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An epiphany I guess.....???
I have been studying and studing buddhism philosophies and teachings. I was even asking myself. "why did I become a Buddhist?" Then I said to myself that I just need to relax, and that this is a temporary state. So I stopped and gave myself a break. Yes a break from trying to understand loving kindess and compassion and everything. When I did, I let my mind go. I then saw a commerical for a new god of war game. I don't really like games, but I did look up the story years back. Basically a man named Kratous decides to follow the greek god of war. The god wanted to strenghten Kratous by tricking him kill his own family. So he does. Then Kratous goes on an oddessy to kill the god of war and become the god of war himself.
It's not the story that is important. Its not the constaint mental studying that will lead to compassion. In the commercial I saw this character see his daughter smiling and happy, then in front of his eyes his daughter turned to sand. Then he had the look of anger, sadness, and vengence. When I wasn't thinking about why I was a buddhist and what everything means; I saw this man lose his daughter again, I instantly felt his pain (though the character is fictional), I felt compassion and thought that if I could have been there to protect him and stop his pain from happening, that this character would be happier and suffering less because he would atleast have the soft fetters of his family in his life.
Im sorry if this is long, I don't mean to sound this way or that way, I am not trying to say I acheived some attainment or some silly notion like that. I just wanted to share a burst of inspiration to anyone who might life this. This is what it makes sense to me. Compassion is not a mental concept that can be understood by reading or vicarious conceptualization alone, to me it is an action and or the desire to do loving kindness and acts of compassion, even if it means sacrifcing myself to stop their pain. That is why I became a buddhist, because I realized that I have an aspiration to do these acts. That means that I have the capablity for bodhicitta one day. Now I got to put in the time and right effort.
I apologize since I sound like I am on clouds, or something. This is temporary and suffering will find me again. but for now take care and good luck. (If I am wrong, then please tell me. I would love to hear your critizism. Though I am only human, thankyou for reading.) I apologize if I offended anyone.
It's not the story that is important. Its not the constaint mental studying that will lead to compassion. In the commercial I saw this character see his daughter smiling and happy, then in front of his eyes his daughter turned to sand. Then he had the look of anger, sadness, and vengence. When I wasn't thinking about why I was a buddhist and what everything means; I saw this man lose his daughter again, I instantly felt his pain (though the character is fictional), I felt compassion and thought that if I could have been there to protect him and stop his pain from happening, that this character would be happier and suffering less because he would atleast have the soft fetters of his family in his life.
Im sorry if this is long, I don't mean to sound this way or that way, I am not trying to say I acheived some attainment or some silly notion like that. I just wanted to share a burst of inspiration to anyone who might life this. This is what it makes sense to me. Compassion is not a mental concept that can be understood by reading or vicarious conceptualization alone, to me it is an action and or the desire to do loving kindness and acts of compassion, even if it means sacrifcing myself to stop their pain. That is why I became a buddhist, because I realized that I have an aspiration to do these acts. That means that I have the capablity for bodhicitta one day. Now I got to put in the time and right effort.
I apologize since I sound like I am on clouds, or something. This is temporary and suffering will find me again. but for now take care and good luck. (If I am wrong, then please tell me. I would love to hear your critizism. Though I am only human, thankyou for reading.) I apologize if I offended anyone.
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Comments
"'A being,' lord. 'A being,' it's said. To what extent is one said to be 'a being'?"
"Any desire, passion, delight, or craving for form, Radha: when one is caught up[1] there, tied up[2] there, one is said to be 'a being.'[3]
"Any desire, passion, delight, or craving for feeling... perception... fabrications...
"Any desire, passion, delight, or craving for consciousness, Radha: when one is caught up there, tied up there, one is said to be 'a being.'
"Just as when boys or girls are playing with little sand castles:[4] as long as they are not free from passion, desire, love, thirst, fever, & craving for those little sand castles, that's how long they have fun with those sand castles, enjoy them, treasure them, feel possessive of them. But when they become free from passion, desire, love, thirst, fever, & craving for those little sand castles, then they smash them, scatter them, demolish them with their hands or feet and make them unfit for play.
"In the same way, Radha, you too should smash, scatter, & demolish form, and make it unfit for play. Practice for the ending of craving for form.
"You should smash, scatter, & demolish feeling, and make it unfit for play. Practice for the ending of craving for feeling.
"You should smash, scatter, & demolish perception, and make it unfit for play. Practice for the ending of craving for perception.
"You should smash, scatter, & demolish fabrications, and make them unfit for play. Practice for the ending of craving for fabrications.
"You should smash, scatter, & demolish consciousness and make it unfit for play. Practice for the ending of craving for consciousness — for the ending of craving, Radha, is Unbinding."
Satta Sutta
Just as my suffering is bound up and inseparable from the suffering of all others, so 'my enlightenment' is not really 'mine' -- 'my' enlightenment is inseparable from the enlightenment of all beings. And so to begin the path by focusing not on 'what is in it for me' or just 'my' own suffering is the bodhisattva way.
I keep a small statue of Avalokiteshvara (with countless arms and hands) on my altar-- she symbolises this selfless compassion, and as such, she embodies the inseparability of wisdom and compassion. The gradual cultivation of the wisdom of no-self and cultivation of limitless compassion are mutually supportive. Deeper compassion leads to deeper wisdom, and deeper wisdom leads to deeper compassion-- and on and on ad infinitum.
I think this is what we are all here learning in our own imperfect ways. I would say you are off to an excellent start.
Sheng Yen says in Song of Mind:
"As practitioners we wish to cultivate compassionate minds, to become more accepting of ourselves and of others. We may not have the limitless capacities of the Buddha and bodhisattvas, but we can at least work in that direction. In doing so, our minds and hearts will expand while compassion and wisdom will grow. Everyone can become a buddha, but right now we are still ordinary sentient beings. If we cannot learn to become kind and considerate to people around us, practicing meditation is pointless. Buddhism is not interested in debating whether some people are goodor bad, or whether the nature of humans is good or evil. Buddhadharma desires to improve the human character through practice. The Buddha is not an alien being; he is a model among human beings, something we can all aspire to. That is why we practice."
:clap:
“Cling to the One who clings to nothing;
And so clinging, cease to cling.”
― Tamil Holy Kural (pre Buddhist)
or to put it another way
throw sand in the air
but don't try and catch every grain
We help each other knowing the relative truth of things. We help each other knowing that we all suffer and we are impermanent. When we can see glimpses of the absolute truth of the universe, we are seeing with our Buddha eyes.
I pity the makers of video games now for they must be the ones who truly suffer the most.
"Ignorance is bliss."
I think sometimes the experience of suffering occurs only when one sees a glimpse of the cessation of suffering.
In a way we are all videogaming as per Matrix all the time.