Friday, July 1, 2016

Buddha's eternal teachings---Mindfulness and love



Many times we hear that some people are not able to concentrate on any subject for a long time because of various external constraints. These limitations may be genuine also, but one is required to know the techniques how to increase the power of concentration for success in life. The parents always complain about this fact, and they shout on their children.  But it is a wrong process of reproaching and made them more attentive. If you want to teach them to concentrate for a long time, you have to make them practice mindfulness.  Before that, you need to practice this technique. Whether you are standing, walking, sitting or even talking, if you can embrace upon to this practice, not only your concentration power will be increased, but also your life will be enjoyable.  Buddha had taught two creeds; one is mindfulness, another one is love and through this route, you can reach the spiritual path.  In today’s complex world, the ultimate truth is inexpressible, whereas the relative truth is spread in different versions sometimes distorting the real fact.  The reason is our mind and bodies are not acting in the same direction. We all have twenty-four hours in a day, and we are engaged in different activities like surfing websites, writing letters, giving presentations, discussing the technical matter with peers, busy in confabulations with family members for a variety of issues, and sometimes lazing around the house without any purpose.  While making yourself busy in all these vital as well as trifle issues, have you any time counted that how many minutes you are developing an intimate connection with your body with the mind, which is the essence of Mindfulness. Surprisingly, most of the times we fail to engage both of them in unison.  Your mind will be as usual a waiver organ, and so to control, you need to subjugate it.

Buddha stressed on the development of morality, awareness, wisdom and equanimity. If there is any social, religious and personal dispute, you face, you have to silence using the power. Mindfulness is the essence of life. And extending love, showing affection to other persons, animals, trees, plants and flowers are also important to receive God’s blessings. Buddha always insisted for the middle path, and he advocated for staying in the present moment amidst universal sufferings without bothering much for the unknown and unknowable origin.

We all know that our sufferings are due to our lack of understanding of this mindfulness and not showing enough love.  We face different types of challenges in life, and we combat relentlessly pervading sufferings caused by disease, aging, death and impermanence.  We suffer because we are sloughed in the dark tunnel of ignorance and shackled by ego.  Buddha was aware of this fact, and so he prescribed a step-by-step process of transformation.   Life is painful despite the occasional, transient and apparent happiness.  No sooner the hour of pleasure is over, we again become sad.  Why?  The reason is that we are not able to enlighten our body, mind, and soul.  We live in the illusion that our lives are full of happiness.  We seek peace in the midst of disturbing facts and absolute impermanence.  When we utilize our intelligent and recognize this fact, we strive for the transcendental entity beyond the dualities of pains and pleasure.  To bring in the concept of mindfulness and to love each other, Buddha prescribed the noble eight fold path; the constituents of the same are wisdom, morality, assimilation, and Samadhi.  The road starts with seeking the right view of the reality behind the apparent.  Through the good view, we must adopt the right intention to take the same as the principle of life.  A good (right) plan or goal must be in front of you.  We need to translate the good intentions into right actions through right speech, and right living-hood.  Once these steps are in the place, you need to put real efforts to follow the path that consists of right mindfulness or observation of each of your actions in life carefully.  Finally, right contemplation emancipates one from the unending misery of the sufferings and improper living.  Buddha professed that morality is the backbone of an ideal life.  And, morality follows the practice of mindfulness that starts contemplation of body-within-body, being mindful of breathing and the five elements in the body.  It follows non-reactive awareness of feelings, mind, and mental qualities.  Mindfulness consists of knowledge of the body, states of mind,  intellect and feelings – pleasant, painful as the non-reactive and non-judgmental witness that eliminate stress level and revealing the truth.  Through mindful meditation, you can increase the power of observation awareness. 

It also inculcates a habit of extending a lovable relationship which cultivates empathetic awareness of all beings.  Empathy is the route to share the emotions of others including their thoughts and feelings.  The unconditional love is one of the precious assets that ultimately culminates in identification with all beings.  While doing so, we accept their concerns, fears, anger, hopes, craving for desires of different types of our own. It ultimately influences our attitude and behavior towards them.  The unconditional love has three different dimensions of experience.  When we become aware of other’s happiness, we experience empathetic joy without showing any jealousy towards their successes. You must ensure to transform the sufferings of others into compassion with a sense of empathy, not pity. Finally, awareness of joy and suffering of others makes us introspect deeper to find out the equanimity.  Buddhism says that morality, mindfulness, and unconditional love are the solutions to curb the pollutant minds of the people and their problems, and it increases the concentration power.

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