Just Bite Your Tongue

18 Nov 2014 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , ,

Just Bite Your TongueSome situations in life just get stuck, they just refuse to offer a resolution, be that through indecision, lack of control or reluctance to move on.

Having the patience, with a person or situation, to see things through to their conclusion takes Wisdom, Courage and Compassion for the following reasons:

The Wisdom to see that the desired path is both achievable and may lead to the correct outcome.

The Courage to stick to the path, despite setbacks or obstacles.

The Compassion to see things from another’s viewpoint, whether it agrees with your viewpoint or not.

One big problem with being patient, is that you never know what the outcome will be until it’s happened.

Are You Looking?

26 Aug 2014 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

Are You Looking For Your Path?We all have to find our own path to enlightenment. One person’s way may not be that of another, but we all have a path, if we take the time, and have the courage to find it.

Finding the right way is not an easy task, but you owe it to yourself to keep looking.

Everyone has the right to flower, to reveal his or her full potential as human beings and to fulfil their particular mission in this world. You have this right, as does everyone else.

This is the meaning of human rights. To scorn, violate and abuse people’s human rights destroys the natural order of things.

Valuing human rights and showing respect for other people are amongst our most important tasks in life.

On The Purpose Of Prayer

22 Aug 2014 1 Comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , , , ,

The Chosen PathPrayer, in Nichiren Buddhism, is unlike that in most other faiths, in that they are not directed to a higher power for help or consideration for the subject of the prayer.

When Nichiren Buddhists pray, they are making themselves more mindful of the effects they wish to see in their lives, and raising their life-state in order to enable them to create the causes to achieve those effects.

It is important to remember that our prayers reflect our life state. In that respect, prayer is a solemn means to raise our life-state or condition. To receive exactly the results for which we are praying, it is crucial to make a determined, single minded effort toward that goal.

This is the true path of manifesting faith in our daily life. Those of us who proceed along this narrow path, day after day, month after month, year after year, will develop, without fail. Just as a sapling grows into a mighty tree, to become a person of outstanding strength and character, one with wisdom, courage and compassion, relies on us remaining true to our chosen path.

Learn To Know Thyself

14 Aug 2014 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , , ,

Socrates - 'Know Thyself'The path to enlightenment involves a lot of learning, much of it about ourselves. My growing emphasis on mindfulness leads to much self examination, of feelings, thoughts and of the workings of the mind.

Wisdom is rooted in the souls of human beings. The way to acquire it is to follow the simple advice of Socrates – ‘Know Thyself’.

This is the starting point for the establishment of a sense of human dignity, preventing the degradation of human beings into anonymous, interchangeable cogs in a machine.

The basis of all true knowledge is self knowledge.

Seeking The Way

06 Feb 2014 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

Still LookingWe all have to find our own path to enlightenment. One person’s way may not be that of another, but we all have a path, if we take the time, and have the courage to find it.

Everyone has the right to flower, to reveal his or her full potential as human beings and to fulfil their particular mission in this world. You have this right, as does everyone else.

This is the meaning of human rights. To scorn, violate and abuse people’s human rights destroys the natural order of things.

Valuing human rights and showing respect for other people are amongst our most important tasks in life.

Into The Unknown

09 Aug 2013 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

Into The UnknownIf you missed all the signs in the last few days, I embarked on a mini marathon of a bike ride today, cycling from Poole, in deepest Dorset, to Hanham in Bristol, partly to visit my girls, their men and my grandsons, but partly to test my physical and mental strength by riding a distance I haven’t attempted for years.

I’ve been riding a lot over the last few months, as you know, covering over 1100km since I started recording the data back in June. So I have a few miles under my belt and my level of fitness has risen, as my weight has fallen, and I was fairly confident that it wasn’t a ridiculous target.

But having faith in yourself and your ability, and knowing that you can reach your goal can be two entirely different things. So as I set off for Bristol, with all the preparations leading me to believe in myself, I knew that only reaching that destination would prove that my belief was founded on sound principles.

I made it, not without a fair amount of sweat, but happily no tears and my faith in myself proved to be well founded.

The parallel between this trip, and my journey along the path to enlightenment, to me, is really rather striking. Each hill, or challenge along the way, has to be confronted, each step takes energy and determination and there is always a degree of pain and maybe some doubt that the summit will be reached.

But with each challenge conquered, each hill surmounted, grows an ever stronger belief, that what you are doing is right, that the principles are sound, and that they won’t let you down.

My path to enlightenment presents me with challenges all the time, but as my confidence in my own strength and ability to ride a bike has increased with this little victory, so my faith in my Buddhist Principles grows each time they show me the way to overcome the next hurdle.

Still Looking

31 Jan 2013 2 Comments

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

Still LookingWe all have to find our own path to enlightenment. One person’s way may not be that of another, but we all have a path, if we take the time, and have the courage to find it.

Everyone has the right to flower, to reveal his or her full potential as human beings and to fulfil their particular mission in this world. You have this right, as does everyone else.

This is the meaning of human rights. To scorn, violate and abuse people’s human rights destroys the natural order of things.

Valuing human rights and showing respect for other people are amongst our most important tasks in life.

Be The Light

06 Sep 2012 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

A Little Ray Of LightHaving a sedentary job, sitting in front of a PC monitor all day, has not been good for my continuing back problem. Being a hod carrier probably wouldn’t be much better, though it might mean that I might have been a bit fitter and not had the problem in the first place.

Any way, this pain seems to be at its worst when, either I have been standing for a while and then sit down, or when I’ve been sitting and stand up. Either way, the transition is jolly painful I can tell you and it’s really getting to me.

Maybe that is why, when my beloved Bumble called me tonight, I did a pretty good job of draining every drop of life-energy out of her, leaving her in a rather flat and depressed state. Just what a girl is looking for in the perfect life partner, or not.

And now I feel like a proper heel and would like to ring her and tell her so, but she’ll be sleeping and that would only make matters worse. So what have we learned tonight? That being a grumpy git is, on the whole, not very conducive to making others feel happy? So from now on, no matter how painful my back, I will try to be the light of her life, rather than the doom in her gloom.

Hindsight is a perfect science, but looking a the situation from another’s viewpoint is a good way to pre-empt a foolish or selfish action. I have a horrible feeling that this lesson has been learned before, but it does also go to show that the path to enlightenment is not always straight or level, and maybe the bumps actually teach us more.