Buddhism is Cool
That's Philosophical #4
Welcome to That’s Philosophical, a newsletter that will make you a bit more enlightened. Twice a week, I send you inspirational ideas to become a more mindful person and live a more fulfilled life.
You can read the web version here.
I love some philosophies practiced in Buddhism. I’ve done a little bit of research and wanted to share three quick lessons you can learn from the creepy bald guys in orange robes.
By the way, even though it counts as a religion, don’t hesitate to learn from it if you don’t believe in God, I just love their philosophy and try to find something for myself.
1. The root of all problems.
According to Buddhism, the core of our dissatisfaction is craving. Humans are controlled by their desires. If we experience some negative feeling or situation, we have one thing inside of our heads: When will this stop? On the other hand, when we experience something pleasant, we never want this feeling to end.
It all results in one thing: dissatisfaction.
And no matter what you experience, you are always thinking about what could have been. The goal of Buddhism is to stop craving and just embrace the thing you are currently experiencing.
“It is like a man standing for decades on the seashore, embracing certain ‘good’ waves and trying to prevent them from disintegrating, while simultaneously pushing back ‘bad’ waves to prevent them from getting near him.
Day in, day out, the man stands on the beach, driving himself crazy with this fruitless exercise. Eventually, he sits down on the sand and just allows the waves to come and go as they please.”
- Yuval Noah Harari.
2. Being ok with whatever you experience.
Hell is this thing hard. I think that only those who meditate thousands of days can do this, I meditated a lot, and I still feel like a beginner. Here is the thing:
When you feel something unpleasant, rather than trying to get rid of it, embrace it and let it go. It is neither good nor evil, you should just accept emotions as they are. Never be violent to your feelings, whether negative or positive, because they are a part of who you are. Observe the emotion and see what it has to offer, every emotion carries a lesson for you.
3. Every living thing changes over time.
People also change. Every aspect of your life changes as time goes by. Yet, we usually want to keep things from changing, we want to hold onto them while forgetting that the only permanent thing is the change.
Be ready for the change, it doesn’t spare anyone.
Thanks for exploring mindfulness with me, enjoy your weekend!
Read That’s Philosophical #3 - The misunderstood meaning of life.