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Whatever 'practice' someone has, they cannot escape the reality of sickness, old age and death!!
zenmyste
Veteran
So why not just 'accept' this reality and enjoy life before you do 'get sick, get old and eventually Die..?
What are you seeking?
(Genuine question)
What are you seeking?
(Genuine question)
0
Comments
For example; are you asking why others practice, why you, personally should or should not practice? What is your definition of practice?
My general advice is to to analyze the mind that references the concepts: 'reality', 'life', 'sickness' 'old age' 'death', as well as the concepts themselves. It can be quickly ascertained that these concepts that are being referenced are amorphous, and that the mind which references them is in an apparent state of flux. This is a good starting point for understanding why we do what we do.
edited
If you what to enjoy life you need to do it meanwhile you are getting sick, getting old and dying. Not before. And is not so easy be so happy when we are sick. Practice is like a medicine to make life more easy so we can enjoying it better.
As Buddhists we recognise that we move towards unsatisfactory states. However we engage with a life path that enhances our capacities for fortune within mind, body and spirit. We boldly go . . .
I agree that anything 'before' death, is all we have! So if we are sick - thats all we have .. If we are old - thats all we have!
So my question still arises; why not just accept this reality and enjoy life before we 'get sick and 'die' ?
So, accept that reality is not something so easy to do. That require a profound change in how they see and live their life to accept that.
Maybe that is why people not just accept that and enjoy life.
I practice Buddhism to improve my situation. In that it is successful. Others will say the same. Nothing in, nothing out . . . a bit like life . . . the more in, the more out . . .
Hope this makes some small sense . . .
If not, what would, say, a snail have to do to find the exit???
As far as sickness, aging and death goes this is a really good place to look to help give you insight into life and what it entails. Yes it is inevitable that we will all get sick, age and die, but we can still do all of those things without mentally suffering. Sure physical pain will be present but we do not have to suffer because of it.
"It is only when we're closest to death, do we truly appreciate life." -The antagonist of the movie Leon/The Professional (I forget his name; IMDB.com is blocked in China).
There is a scientific theory that I've read (though I cannot recall its source at the moment) that attempted to prove reincarnation via the Law of Conservation of Energy. In that, energy cannot be created or destroyed. That being said, if our consciousness is actually just a radiating field of 20-watt energy...when we die: what happens to us if we cannot be created or destroyed? We must change form, henceforth: reincarnation.
Following that logic, states of distress (like danger, sickness, etc.) are merely illusions, concepts created by our genes for our brains to react to for the sake of self-preservation. If energy can neither be created nor destroyed, then the core of who we are is never actually in any danger. In danger of change, maybe (which goes along with Buddhist theology and its theory of impermanence)...but not in the actual connotation of "death" that we as human beings so often attribute the term to.
So, in conclusion, if one were to realize that there is an innate invincibility within our impermanence (that we never actually die, but change), do you think that this could be a suitable thought-model for being able to live life in every breath, enabling us to live in the moment, regardless of whether danger, sickness, or life disturbance that we may face?
All the more reason for the Gods to envy us, then. :coffee:
So, to answer your question, the thing I am seeking is truth and mental freedom from suffering.
And why do you assume that any sort of "practice" is equivalent to not accepting reality/not enjoying life?
so it is accepted that we will get sick, get old and eventually die - but the point is to know - why were we born?
I quote HE Tsem Rinpoche, who says, " When we wish to engage in dharma practice, in order for it to be genuine, take roots and really hit us deep in the core for us to make a fundamental shift in our attitudes, thinking and priorities we must reflect on IMPERMANENCE. We must in fact realize IMPERMANENCE… understanding it intellectually gets us not far. Realizing impermanence and how it pervades all existent phenomena is crucial. Without this realization, all further progress will be slow or nil.
If the realization of impermanence is not intellectual but arising from the core of our being then there would be many changes. There are clear signs and indications. Bad habits become good easily. Suppressing our egos would be a pleasure. Let others win would be the norm of the day. We would not spend our time acquiring wealth for wealth or reputation for reputation. We would not want to be entangled in attachments to food, fun, money, parties, relationships, children, fame, reputation and all that tie us down for years and yet get us nowhere. Really nowhere. Look at all the people who have it, yet it ends… No matter how famous, powerful, wealthy, attractive, intelligent we are, it all does not matter. The truth of birth, the truth of sickness, the truth of aging, the truth of death is what we carry within us. Avoiding or not thinking about it only furthers our samsaras.
Distracting ourselves now by having ‘fun’ or exploring samsara will lead to heavy regrets, and no time left to do anything in the end… death is not the end, as it is truly a passage to somewhere else. But whether the passage and the where we go is pleasant or not TOTALLY DEPENDS ON US NOW… it depends on our spiritual practice/results NOW. Eating, fame, love, money and reputation are only distractions that take us away from the inevitable that we have to face. Fear of death and impermanence is good, but we have to do something about it… whatever justifications we give for not doing dharma all the way can only fool others around us who know no better or are not willing to push more. Not pushing and procrastinations will never avoid the truths of impermanence and death… never procrastinate or simply not think about it. Think about it, face it, fear it and from this do something and soar… become attained…"
But if you stop doing that, then you have in fact escaped sickness, old age and death!
But if you stop doing that, then you have in fact escaped sickness, old age and death!
But the Buddha got sick, old and died.
@sharonsaw you have to be cautious in saying things like "As Buddhists we believe in reincarnation." Because not all Buddhists believe in it, or know how they feel about it. Not all Buddhist believe the same things outside of the 4NT and N8FP.