Buddhism in daily life - Mindfulness in every day tasks Archiv
364 Episoden
7 Minuten
Suffering and pain are not the same thing, for example, we can suffer without being in physical pain.
Pain is a complex sensory sensation sent to the brain mainly by signals from the nerves. Suffering, on the other hand, refers to everything that burdens a person physically and mentally. These are primarily unfulfilled expectations or needs, loss and separation, constraints, old age, illness and death. Of course, one can also suffer from pain, such as chronic pain, but the word "suffering" is aimed more at the mental component, whereas pain has come to mean physical injury.
According to Buddha, we suffer, the philosophy of the great teacher revolves around suffering as the source of our dissatisfaction, of our hardship with ourselves, but also with the environment. We begin to suffer because we realize that nothing is permanent, we will lose everything, change will be the only constant in life.
Nevertheless, there are greed, hatred and delusion in us humans, which throw us completely off track, close us the true connections. What is the use of being greedy when we will lose everything again? What is the use of hating when all living beings will perish? What is the use of being blinded, when we clearly see old age coming, so we know what is coming.
Whether we suffer or not, that is first and foremost a decision. It sounds very simple and it is very simple. If you decide right now not to suffer anymore, no matter what may come, then you will not suffer anymore. A close relative dies, you decide whether you will suffer. Because one thing is certain, the relative had to die, because all people die. You say: But not now, I miss him/her so much. Well, but why suffer from it, dying is a natural process. What is the use if you suffer "like a dog"? What would change if you would adopt a neutral approach, something like Buddha recommended to his followers? Nothing would change, the world would continue to turn, your environment would be unchanged, only you yourself, you would be much more comfortable. After all, if you can't change anything, why fret about it? Couldn't it be that by reaching "enlightenment" we could change the matter a lot? And if so, how?
We cannot always avoid pain, but we can avoid suffering. Free yourself from suffering, it's your choice.
Wise is he who comes to the complete annihilation of suffering in relation to arising and passing away
- 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)
Pain is a complex sensory sensation sent to the brain mainly by signals from the nerves. Suffering, on the other hand, refers to everything that burdens a person physically and mentally. These are primarily unfulfilled expectations or needs, loss and separation, constraints, old age, illness and death. Of course, one can also suffer from pain, such as chronic pain, but the word "suffering" is aimed more at the mental component, whereas pain has come to mean physical injury.
According to Buddha, we suffer, the philosophy of the great teacher revolves around suffering as the source of our dissatisfaction, of our hardship with ourselves, but also with the environment. We begin to suffer because we realize that nothing is permanent, we will lose everything, change will be the only constant in life.
Nevertheless, there are greed, hatred and delusion in us humans, which throw us completely off track, close us the true connections. What is the use of being greedy when we will lose everything again? What is the use of hating when all living beings will perish? What is the use of being blinded, when we clearly see old age coming, so we know what is coming.
Whether we suffer or not, that is first and foremost a decision. It sounds very simple and it is very simple. If you decide right now not to suffer anymore, no matter what may come, then you will not suffer anymore. A close relative dies, you decide whether you will suffer. Because one thing is certain, the relative had to die, because all people die. You say: But not now, I miss him/her so much. Well, but why suffer from it, dying is a natural process. What is the use if you suffer "like a dog"? What would change if you would adopt a neutral approach, something like Buddha recommended to his followers? Nothing would change, the world would continue to turn, your environment would be unchanged, only you yourself, you would be much more comfortable. After all, if you can't change anything, why fret about it? Couldn't it be that by reaching "enlightenment" we could change the matter a lot? And if so, how?
We cannot always avoid pain, but we can avoid suffering. Free yourself from suffering, it's your choice.
Wise is he who comes to the complete annihilation of suffering in relation to arising and passing away
- 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)
6 Minuten
We humans are disoriented, confused, without direction in this day and age.
Precisely for this reason, the ability to perceive is also severely damaged, because we need it even faster, even harder, even more perverse.
Video with sound has replaced the written word, because reading takes far too long, no one thinks they have the time to read.
Having at least a thousand TV channels is normal, countless websites relentlessly bring news on every topic, radio, social networks, people live in a digital abundance, can even run all sources simultaneously.
Why is this so? Right, deep down man has such incredible fear of his own transience, so "you" better get on, "you" can't get enough of it, would be best everywhere, and then nowhere in the end.
Quickly upload a video, post the food, check the news, calculate the route, then modern man feels safe, "safe" in the madness of his environment, without rest and quiet on the way to nowhere.
On top of that, we forget how to read; images from television, YouTube and cell phones take over the culture in the land of poets and thinkers. Pure entertainment is in demand, distraction from fate, the end is near, let's "pull in" another video.
We do everything possible to distract ourselves from our transience, faster, further, higher, where can we find the next kick?
Reading is already too hard, it's better to watch a movie or listen to a podcast, then browse through a magazine at the same time, make a phone call at the same time, supervise the children, all at the same time.
If we make friends with our transience, then we can lead a peaceful life, because we can change nothing anyway, it comes as it must come. If we can't change anything in the outcome of the matter, then why worry about it at all?
The transitoriness, that is a very good target!
What is transient is not worthy of love, not worthy of joy, not worthy of inclination.
- 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)
Precisely for this reason, the ability to perceive is also severely damaged, because we need it even faster, even harder, even more perverse.
Video with sound has replaced the written word, because reading takes far too long, no one thinks they have the time to read.
Having at least a thousand TV channels is normal, countless websites relentlessly bring news on every topic, radio, social networks, people live in a digital abundance, can even run all sources simultaneously.
Why is this so? Right, deep down man has such incredible fear of his own transience, so "you" better get on, "you" can't get enough of it, would be best everywhere, and then nowhere in the end.
Quickly upload a video, post the food, check the news, calculate the route, then modern man feels safe, "safe" in the madness of his environment, without rest and quiet on the way to nowhere.
On top of that, we forget how to read; images from television, YouTube and cell phones take over the culture in the land of poets and thinkers. Pure entertainment is in demand, distraction from fate, the end is near, let's "pull in" another video.
We do everything possible to distract ourselves from our transience, faster, further, higher, where can we find the next kick?
Reading is already too hard, it's better to watch a movie or listen to a podcast, then browse through a magazine at the same time, make a phone call at the same time, supervise the children, all at the same time.
If we make friends with our transience, then we can lead a peaceful life, because we can change nothing anyway, it comes as it must come. If we can't change anything in the outcome of the matter, then why worry about it at all?
The transitoriness, that is a very good target!
What is transient is not worthy of love, not worthy of joy, not worthy of inclination.
- 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)
6 Minuten
Forgiveness
Can you forgive?
Those who understand that human beings are not perfect can forgive.
When another person misbehaves, we are offended, we have to consider whether we can and want to forgive the person at all. Words and deeds can hurt a lot.
But what is even more difficult is to forgive ourselves for our own mistakes, because our ego constantly plagues us with reproaches.
Can you forgive yourself?
According to Buddha, we bear no blame at all, since things will come exactly as they should, depending on our karma. Karma comes from this life and the last life, and is interlocked and connected with the destiny of other people.
So if we are not to blame for the wrongdoing of others (or our own), then as a consequence there is nothing to forgive.
This in turn means that we do not have to "worry about it", but can relax and wait for the things that might come. Since we do not have to forgive ourselves or others, we should not waste our time with hatred and resentment. He did that, she said that, all is unimportant in real being.
Buddhists cannot forgive because they know there is nothing to forgive. Those who understand how things are related know that reality exists only "felt", that only our conception composes the filters that then determine perception.
"Regulating things", that is an illusion, according to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, at no time can the location and the momentum of a particle be determined simultaneously. The teaching of the teacher of all teachers also says that nothing is or was determinable.
So, forgive yourself, because there is nothing to forgive.
Forgive other people, for they have only lived their karma.
Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names
- John F. Kennedy - 35th President of the United States of America - 1917 to 1963
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
Can you forgive?
Those who understand that human beings are not perfect can forgive.
When another person misbehaves, we are offended, we have to consider whether we can and want to forgive the person at all. Words and deeds can hurt a lot.
But what is even more difficult is to forgive ourselves for our own mistakes, because our ego constantly plagues us with reproaches.
Can you forgive yourself?
According to Buddha, we bear no blame at all, since things will come exactly as they should, depending on our karma. Karma comes from this life and the last life, and is interlocked and connected with the destiny of other people.
So if we are not to blame for the wrongdoing of others (or our own), then as a consequence there is nothing to forgive.
This in turn means that we do not have to "worry about it", but can relax and wait for the things that might come. Since we do not have to forgive ourselves or others, we should not waste our time with hatred and resentment. He did that, she said that, all is unimportant in real being.
Buddhists cannot forgive because they know there is nothing to forgive. Those who understand how things are related know that reality exists only "felt", that only our conception composes the filters that then determine perception.
"Regulating things", that is an illusion, according to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, at no time can the location and the momentum of a particle be determined simultaneously. The teaching of the teacher of all teachers also says that nothing is or was determinable.
So, forgive yourself, because there is nothing to forgive.
Forgive other people, for they have only lived their karma.
Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names
- John F. Kennedy - 35th President of the United States of America - 1917 to 1963
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
7 Minuten
And the Lord spoke to Abraham
I find it interesting that all monotheistic religions come from the same area.
Polytheism underpins little, Genesis shows stories. Fact or fiction, real or not, who wrote what and when?
And the Lord spoke to Moses; today there are 5 books of Moses. On close examination, it was certainly very crowded on the ark, the Flood hypothetically lasted for centuries.
The father of all tribes drew attention to God with letters on a stone, the words I understand, but their meaning just not.
Scholars agree (the earth is a disc), Canaan would certainly have a highway exit today. The story of the Exodus is still effective as a message today.
The work of Buddha provided other, new ideas with a content, deeper meaning.
Cult figures gave content, then the people raised a great war cry. The wall of Joshua slowly fell down.
Rubble and ashes, nothing else remained of many ancient cultures, the piles of stones were magnificent temples, houses, whole states came and withered away again.
NOTHING remains in the end, the NOTHING destroys itself, from the NOTH we came, to the NOTH we will return.
Is that so?
What was there before us, what was it like, what values have we adopted?
Cultures before us have passed away, decayed values, nations in decline, every system will fall one day. All things and people will turn to dust one day.
Nature will find its way.
Every old shard of clay shows antiquity, bones collapse into new egalitarianism.
How did the religion that rules here come over my ancestors?
Through a revolution. When the old system collapsed a minority goes new ways, established new structures. The cause thereby exposes the purpose of thought.
Outsiders in thought bring new identity. Never may be expressed what should not be conceivable. All mentions never led to the goal, the karma is the superior institution, the higher instance, it stands determining as fixed point already.
The belief in the one, only God, which excludes the existence of other Gods, is a belief, not a well-founded knowledge. Buddhists are open-minded, tolerant and understanding towards other value systems.
So if people have a belief, Buddhists respect that, will not turn away at all.
The basic difference of religions is whether they are optimism or pessimism; not at all whether monotheism, polytheism, trimurti, trinity, pantheism, or atheism (like Buddhism)
- Arthur Schopenhauer - German Philosopher - 1788 to 1860
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
I find it interesting that all monotheistic religions come from the same area.
Polytheism underpins little, Genesis shows stories. Fact or fiction, real or not, who wrote what and when?
And the Lord spoke to Moses; today there are 5 books of Moses. On close examination, it was certainly very crowded on the ark, the Flood hypothetically lasted for centuries.
The father of all tribes drew attention to God with letters on a stone, the words I understand, but their meaning just not.
Scholars agree (the earth is a disc), Canaan would certainly have a highway exit today. The story of the Exodus is still effective as a message today.
The work of Buddha provided other, new ideas with a content, deeper meaning.
Cult figures gave content, then the people raised a great war cry. The wall of Joshua slowly fell down.
Rubble and ashes, nothing else remained of many ancient cultures, the piles of stones were magnificent temples, houses, whole states came and withered away again.
NOTHING remains in the end, the NOTHING destroys itself, from the NOTH we came, to the NOTH we will return.
Is that so?
What was there before us, what was it like, what values have we adopted?
Cultures before us have passed away, decayed values, nations in decline, every system will fall one day. All things and people will turn to dust one day.
Nature will find its way.
Every old shard of clay shows antiquity, bones collapse into new egalitarianism.
How did the religion that rules here come over my ancestors?
Through a revolution. When the old system collapsed a minority goes new ways, established new structures. The cause thereby exposes the purpose of thought.
Outsiders in thought bring new identity. Never may be expressed what should not be conceivable. All mentions never led to the goal, the karma is the superior institution, the higher instance, it stands determining as fixed point already.
The belief in the one, only God, which excludes the existence of other Gods, is a belief, not a well-founded knowledge. Buddhists are open-minded, tolerant and understanding towards other value systems.
So if people have a belief, Buddhists respect that, will not turn away at all.
The basic difference of religions is whether they are optimism or pessimism; not at all whether monotheism, polytheism, trimurti, trinity, pantheism, or atheism (like Buddhism)
- Arthur Schopenhauer - German Philosopher - 1788 to 1860
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
6 Minuten
Find my place in the world
Have you found your place in the world yet?
Who are you? To find the right place in life you must first find an answer to the most fundamental question of all.
Who are you?
Close your eyes. What do you see today?
Now imagine yourself 10 years from today, what do you "see"?
And 20 years from today, what do you see for yourself?
Where might your place be?
What do you "see" for the future, which place is the right one for you?
At the beginning there is the question about the own I, who am I, where do I come from, where will I go?
If you waste your life, you may end up wondering why he/she wasn't more mindful with his/her lifetime. The clock keeps running, moments pass by, as time goes by.
Where do you want to be, in 10 years, in 20 years, what will be, what is your place? Do you want to find that place?
A good way to find your place is to follow the Buddhist teachings, because Buddhism focuses on the human being and his free choice. This is a very unusual concept for Europeans, as the teachings of the monotheistic faiths are strictly hierarchical in nature.
You are in the driver's seat, you are "master" of what is happening, so how could everything be connected? What could be the deeper meaning of existence, what structure "fits" you?
Question marks offend us, future interpretation skills are now required. Where is the journey going for you?
I understand you, human behavior can quickly get out of control, but according to Buddha we are not "guilty". The idea of the circumstances of our existence can seem very threatening, just where will we go?
After reading this article, are you ready to think about your place in the world?
Thinking about the philosophy of Buddha can be very liberating? Dying is inevitable, the wisdom of the Indian prince is still valid to this day.
Where do we come from?
Where will we go?
Is there more to life than just satisfying basic needs?
A world that is to have room for the public cannot be built for only one generation or planned only for the living; it must transcend the lifespan of mortal humans
- Hannah Arendt - German-US political theorist - 1906 to 1975
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
Have you found your place in the world yet?
Who are you? To find the right place in life you must first find an answer to the most fundamental question of all.
Who are you?
Close your eyes. What do you see today?
Now imagine yourself 10 years from today, what do you "see"?
And 20 years from today, what do you see for yourself?
Where might your place be?
What do you "see" for the future, which place is the right one for you?
At the beginning there is the question about the own I, who am I, where do I come from, where will I go?
If you waste your life, you may end up wondering why he/she wasn't more mindful with his/her lifetime. The clock keeps running, moments pass by, as time goes by.
Where do you want to be, in 10 years, in 20 years, what will be, what is your place? Do you want to find that place?
A good way to find your place is to follow the Buddhist teachings, because Buddhism focuses on the human being and his free choice. This is a very unusual concept for Europeans, as the teachings of the monotheistic faiths are strictly hierarchical in nature.
You are in the driver's seat, you are "master" of what is happening, so how could everything be connected? What could be the deeper meaning of existence, what structure "fits" you?
Question marks offend us, future interpretation skills are now required. Where is the journey going for you?
I understand you, human behavior can quickly get out of control, but according to Buddha we are not "guilty". The idea of the circumstances of our existence can seem very threatening, just where will we go?
After reading this article, are you ready to think about your place in the world?
Thinking about the philosophy of Buddha can be very liberating? Dying is inevitable, the wisdom of the Indian prince is still valid to this day.
Where do we come from?
Where will we go?
Is there more to life than just satisfying basic needs?
A world that is to have room for the public cannot be built for only one generation or planned only for the living; it must transcend the lifespan of mortal humans
- Hannah Arendt - German-US political theorist - 1906 to 1975
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
7 Minuten
I do not like any more
I don't like anymore, this (or so similar) sentences can be heard almost everywhere.
The heavy burden of hysteria 2020 lies like lead on the minds, suicides have become much more frequent.
Like cornered animals, man also falls into agony when he/she considers that the matter seems hopeless.
But it is by no means without prospect, never should "we" give up, again and again doors open in places we never thought possible. Who knows what the future will bring, to bury the head in the sand is in any case NOT an option.
Those who follow the teachings of Buddha know that everything is surreal anyway, that behind what we perceive as "real" there is much that is hidden anyway.
I don't like anymore, that's the wrong sentence. Cross out the word "not" without replacement, then it says: "I like more"!
Much "more" we should like, as much as is feasible, in the "now" and in the "today" we must strive for the optimum, simply because we are here, that is already completely sufficient as a reason. Buddha taught that everything comes as it should. So what is the result if we like "more" from now on, accept the finiteness of everyone's destiny? Because it could already be over tomorrow, then the time is past when we could still have changed something.
I, at least, like much more. Whether it will then come so, that remains to be seen, but I will make an effort in any case. I will continue to take on the effort, follow my karma, and try to make the most of the circumstances. Just as I was taught in the Shaolin Temple in China.
When you think you can't do it anymore, a little light comes from somewhere (Luke 11, verse 2), a truly good sentence.
Whoever reads this blog is probably a Buddhist, or at least open-minded about the philosophy of Buddha. But if now everything will come anyway, as it must, then we could face the circumstances much more relaxed, don't you think?
Never say: I don't like more, cross out the word "not" in your mind, say: "I like more"!
If we can't change anything, why fall into gloom? Why worry about it a lot?
Jesuit priest and spiritual teacher Anthony de Mello said, "Happiness is a butterfly," said the Master. "Chase after it and it escapes you. Sit down and it settles on your shoulder." "So what should I do to attain happiness?" asked the disciple. "You could try sitting down very quietly - if you dare!"
Take comfort and hope from these words, sit down (mentally) calmly, wait composedly for the events to come.
According to the Buddha's teachings, there are not only the things that we can "perceive", but many things are (at least still) hidden from us.
Deep inside you there is this little seed of hope, why don't you set out to find it?
Love means to have an open heart, to be touched and to be filled with love
- 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)
I don't like anymore, this (or so similar) sentences can be heard almost everywhere.
The heavy burden of hysteria 2020 lies like lead on the minds, suicides have become much more frequent.
Like cornered animals, man also falls into agony when he/she considers that the matter seems hopeless.
But it is by no means without prospect, never should "we" give up, again and again doors open in places we never thought possible. Who knows what the future will bring, to bury the head in the sand is in any case NOT an option.
Those who follow the teachings of Buddha know that everything is surreal anyway, that behind what we perceive as "real" there is much that is hidden anyway.
I don't like anymore, that's the wrong sentence. Cross out the word "not" without replacement, then it says: "I like more"!
Much "more" we should like, as much as is feasible, in the "now" and in the "today" we must strive for the optimum, simply because we are here, that is already completely sufficient as a reason. Buddha taught that everything comes as it should. So what is the result if we like "more" from now on, accept the finiteness of everyone's destiny? Because it could already be over tomorrow, then the time is past when we could still have changed something.
I, at least, like much more. Whether it will then come so, that remains to be seen, but I will make an effort in any case. I will continue to take on the effort, follow my karma, and try to make the most of the circumstances. Just as I was taught in the Shaolin Temple in China.
When you think you can't do it anymore, a little light comes from somewhere (Luke 11, verse 2), a truly good sentence.
Whoever reads this blog is probably a Buddhist, or at least open-minded about the philosophy of Buddha. But if now everything will come anyway, as it must, then we could face the circumstances much more relaxed, don't you think?
Never say: I don't like more, cross out the word "not" in your mind, say: "I like more"!
If we can't change anything, why fall into gloom? Why worry about it a lot?
Jesuit priest and spiritual teacher Anthony de Mello said, "Happiness is a butterfly," said the Master. "Chase after it and it escapes you. Sit down and it settles on your shoulder." "So what should I do to attain happiness?" asked the disciple. "You could try sitting down very quietly - if you dare!"
Take comfort and hope from these words, sit down (mentally) calmly, wait composedly for the events to come.
According to the Buddha's teachings, there are not only the things that we can "perceive", but many things are (at least still) hidden from us.
Deep inside you there is this little seed of hope, why don't you set out to find it?
Love means to have an open heart, to be touched and to be filled with love
- 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)
7 Minuten
Feelings of guilt
Yes, the feelings of guilt, they plague us a lot!
Who doesn't know that queasy feeling? Has "one" once again screwed something up, done something wrong? Did you behave badly, maybe you made a fool of yourself?
Usually the guilty feeling follows a wrong reaction, a lie or a bad deed. Some of us also blush, sweat, or have nervous reactions.
A feeling of guilt is to be distinguished from shame, because in the case of guilt the "guilty" component is added, "one" knows that "one" has done something wrong, in the case of shame the trigger does not necessarily have to lie in a "wrong" action of ours, it can also come from outside.
According to the psychoanalyst Freud, the feeling of guilt is triggered by our "superego", where social values are to be imposed. If now these values are violated by our actions, then (unconsciously) feelings of guilt arise.
So we have trained this super-ego to ourselves by building the filters in front of our thoughts through which we see (and/or want to see) the world. Starting from our childhood, through the upbringing of our parents, the imprint of adolescence and adulthood, the filters determine our thoughts, the violation of the structure of our ego makes us feel guilt.
A large part of the construction of this "superego" also comes from fears. Didn't your mother tell you not to reach on the hot stove top. Many fears are shaped by evolution, others are experiential, and still others are created by nurture.
So when we violate the norms and rules we have set for ourselves, we feel guilt.
Here we can see that the teaching of Buddha shows a very similar approach, which is close to the view of the psychoanalyst Freud.
According to Buddha, it is not the circumstances that make up our path, but the way we deal with them, the way we evaluate things (and people). According to the great teacher, we should not judge at all, not divide into categories. It comes as it must come, that does not mean that it is or could be "good" or "bad".
The super-ego described above, our "superego", has very special filters through which our opinion can be formed. But what if we reconsider these filters, at least check them for their usefulness. Are there such filters that "can go away", that are no longer up to date, that are not compatible with our present ego?
What if we review our entire value system from time to time, rethinking it, adapting it more and more to the teachings of Buddha?
Where does my "superego" come from, who am I really, what are my views?
I am not so much in love with my own views that I ignore what others think about them
- Nicolaus Copernicus - Prussian Astronomer - 1473 154
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
Yes, the feelings of guilt, they plague us a lot!
Who doesn't know that queasy feeling? Has "one" once again screwed something up, done something wrong? Did you behave badly, maybe you made a fool of yourself?
Usually the guilty feeling follows a wrong reaction, a lie or a bad deed. Some of us also blush, sweat, or have nervous reactions.
A feeling of guilt is to be distinguished from shame, because in the case of guilt the "guilty" component is added, "one" knows that "one" has done something wrong, in the case of shame the trigger does not necessarily have to lie in a "wrong" action of ours, it can also come from outside.
According to the psychoanalyst Freud, the feeling of guilt is triggered by our "superego", where social values are to be imposed. If now these values are violated by our actions, then (unconsciously) feelings of guilt arise.
So we have trained this super-ego to ourselves by building the filters in front of our thoughts through which we see (and/or want to see) the world. Starting from our childhood, through the upbringing of our parents, the imprint of adolescence and adulthood, the filters determine our thoughts, the violation of the structure of our ego makes us feel guilt.
A large part of the construction of this "superego" also comes from fears. Didn't your mother tell you not to reach on the hot stove top. Many fears are shaped by evolution, others are experiential, and still others are created by nurture.
So when we violate the norms and rules we have set for ourselves, we feel guilt.
Here we can see that the teaching of Buddha shows a very similar approach, which is close to the view of the psychoanalyst Freud.
According to Buddha, it is not the circumstances that make up our path, but the way we deal with them, the way we evaluate things (and people). According to the great teacher, we should not judge at all, not divide into categories. It comes as it must come, that does not mean that it is or could be "good" or "bad".
The super-ego described above, our "superego", has very special filters through which our opinion can be formed. But what if we reconsider these filters, at least check them for their usefulness. Are there such filters that "can go away", that are no longer up to date, that are not compatible with our present ego?
What if we review our entire value system from time to time, rethinking it, adapting it more and more to the teachings of Buddha?
Where does my "superego" come from, who am I really, what are my views?
I am not so much in love with my own views that I ignore what others think about them
- Nicolaus Copernicus - Prussian Astronomer - 1473 154
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
7 Minuten
Horse, bamboo and wind
Do you sometimes wonder what your body should be like?
Ideally, the human body should be strong like a horse, flexible like bamboo, and fast like the wind!
Why do you think I am writing this here like this?
My whole life has always been about disciplined training, I practice Yoga, Kung Fu, Qi Gong, strength exercises and speed training, meditation and breathing techniques every day.
Even the historical Buddha practiced yoga, he received traditional Asian massages, he meditated, he fasted.
Are you looking for a guide for your body? Imagine how your body could change in the near future, towards a positive state of health. In your mind palace, let your body go through a change, toward the three guiding images: Horse, Bamboo and Wind.
Sure, "you" might remark now that according to Buddhist teachings, everything comes as it should anyway, but if your karma is to improve your health, then it will. Sometimes we humans need a cause, a guiding light, a role model.
Visualize the images in your mind's eye, horse, bamboo, wind.
I received my Buddhist training in the Shaolin Temple China. There the body is trained with discipline and with perseverance. In western culture we know the sentence: only in a healthy body lives a healthy mind (Mens sana in corpore sano)!
In the Chinese monastery strength, endurance and speed are taught, over many centuries the methods were passed on from the master to the student.
What about you? Do you have an idea how your body should be, how it should be, could be in several years?
To what extent do you want to "incorporate" sports, exercise and good nutrition in your daily life, where do you see yourself, your body, your health?
The horse stands for strength!
The bamboo symbolizes flexibility!
The wind stands for speed!
Can you imagine adopting these guiding principles, adopting them as a "motto" so to speak?
Do you want to "be" in a healthy, strong body, have flexible bones and joints, "practice" fast and safe movements?
Health is a very individual concept, each person is different, has different genes, different history. Training must therefore be practiced differently for each individual, always according to their capabilities.
If you manage to "anchor" the guiding principles horse, bamboo and wind in your mind palace, then you are on a good way.
Because one thing is certain, the way is the goal!
We must say what we think, do what we say, and be what we do.
- Alfred Herrhausen - Former Spokesman of the Board of Deutsche Bank 1930 - 1989
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
Do you sometimes wonder what your body should be like?
Ideally, the human body should be strong like a horse, flexible like bamboo, and fast like the wind!
Why do you think I am writing this here like this?
My whole life has always been about disciplined training, I practice Yoga, Kung Fu, Qi Gong, strength exercises and speed training, meditation and breathing techniques every day.
Even the historical Buddha practiced yoga, he received traditional Asian massages, he meditated, he fasted.
Are you looking for a guide for your body? Imagine how your body could change in the near future, towards a positive state of health. In your mind palace, let your body go through a change, toward the three guiding images: Horse, Bamboo and Wind.
Sure, "you" might remark now that according to Buddhist teachings, everything comes as it should anyway, but if your karma is to improve your health, then it will. Sometimes we humans need a cause, a guiding light, a role model.
Visualize the images in your mind's eye, horse, bamboo, wind.
I received my Buddhist training in the Shaolin Temple China. There the body is trained with discipline and with perseverance. In western culture we know the sentence: only in a healthy body lives a healthy mind (Mens sana in corpore sano)!
In the Chinese monastery strength, endurance and speed are taught, over many centuries the methods were passed on from the master to the student.
What about you? Do you have an idea how your body should be, how it should be, could be in several years?
To what extent do you want to "incorporate" sports, exercise and good nutrition in your daily life, where do you see yourself, your body, your health?
The horse stands for strength!
The bamboo symbolizes flexibility!
The wind stands for speed!
Can you imagine adopting these guiding principles, adopting them as a "motto" so to speak?
Do you want to "be" in a healthy, strong body, have flexible bones and joints, "practice" fast and safe movements?
Health is a very individual concept, each person is different, has different genes, different history. Training must therefore be practiced differently for each individual, always according to their capabilities.
If you manage to "anchor" the guiding principles horse, bamboo and wind in your mind palace, then you are on a good way.
Because one thing is certain, the way is the goal!
We must say what we think, do what we say, and be what we do.
- Alfred Herrhausen - Former Spokesman of the Board of Deutsche Bank 1930 - 1989
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
6 Minuten
Great things come ....
Great things usually come about very slowly, they develop over a period of time, they don't "just appear".
Good things take time, as the saying has gone for centuries. And even in our youth, we heard from our mothers that we should "go slowly" and proceed thoroughly.
When great things come into being, time goes like the waves, slowly events land on the beach of life.
When we look at history, we notice that events have begun far in advance, building on many circumstances that accumulate to a conclusion.
If we are honest then we can predict developments, "see" many things that develop as our future. But most of the time we prefer to suppress the things that develop, namely when these prospects frighten us.
Those who are honest with themselves, who we can notice such things before they arise, will achieve clarity, and live more contentedly.
What about the Buddha's teaching, is it also such a "big thing" that is emerging? Over the centuries, the teaching of the great teacher has constantly changed, at some times followed by many followers, in other periods, his words were almost forgotten.
In today's troubled world, his example offers people support and orientation, a spiritual harbor. All those who have turned away from the beliefs of the forefathers, who are searching for answers, they have found such a "big thing", which is in the process of development, which offers real solutions, and does not just shift the responsibility to a "higher power", without looking for answers themselves.
Buddhism is such a big thing that is slowly emerging. Right now you're thinking about whether maybe there's "something to it"?
What do you think about it? How do you feel about the Buddha's teaching?
The philosophy of the great teacher could become that which can offer help and content to people.
If more would live according to his teaching, the world would be a better place.
Everyone can do their part for our future, the question is which way we will choose.
We have experienced bad things, last year was terrible.
When life is bad, meditate; when life is good, meditate more!
It is not the things themselves that worry people, but the opinions and the judgments about the things
- Epictetus - Greek philosopher - 50 to 138
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
Great things usually come about very slowly, they develop over a period of time, they don't "just appear".
Good things take time, as the saying has gone for centuries. And even in our youth, we heard from our mothers that we should "go slowly" and proceed thoroughly.
When great things come into being, time goes like the waves, slowly events land on the beach of life.
When we look at history, we notice that events have begun far in advance, building on many circumstances that accumulate to a conclusion.
If we are honest then we can predict developments, "see" many things that develop as our future. But most of the time we prefer to suppress the things that develop, namely when these prospects frighten us.
Those who are honest with themselves, who we can notice such things before they arise, will achieve clarity, and live more contentedly.
What about the Buddha's teaching, is it also such a "big thing" that is emerging? Over the centuries, the teaching of the great teacher has constantly changed, at some times followed by many followers, in other periods, his words were almost forgotten.
In today's troubled world, his example offers people support and orientation, a spiritual harbor. All those who have turned away from the beliefs of the forefathers, who are searching for answers, they have found such a "big thing", which is in the process of development, which offers real solutions, and does not just shift the responsibility to a "higher power", without looking for answers themselves.
Buddhism is such a big thing that is slowly emerging. Right now you're thinking about whether maybe there's "something to it"?
What do you think about it? How do you feel about the Buddha's teaching?
The philosophy of the great teacher could become that which can offer help and content to people.
If more would live according to his teaching, the world would be a better place.
Everyone can do their part for our future, the question is which way we will choose.
We have experienced bad things, last year was terrible.
When life is bad, meditate; when life is good, meditate more!
It is not the things themselves that worry people, but the opinions and the judgments about the things
- Epictetus - Greek philosopher - 50 to 138
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
7 Minuten
Chan Buddhist Wisdoms
A wise monk once proclaimed the following before his disciples:
Buddha encompasses all suffering, but all suffering is Buddha.
His disciples asked him, "Master, how is it that all suffering is Buddha?
The master replied, "He held the suffering of all living beings".
A discussion arose, a disciple asked, "Master, the Buddha's teaching is about overcoming suffering, then how can the great teacher hold all suffering"?
The monk replied, "Buddha was not born a Buddha, he was born an Indian prince. Growing up in his father's palace, he noticed the injustices of life; slowly an opinion solidified in him that later became the philosophy known today as Buddhism. On his long and rocky road to "enlightenment" he took on much suffering in order to better himself, to get closer to his goal."
"Exalted Master, when all suffering fell away from the Buddha, when he found "enlightenment", was not his sacrifice invaluable to humanity, to his followers?"
"Yes," spoke the monk, "the sufferings on his path Buddha also took upon himself for us, his followers on the middle path, he showed us by his example a way out of the everlasting cycle of suffering. Thus Buddha encompassed all suffering, but all suffering was gathered in Buddha."
"O venerable preceptor, the teacher of all teachers established philosophy when he found "enlightenment". When his successor Bodhidharma and Hui Neng founded Chan (Zen) Buddhism in Shaolin Temple, how did the evolution of suffering change?"
The monk answered, "Suffering is a very personal phenomenon, all living beings suffer, much like the historical Buddha also suffered. The successors and patriarchs also had their very individual experiences, different approaches; however, over the centuries, little or nothing has changed in the original philosophy. All life is suffering, the truth about suffering hovers over all people, but through the Buddha's worldview a way out of the eternal cycle of suffering" is offered.
For modern people of today (21st century), this means that we will also suffer as long as we have not implemented the Buddha's teaching, as long as we are attached to things, as long as we wish and want to realize our goals.
According to the Buddha's teaching, everything will come to us as it should, nothing we can do to change it.
One wisdom of Chan Buddhism is to sit better and wait for things to develop. In any case, it is better than actionism, wanting to have everything "immediately" and right away.
Suffering arises from desiring and wanting, because not fulfilling those desires brings us suffering.
Boredom: The desire for desires
- Leo Tolstoy - Russian writer - 1828 - 1910
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
A wise monk once proclaimed the following before his disciples:
Buddha encompasses all suffering, but all suffering is Buddha.
His disciples asked him, "Master, how is it that all suffering is Buddha?
The master replied, "He held the suffering of all living beings".
A discussion arose, a disciple asked, "Master, the Buddha's teaching is about overcoming suffering, then how can the great teacher hold all suffering"?
The monk replied, "Buddha was not born a Buddha, he was born an Indian prince. Growing up in his father's palace, he noticed the injustices of life; slowly an opinion solidified in him that later became the philosophy known today as Buddhism. On his long and rocky road to "enlightenment" he took on much suffering in order to better himself, to get closer to his goal."
"Exalted Master, when all suffering fell away from the Buddha, when he found "enlightenment", was not his sacrifice invaluable to humanity, to his followers?"
"Yes," spoke the monk, "the sufferings on his path Buddha also took upon himself for us, his followers on the middle path, he showed us by his example a way out of the everlasting cycle of suffering. Thus Buddha encompassed all suffering, but all suffering was gathered in Buddha."
"O venerable preceptor, the teacher of all teachers established philosophy when he found "enlightenment". When his successor Bodhidharma and Hui Neng founded Chan (Zen) Buddhism in Shaolin Temple, how did the evolution of suffering change?"
The monk answered, "Suffering is a very personal phenomenon, all living beings suffer, much like the historical Buddha also suffered. The successors and patriarchs also had their very individual experiences, different approaches; however, over the centuries, little or nothing has changed in the original philosophy. All life is suffering, the truth about suffering hovers over all people, but through the Buddha's worldview a way out of the eternal cycle of suffering" is offered.
For modern people of today (21st century), this means that we will also suffer as long as we have not implemented the Buddha's teaching, as long as we are attached to things, as long as we wish and want to realize our goals.
According to the Buddha's teaching, everything will come to us as it should, nothing we can do to change it.
One wisdom of Chan Buddhism is to sit better and wait for things to develop. In any case, it is better than actionism, wanting to have everything "immediately" and right away.
Suffering arises from desiring and wanting, because not fulfilling those desires brings us suffering.
Boredom: The desire for desires
- Leo Tolstoy - Russian writer - 1828 - 1910
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
7 Minuten
Which "now" would you prefer?
We often hear that we should live in the NOW and in the TODAY.
But when we hear the complaints of our fellow human beings, most of them do not like the NOW and the TODAY at all, one gets the impression that almost all of them would like to have another "now".
Life is becoming more and more complicated, keeping track of events seems very difficult.
The earth races with abnormal speed through the universe, the universe is so unimaginably large, the stupidity of mankind likewise.
We cannot grasp things with our intellect, never. The "now" and the "here" are incomprehensible, cascades of energies, which are superior to every understanding.
No complaints help here, the world keeps on turning, no matter how unfairly we were treated, we have to accept the "now", no matter if it suits us or not.
And how terrible would the world be, if every person was allowed to build his own "now", if everyone wanted to become king, everything would be only chiefs, no more Indians existed?
But could it be that we can influence the "now", because the "now" is just a reflection of our thoughts, we de facto make our reality ourselves?
Today is always a really special day. Precisely because every day is special, even if we cannot (or do not want to) really appreciate this fact.
To mourn the past in the "now", or to digress into a (hypothetical) future, what good would that do?
The stupidity of mankind is becoming more and more violent, mental stress disorders have become the norm, psychiatry is seeing more and more patients, drugs and tablets against depression of all kinds are being prescribed more and more frequently, drugs and alcohol appeal to all those people who don't like it in the "now", who don't want to be "here" either.
As long as words like "charity" and "humanity" remain only empty shells, as long as the escape from reality (which according to Buddha does not exist anyway, at least not in the way it is commonly imagined) will remain the state to strive for, with all means and aids the illusion is tinkered with.
Which "now" would actually be preferred by all those who get high every day and shoot themselves into an artificial nirvana with intoxicants?
Could it be that the "now" is already nirvana? And needy people are running in the completely wrong direction?
Who believes that there is a better "now" than it is already now, he misjudges the life in this universe.
Anyway, the way is the goal!
If you want to know who you were, then look who you are. If you want to know who you will be, then look at what you are doing.
- Buddha - honorary name of the Indian philosopher Siddhartha 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)
We often hear that we should live in the NOW and in the TODAY.
But when we hear the complaints of our fellow human beings, most of them do not like the NOW and the TODAY at all, one gets the impression that almost all of them would like to have another "now".
Life is becoming more and more complicated, keeping track of events seems very difficult.
The earth races with abnormal speed through the universe, the universe is so unimaginably large, the stupidity of mankind likewise.
We cannot grasp things with our intellect, never. The "now" and the "here" are incomprehensible, cascades of energies, which are superior to every understanding.
No complaints help here, the world keeps on turning, no matter how unfairly we were treated, we have to accept the "now", no matter if it suits us or not.
And how terrible would the world be, if every person was allowed to build his own "now", if everyone wanted to become king, everything would be only chiefs, no more Indians existed?
But could it be that we can influence the "now", because the "now" is just a reflection of our thoughts, we de facto make our reality ourselves?
Today is always a really special day. Precisely because every day is special, even if we cannot (or do not want to) really appreciate this fact.
To mourn the past in the "now", or to digress into a (hypothetical) future, what good would that do?
The stupidity of mankind is becoming more and more violent, mental stress disorders have become the norm, psychiatry is seeing more and more patients, drugs and tablets against depression of all kinds are being prescribed more and more frequently, drugs and alcohol appeal to all those people who don't like it in the "now", who don't want to be "here" either.
As long as words like "charity" and "humanity" remain only empty shells, as long as the escape from reality (which according to Buddha does not exist anyway, at least not in the way it is commonly imagined) will remain the state to strive for, with all means and aids the illusion is tinkered with.
Which "now" would actually be preferred by all those who get high every day and shoot themselves into an artificial nirvana with intoxicants?
Could it be that the "now" is already nirvana? And needy people are running in the completely wrong direction?
Who believes that there is a better "now" than it is already now, he misjudges the life in this universe.
Anyway, the way is the goal!
If you want to know who you were, then look who you are. If you want to know who you will be, then look at what you are doing.
- Buddha - honorary name of the Indian philosopher Siddhartha 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)
7 Minuten
The equanimity of the Buddhists
It is the story of the Buddha's discourse on equanimity, which is a central concept of his philosophy. By equanimity one should understand to show the same "courage" in every situation of life, however, equanimity is seen today as an inner attitude of calmness, which is free of nervousness or stress, with which even difficult situations are mastered in a level-headed way (Wikipedia).
From a Buddhist point of view, however, equanimity is probably more the attitude of treating all situations and living beings equally, especially not to make any distinctions between one's own "I" and that of other people. With equanimity, Buddhists confront agitation and inner turmoil, but they are never indifferent. Although equanimity and indifference seem very similar to outsiders, they are fundamentally different. The opposite of equanimity would be arrogance.
Who "knows" that his karma brings him exactly what is just now "on", he can be in any case equanimous. No matter whether a big crisis takes its course or not, the equanimous one accepts everything as it comes. You can also beat or praise the equanimous, his courage will always be the same, he will not react "sky-high-cheering" or "to-death-distressed", he will instead take things as they just come. He who constantly examines his actions for equanimity can begin the journey to "enlightenment."
Buddha explained to his followers how to become equanimous at this lecture.
"You must observe things very carefully, see them, hear them, smell them, taste them, feel them, think about them, and then realize that in doing so, feelings are triggered in you, "good" and "bad" feelings that drive you in one direction or the other. But we don't want to be driven in one direction, we want to come to peace. Whether they are "good" and "bad" sensations, we will soon be frightened by the vehemence of these emotions when we see that we are only driven, that we become the victim of these sensations. Whoever recognizes this will also understand that he can free himself from it, can no longer be driven in one direction."
"Only through observation and reflection can one understand, and is no longer helplessly at the mercy of the senses."
Thus spoke the Buddha.
Those who live in equanimity are inwardly liberated, as they will no longer feel suffering; they are equanimous even to suffering.
We must do our duties with discipline and equanimity, and then let go. Whoever can do this is liberated from suffering during his lifetime.
The way is the goal!
There is only one time when it is essential to wake up. This time is now
- Buddha - honorary name of the Indian philosopher Siddhartha 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)
It is the story of the Buddha's discourse on equanimity, which is a central concept of his philosophy. By equanimity one should understand to show the same "courage" in every situation of life, however, equanimity is seen today as an inner attitude of calmness, which is free of nervousness or stress, with which even difficult situations are mastered in a level-headed way (Wikipedia).
From a Buddhist point of view, however, equanimity is probably more the attitude of treating all situations and living beings equally, especially not to make any distinctions between one's own "I" and that of other people. With equanimity, Buddhists confront agitation and inner turmoil, but they are never indifferent. Although equanimity and indifference seem very similar to outsiders, they are fundamentally different. The opposite of equanimity would be arrogance.
Who "knows" that his karma brings him exactly what is just now "on", he can be in any case equanimous. No matter whether a big crisis takes its course or not, the equanimous one accepts everything as it comes. You can also beat or praise the equanimous, his courage will always be the same, he will not react "sky-high-cheering" or "to-death-distressed", he will instead take things as they just come. He who constantly examines his actions for equanimity can begin the journey to "enlightenment."
Buddha explained to his followers how to become equanimous at this lecture.
"You must observe things very carefully, see them, hear them, smell them, taste them, feel them, think about them, and then realize that in doing so, feelings are triggered in you, "good" and "bad" feelings that drive you in one direction or the other. But we don't want to be driven in one direction, we want to come to peace. Whether they are "good" and "bad" sensations, we will soon be frightened by the vehemence of these emotions when we see that we are only driven, that we become the victim of these sensations. Whoever recognizes this will also understand that he can free himself from it, can no longer be driven in one direction."
"Only through observation and reflection can one understand, and is no longer helplessly at the mercy of the senses."
Thus spoke the Buddha.
Those who live in equanimity are inwardly liberated, as they will no longer feel suffering; they are equanimous even to suffering.
We must do our duties with discipline and equanimity, and then let go. Whoever can do this is liberated from suffering during his lifetime.
The way is the goal!
There is only one time when it is essential to wake up. This time is now
- Buddha - honorary name of the Indian philosopher Siddhartha 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)
7 Minuten
Better understand Buddhism
Understanding Buddhism from a Western perspective seems very difficult.
The great teacher has been dead for a very long time, and subsequent generations have changed his philosophy, sometimes significantly.
For many people in the West, Buddhism today is a religion, others see it as a spiritual practice, a worldview. Both views have in common that in essence a healthy life is propagated, the body should be particularly cared for.
Those who have traveled in Asia know that Buddhism has grown together with local customs over the centuries, and that superstition, mythology and pre-Buddhist views have in part been interwoven with the teachings of the teacher of all teachers.
Also, the "honoring of ancestors" and the "cultivation of traditions" are repeatedly cited, but without clarifying to what extent such thoughts would correspond to the views of Buddha.
Chan (Zen) Buddhism, founded by Bodhidharma in the Shaolin Temple of China, differs fundamentally from all other Asian styles. According to Bodhidharma, Chan (Zen) is about the "transmission of the teaching beyond words and sacred scriptures", as Buddha repeatedly instructed his followers to seek the solution to their questions "within themselves", and thus not to follow any "leader", but to rely on themselves.
According to Buddha, his followers should strive for personal "enlightenment" based on personal practice and experiential self-knowledge, and by no means fall into rituals or beliefs. The great teacher "knew" even during his lifetime that his worldview would also be elevated to a religion, and he spoke out against such a practice. It was clear to him that the human tendency to worship a higher authority would be a serious obstacle to his teaching.
Those who strive to find and walk the "middle way" are subject to all kinds of influences and doctrines, each lineage has its conventions, its forms, its particular practice of paying homage to Buddha. But Buddha did not want us to pay homage to him, he wanted us to embark on the middle path to finally begin the journey to "enlightenment".
All the cults that are cultivated in different countries and teachings, they are just a more or less useful prop to help not to let the teaching fall into oblivion.
But this does not put the ego to rest, but rather incites it that with the word "Buddhism" only a cover for new cults should be created.
As a beginner with Buddhism, one has a hard time. For my part, I follow the pure teachings of Buddha, as well as the expressions that his worldview has experienced through Bodhidharma in Shaolin Temple China.
Be where you are, otherwise you will miss your life
- Buddha - honorary name of the Indian philosopher Siddhartha 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)
Understanding Buddhism from a Western perspective seems very difficult.
The great teacher has been dead for a very long time, and subsequent generations have changed his philosophy, sometimes significantly.
For many people in the West, Buddhism today is a religion, others see it as a spiritual practice, a worldview. Both views have in common that in essence a healthy life is propagated, the body should be particularly cared for.
Those who have traveled in Asia know that Buddhism has grown together with local customs over the centuries, and that superstition, mythology and pre-Buddhist views have in part been interwoven with the teachings of the teacher of all teachers.
Also, the "honoring of ancestors" and the "cultivation of traditions" are repeatedly cited, but without clarifying to what extent such thoughts would correspond to the views of Buddha.
Chan (Zen) Buddhism, founded by Bodhidharma in the Shaolin Temple of China, differs fundamentally from all other Asian styles. According to Bodhidharma, Chan (Zen) is about the "transmission of the teaching beyond words and sacred scriptures", as Buddha repeatedly instructed his followers to seek the solution to their questions "within themselves", and thus not to follow any "leader", but to rely on themselves.
According to Buddha, his followers should strive for personal "enlightenment" based on personal practice and experiential self-knowledge, and by no means fall into rituals or beliefs. The great teacher "knew" even during his lifetime that his worldview would also be elevated to a religion, and he spoke out against such a practice. It was clear to him that the human tendency to worship a higher authority would be a serious obstacle to his teaching.
Those who strive to find and walk the "middle way" are subject to all kinds of influences and doctrines, each lineage has its conventions, its forms, its particular practice of paying homage to Buddha. But Buddha did not want us to pay homage to him, he wanted us to embark on the middle path to finally begin the journey to "enlightenment".
All the cults that are cultivated in different countries and teachings, they are just a more or less useful prop to help not to let the teaching fall into oblivion.
But this does not put the ego to rest, but rather incites it that with the word "Buddhism" only a cover for new cults should be created.
As a beginner with Buddhism, one has a hard time. For my part, I follow the pure teachings of Buddha, as well as the expressions that his worldview has experienced through Bodhidharma in Shaolin Temple China.
Be where you are, otherwise you will miss your life
- Buddha - honorary name of the Indian philosopher Siddhartha 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)
7 Minuten
Down on your luck?
You feel downright pursued by bad luck, you have "the world" against you, everything is quite terrible?
Right now many people have the feeling to be stuck deep in the "shit", never to get out of it. Of course, the circumstances at the moment have a great influence on the psyche, but you can only improve your life yourself, who else should do it for you?
No whining and no complaining helps, and yes, the world is unfair, but why should it be fair?
What would be fair, and who is allowed to decide about it? You? Or me? Or everyone? Or not?
The feeling that just everything changes strongly, that is not deceptive, but according to Buddha life is change, it comes, remains briefly, then it goes again. Who now tries to hold on to people, things or moments will suffer, because NOTHING we can hold, everything is transient.
But whether such changes are good or bad, according to the great teacher, we should not judge, but only accept what may come.
Alone from the power of the thoughts it can become bearable, the life of the people is not determinable, and even whether we will have the right thoughts is questionable. Life is always about the same things, health, money, sex and prestige are so important to all of us.
The completely different worldview of Buddha focuses on "enlightenment", inner peace, wisdom and happiness are strived for, but without effort the goal cannot be reached.
So whoever feels constantly pursued by bad luck, perhaps it is also his own fault? How would it be if we were to apply the Buddha's teachings to ourselves over a certain period of time, as a trial, so to speak, for a week or so?
If we were no longer to divide things into "bad luck" or "good luck," what would come our way? But probably a form of contentment, because that would take away the sharpness of events, they would no longer affect us so directly.
It may be that a certain happiness is connected with the "simple things of life", but that is quickly transient, lasting real contentment, that is something completely different.
Well, not everyone is an enlightened person, nor does everyone strive for "enlightenment" either.
What is really important to us, what are the cornerstones of our being?
In any case, there is no accounting "in heaven", which ensures that we are pursued by the bad luck, that the world will conspire against us.
The way is the goal!
There are people who are born to be lucky and others who are destined to be unlucky. I was just unlucky
- Maria Callas - Greek Soprano - 1923 to 1977
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
You feel downright pursued by bad luck, you have "the world" against you, everything is quite terrible?
Right now many people have the feeling to be stuck deep in the "shit", never to get out of it. Of course, the circumstances at the moment have a great influence on the psyche, but you can only improve your life yourself, who else should do it for you?
No whining and no complaining helps, and yes, the world is unfair, but why should it be fair?
What would be fair, and who is allowed to decide about it? You? Or me? Or everyone? Or not?
The feeling that just everything changes strongly, that is not deceptive, but according to Buddha life is change, it comes, remains briefly, then it goes again. Who now tries to hold on to people, things or moments will suffer, because NOTHING we can hold, everything is transient.
But whether such changes are good or bad, according to the great teacher, we should not judge, but only accept what may come.
Alone from the power of the thoughts it can become bearable, the life of the people is not determinable, and even whether we will have the right thoughts is questionable. Life is always about the same things, health, money, sex and prestige are so important to all of us.
The completely different worldview of Buddha focuses on "enlightenment", inner peace, wisdom and happiness are strived for, but without effort the goal cannot be reached.
So whoever feels constantly pursued by bad luck, perhaps it is also his own fault? How would it be if we were to apply the Buddha's teachings to ourselves over a certain period of time, as a trial, so to speak, for a week or so?
If we were no longer to divide things into "bad luck" or "good luck," what would come our way? But probably a form of contentment, because that would take away the sharpness of events, they would no longer affect us so directly.
It may be that a certain happiness is connected with the "simple things of life", but that is quickly transient, lasting real contentment, that is something completely different.
Well, not everyone is an enlightened person, nor does everyone strive for "enlightenment" either.
What is really important to us, what are the cornerstones of our being?
In any case, there is no accounting "in heaven", which ensures that we are pursued by the bad luck, that the world will conspire against us.
The way is the goal!
There are people who are born to be lucky and others who are destined to be unlucky. I was just unlucky
- Maria Callas - Greek Soprano - 1923 to 1977
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
6 Minuten
On Monday I die
I'm going to die on Monday, that's a tough statement!
There are few central wisdoms concerning our stay on this planet, one of them is to live as if I would die on Monday.
After all, if I knew I was going to die on Monday, then various things would simply not be important to me today.
Then I would not need any planning beyond today, would do everything to enjoy today, would certainly and especially enjoy the things that otherwise annoyed me, because I know that I only have a few days left. Living in the HERE and in the NOW, not in the past, also not in the future, just concentrating on this moment, without "making" my head.
This day described above (Monday) is coming anyway, so why not see it as a good friend that will just come very soon.
If I did all the things I do on the premise that I will die on Monday, would I do things differently?
YES, of course. We always assume that we will see millions more wonderful sunsets, which is why we watch the present demise with boredom.
Our full-cask mentality makes us think that there are many many more beautiful days to come. And what if there are not?
If we knew for sure that we would die on Monday, then we would cherish the rest of life, stop desiring and wanting, release attachments, refrain from hatred and greed, and dissolve delusions.
We are who we are because we are meant to be what we are.
The fears are not really worthwhile, because we know that we have to die, why still be afraid of something; that makes no sense.
But in the HERE and in the NOW, that's where the music plays, when we appreciate more what we are doing right now, then we are on the middle path of Buddha.
Why the middle way?
This direction is mediating, calm and peaceful, not "sky-high", not "too-dead", a just way, fair and decent also towards oneself.
If you knew for sure that you would die on Monday, you would sit with your loved ones now, open a nice bottle, and enjoy being together once again. Celebrating life, bathing in a universe of moments, indulging in the moment.
Indulge yourself.
If you have a problem, try to solve it. If you can't solve it, don't make a problem out of it.
- Buddha - honorary name of the Indian philosopher Siddhartha Gautama - 560 to 480 years before the year zero
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
I'm going to die on Monday, that's a tough statement!
There are few central wisdoms concerning our stay on this planet, one of them is to live as if I would die on Monday.
After all, if I knew I was going to die on Monday, then various things would simply not be important to me today.
Then I would not need any planning beyond today, would do everything to enjoy today, would certainly and especially enjoy the things that otherwise annoyed me, because I know that I only have a few days left. Living in the HERE and in the NOW, not in the past, also not in the future, just concentrating on this moment, without "making" my head.
This day described above (Monday) is coming anyway, so why not see it as a good friend that will just come very soon.
If I did all the things I do on the premise that I will die on Monday, would I do things differently?
YES, of course. We always assume that we will see millions more wonderful sunsets, which is why we watch the present demise with boredom.
Our full-cask mentality makes us think that there are many many more beautiful days to come. And what if there are not?
If we knew for sure that we would die on Monday, then we would cherish the rest of life, stop desiring and wanting, release attachments, refrain from hatred and greed, and dissolve delusions.
We are who we are because we are meant to be what we are.
The fears are not really worthwhile, because we know that we have to die, why still be afraid of something; that makes no sense.
But in the HERE and in the NOW, that's where the music plays, when we appreciate more what we are doing right now, then we are on the middle path of Buddha.
Why the middle way?
This direction is mediating, calm and peaceful, not "sky-high", not "too-dead", a just way, fair and decent also towards oneself.
If you knew for sure that you would die on Monday, you would sit with your loved ones now, open a nice bottle, and enjoy being together once again. Celebrating life, bathing in a universe of moments, indulging in the moment.
Indulge yourself.
If you have a problem, try to solve it. If you can't solve it, don't make a problem out of it.
- Buddha - honorary name of the Indian philosopher Siddhartha Gautama - 560 to 480 years before the year zero
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)
