational splendorous buildings made the imperial court the center of the world at that time ("China", in Chinese, means "the land of the middle").
At the emperor's court, a tradition had developed whereby Indian monks spread the teachings of Buddha in a missionary manner. Itinerant preachers had become a kind of "normality".
Standing out from this crowd was guaranteed not to be easy. Especially since the Chinese emperor was firmly anchored in Confucianism, and may have rejected Buddhist ideas. But Damo managed to reach the emperor Wu-Di with his views.
Here he seems to have succeeded in explaining to the emperor, who had distinguished himself by particularly much "good", that the doing of good works does not necessarily entail "salvation" or even "enlightenment".
Those who do positive things, because he expects advantages from them, achieve exactly the opposite. "Do good and talk about it" is said today, but the philosophy founded by Damo, his further development of Buddha's teachings, show that doing good things just to take credit for them is wrong and dishonorable.
Emperor Wu-Di is said to have given Damo the site of the present Shaolin Temple in the Song Shan Mountains, one of the five sacred mountains of China, for the propagation of his view of life. There he meditated in a cave for nine years. A practice is common in the philosophy of self-reflection derived from Mahayana Buddhism. During this time, Damo developed a subspecies of Buddhism called Chan Buddhism (better known by the Japanese term Zen). The core message of Chan is that the desired enlightenment can be achieved by sinking into meditation all by itself.
Words are illusions
- Bodhidharma (short: Damo) - original quote
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
Please rate us on Apple, Google or Spotify podcast to help us promote the show
Who was Bodhidharma?
Bodhidharma was a Buddhist monk and the founder of the Shaolin Temple; for this reason, he will be told about it here. As with all historical figures, stories continue to be "embellished" and "made more vivid" from generation to generation.
Bodhidharma (short: Damo) lived approximately from 444 to 529 AD; he was born in India or Persia and is said to have had blue eyes, which is why Chinese chronicles called him the "blue-eyed devil". He was also trained in martial arts, such as Vajramushti (Indian style) or Pahlavani (Persian style), which subsequently had a great influence on Shaolin Kung Fu.
How Damo came into contact with the philosophy of Buddha is not known. At that time, countless monks and itinerant preachers were traveling throughout Asia to spread their teachings, but of course also to make a living. Probably Damo met a follower of Buddha, who trained him to become a Buddhist monk.
According to the understanding of that time, a monk had to live ascetic and abstemious, preach, and wander (wandering monk). Certainly, there were monasteries already at that time, but the majority of the various scholars did not find shelter in a temple. Thus, they had no choice but to earn their living by "itinerant preaching".
Damo, however, traveled much further than other Buddhist monks. He traveled across the Himalayas to China to the court of the Chinese emperor Wu-Di. The latter led China into a "golden age". Unimaginable wealth and sensational splendorous buildings made the imperial court the center of the world at that time ("China", in Chinese, means "the land of the middle").
At the emperor's court, a tradition had developed whereby Indian monks spread the teachings of Buddha in a missionary manner. Itinerant preachers had become a kind of "normality".
Standing out from this crowd was guaranteed not to be easy. Especially since the Chinese emperor was firmly anchored in Confucianism, and may have rejected Buddhist ideas. But Damo managed to reach the emperor Wu-Di with his views.
Here he seems to have succeeded in explaining to the emperor, who had distinguished himself by particularly much "good", that the doing of good works does not necessarily entail "salvation" or even "enlightenment".
Those who do positive things, because he expects advantages from them, achieve exactly the opposite. "Do good and talk about it" is said today, but the philosophy founded by Damo, his further development of Buddha's teachings, show that doing good things just to take credit for them is wrong and dishonorable.
Emperor Wu-Di is said to have given Damo the site of the present Shaolin Temple in the Song Shan Mountains, one of the five sacred mountains of China, for the propagation of his view of life. There he meditated in a cave for nine years. A practice is common in the philosophy of self-reflection derived from Mahayana Buddhism. During this time, Damo developed a subspecies of Buddhism called Chan Buddhism (better known by the Japanese term Zen). The core message of Chan is that the desired enlightenment can be achieved by sinking into meditation all by itself.
Words are illusions
- Bodhidharma (short: Damo) - original quote
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
Please rate us on Apple, Google or Spotify podcast to help us promote the show
6 Minuten
Play the game
It's all right, it's often right and proper to "play the game", necessary to adapt, tell us what you know, please!
An explosion of the senses, solemnly swear to protect and defend being. Aren't we all heroes? But now is not the time for games. The situation can make you feel sick quickly, nothing is as it seems.
Maybe we should run, do we really think so? Should we take a step back, or move forward swiftly? The path is rocky, but for those in the know, it's a real joy. The rescue service would be too late anyway.
According to Buddha, the direction would be of no importance, what is important here is the path itself, the emotions and energies of the environment, from your own self, from the universe. Run for your life, the end is near. This way goes to the salvation, the enlightenment would be a beautiful experience! Everyone here is at a loss for words, people are asking questions, people are shrouding themselves in silence.
Is everything ready, it could become more hectic, violence and debauchery, prejudice and regulations. As the great teacher saw the matter, so it can be an example for us. Standing together, no matter what conviction, what could we do, we can do it too!
How does it look, do you have experience? "We" should apologize more often, "we" will get through it, do "we" show unity? The world collapses, it will then emerge anew, the supreme authority breaks its way, how do you feel about it, do you understand the events? Pretending as if nothing had happened, at least for a short time.
Again and again we analyze, do we then find a solution. Will we grow from the circumstances, let the people we love get closer to us? Scattered everywhere "we" have to proceed wisely, it always goes better, what we think, what we believe, what we know, that is unusual, also scares.
Tragedies bring people together, an animal with a big ego, that's all "we" are. Is the state of exclusivity coming now?
It is madness, but there is no clarity, the right course of action is in us, gut feeling or intuition, self-destructive, today we have other tasks as yesterday, the sections are getting shorter.
No matter how it looks, again and again "we" have to play the game, good work requires concessions, no harassment, what is our right?
Conspicuities and inconsistencies, suddenly everything is black, we can not live forever, the funeral service is coming, the speech is written, the gap comes to fruition.
The way is the goal!
If a player without luck would lose his child, his wife and all possessions?
- Buddha - honorary name of Siddharta Gautama - 560 to 480 before the year zero
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
Please rate us on Apple, Google or Spotify podcast to help us promote the show
It's all right, it's often right and proper to "play the game", necessary to adapt, tell us what you know, please!
An explosion of the senses, solemnly swear to protect and defend being. Aren't we all heroes? But now is not the time for games. The situation can make you feel sick quickly, nothing is as it seems.
Maybe we should run, do we really think so? Should we take a step back, or move forward swiftly? The path is rocky, but for those in the know, it's a real joy. The rescue service would be too late anyway.
According to Buddha, the direction would be of no importance, what is important here is the path itself, the emotions and energies of the environment, from your own self, from the universe. Run for your life, the end is near. This way goes to the salvation, the enlightenment would be a beautiful experience! Everyone here is at a loss for words, people are asking questions, people are shrouding themselves in silence.
Is everything ready, it could become more hectic, violence and debauchery, prejudice and regulations. As the great teacher saw the matter, so it can be an example for us. Standing together, no matter what conviction, what could we do, we can do it too!
How does it look, do you have experience? "We" should apologize more often, "we" will get through it, do "we" show unity? The world collapses, it will then emerge anew, the supreme authority breaks its way, how do you feel about it, do you understand the events? Pretending as if nothing had happened, at least for a short time.
Again and again we analyze, do we then find a solution. Will we grow from the circumstances, let the people we love get closer to us? Scattered everywhere "we" have to proceed wisely, it always goes better, what we think, what we believe, what we know, that is unusual, also scares.
Tragedies bring people together, an animal with a big ego, that's all "we" are. Is the state of exclusivity coming now?
It is madness, but there is no clarity, the right course of action is in us, gut feeling or intuition, self-destructive, today we have other tasks as yesterday, the sections are getting shorter.
No matter how it looks, again and again "we" have to play the game, good work requires concessions, no harassment, what is our right?
Conspicuities and inconsistencies, suddenly everything is black, we can not live forever, the funeral service is coming, the speech is written, the gap comes to fruition.
The way is the goal!
If a player without luck would lose his child, his wife and all possessions?
- Buddha - honorary name of Siddharta Gautama - 560 to 480 before the year zero
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
Please rate us on Apple, Google or Spotify podcast to help us promote the show
6 Minuten
You are what you are
We are just the way we are, simple but robust, human existence is an obsession, ego a permanent attachment.
What are we? WHY do we like to suppress our true personality and take on a role instead, because we think that we cannot show our true self, that we should not live as and what we are.
Who we really are, we probably do not know, few people think about it, most are superficial, greedy, aggressive and they hate, precisely because they do not know who they are.
No matter how hard you try, you can never be anyone other than the person fate has designed you to be, we can't escape destiny anyway. According to Buddha, we must accept all occurrences, living beings and things as they are. We suffer because we imagine life to be different from what it is, and then we experience one disappointment after another.
Nothing we can do about it, so there is no point in being angry about things, only acceptance makes a real difference in our being.
But who knows who he/she is, few of them think about it, they just live, they go from one distraction to another, they want one pleasure after another, they have no interest in getting to the real core of the problems. The real difficulty is that "one" prefers to distract oneself, to numb oneself, that "one" tries to escape instead of facing one's own transience.
So for my part, I was very unsure of who I was for a very long time, because my life was turbulent. My time in China was very defining for me, Buddhism struck me like a bolt of lightning, here was a philosophy that spoke to me, that answered my fundamental questions, a teaching that offered me a home.
More and more the words of Buddha occupied me, the teaching penetrated me, filled me. Slowly but surely I realized who I am spiritually, namely a Buddhist.
And until today the matter has evolved, today I talk about "Buddhism in everyday life ", have become a teacher, who would have thought? Everything has changed, more and more I realize what and who I really am.
Who do you think you are? What is your role that you play? And will it stay that way, or will you give it some serious thought?
The journey is the destination!
I divide my thoughts into two groups, the category of desire, ill will and violence, which are opposite to the group of renunciation, the thoughts of benevolence and the thoughts of kindness
- Buddha - honorary name of Siddharta Gautama - 560 to 480 before the year zero.
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
Please rate us on Apple, Google or Spotify podcast to help us promote the show
We are just the way we are, simple but robust, human existence is an obsession, ego a permanent attachment.
What are we? WHY do we like to suppress our true personality and take on a role instead, because we think that we cannot show our true self, that we should not live as and what we are.
Who we really are, we probably do not know, few people think about it, most are superficial, greedy, aggressive and they hate, precisely because they do not know who they are.
No matter how hard you try, you can never be anyone other than the person fate has designed you to be, we can't escape destiny anyway. According to Buddha, we must accept all occurrences, living beings and things as they are. We suffer because we imagine life to be different from what it is, and then we experience one disappointment after another.
Nothing we can do about it, so there is no point in being angry about things, only acceptance makes a real difference in our being.
But who knows who he/she is, few of them think about it, they just live, they go from one distraction to another, they want one pleasure after another, they have no interest in getting to the real core of the problems. The real difficulty is that "one" prefers to distract oneself, to numb oneself, that "one" tries to escape instead of facing one's own transience.
So for my part, I was very unsure of who I was for a very long time, because my life was turbulent. My time in China was very defining for me, Buddhism struck me like a bolt of lightning, here was a philosophy that spoke to me, that answered my fundamental questions, a teaching that offered me a home.
More and more the words of Buddha occupied me, the teaching penetrated me, filled me. Slowly but surely I realized who I am spiritually, namely a Buddhist.
And until today the matter has evolved, today I talk about "Buddhism in everyday life ", have become a teacher, who would have thought? Everything has changed, more and more I realize what and who I really am.
Who do you think you are? What is your role that you play? And will it stay that way, or will you give it some serious thought?
The journey is the destination!
I divide my thoughts into two groups, the category of desire, ill will and violence, which are opposite to the group of renunciation, the thoughts of benevolence and the thoughts of kindness
- Buddha - honorary name of Siddharta Gautama - 560 to 480 before the year zero.
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
Please rate us on Apple, Google or Spotify podcast to help us promote the show
6 Minuten
Life consists of suffering
Life consists of suffering, but what is important is how we deal with suffering.
This way of dealing with difficulties and hard times makes the person we are and want to be. Who do you want to be, who are you?
I know who I am, I know the role I play in this world, from this I can conclude what changes in my habits I need to strive for in order to become better, to pursue the journey to enlightenment, and to stay there.
The history of mankind is an enormous path of suffering, destiny is predetermined, impermanence hovers over everything and everyone, there is no thought of a way out. Who is not impressed by the consequence of the way, the hardness of all circumstances, the pain, the fears and hardships.
How do you deal with the hard moments, how do you cope with the crazy times, the hole that sometimes opens up? Do you have family, or friends? Maybe a hobby, a passion? Music or movies, crafts or knitting?
Life is sad if you don't follow the Buddha's teaching, all the things we do, we do them because we don't know what else to do. The conscious mind takes breaks more and more often, subconsciously we perceive things lightheartedly, although we get nothing, understand little, can hardly keep up. But on top of that we then put our will, and that's where the suffering begins.
Children do not suffer, they are carefree, cheerful and happy. Then, at the transition to adolescence, the problems start, the hormones jump, the ego starts with the capers. And these excesses then accompany us throughout life, we are always like prisoners of our desires, disappointed when they do not come true.
Who does not wake up from his daydreams and becomes a realist, runs frustrated through life, because mostly it does not come as we hope, not as we plan, certainly not as we imagine. Only the teachings of Buddha can help here, because this philosophy frees us from everyday ballast, frees us for the exploration of our own person, as we really are, not as we dream it all to be.
Whether we suffer or not depends only on our attitude. It is a decision, not fate, that determines our path. How do I want to live, what am I willing to do something for? Do I have the discipline and courage to face the truth? Will I then also make the right decisions? If it is meant to be, it will be.
Life is a journey, the journey is the destination!
Sometimes people have to return to this world once more, in order to then put an end to suffering.
- Buddha - honorary name of Siddharta Gautama - 560 to 480 before the year zero
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
Please rate us on Apple, Google or Spotify podcast to help us promote the show
Life consists of suffering, but what is important is how we deal with suffering.
This way of dealing with difficulties and hard times makes the person we are and want to be. Who do you want to be, who are you?
I know who I am, I know the role I play in this world, from this I can conclude what changes in my habits I need to strive for in order to become better, to pursue the journey to enlightenment, and to stay there.
The history of mankind is an enormous path of suffering, destiny is predetermined, impermanence hovers over everything and everyone, there is no thought of a way out. Who is not impressed by the consequence of the way, the hardness of all circumstances, the pain, the fears and hardships.
How do you deal with the hard moments, how do you cope with the crazy times, the hole that sometimes opens up? Do you have family, or friends? Maybe a hobby, a passion? Music or movies, crafts or knitting?
Life is sad if you don't follow the Buddha's teaching, all the things we do, we do them because we don't know what else to do. The conscious mind takes breaks more and more often, subconsciously we perceive things lightheartedly, although we get nothing, understand little, can hardly keep up. But on top of that we then put our will, and that's where the suffering begins.
Children do not suffer, they are carefree, cheerful and happy. Then, at the transition to adolescence, the problems start, the hormones jump, the ego starts with the capers. And these excesses then accompany us throughout life, we are always like prisoners of our desires, disappointed when they do not come true.
Who does not wake up from his daydreams and becomes a realist, runs frustrated through life, because mostly it does not come as we hope, not as we plan, certainly not as we imagine. Only the teachings of Buddha can help here, because this philosophy frees us from everyday ballast, frees us for the exploration of our own person, as we really are, not as we dream it all to be.
Whether we suffer or not depends only on our attitude. It is a decision, not fate, that determines our path. How do I want to live, what am I willing to do something for? Do I have the discipline and courage to face the truth? Will I then also make the right decisions? If it is meant to be, it will be.
Life is a journey, the journey is the destination!
Sometimes people have to return to this world once more, in order to then put an end to suffering.
- Buddha - honorary name of Siddharta Gautama - 560 to 480 before the year zero
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
Please rate us on Apple, Google or Spotify podcast to help us promote the show
6 Minuten
Grasping for Wind
No matter what we humans do, nothing will really change anything, because all being in this world is finite, transient, subject to decay.
Today still young and full of strength, tomorrow already withered and frail, the philosophy of Buddha is designed to avoid human suffering, because deep inside we suffer, because we know our fate very well.
Every action can only change something for the moment, just as the moment passes, the NOW and the HERE constantly passes in the flow of the universe, new opportunities emerge, are present, pass away again.
No matter what you reach for, it is not yours. This is a truth that must first sink in, for only in this moment do we live, the treasures we accumulate, they will one day belong to another person, nothing is forever, everything is in flux.
This is exactly what Buddha was talking about, whose teaching offers a refuge to people who can no longer (or don't want to) reach for the wind, because this reaching is just as unnecessary as a parasol without sun. Because we can reach for anything, but we can't hold on to it (permanently). The sooner we understand this, the easier we will lead our existence.
It would be much more important for us to "reach" for things that are permanent, like the "enlightenment" that Buddha found a long time ago, but which is just not easy for everyone to find. The very first thing that would be necessary for this would be a good portion of courage, to name the circumstances clearly, not to take refuge in illusions, to look reality in the eye, because Buddhists are realists, not dreamers.
What I am saying here is of course difficult to "digest", because the good news of a savior would be much more comfortable, who should then also take all sins upon himself. Buddhism, however, is about self-responsibility, about awakening, about the personal path, which can by no means be walked by a teaching, but which everyone must complete himself. It is about growing and the subsequent awakening, about the liberation from the fetters of human existence.
Nothing and no one can help you in this, and deep inside you know exactly, even if the great uncertainty often makes us doubt.
Where were we before we were born?
Who are we?
Where will we go?
These questions occupy every inhabitant of the earth, everyone thinks (more or less often) about these topics, everyone knows that all grasping can only be a grasping for the wind.
The way is the goal, only the enlightenment counts!
That seeker endures heat and cold, hunger and thirst, wind, sun and snow.
- Buddha - honorary name of Siddharta Gautama - 560 to 480 before the year zero
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
Please rate us on Apple, Google or Spotify podcast to help us promote the show
No matter what we humans do, nothing will really change anything, because all being in this world is finite, transient, subject to decay.
Today still young and full of strength, tomorrow already withered and frail, the philosophy of Buddha is designed to avoid human suffering, because deep inside we suffer, because we know our fate very well.
Every action can only change something for the moment, just as the moment passes, the NOW and the HERE constantly passes in the flow of the universe, new opportunities emerge, are present, pass away again.
No matter what you reach for, it is not yours. This is a truth that must first sink in, for only in this moment do we live, the treasures we accumulate, they will one day belong to another person, nothing is forever, everything is in flux.
This is exactly what Buddha was talking about, whose teaching offers a refuge to people who can no longer (or don't want to) reach for the wind, because this reaching is just as unnecessary as a parasol without sun. Because we can reach for anything, but we can't hold on to it (permanently). The sooner we understand this, the easier we will lead our existence.
It would be much more important for us to "reach" for things that are permanent, like the "enlightenment" that Buddha found a long time ago, but which is just not easy for everyone to find. The very first thing that would be necessary for this would be a good portion of courage, to name the circumstances clearly, not to take refuge in illusions, to look reality in the eye, because Buddhists are realists, not dreamers.
What I am saying here is of course difficult to "digest", because the good news of a savior would be much more comfortable, who should then also take all sins upon himself. Buddhism, however, is about self-responsibility, about awakening, about the personal path, which can by no means be walked by a teaching, but which everyone must complete himself. It is about growing and the subsequent awakening, about the liberation from the fetters of human existence.
Nothing and no one can help you in this, and deep inside you know exactly, even if the great uncertainty often makes us doubt.
Where were we before we were born?
Who are we?
Where will we go?
These questions occupy every inhabitant of the earth, everyone thinks (more or less often) about these topics, everyone knows that all grasping can only be a grasping for the wind.
The way is the goal, only the enlightenment counts!
That seeker endures heat and cold, hunger and thirst, wind, sun and snow.
- Buddha - honorary name of Siddharta Gautama - 560 to 480 before the year zero
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
Please rate us on Apple, Google or Spotify podcast to help us promote the show
6 Minuten
Quality of life
What do you think, how can we recognize quality of life, and if we have recognized it, can we change it, improve it?
To judge the respective quality of life is possible only for each person himself. It seems impossible to make a judgment from the outside.
Each person knows very well how this quality is in his own life, can say exactly what is the matter. But hardly anyone has even a rudimentary idea of how this level of life can be changed. All right, I'll tell you.
If you change the way you live, the quality of your life will change.
Let me give you an example: If you start injecting heroin today, then within a year you probably got rid of your job, your apartment and your environment, the new habit has radically changed your life. Your circumstances have gotten worse, your new habit (drugs) has a massive impact on the quality of your being there.
And another example: You start going to night school, subsequently catch up on your high school diploma, then study successfully, get a much better job with incomparably more money. Your circumstances are better, your new habit (studying instead of chilling) has really changed everything.
In the end, it's only habits that have changed, but they had a significant impact. You are (still) the same person, your personal identity will only change over time.
Now, not all changes in your habits have such big effects as the ones above (in my admittedly rather drastic examples).
Let's say you focus on small changes in your life first, such as having chocolate from now on only if you eat an apple first. What would happen then? Not much would have changed at first, you would still get chocolate whenever you want, but you would now consume significantly more vitamins. And on some days you would only eat the apple, you wouldn't get to the chocolate anymore, because you don't have time anymore, something came up, or for other reasons.
Or you might intentionally form different, new habits that will then (one day) make up your new personality. Readers of my blog know that everything is a decision, nothing more, nothing less.
If you make the decision to learn a language, for example, and then subsequently form the habit of doing something for it every day, then in the not too distant future you will also speak this language, experience an expanded identity.
Your quality of life is a question of your personal resolutions, which then turn into habits, which in the end also have effects.
As always, the journey is the destination!
Surpassing the radiant qualities
- Buddha - honorary name of Siddharta Gautama - 560 to 480 before the year zero
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
Please rate us on Apple, Google or Spotify podcast to help us promote the show
What do you think, how can we recognize quality of life, and if we have recognized it, can we change it, improve it?
To judge the respective quality of life is possible only for each person himself. It seems impossible to make a judgment from the outside.
Each person knows very well how this quality is in his own life, can say exactly what is the matter. But hardly anyone has even a rudimentary idea of how this level of life can be changed. All right, I'll tell you.
If you change the way you live, the quality of your life will change.
Let me give you an example: If you start injecting heroin today, then within a year you probably got rid of your job, your apartment and your environment, the new habit has radically changed your life. Your circumstances have gotten worse, your new habit (drugs) has a massive impact on the quality of your being there.
And another example: You start going to night school, subsequently catch up on your high school diploma, then study successfully, get a much better job with incomparably more money. Your circumstances are better, your new habit (studying instead of chilling) has really changed everything.
In the end, it's only habits that have changed, but they had a significant impact. You are (still) the same person, your personal identity will only change over time.
Now, not all changes in your habits have such big effects as the ones above (in my admittedly rather drastic examples).
Let's say you focus on small changes in your life first, such as having chocolate from now on only if you eat an apple first. What would happen then? Not much would have changed at first, you would still get chocolate whenever you want, but you would now consume significantly more vitamins. And on some days you would only eat the apple, you wouldn't get to the chocolate anymore, because you don't have time anymore, something came up, or for other reasons.
Or you might intentionally form different, new habits that will then (one day) make up your new personality. Readers of my blog know that everything is a decision, nothing more, nothing less.
If you make the decision to learn a language, for example, and then subsequently form the habit of doing something for it every day, then in the not too distant future you will also speak this language, experience an expanded identity.
Your quality of life is a question of your personal resolutions, which then turn into habits, which in the end also have effects.
As always, the journey is the destination!
Surpassing the radiant qualities
- Buddha - honorary name of Siddharta Gautama - 560 to 480 before the year zero
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
Please rate us on Apple, Google or Spotify podcast to help us promote the show
6 Minuten
Near-death experience
A near-death experience is an experience "close to" death, that is, almost dead, so to speak.
One could also express it in such a way that life itself is a continuous near-death experience, whereby the almost dead person just got away again.
The possibility to die now, in this moment, that is absolutely real, just as the chances stand for a survival, at least at the end one dies.
The religions of this world search for explanations for the fate "after death", was it that, or is there the paradise after all? Buddhism differs from monotheistic world views in that everyone involved can experience his "enlightenment", is not at the mercy of a spiritual elite.
The near-death experience is felt especially in life-threatening situations; witnesses report similar problems in their stories. One day we will all have such a near-death experience, which will then turn into a death experience, then when we die. Tunnel situations occur frequently, light apparitions occur, encounters with deceased friends or relatives creep out the audience in any horror movie.
There are plenty of opinions about it, the explanations are spiritual approaches and horror stories, film and art have invented the shudder as a genre, in any case, such an experience also impresses the psyche of those affected, dying is just something very personal.
The whole life is a simple near-death experience, because each of us has died several times FAST, often without knowing it, our privacy is vulnerable, we know our fate.
Is there a continuation of life after death, humanity wonders all the time? Will we, one way or another, live on after death? The mostly religious hope for a paradise has lost credibility, consciousness has emancipated itself.
Near-death experiences have also inspired the authors in Buddhism, the persistence beyond death forms the nucleus of the doctrine of rebirth. For to be born again the consciousness should survive at least in parts.
The experiences are mostly without body, here only the spirit ghosts without entering the beyond. What does the future bring, what will we go through? And how was the return after the near-death experience?
Have you ever almost died? And what would be your true feelings? Where did we come from, where will we go?
Such an experience gives the experience of time and space as one, which can also be a good lesson for further survival.
Either you start believing after such an experience, or you start asking questions about the meaning. In any case Buddhism has suitable answers.
The way is the goal!
To start anew at a warm destination after death
- Buddha - honorary name of Siddharta Gautama - 560 to 480 before the year zero
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
Please rate us on Apple, Google or Spotify podcast to help us promote the show
A near-death experience is an experience "close to" death, that is, almost dead, so to speak.
One could also express it in such a way that life itself is a continuous near-death experience, whereby the almost dead person just got away again.
The possibility to die now, in this moment, that is absolutely real, just as the chances stand for a survival, at least at the end one dies.
The religions of this world search for explanations for the fate "after death", was it that, or is there the paradise after all? Buddhism differs from monotheistic world views in that everyone involved can experience his "enlightenment", is not at the mercy of a spiritual elite.
The near-death experience is felt especially in life-threatening situations; witnesses report similar problems in their stories. One day we will all have such a near-death experience, which will then turn into a death experience, then when we die. Tunnel situations occur frequently, light apparitions occur, encounters with deceased friends or relatives creep out the audience in any horror movie.
There are plenty of opinions about it, the explanations are spiritual approaches and horror stories, film and art have invented the shudder as a genre, in any case, such an experience also impresses the psyche of those affected, dying is just something very personal.
The whole life is a simple near-death experience, because each of us has died several times FAST, often without knowing it, our privacy is vulnerable, we know our fate.
Is there a continuation of life after death, humanity wonders all the time? Will we, one way or another, live on after death? The mostly religious hope for a paradise has lost credibility, consciousness has emancipated itself.
Near-death experiences have also inspired the authors in Buddhism, the persistence beyond death forms the nucleus of the doctrine of rebirth. For to be born again the consciousness should survive at least in parts.
The experiences are mostly without body, here only the spirit ghosts without entering the beyond. What does the future bring, what will we go through? And how was the return after the near-death experience?
Have you ever almost died? And what would be your true feelings? Where did we come from, where will we go?
Such an experience gives the experience of time and space as one, which can also be a good lesson for further survival.
Either you start believing after such an experience, or you start asking questions about the meaning. In any case Buddhism has suitable answers.
The way is the goal!
To start anew at a warm destination after death
- Buddha - honorary name of Siddharta Gautama - 560 to 480 before the year zero
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
Please rate us on Apple, Google or Spotify podcast to help us promote the show
7 Minuten
Time 2
The (partial) move to DengFeng brought me back into contact with civilization somewhat; a long time had passed in which I lived only according to the events in the temple, getting up, washing, devotion, breakfast, training, noon, training, washing, eating, sleeping.
Suddenly all the fancy things that seemed already forgotten came back to me; alcohol and parties, women and travel, money and luxury had come back into my life. You don't get rid of these habits so easily.
Having a real shower was an indescribable luxury, even if the water wasn't always warm, having a real bed was incredible, but what was really special were the windows, where there was glass and not paper. As a Central European, you can't even imagine what something like that could be like, such a simple life. But I was fully in it, but now with some amenities.
The training was in the temple, sometimes my master and I slept there, sometimes we went with someone and spent the night in the small town, just as it suited.
Finally I was able to wash my clothes with warm water, a huge difference, by the way, clearly distinguishable by the smell. The simple life has very serious disadvantages, "one" starts to smell, no matter what "one" tries to do against it.
But what became clearer and clearer, I (also) wanted to go back to Europe, I became more and more aware that I didn't want to spend my whole existence here. My parents asked more and more clearly during the weekly phone calls when I was planning to come home again. And I began to miss the most ordinary things, especially German bread sought me out even in my dreams.
Cautiously I began to prepare my new friend (and master) for the coming farewell, more and more often the conversation came "to my time in Germany", whether I would train well there, Yan Zi asked me. It was already clear to me at this time that under no circumstances would I train eight hours a day in Europe, the possibility did not exist here. But I promised my master to practice as often as possible. Even then I knew deep inside that I would not do that. But I wanted to continue to train. In what form, we would see.
The farewell was just around the corner, that was noticeable, the mood became queasy. Wistfulness spread, we were a good team, we got along first class, who knows what the future will bring, whether we may meet again. Today my master Shi Yan Zi runs Shaolin Temple London, but back then we didn't know if we would ever see each other again. The cover picture of this post is the farewell picture with my master and a friend in front of the temple, my master got my sunglasses, a souvenir of our time together.
Preparations for my departure were made, we informed the Grand Master Shi Yong Xin (now the abbot of the temple), the day was approaching. Before I knew it I was in a cab, then on my way to Beijing. There I booked myself into a luxury American hotel at the airport and sat down in the restaurant where I filled my belly for over two hundred dollars. Never in my life have I eaten so much again, I was so hungry.
From there I got a connection to Germany where my family picked me up at the airport. I felt like I was in a fake movie, the experience was surreal.
The road was and is my goal!
Find a circuit that I would not have passed through on my long journeys yet
- Buddha - honorary name of Siddharta Gautama - 560 to 480 before the year zero
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
Please rate us on Apple, Google or Spotify podcast to help us promote the show
The (partial) move to DengFeng brought me back into contact with civilization somewhat; a long time had passed in which I lived only according to the events in the temple, getting up, washing, devotion, breakfast, training, noon, training, washing, eating, sleeping.
Suddenly all the fancy things that seemed already forgotten came back to me; alcohol and parties, women and travel, money and luxury had come back into my life. You don't get rid of these habits so easily.
Having a real shower was an indescribable luxury, even if the water wasn't always warm, having a real bed was incredible, but what was really special were the windows, where there was glass and not paper. As a Central European, you can't even imagine what something like that could be like, such a simple life. But I was fully in it, but now with some amenities.
The training was in the temple, sometimes my master and I slept there, sometimes we went with someone and spent the night in the small town, just as it suited.
Finally I was able to wash my clothes with warm water, a huge difference, by the way, clearly distinguishable by the smell. The simple life has very serious disadvantages, "one" starts to smell, no matter what "one" tries to do against it.
But what became clearer and clearer, I (also) wanted to go back to Europe, I became more and more aware that I didn't want to spend my whole existence here. My parents asked more and more clearly during the weekly phone calls when I was planning to come home again. And I began to miss the most ordinary things, especially German bread sought me out even in my dreams.
Cautiously I began to prepare my new friend (and master) for the coming farewell, more and more often the conversation came "to my time in Germany", whether I would train well there, Yan Zi asked me. It was already clear to me at this time that under no circumstances would I train eight hours a day in Europe, the possibility did not exist here. But I promised my master to practice as often as possible. Even then I knew deep inside that I would not do that. But I wanted to continue to train. In what form, we would see.
The farewell was just around the corner, that was noticeable, the mood became queasy. Wistfulness spread, we were a good team, we got along first class, who knows what the future will bring, whether we may meet again. Today my master Shi Yan Zi runs Shaolin Temple London, but back then we didn't know if we would ever see each other again. The cover picture of this post is the farewell picture with my master and a friend in front of the temple, my master got my sunglasses, a souvenir of our time together.
Preparations for my departure were made, we informed the Grand Master Shi Yong Xin (now the abbot of the temple), the day was approaching. Before I knew it I was in a cab, then on my way to Beijing. There I booked myself into a luxury American hotel at the airport and sat down in the restaurant where I filled my belly for over two hundred dollars. Never in my life have I eaten so much again, I was so hungry.
From there I got a connection to Germany where my family picked me up at the airport. I felt like I was in a fake movie, the experience was surreal.
The road was and is my goal!
Find a circuit that I would not have passed through on my long journeys yet
- Buddha - honorary name of Siddharta Gautama - 560 to 480 before the year zero
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
Please rate us on Apple, Google or Spotify podcast to help us promote the show
