Forgiveness Through Understanding

Unforgiveness is a sign of ignorance. To understand is to forgive.


By unforgiveness I mean a particular attitude, and abiding state of mind rather than an initial emotional reaction. When we are hurt, our pain is natural. If we are trying to suppress or to ignore this feeling, we are not true to ourselves. If we deny an experience of pain, we miss an opportunity to learn a lesson which it brought. So, it is wise to allow ourselves to feel pain before we let it go.

Someone might object an idea that we need to accept our responsibility for all of our experiences. They say, in essence: "If a person suffers from an inferiority complex and feels bad about himself/herself, that person will sink deeper into guilt and self-condemnation after accepting responsibility for all the bad things that happened to him/her. This concept only brings people down and makes them depressed. It doesn't inspire them to greater achievements" .
It might be possible that for certain individuals the burden of reality is too heavy, and they have to believe in illusions for some time. It might be true that in some cases people are too weak emotionally to handle the truth. However, there could be no real healing of wounds or deep personal transformation without accepting of the truth. Truth makes people free, ignorance makes people bound. Surely enough, truth is not always pleasing to human ego. Nevertheless, it needs to be swallowed and assumed before we will break mental patterns which cause us to have painful experiences over and over.

How does our increased understanding helps us to forgive?
First of all, we put all the painful experiences in the context of our evolutionary development. Perhaps, people who have difficulties with accepting responsibility for their pain, still think of it in terms of punishment. But this is never the case. No consequence of our actions is a punishment, but every consequence is a lesson. It brings our attention to a certain area of our life where an inner change is needed. Attention directs our energy flow. "The other person" whom we might blame for something bad that happened to us, is but the outward expression of a particular mental state within ourselves we need to deal with.

For instance, there are some people who complain about "discrimination" and "prejudices" they encounter. But what they fail to understand is that within themselves, they are not so tolerant and open toward others. Those who feel that they are "oppressed", often are full or anger and resentment. If they would have enough power, they would become oppressors and discriminators, just the way people they condemn are.

Forgiveness begins when we stop complaining about life, and accept it as it is â€" as the starting point for making it better. Forgiveness involves our honest self-examination and getting rid of all self-imposed or socially conditioned negativity. If all the people around us feel bad about some group, it doesn't mean that we should blindly accept their attitude. Let us think and decide for ourselves! At the same time, let us not expect ourselves or others to be perfect. We all are in a state of transition. We all make mistakes. But our personal transformation is up to us â€" and as we become determined to work at ourselves, we discover that all seeming obstacles become helpful influences.

The Four Noble Truths Pt. 4

THE FOURTH NOBLE TRUTH: THE TRUTH OF THE PATH LEADING TO THE END OF SUFFERING
The Middle Path
As a youth, Prince Siddhartha enjoyed the indulgent life of pleasure in his father's palace. Later, when he renounced the worldly life and became an ascetic, he experienced the hardship of torturing his mind and body. Finally, not long before attaining Enlightenment, he realized the fruitlessness of these two extreme ways of life. He realized that the way to happiness and Enlightenment was to lead a life that avoids these extremes. He described this life as the Middle Path.

These three ways of life may be compared to the strings of different tensions on a lute. The loose string, which is like a life of indulgence, produces a poor sound when struck. The overly tight string, which is like a life of extreme asceticism, similarly produces a poor sound when struck and is, moreover, likely to break at any moment. Only the middle string, which is neither too loose nor too tight, and is like the Middle Path, produces a pleasant and harmonious sound when struck. So those who follow the Middle Path which avoids the extreme of indulging one's desires and the opposite extreme of torturing one's mind and body unreasonably, will find happiness, peace of mind and Enlightenment. This is the Fourth Noble Truth of the path leading to the end of suffering.

So these who follow the Middle Path which avoid the extreme of indulging one's desires and opposite extreme of torturing one's mind and body unreasonably, will find happiness, peace of mind and Enlightenment. This is the Fourth Noble Truth of the path leading to the end of suffering.

THE EIGHTFOLD PATH
Like a wise and experienced doctor, the Buddha recognized the sickness of suffering. He identified its caused and discovered its cure. Then, for the benefit of mankind, the Buddha put his discovery into a systematic formula that can be easily followed in order to rid ourselves of suffering. The formula includes both physical and mental treatment, and is called the Noble Eightfold Path.

The Four Noble Truths Pt. 3

THE THIRD NOBLE TRUTH: THE TRUTH THE END OF SUFFERING
The Buddha's realization of the end of suffering and his attainment of Nirvana at the age of thirty-five, crowned his search for Truth with success. For six years, the Bodhisattva had spared no effort to find a solution to the problems of suffering. He had tried the principal methods of ending suffering and had found them wanting. Eventually he found his own solution to the problems of life.

CONFINDENCE IN THE BUDDHA'S TEACHING
Having realized the Truth through his own efforts, the Buddha offered it to all who were ready to listen. There is an old story of a turtle and a fish. The turtle lived on land as well as in the water while the fish only lived in the water. One day, when the turtle had returned from a visit to the land, he told the fish of his experiences. He explained that creatures walked rather than swam. The fish refused to believe that dry land really existed because that was something beyond his own experience. In the same way, people may not have experienced the end of suffering, but it does not mean that the end of suffering is not possible.

A patient must have confidence in an experienced doctor, otherwise he will never take the medicine that the doctor has prescribed for him and will not be cured of his sickness. Similarly, people must have confidence in the Teaching of the Buddha, who has shown that end of suffering is really possible.

THE END OF SUFFERING
The end of suffering is the final goal of the Buddha's Teaching. It can be experienced by anyone here and now. For example, when greed and anger arise in one's mind, unhappiness is the result and, when thoughts of greed and anger cease, one's mind becomes happy and peaceful. To end suffering completely, one must remove desire, ill will and ignorance. This is the Third Noble Truth of the End of Suffering.

HAPPINESS
The Buddha taught that the end of suffering is supreme happiness. Every step towards the end of suffering is accompanied by ever-increasing joy. Those who follow the Teaching of the Buddha live happily without greed among those who are overwhelmed by desire. They live happily without anger among those who harbor ill will. The more people free themselves from desire, ill will and ignorance, the greater will be their happiness. When they have completely overcome desire, ill will and ignorance, they will know the supreme happiness as experienced by the Buddha.

ENLIGHTENMENT
By putting the Buddha's Teaching into practice, people too can achieve supreme Enlightenment. Enlightenment has countless qualities, of which perfect wisdom and great compassion are the most important. Through perfect wisdom and great compassion, He is able to help countless beings to overcome their suffering.

EXPERIENCE NIRVANA FOR ONESELF
The end of suffering has been described as supreme happiness and Enlightenment. However, these terms do not fully express the real nature of the end of suffering, or Nirvana. Nirvana cannot be exactly put into words. Attempting to describe Nirvana is like saying that a mango is sweet, and that it is not like a banana or an apple. One has to eat a mango in order to know for oneself what the taste is really like. Similarly Nirvana has to be experienced for oneself.

Therefore, if people have confidence in the Buddha's Teaching and put it into practice, they can achieve happiness peace and Enlightenment.

The Four Noble Truths Pt. 2

THE SECOND NOBLE TRUTH: THE TRUTH THE CAUSES OF SUFFERING
The Buddha's had observed that life is suffering. Before He could find a solution to the problem of suffering in life, He had first to look for the cause of suffering. The Buddha was just like a good doctor who first observes a patient's symptoms and identifies the cause of illness before prescribing a cure. The Buddha discovered that the direct causes of suffering are desire or craving, and ignorance. This is the truth of the cause of suffering, which is the Second Noble Truth.

CRAVING
is the deep-seated desire that all living beings have for the pleasures of the senses, and for life itself. For instance, people always seek to enjoy good food, entertainment and pleasant company. Yet none of these can give them complete and lasting satisfaction. After the fine meal has been eaten, the beautiful music heard and the pleasant company shared, one is still not content. One would like to enjoy these pleasures again and again, and for as long as possible.

People who desire to own many things also can never be fully satisfied too. Like children in a toyshop, they crave all the attractive things they see around them. But like children, they soon become dissatisfied with what they already have and desire more. Sometimes, they can hardly eat or sleep until they get what they want. Yet when they succeed in getting what they want, they may still find their happiness short-lived. Many will be too worried for the safety and condition of their new possessions to enjoy it. Then when the object they possess eventually breaks into pieces and has to be thrown away, they will suffer its loss even more.

When we have obtained something we desire, we may want more and more of it, and so greed arises. Because of desire and greed, people will lie, cheat and steal to get what they want. Uncontrolled desires can also lead to addiction, for example, to smoking, drinking and overeating, all of which lead to suffering and cause mental and physical harm.

If another person prevents one from getting what is desired, one may feel anger towards that person. Desire, when obstructed, can lead to ill will and anger. This in turn can lead to harsh words, violent quarrels and even fights or killings. All this is suffering.

IGNORANCE
Craving or desire is like a great tree having many branches. There are branches of greed, of ill will and of anger. The fruit of this tree is suffering, but how does the tree of craving arise? Where does it grow? The answer is that the tree of craving is rooted in ignorance. It grows out of ignorance.

Ignorance is the inability to see the truth about things, to see things as they really are. There are many truths about the world which people are ignorant of because of the limitations of their understanding.

Science has shown, for instance, that there are sounds that people are unable to hear and waves of light that they are unable to see. People would be totally unaware of radio waves, or ultra-violet light rays if special instruments had not been developed to enable them to observe these things. So long as people remain ignorant of things about the world in which they live, they suffer from all kinds of misunderstandings and delusions.

When people develop their minds and acquire wisdom through study, careful thought and meditation, they will see the Truth. They will see things as they really are. They will understand the suffering and impermanence of life, the Law of Cause and Effect and the Four Noble Truths. By overcoming craving and ignorance, they will attain happiness and Enlightenment just as the Buddha did about 2500 years ago.

The Four Noble Truths Pt. 1

THE FIRST NOBLE TRUTH: THE TRUTH OF SUFFERING
The Buddha's discovery of the solution to the problem of suffering began with the recognition that life is suffering. This is the first of the Four Noble Truths. If people examine their own experiences or look at the world around them, they will see that life is full of suffering. Suffering may be physical or mental.
PHYSICAL SUFFERING
takes many forms. People must have observed at one time or another, how their aged relatives suffer. Most of them suffer aches and pains in their joints and many find it hard to move about. With advancing age, the elderly find life difficult because they cannot see, hear or eat properly. The pain of disease, which strikes young and old alike, is unbearable, and the pain of death brings much grief and suffering. Even the moment of birth gives pain both to the mother and the child that is born.
The truth is that suffering of birth, old age, sickness and death are unavoidable. Some fortunate people may now be enjoying relatively happy and carefree lives, but it is only a matter of time before they, too, will experience suffering. What is worse, this suffering must be borne alone.
MENTAL SUFFERING
Beside physical suffering, there are also various forms of mental suffering. People feel sad, lonely or depressed when they lose someone they love through separation or death. They feel irritated or uncomfortable when they are forced to be in the company of those whom they dislike or those who are unpleasant. People also suffer when they are unable to satisfy their limitless needs and wants.
HAPPINESS IN LIFE
When the Buddha said that there is suffering in life, He did not deny that there is happiness also. On the contrary, He spoke of various kinds of happiness, such as the happiness of friendship, the happiness of family life, and so on. But all these kinds of happiness are impermanent and when one loses them, one suffers. For example, one may like a pleasant and charming person and enjoy his or her company. But when one is separated from that person, the happiness turns into suffering. One suffers because of one's attachment to pleasures that do not last. People often remain unaware of the inevitable sufferings of life because they are distracted by temporary pleasures.

"For the sake of love of purity…refrain from eating flesh,
for fear of causing terror to living beings…refrain from eating
flesh."
-The Buddha-

Namaste!

Each year in the United States, 10 billion land animals are raised and
killed for meat, eggs, and milk. Statistically, farm animals comprise 98
percent of all animals in the country with whom we interact directly,and
that staggering percentage does not even include the estimated 10
billion aquatic animals killed for human consumption. Indeed, the
numbers of animals killed by trappers and hunters; in classrooms,
research laboratories, and animal shelters; and on fur farms; and those
animals raised as companions or used for entertainment by circuses and
zoos, collectively make up only 2 percent of the animals in some
established relationship with humans.
These farm animals—sentient, complex, and capable of feeling pain
and frustration, joy and excitement—are viewed by industrialized
agriculture as mere meat-, egg-, and milk-producing machines, and their
welfare suffers immensely as factory farm profit outweighs their
well-being. Yet, despite the routine abuses they endure, no federal law
protects animals from cruelty on the farm, and the majority of states
exempt customary agricultural practices—no matter how
abusive—from the scope of their animal cruelty statutes. The welfare
of farm animals often loses out to the economic interests of factory
farmers who can make larger profits by intensively confining animals and
breeding them for rapid growth with little regard for the amount of
suffering the animals endure.
Every year in the United States, more than 9 billion animals are killed
for food; millions more die of stress, suffocation, injuries, or disease
in the food industry.
In his or her lifetime, the average American meat-eater is responsible
for the abuse and deaths of some 2,400 animals, including approximately
2,287 chickens, 92 turkeys, 31 pigs, and 12 steers and calves.

Was The Buddha Fat?

I received an email today asking if The Buddha really was fat?
Actually, The Buddha was NOT fat.
In Buddhism there is a lot of symbolism in Buddhism I have compiled a few of the elements of The Buddha statue that is fairly universal:

* The earlobes are elongated, partly to indicate the Buddha is all-hearing and partly as a reminder of the heavy earrings that weighed them down before Siddhartha renounced material things to seek enlightenment.

* The Buddha's head is usually enlarged (sometimes by a large bump on top) to symbolize wisdom; a jewel in the bump denotes brilliance.

* The hair is generally curly. According to legend, after shearing off his long princely locks, Siddhartha from then on had a head of short, fine curls — not a common look in Asia and thus a distinguishing sign.

* A dot or protrusion in the center of the forehead represents power or an all-seeing eye.

* The fingers are long, slender, and usually finely webbed to indicate that the Buddha can "catch" people, similar to the Christian idea of Jesus the fisherman. Webbing also has the practical advantage of making the statue's delicate fingers less likely to break off.

* Often a stylized representation of light emanates from the Buddha, akin to a halo but usually encircling the entire body.

Different postures — standing, sitting lotus position (cross-legged), sitting half-lotus position (one leg hangs down to the ground), and lying down — represent different stages or aspects of the Buddha's life. The two lotus positions symbolize that Buddha, like the lotus plant, emerged from the mud to achieve enlightenment. The reclining Buddha usually represents his death, passing into nirvana and escaping the tedious cycle of life, death, and rebirth.
You didn't ask, but mystic hand gestures called mudra (Sanskrit for "seal" or "sign") are also a big deal in Buddhism. The five most common.

* Teaching mudra. Also called "turning the wheel of law." Used by the historical Buddha when preaching, the right hand is in front of the chest, palm outward, thumb and forefinger forming a circle. The left hand is beneath the right hand, also with thumb and forefinger touching, but palm inward. Variation: right hand at shoulder level pointing up and the left at hip level pointing down, both with palm outward and index finger and thumb forming circles; sometimes called the "reasoning" mudra.

* Fearlessness mudra. Upraised hand lifted above thigh, palm facing out, fingers pointing up, usually with middle finger slightly forward; means "fear not" and is a sign of protection.

* Welcoming mudra. Right hand pointing downward, palm facing out, often with middle finger slightly forward; means welcome, blessing, or charity.

* Meditation mudra. Found mostly on seated images. Both hands in lap, palms upward, usually right on top of left but sometimes fingers curled, thumbs touching to form a circle; indicates a state of, well, meditation.

* Earth-touching mudra. Statue in lotus position, with right hand hanging over right knee, palm inward, fingers (or just forefinger) touching the earth; left hand in lap, palm upward, sometimes holding a begging bowl. Symbolizes the Buddha "calling the earth to witness" his victory over temptation.

I will make another post on Mudras soon.