For many Buddhists, the world is seen as a difficult place, full of delusion and attachments, which in turn cause suffering and pain. This whirlwind, however, can be escaped through Nirvana, which is seen as a state of 'no wind', the ultimate attainment. Nirvana ensures no rebirth, a break from the wheel of life into … Continue reading Stillness
Tag: suffering
Shielding
Buddhism talks about 'emptiness' and for many this can be a difficult concept to accept. The idea that everything leads to suffering and that ultimately everything is empty can appear nihilistic and fairly depressing, but this 'emptiness' does not mean worthless, or devoid of meaning. It is a common human condition that we attach personal … Continue reading Shielding
Wish
How often a day do we wish for something, how often a week, a month? I wish I had a bigger house, a newer car, a better job. I wish she wouldn't say that, I wish that wouldn't happen. Our wishes are endless. And our wishes are all centred around the ego. I wish. How … Continue reading Wish
Thankfulness
Life supplies us with everything we need. Every day we have air to breathe and wonder to fill us with awe. There is energy which feeds the soul, if we recognise it and allow it into our lives. The blade of grass in spring-time, so pure and green, sprouting from the earth, bathing in the … Continue reading Thankfulness
Possession
All at once the mind is taken over - there is no room for ought else, this one thought rules all and we are possessed by it. Love, lust, infatuation - this is what is does to us. It leaves the most grounded and logical of us dumbfounded. Every-day matters fade into insignificance and whether … Continue reading Possession
Expectation
To impose upon another any expectation carries a heavy burden, for both parties. Can one ever live up to the expectations of another? We are wholly different, however close we are - our eyes see things differently from one another, our hearts long for something individual only to us - so to hold expectations of … Continue reading Expectation
Villainy
Just as a story has its hero, it also has a villain. The hero appears more heroic and pure the more the villain is evil and depraved. We enjoy the story because of the of these opposing characters. They give life and colour, interest and emotion, more so than a story purely concerning one without … Continue reading Villainy
Try
We can hear a thousand wise sayings, or read a hundred insightful books, but unless we absorb those teachings and practise them in our every day lives, they are meaningless. Just as if you were to visit a doctor regarding some illness, and he prescribed you medicine that would make you well, but after you … Continue reading Try
At your peril…
Why do we suffer? We love and lose, we toil and sweat blood, each experience brings with it an opposite and fear is the opposite of love. Fear is born of suffering, and we learn, like the child with a match. It is how we respond to the suffering that dictates if it brings fear. … Continue reading At your peril…
To succeed is always to fail.
This notion may seem shocking, yet that is only because of our conditioning. In reality there is no success or failure, there is only the present moment, and the present moment cannot be a success or a failure. It just is. What are you striving for? More. More of what? The more you succeed in … Continue reading To succeed is always to fail.
Zen musings 