Read to page 78 in Teachings of the Buddha (including the Preface).~ Write two 150+ word essays on interesting lines or ideas you find. Post them in the blog comments. You may use lines classmates have already written on, but you may NOT repeat ideas that have already been posted. There will also be a short quiz.
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6 comments:
I think it is interesting how the story about the children and the sand castles on page 21 portrays such a strong underlying message. I think this story shows the importance of nonattachment because, as Gandhi depicts in the appendix of the Bhagavad Gita, attachment leads to violence. These children are so attached to their sand castles that they beat up a child who knocked one over. The story also emphasizes how ridiculous it is to become so attached to material things when it depicts the children going home at the end of the day and not caring about the castles anymore. I think this shows that people have a tendency to get caught up in things that do not really matter that much and that material things do not bring long-lasting happiness. I also think this story emphasizes the idea of impermanence in that it shows that we should not get so attached to things because either they will be destroyed or our desire for them will eventually end and we will have wasted a lot of time agonizing over them for nothing.
“develop a state of mind like the water, for people throw all manner of clean and unclean things into water and it is not troubled or repelled or disgusted” p. 26
I think these lines give a very effective image of how to achieve inner peace. These lines show how if we see ourselves as just a part of nature and do not keep the concept of self in our minds then we can better cope with the bad things that happen to us in our lives because we will not be dwelling over whether what happens in our lives is good or bad. The lines seem to say that to achieve inner peace we need to imagine ourselves as a river that keeps flowing no matter what is put into it. These lines also emphasize that inner peace is all about our mindset and that if we can control the way we think about things we can make ourselves happy without having to have material things and other external influences. I think the image of the water also gives a sense of the emptiness aspect of nirvana because bodies of water are moving forces yet they have no mind and no desires and just fill in the world wherever they can.
p. 3
I went to the play tonight, came home, did my homework and went to bed. I suddenly awoke and remembered this assignment. As I frantically read, I found this passage. It says “To have your mind set on calmness, you must take power over sleepiness, drowsiness and lethargy. There is no place for laziness and no recourse to pride. Do not be led into lying…” I found this ironic considering my circumstances and that instead of making up excuses or complaining about sleep that I should just do it.
The story of the sandcastles represents many different things to Buddhism. This story starts on page 21. Firstly, this story depicts the importance of focusing on yourself. The children, just as we are, are better off focusing on their own sandcastle. By comparing their sandcastles to those of the other boys they are only finding weaknesses in their own sandcastle which leads to sadness. This is a metaphor for focusing on you own life in Buddhism. The lives of others, better or worse, are not your responsibility. You are simply to focus on your own life, make the best of it that you can (via the eight fold path), and enjoy it. By comparing accomplishments to others you place yourself in a cycle of suffering. In addition you are to focus to the present while not clinging on it. Once the waves take away your sandcastle, you should not mourn it but rather walk away and focus on your current path.
The poem on page 65 also represents this. It states that you cannot straighten the crooked until you yourself are straight. This means that until you have removed yourself from Maya and reached Nirvana, your duty is to become a Buddha. Only after achieving the ultimate achievement are you to return to assist man kind. The poem also states you are your own master. This means that you should not take directive from others and displays the lack of a deity in Buddhism. You should focus on your own duty, not the orders of other. After all, Buddhism doesn’t even take orders from God. You are simply to follow your own path to Nirvana, whatever that may be. You cannot reach Nirvana by following the path of another. Each person’s path is different and as a result Buddhism calls on you to be neither judgmental of others or accept the judgments of others.
Pg. 46
“Few cross over the river.
Most are stranded on this side.
On the riverbank they run up and down.”
This passage is a perfect analogy for the process of enlightenment. It is already known that anyone, if they truly want it and are willing to do so, can become a Buddha; Just like anyone, if they really want to, can cross a river. It may be a difficult task and somewhat dangerous, but done the right way, it’s achievable. Buddha is also pointing out the problem with a lot of people who struggle with this task. The vast majority of people are so weary of giving up their possessions and leaving the security of the material world, that they are unable to completely let go and take a risk, or devote themselves. Instead, they are just thrown up and down the riverbank, or through life, by the many material aspect of their lives; thus, they are not able to be free; however, the wise are able to let go and take a risk. They are able to forget the material life and death and cross the river to enlightenment.
“This only is the Law, that all things are impermanent.”
Pg 52
I thought that the story of Gotami was very sad, yet also very enlightening on some of the core ideas is Buddhism. Gotami’s relentless quest to cure her son of death would usually have the stereotypical happy ending in other faiths and stories, with her son coming back to life or being brought back to life by the Buddha, for example, but this story was quite different. These last lines seem to encompass the main lesson Gotami was supposed to learn, in that the Law and only truly important lesson in life is that all things are impermanent. Instead of having the typical happy ending, this story seems to have the typical “happy Buddhism” ending, in that Gotami finally realized the true law that all things are impermanent. It is almost reassuring that while the material world (or India’s caste system) may find a way to separate us and make some better than others, we are all actually unified under “the Law,” for we are all impermanent and always changing. This seems to be a very important, if not the most important, lesson to learn in one’s quest for Nirvana.
“Look upon the world as void…being always wakeful; having destroyed the view of oneself as really existing, one may overcome death; the king of death will not see the person who thus regards the world.”
Pg 25
In this excerpt from the Sutta-niparta, there seems to be a clearly defined and laid out way to avoid what we think of as death. It seems as though the one way to avoid death is to deny the individual and the importance of oneself. It paints the picture of everyone and everything just being part of a greater cycle, and that recognition of this cycle and denial of the individual is the way to avoid the “king of death.” This echoes the many themes and lessons of Buddhism that I have learned so far, and makes it clear that the way to immortality is by stopping the belief that “oneself really exists.” This lesson echoes an earlier lesson that I liked on page 10, which states that “All fear death…see yourself in others, then whom can you hurt?” Obviously in Buddhism, greed and only being concerned for oneself is the way to death, and recognizing the little importance of the individual in the grand scheme of everything else is part of reaching Nirvana.
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