Best Of
Being a light unto yourself
I have come to the realisation that the Buddha was right to tell us to be a light unto ourselves. There is only so much you can learn from others, and instead of just finding writings that you agree with it is better to develop your own understanding. This requires that you get to know yourself, and understand your place in the world, and comprehend what you think is significant.
In a way, by reading and memorising the sayings of the Buddha you end up adding a layer of conditioning to all those that were there before, and by speaking from that knowledge it is often the Buddha who speaks. Your own voice, drawing on your own understanding, can get lost in the endless thoughts of other people. This happens when you speak on topics you have only read or heard about, but that are not your lived experience.
Getting to know your own beliefs (as opposed to other people’s beliefs) is an important step.
Jeroen
Re: Is it better to believe in one life or in many?
@Jeroen said:
I don’t think they classify meaning at all. The major eastern religions - except Zen - do provide something in the way of meaning, but they don’t talk about it in those terms. It’s as if what it is isn’t important, and instead they talk about why.
Maybe you're talking about some kind of metaphysics about the ultimate purpose of life, the universe and everything? I think there is a fair bit of cosmology in the East, but there also is a more practical focus on what to do in the here and now as opposed to mere intellectual speculation.
I'm not sure if that's quite what you're getting at. I can agree that the Western mindset broadly is more concrete while the East is more fluid. Though there are western schools of thought like existentialism, absurdism or post modernism that are less rigid and there are Eastern schools like Confucianism that are more rigid. So frankly, it is a bit of a Western way of thinking, rigidly classifying them so distinctly.
Regardless, to the extent that this definitional sidetrack is sorted, what's your theory on how a belief in one life vs many creates these different sort of mindsets?
person
Re: What documentary are you watching?
@lobster said:
@Jeroen said:
I came across this heart-warming documentary about the turnaround of Waterstones (and in the USA Barnes and Noble by the same man), really made my day to hear about the way bookstores are surviving on the high street.Made my day too. Many thanks.
I used to go to Foyles a lot, decades ago. The rudest most useless staff imaginable BUT the greatest collection of books on obscure subjects for sure. It retains the name but is mentioned in the documentary as bought but not rebranded.
Tottenham Court Road was one of my favourite spots in London. You had a Waterstones, a Blackwell’s, Foyles and Forbidden Planet within a stones throw of each other, and if you felt like it you could combine it with an outing to the National Portrait Gallery, and there is a great Whiskey Shop near there as well.
In the time I used to live within an hours train ride of London these were some of my favourite outings, together with the Tate and the Victoria and Albert museum.
Jeroen
Re: Ploggers of the world...unite!
Very nice that you are seeing the cleaner perimeter increasing, Kotishka.
I did a bit of plogging the other day - three 10 liter bags in 30 minutes. However, my lower back does not like it. So, plogging on hold until I obtain that telescopic thingy. Otherwise, as always, I see it as very good spiritual practice, and also good physical exercise.
marcitko
Re: No Buddhist Quotes
“Fairy tales do not tell children that dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Instead, fairy tales tell children that dragons can be killed.”
— G. K. Chesterton
Jeroen
Re: Benefits of a Loving Mind
Beneficial acts when done with "intent" indicates a self-other mindset.The act, though prima facia beneficial, is often more ego, "I am doing a beneficial act because I want the reward from the act." It is a act of selfishness in the guise of a beneficial act.
A Beneficial act performed without expectation of reward, the selfless act, is the act generating true reward, the reward neither sought nor expected.
It will be interesting to see how some of the crew here reflect and or expand upon this.
Peace to all
Lionduck
Re: Benefits of a Loving Mind
Thus have I heard...
"Wherever self is, virtue cannot exist"
So when it comes to carrying out a beneficial act .... just do it and be done with it before the self-generating ego gets wind of it and puts a spanner in the works, that is, depleting the merits/karma which may come from performing such an act.
In a nutshell : Just do it because you are in a position to do so without any expectations.
Shoshin1
Re: Benefits of a Loving Mind
Hi August! Welcome to NB 
My opinion is that as one deepens his or her practice and the mind begins to "settle" and slow down, one can reflect on one's thoughts and patterns and, unfortunately, I have a lot of very egoistic decisions and nasty thoughts against others (including myself).
With the study of the Four Noble Truths and Right View & Right Effort, one realises how the three poisons can be countered through observation, patience and loving-kindness. It is like that quote which states the best revenge is not to become like your enemy.
Recently I saw a Zen talk that explained how metta is the most important and guides us through the rest of the other brahmaviharas (karuna, mudita, upekkha). I will try and find it and share it through here!
Kotishka
Re: Benefits of a Loving Mind
The love we talk about is not the "Love You" nor the "Love Me" one way love.
It is the "Love All" love. It is the love that embraces self and others and all else.
It says, "I love and appreciate my life; I love and appreciate your life; I love and appreciate all life; equally.
This is the all embracing love, compassion and mercy. Such love does not always sound to the ears as live or compassion or mercy.
When a child does something he or she was told not to do and, say a vase is broken, if the parent responds with anger, "You broke my vase, now you will be punished.", though the parent may love the child, those words of anger are not coming from love.
Now, under the same scenario, the parent is upset, but chooses to not act out in anger, but, instead approaches the child and says, "You were told to be careful, yet you were recless. As a result, the vase is broken. It can not be unbroken. Of course You should be more careful. You will clean it up. But what else have we learned that we many not break more vases?"
In the first, the child learns to not upset ther parent, that is it.
In the second, while not a necessarily perfect example, the child is given the tools to evaluate the action, the causuality, and reflect to gain from the experience an understanding beyond , "You break, I punish". It is a reflection of the "Love All".
To love others without love of self is of slander self.
To love self without love of others is slander others.
Neither is good or healthy.
To live self with a love that enables love of others, the "Love All" is the Middle Way.
It is not the way of the selfish or the coward. It is the way of the truely brave.
Peace to all
Lionduck