Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.
a book about patience from HH the Dalai Lama according to the teachings of Shantideva
I got a book a year ago when I was volunteering at the visit of HH the Dalai Lama in Amsterdam.
It's a book about patience. His Holiness explains his visions on the six chapter of the Bodhissattvacharyavatara van Archarya Shantideva, the indian philosopher (685-763) who formes an important inspiration in Tibetan Buddhism and perhaps in all Buddhist forms.
I have almost red half of this book from the Dalai Lama, because it is so much revealing for me. I have red some pages twice and marked certain information.
This topic is ment for me to make summaries of the book and to express what I have learned from this book. If some people have different views, or have feedback on the things I have written, please response.
The book itself
The books starts with making the statement that patience should not be seen as a passive way of thinking and living, and letting all things happen as the occur. It's more like a mental, clear state of mind in wich love, compassion and understanding of the true nature of things flourishes.
In this book there is for instance the clear notion that problems occur and that all problems come due certain factors and causes. It's is important to have this view so you realise that the problem is not the reality of the expression, but rather the causes or factors that make the expressions.
It's also important not to get angry at these expressions. Anger can lead to rage and even more destructive: hatred. With rage and hatred the clear mind is lost and all compassion to others is gone. You will act uppon the hatred and probaly make big mistakes. All the previous build goodness will be damaged. Hatred deformes your mind and body, makes you a bad sleeper, you will physically get sick and thats what you will express to the outside world. It may become an endless vicious circle in which hate might be the cause of future problems (also the views of Karma if I am right). The big problem about anger (from my point of view also in the West) is that it has the illusion of a shield for self protection. You get the idea that you protect yourself with your anger. But the unjustice that has been done can not be turned back. From your anger, rage and hatred new unjust behaviour can occur that make things even worse.
And that is perhaps another interesting view. The Dalai Lama has a different opinion on anger then Shantideva. Shantideva states that all anger is wrong, but His Holiness makes clear that some anger can be rightcious, but it always has to come out of compassion towards the person that does the wrong doing. Wrong doing comes from dissatisfaction, frustration and even anger.
You have to feel sorry in some way for the person that commits wrong behaviour to others or other creators and try to find a way (if it is possible) to look at the causes of the behaviour and the factors that causes these behaviours. If you solve them, the wrong doing can be solved and a person can get closer to the right path and eventuelly get enlightened.
Realisation of the fundamental nature (my nickname) of humans: their natural kindness, that they want to realise happiness in their lifes and overcome suffering can add to de realisation of compassion of the wrong do'er.
I often had the prejudgement about Buddhism that anger is always wrong and that Buddhists allow people to abuse their good behaviour, but the Dalai Lama states that clear meassures should be taken if a person is not willing to change his bad behaviour. But always from the view of compassion towards the other and without hurting the other. If meassures like a good, descent conversation can not be taken due to the other party's rage and hatred, breaking contact should be possible. But it is good to try to give someone wisdom, through compassion and change his behaviour.
Patience, acceptance of the existance of problems and their causes is an important state of mind to begin with. Through this state of mind, compassion and the solving of problems can flourish and end the suffering.
One of my questions to other Buddhists is: How about Martial Arts?
If an attacker attacks you, tries to hurt or kill you? A buddhist vision is not to hurt others, even if you are attacked. But you can get seriously injured or even die, or your loved ones can die...
You can't take serious meassurements to change one's behaviour...
Is their a way of taking meassurements in a descent way (descent self-defense) when you are attacked?
I will post more about this book later on...
It's a book about patience. His Holiness explains his visions on the six chapter of the Bodhissattvacharyavatara van Archarya Shantideva, the indian philosopher (685-763) who formes an important inspiration in Tibetan Buddhism and perhaps in all Buddhist forms.
I have almost red half of this book from the Dalai Lama, because it is so much revealing for me. I have red some pages twice and marked certain information.
This topic is ment for me to make summaries of the book and to express what I have learned from this book. If some people have different views, or have feedback on the things I have written, please response.
The book itself
The books starts with making the statement that patience should not be seen as a passive way of thinking and living, and letting all things happen as the occur. It's more like a mental, clear state of mind in wich love, compassion and understanding of the true nature of things flourishes.
In this book there is for instance the clear notion that problems occur and that all problems come due certain factors and causes. It's is important to have this view so you realise that the problem is not the reality of the expression, but rather the causes or factors that make the expressions.
It's also important not to get angry at these expressions. Anger can lead to rage and even more destructive: hatred. With rage and hatred the clear mind is lost and all compassion to others is gone. You will act uppon the hatred and probaly make big mistakes. All the previous build goodness will be damaged. Hatred deformes your mind and body, makes you a bad sleeper, you will physically get sick and thats what you will express to the outside world. It may become an endless vicious circle in which hate might be the cause of future problems (also the views of Karma if I am right). The big problem about anger (from my point of view also in the West) is that it has the illusion of a shield for self protection. You get the idea that you protect yourself with your anger. But the unjustice that has been done can not be turned back. From your anger, rage and hatred new unjust behaviour can occur that make things even worse.
And that is perhaps another interesting view. The Dalai Lama has a different opinion on anger then Shantideva. Shantideva states that all anger is wrong, but His Holiness makes clear that some anger can be rightcious, but it always has to come out of compassion towards the person that does the wrong doing. Wrong doing comes from dissatisfaction, frustration and even anger.
You have to feel sorry in some way for the person that commits wrong behaviour to others or other creators and try to find a way (if it is possible) to look at the causes of the behaviour and the factors that causes these behaviours. If you solve them, the wrong doing can be solved and a person can get closer to the right path and eventuelly get enlightened.
Realisation of the fundamental nature (my nickname) of humans: their natural kindness, that they want to realise happiness in their lifes and overcome suffering can add to de realisation of compassion of the wrong do'er.
I often had the prejudgement about Buddhism that anger is always wrong and that Buddhists allow people to abuse their good behaviour, but the Dalai Lama states that clear meassures should be taken if a person is not willing to change his bad behaviour. But always from the view of compassion towards the other and without hurting the other. If meassures like a good, descent conversation can not be taken due to the other party's rage and hatred, breaking contact should be possible. But it is good to try to give someone wisdom, through compassion and change his behaviour.
Patience, acceptance of the existance of problems and their causes is an important state of mind to begin with. Through this state of mind, compassion and the solving of problems can flourish and end the suffering.
One of my questions to other Buddhists is: How about Martial Arts?
If an attacker attacks you, tries to hurt or kill you? A buddhist vision is not to hurt others, even if you are attacked. But you can get seriously injured or even die, or your loved ones can die...
You can't take serious meassurements to change one's behaviour...
Is their a way of taking meassurements in a descent way (descent self-defense) when you are attacked?
I will post more about this book later on...
0
Comments
First of all, there's a small matter of copyright to consider.
Secondly, places like wikipedia do this well.
We're not wiki.
I'd be very happy to discuss whatever salient points you wish to bring up, but giving lengthy quotations is not really encouraged....
Thank you so much!
Can I turn this topic in a few questions wich hopefully ends up into a healthy discussion?
Also, after liaising with my fellow Mod/head honcho (on an unrelated posting in this same forum) we agreed that wherever possible, when referring to such work of others, it's preferable to give links, rather than quote long swathes.
Wherever possible.
I know it is not always so, but if it can be done, it's more appropriate.
Thanks again!