Buddha I Know

I started writing or collecting some thoughts about Buddhism and Buddha for last couple of months. I'm really impressed by the Buddhist philosophy and I would like to share what I have come through and share my views on it.

Before I begin to write few words on Buddha, I found this statement appropriate to mention here. Buddhism is very vast and without knowing a bit about it, it would be meaningless for having this life.
"Let a wise man blow off impurities of his self, as a smith blows off the impurities of silver, one by one, little by little, and from time to time."
Buddha is not a god, or a man carrying from heaven a supernatural revelation, to be accepted on faith. He does not speak of a God, a creator. He does not tell why we live, but how to live. He teaches a way of life, a way to rise above the troubles of life and finally, a way to achieve the ultimate happiness of Nirvana, in which a state of blissful, untroubled peace accompanies the complete opening up of understanding.

Meditation

Meditation describes a state of concentrated attention on some object of thought or awareness. It involves the attention inward to the mind itself. This positive cycle of experience and release creates an exciting new outlook on life and enables us to pursue our purposeful place in it and it is also a process of healing and liberating. Also it is one of the proven alternative therapies. It can be broadly classified under the mind-body medicine.
Nowadays the doctors are prescribing meditation as a way to lower blood pressure, improve exercise performance in the angina, help people with asthma breathe easier, relieve insomnia and generally relax the everyday stresses of life. It’s a safe and simple way to balance a person’s physical, emotional and mental states. Meditative techniques are the product of diverse cultures and peoples around the world. It has been rooted in the traditions of the world’s great religions. Practically all religious groups practice meditation in one form or another. It is the key for opening the doors of mysteries to the mind. Man abstract himself in that state man withdraws himself from all outside objects. In that subjective mood the man immersed in the ocean of spiritual life and can unfold the secrets of things in themselves.
All meditation methods are effective in reducing stress. But they do so in different ways. The main characteristic of meditation is conscious breathing. The single most effective relaxation technique is conscious regulation of breath. Breathing is the only function which can perform consciously as well as unconsciously. It can be completely voluntary act or a completely involuntary act. It is controlled by two nerves. Breath is the bridge between to the voluntary and involuntary systems. It has direct connections to emotional states and moods – observe someone who is angry, rapidly, shallowly, noisily and irregularly. Beyond conscious breathing, which all meditation methods share. It’s a wide variety of intentions and corresponding techniques.
The distinguishing characteristics of meditation are contrasted and it’s downward, heart-centered, In-Life, lover active reality based, Awakening. Most meditative traditions discourage drug use. Meditations includes an increase in patience, compassion, and other virtues. Consciousness of sin, temptation and a spirit of contrition. Experience of spiritual phenomena such as kundalini, extra-sensory perception or visions of deities etc. Mindfulness meditation and related techniques are intended to train attention for the sake of provoking insight.

Psychological Healing-- Buddhism

"It is possible to understand the Buddhist teachings as a method of psychological healing, comparable to psychotherapy that teaches us how we can master destructive forces like anger, envy, and greed. Human beings seem to be a bundle of different qualities and psychological processes. We should attentively examine our qualities and be alertly aware of our experiences in order to recognize what we truly feel and think. At the same time, the personality of human beings is not seen as a unified whole."

According to these teachings, the heart of consciousness is composed of various elements, the five types of attachment, or skandhas: body, sensations, perceptions, instinctual forces, and consciousness.

"These inner forces impart the false concept of an ego-consciousness. The basic problem of emotional disorders therefore lies in a false concept of identity. This I-blindness should therefore be abolished through self-study.... The goal is not self-realization but selflessness."

Sky Like Nature

"The purpose of meditation is to awaken in us the sky like nature of mind, and to introduce us to that which we really are, our unchanging pure awareness that underlies the whole of life and death. In the stillness and silence of meditation, we glimpse and return to that deep inner nature that we so long ago lost sight of amid the busyness and distraction of our minds."

Buddhist monk files suit for cutting of Bodhi tree

The Bodh Gaya Temple management finds itself in the midst of a fresh controversy, with a criminal complaint filed in the court against the cutting off a branch of the famous 'Mahabodhi' tree.

Arup Brahmachari, a monk in his 30s, has filed a criminal complaint case against officials of the Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee in the court of the chief judicial magistrate in Gaya. "I have filed a criminal case against officials of the temple with evidence, including eight photographs, that a branch of the Bodhi tree was cut off," said Arup Brahmachari.

Around a year ago it was widely reported that some miscreants had cut off a branch of the Bodhi tree. The Nitish Kumar-led government was quick in issuing a denial. However, after a hue and cry over the incident worldwide, the state government got samples collected from the cut area on the tree and sent it to a Pune-based forest laboratory to ascertain the truth.

Ironically, nearly 11 months after, the laboratory report is yet to be made public. The Gaya district administration said the report was awaited. Some Buddhist monks suspect that the government is trying to hide truth.

"My complaint was supported by an affidavit filed by Deepak Malakar, a gardener of the temple, who used to look after the Bodhi tree," Brahmachari said. In his affidavit, Malakar claimed that he cut off a branch of the tree on July 10, 2006, allegedly on the order of Bahadant Bodhipal, the temple chief priest, and carried it to his residence.

Brahmachari has accused top temple officials, including the ex-officio chairman, secretary Kalicharan Yadav, chief priest Bahadant Bodhipal and the Gaya district magistrate, of trying to temper with Malakar's affidavit.

"These powerful people are doing everything to frighten Malakar to change his mind over the issue and police have even raided his house," Brahmachari claimed. Brahamchari, who has been spearheading a campaign against the mushrooming of fake NGOs in Bodh Gaya,said that last week when he went to the police station to file the criminal case the police refused to register it.

The Bodhi tree behind the Mahabodhi temple, which has grown from the original banyan tree under which Buddha attained enlightenment, saw new leaves after four years last year. Last month IANS reported that the tree was threatened by an unknown disease. Hundreds of fresh leaves of the holy tree are falling off daily. Brahamchari blamed the temple officials of negligence of the Bodhi tree. Sources in Bodh Gaya said plant scientist A.K. Singh had suggested some corrective measures after examining the tree. Thousands of Buddhist pilgrims from across the world carry back leaves from the tree. An official of the Mahabodhi temple, which the UNESCO has declared a World Heritage Site, said the Bodhi tree is the sixth regeneration of the original banyan tree.

Gautam Buddha - The Originator of Buddhism

The word 'Buddha' is a title and not a name in itself. It means 'one who is awake' (in the sense of having 'woken up to reality'). The title was given to Siddhartha Gautama, who was born in Lumbini (Nepal), approximately 2,500 years ago. He did not claim to be a God and he has never been regarded as such by Buddhists. He was a human being who became Enlightened, understanding life in the deepest way possible.

Gautam BuddhaSiddhartha was born into the royal family of a small kingdom, on the Indian-Nepalese border. According to the traditional story, he had a cloistered upbringing, but was jolted out of complacency when he encountered the harsh realities of life, such as old age, sickness and death.

He left His home in search of the real meaning of life. He practiced meditation under various teachers and then took to asceticism. The rigorous asceticism that He followed virtually led Him to the verge of death. But, true understanding seemed as far away to Him as ever and eventually, He abandoned this path. He sat down beneath a pipal tree and vowed that "flesh may wither, blood may dry up, but I shall not rise from this spot until Enlightenment has been won". After forty days, the Buddha finally attained Enlightenment.

Buddhists believe that He attained a state of being that goes beyond anything else in the world. If normal experience is based on conditions - upbringing, psychology, opinions, perceptions, and so on - Enlightenment is Unconditioned. It was a state in which the Buddha gained insight into the deepest workings of life and therefore, into the cause of human suffering, the problem that had set Him on His spiritual quest in the first place.

During the remaining 45 years of His life, he traveled through much of northern India, teaching the way to Enlightenment to others. The teaching is known as the Buddha-dharma - 'the teaching of the Enlightened One', in the East. Traveling from place to place, the Buddha taught numerous disciples, who gained Enlightenment in their own right. They, in turn, taught others and in this way, an unbroken chain of teaching has continued, right down to the present day.

The Buddha was not God and neither did He make any claim to divinity. He was a human being who, through tremendous efforts, transformed Himself. Buddhists see him as an ideal and a guide, who can lead them to Enlightenment.

Buddhist Religion

Buddhism is a path of practice and spiritual development, providing a person with insight into the true nature of life. Buddhist practices, such as meditation, serve as the means of changing oneself, in order to develop the qualities of awareness, kindness, and wisdom. Buddhism is not about teaching or learning, but about experiencing.

Buddhist ideology does not advocate the practice of worshipping God in a physical form. Hence, quite often, it is not really seen as a religion in the normal sense. The basic tenets of Buddhist teaching are straightforward and practical - nothing is fixed or permanent; actions have consequences; change is possible. It teaches practical methods, such as meditation, which enable people to realize and utilize its teachings in order to transform their experience. They are taught to be fully responsible for their lives and to develop the qualities of wisdom and compassion.

Historical Places