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Is this even a Buddhist thought
Hello everyone. I'm new to Buddhism, I hope I don't say anything wrong.
I'm 21 and have developed my own beliefs over the years. I've tried every religion under the sun. I've prayed, meditated, astrally projected, etc. I know it all in theory but theory is what it remains. It's what I been through that defines my spirituality.
Long story short, my mother died when I was 12. My father died when I was 20, last year. I don't have any siblings and very little family left that I can trust.
When my mom died, it was a long hard road out of hell for years. Some of it seems like a blur, some of it could have lasted forever.
But i eventually made peace with her death. She began coming to me in dreams, and whether that's "real" or just my own mind coping...it's gave me more peace than anything has. To know that she exists, even in my mind, gives me hope.
This will sound weird, but I wasn't as depressed when my father died. He had been suffering with cancer, and I knew it was probably his time to go.
This leads me to the most spiritual thing I've ever experienced, and that is orange juice. When I was at the hospital and they pronounced my father dead, a nurse asked if I'd like anything to drink. I said orange juice would be fine. This was minutes after he died, and I was still in shock.
When I tasted the orange juice, a feeling of sincere gratitude came over me. I was so grateful to have a father I loved for 20 years. I was so grateful to be alive at that moment. It was one more minute than what my father had. I was still alive to taste how good the juice was. I was still alive to feel how warm and soft my coat was. Every single sensory thing (especially the juice in my dry mouth) made me so grateful for every second I had left to experience such things.
I knew that worrying about the future would do me no good, even though at that moment I should have been freaked out...having no income, etc. But I just felt that life wasn't as complicated as I made it out to be. All my life I've wanted things. I've wanted things to make me happy. Yet the thing that changed my life and made me happiest right when I needed it was free juice in a paper cup.
I think if I learn to appreciate things for what they are even more, I'll have a much happier life.
Anyway, I told my friend about this and she told me about the Buddhist story of the tiger and strawberry. I hadn't heard it at that point. But I don't know if that's even a Buddhist story, lol. Just a something she heard.
Thanks for reading.
I'm 21 and have developed my own beliefs over the years. I've tried every religion under the sun. I've prayed, meditated, astrally projected, etc. I know it all in theory but theory is what it remains. It's what I been through that defines my spirituality.
Long story short, my mother died when I was 12. My father died when I was 20, last year. I don't have any siblings and very little family left that I can trust.
When my mom died, it was a long hard road out of hell for years. Some of it seems like a blur, some of it could have lasted forever.
But i eventually made peace with her death. She began coming to me in dreams, and whether that's "real" or just my own mind coping...it's gave me more peace than anything has. To know that she exists, even in my mind, gives me hope.
This will sound weird, but I wasn't as depressed when my father died. He had been suffering with cancer, and I knew it was probably his time to go.
This leads me to the most spiritual thing I've ever experienced, and that is orange juice. When I was at the hospital and they pronounced my father dead, a nurse asked if I'd like anything to drink. I said orange juice would be fine. This was minutes after he died, and I was still in shock.
When I tasted the orange juice, a feeling of sincere gratitude came over me. I was so grateful to have a father I loved for 20 years. I was so grateful to be alive at that moment. It was one more minute than what my father had. I was still alive to taste how good the juice was. I was still alive to feel how warm and soft my coat was. Every single sensory thing (especially the juice in my dry mouth) made me so grateful for every second I had left to experience such things.
I knew that worrying about the future would do me no good, even though at that moment I should have been freaked out...having no income, etc. But I just felt that life wasn't as complicated as I made it out to be. All my life I've wanted things. I've wanted things to make me happy. Yet the thing that changed my life and made me happiest right when I needed it was free juice in a paper cup.
I think if I learn to appreciate things for what they are even more, I'll have a much happier life.
Anyway, I told my friend about this and she told me about the Buddhist story of the tiger and strawberry. I hadn't heard it at that point. But I don't know if that's even a Buddhist story, lol. Just a something she heard.
Thanks for reading.
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–nounZen. sudden enlightenment.
good tidings to you my friend
Sometimes it is through suffering that one gets a glimpse at the peace and happiness untouched by all conditions. By simply letting go.
You have just experienced what many people don't see their entire lives.
Exactly the same type of flowers, but wilted, well beyond their best, and dying.
And in that moment, he saw it all.
Just how transitory everything is, in exactly the same way. It is born, it grows, it flourishes, it is resplendent, then it falls, it withers, it fades and dies.
Like the woman who sought the Buddha's help, in reviving her dead son, we come to the realisation that everything has a beginning, a middle and an end.
And those "in the middle" should, in all logic, and with all reason, be rejoicing at their present and current good fortune.
Serenely and contentedly. In whatever way that 'good fortune' manifests.
Welcome to the forum.
Miko was hunting for food in the mountain forest when a tiger sprang from behind a bush and began to chase him. Miko ran as fast as he could, jumping over tangled roots and broken branches. Still the tiger pursued him relentlessly. He ran on until the path came to the edge of a ravine. He tried to control his footing but he slipped and went sailing off the edge. He flailed his arms through the air and caught hold of a vine.
So there he was, swinging on the vine. Above him, the tiger paced back and forth. Below him was a hundred foot drop straight to the rocks. As he looked around searching for some way out of his predicament, he saw a small bush hanging out from the side of the cliff. It was a strawberry bush and on it was a single red and ripe strawberry.
He plucked the strawberry from the bush and bit into it. Never before had a strawberry tasted so sweet.
from Zenbananas
Death is the great reminder of impermanence and how sweet life is because of it. Best to make full use of this precious life while we have it.
Palzang
Suffering is caused be ignorance of the fact that all conditioned things are impermanent and expecting things to remain unchanged.
There is a way to end suffering.
That way is to let things be as they are [by letting go] and to stay in the present moment and fully show gratitude to that moment, the only moment that truly matters.
We do unnecessarily complicate our lives. Your story made me think about the things I've complicated my life with.
I've had a similar moment of clarity a long time ago, and that moment helped me become who I am today.
Best wishes to you.
It's based on a parable Buddha tells in the Pali suttas.
Palzang