Involvement of Buddhism in Our Everyday Living

“The mind is like water. When it’s turbulent, it’s difficult to see. When it’s calm, everything becomes clear”. These words spoken by Siddhartha Gautama give great insight about what his teachings were all about. So many of us spend so much of our time and energy on a mission to find pure happiness and a solution to our struggles. Many of our problems are created by our uncontrolled mind, but when we absorb ourselves in the practice of dharma, we can learn to calm and control our mind and uncover pure happiness. In chapter one of “Roots of Wisdom”, we are asked about what truly makes us happy. The practice of Buddhism stuck out most to me most from this chapter because it is full of positivity, emotional encouragement, and self-love.

The essential idea that compassion and kindness are the positive choices we can make and skills we can develop through practice is very captivating. To many, Buddhism is more of a way of life, or philosophy, rather than a religion. Buddhists practice meditation, which allows the mind to be in a positive state of understanding, concentration, and tranquility. These meditations help one have a better understanding of themselves, others, and life. No person or thing, the Buddha implies, can ever bring us true happiness, either we are happy within ourselves, or we are not happy at all. “The only way to avoid the terrors of aging, sickness, and death is by withdrawing our anxieties about them, and this is accomplished by seeing that sensual pleasures, money, and power do not bring lasting joy”. Buddhism is a very interesting and appealing religion to me because it is rational and simple. It is easy to have destructive thoughts and to get caught up in the stress of life, but we cannot change the past. Buddha advises us to let go of what we cannot change, and to not be a prisoner to those things that we cannot control. It is very easy for us to make excuses for poor behavior or actions on negative experiences from our past, but it is inspiring to read the beliefs of the central idea of Buddhism to let go of any of those harmful past experiences and become a better version of yourself by spreading love and positivity. The essential principles of Buddhism are the Fourth Noble Truths. These Four Truths include the presence of suffering, the cause of suffering, the end of suffering, and the path. Buddhism acknowledges that everyone suffers. He suggests that in order to stop suffering; we have to stop gluttony and ignorance and live in a more natural and peaceful way. As egocentric desires are the roof of distress, when these desires are not fulfilled, we are filled with anger. By changing the way we think and perceive the world mentally, we experience less suffering. The mind has great potential, but if untrained, it is like a wild horse; challenging to stay tamed, and jumping around from thought to thought. It is easy to let our minds dwell on things out of our control, and to have anxiety filled thoughts and fears. The practice of Buddhism teaches us to train our minds to rid all of the pessimism and to practice meditations to quiet our thoughts and enter ourselves into a peaceful state.

I was raised Catholic and while learning more about Buddhism, I can see both the similarities and differences of these two religions. When it comes to the core values of both of these religions, I think that they teach a lot of similar principles. There are five Precepts to Buddhism that could be compared to the Ten Commandments of Christianity. These Five Precepts can be compared to the last five Commandments as they include; no killing, no stealing, no sexual misconduct, no lying, and no intoxicants. Both religions teach us to immerse ourselves into spiritual meditation or prayer, act in a peaceful way, do no harm to others, and be an all-around compassionate person. However, with these similarities, there are differences that challenge my religion of Catholicism. One main difference that challenged my beliefs is that Buddhism has no God. To Christians, God represents not just the father of the savior Jesus Christ, but also the figurative leader of the Christian family. As the perfunctory father of us, all he represents is righteous and good and is the symbol of our faith. Buddhists also believe that when one’s life comes to an end, they will go through a process called samsara, which means that one can be reborn into anything else depending on their thoughts and actions during their life. This challenges Christianity a great deal because Christians believe in heaven, and that when one dies, they will join God and their loved ones for eternity. Christians also believe in a hell, a place of suffering where sinners are punished, which can be compared to the Buddhists belief in Karma. Buddhism also addresses itself to all people regardless of race, sexuality, gender, or nationality. In the traditional Catholic Church, there is judgment passed on those who choose to live their life away from the teachings of the church. “When the Buddha spoke, it was to offer suggestions for living life in a less painful way. Unlike religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in which rules for living are laid down by a superior being who demands obedience and judges disobedience, in Buddhism there is only the invitation to wake up and see things as they are”.

There are many ways that I would like to incorporate Buddhism into my daily life. It is easy to wake up in the morning and become immediately stressed out thinking about all of the things you need to do. It is easy to have our mind filled with negative thoughts without even realizing it. Instead of waking up with negative thoughts, I can fill my mind with positive motivation. By starting my day in a more productive and peaceful way, I am making my way towards a truly happier self. Instead of spending extra time watching television, or scrolling through social media, I could spend more time in meditation or prayer. There are so many benefits to meditation. There are positive benefits to deep breathing as it aids to pacify our distracted thoughts and clear the mind. When our mind becomes still, a deep happiness and contentment arises from within. If I can learn to fully accept the past and accept the things that I cannot change, I would become a healthier and happier person. Karma is another important piece of Buddhism that is beneficial to apply to my daily life. It is the principle that all actions operate according to laws and have a cause and effect. Basically, whatever you do to others, you are doing to yourself. I think this precept is a key element toward extending good will and presents us with a pay it forward mentality that can only be beneficial to all. Would you ever knowingly inflict harm on others if you knew in the end you would be harming yourself? Instead of having anger towards someone and internalizing all the accompanying bad energy, one should release the negativity and allow karma to be the arbiter of justice.

In conclusion, I continue to be enlightened the more I learn and read about Buddhism. Until reading Chapter One of “Roots of Wisdom”, I did not know much of anything about this inspiring religion. All of the teachings of Buddhism leads people on the path to discover true happiness and peace within themselves. Many religions have abstract foundations that they are built on while the followers of that faith believe those to be true. It was refreshing learning about how Buddhism does not address theories, it does not agree or disagree with any religion, but rather acknowledges the source of all religion is to live in a positive way. Buddhism is about enlightening the person, recovering the kindness and wisdom inside, therefore allowing themselves to be free from suffering. Buddhism is involved in everyday living, and can be beneficial to so many people. I believe this religion is something almost everyone can relate to as so many people are on a quest to find true happiness, but do not know how to attain it. I think that the world would be a happier place with less suffering if more people applied some of the principles of Buddhism to their lives and spent more time on what it takes to become an enlightened person. Through the practice of positivity, emotional encouragement, and self-love comes a calm mind and a compassionate person.