Learning Buddhism allows us to face everything we have experienced in life with wisdom and compassion. As a complete and ultimate "life education", early contact can help us avoid many detours.
What is the ultimate purpose of you studying Buddhism? Seek blessings from a human and heavenly beings and happiness in the world? Or completely free from this troublesome cycle of reincarnation? Or should you take Buddhas and Bodhisattvas as your role models?
No matter which kind of answer you are, The four methods mentioned by Buddha , you must know that they can take us to see the truth of life. If you understand more, you can relieve your troubles. If you put it into practice, you can be liberated from the cycle of reincarnation.
The fundamental thing to liberation from troubles is to liberation from the cycle of reincarnation. Although they are all studying Buddhism, different people have different goals. Simply put, some people have the goal of being reborn in the human and even the heavenly way in the future, focusing on eliminating evil and cultivating good and accumulating blessings.
Some people have realized that this continuous cycle of life and death is full of dangers. Only by aiming to get rid of the cycle of reincarnation can the root cause be cured. There are also practitioners who initiate the Bodhicitta, not only seek their own liberation, but also vow to save all sentient beings, practice themselves in the process of saving sentient beings, with the goal of practicing the Bodhisattva Path.
Most people are more likely to accept the first type, but they also know that it cannot cure the root cause. However, if you want to be free from the cycle of reincarnation and leave the three realms as your goal, how to develop a renunciation mind and what to practice? Before Nirvana, Shakyamuni Buddha warned his disciples that if you want to leave the three realms and be liberated from the cycle of life and death, you should stay in ", the Four Mindfulnesses, ".
The four mindfulnesses are also called the four mindfulness abstinence, including observing the impure body, observing the suffering of feelings, observing the impermanence of the mind, and observing the selflessness of the Dharma. They are methods of practicing to observe and contemplate the four realms and thus trigger concentration and wisdom.
What is the most persistent and unwilling thing for people to let go of? In fact, it is their own body. Most people are busy with food, clothing, housing and transportation throughout their lives.
In order to meet the needs of the tongue, they will kill animals, steam, fry and fry, and make up for them. They will also try their best to take care of them when they are old... But what exactly is this body that has made us work hard all our lives? Is it really worth our greed?
Which of the skin, bones, flesh, hair, etc. of the human body is clean? "Nine holes often flow impure." Once the physical body dies, it will soon smell bad and rot, and eventually a pile of dry bones will be left, turning into a piece of loess. Only when people are confused by the false appearance of the physical body can they become greedy.
If you can see through its essence, you will naturally reduce your greed and develop a renunciation mind to be liberated from the samsara of reincarnation, and you will also be able to experience the equality of sentient beings and develop a compassionate and protect life.
Tips: If you want to practice observing the impurity of your body during meditation, you should first start by observing your breathing, calm your mind on your breathing, and then practice observing the impurity of your body after your mind is subtle. Otherwise, practicing with a distracted mind may result in the opposite effect, and the more you observe, you will become more attached to the body.
Response can be understood as our senses, that is, the feelings produced by the body and mind when the six senses come into contact with the external environment. But in fact, all "feelings" are essentially painful. Therefore, the goal of committing to humanity or heaven cannot solve the fundamental problem of life.
We often say that life is bittersweet. There is no need to say about birth, old age, sickness and death. This is called "suffering" in Buddhism.
That is how to taste delicious food, titles on the list, and people are happy, right? But Buddhism reveals that this is called "happiness" because it comes and goes quickly. The present moment of happiness is towards pain. The feeling of happiness will disappear soon. As it disappears little by little, pain will follow.
When you are hungry, it is very happy to taste delicious food, but if you continue to eat more than the body can bear, happiness becomes pain; if you sweat, you are very happy to take a bath, but you are not happy to keep soaking in water.
Therefore, human happiness is just a temporary balance obtained when a certain desire is satisfied, just "false happiness". There is no real, eternal happiness in the world. In Buddhism, this is called "bad suffering". We can observe and think more in life, whether this is the case.
Tips: If you can see this thoroughly, the world's games, entertainment, wealth, fame and fortune will not shake you, and there is nothing you can't let go of. If you cooperate with the correct meditation method, you will experience the joy of meditation brought by meditation, which is completely incomparable to those short-lived "false joys" in the world.
Especially in meditation, it is like a cup of stirred water settled down. We can more easily find that our minds are carried away by various troubles such as greed, anger, and ignorance, and can observe the impermanence of the mind.
For example, when you are meditating, you suddenly hear a sound. It is the ear consciousness that is at work, the ears are feeling, and then you start to think about what sound this is. According to this sound, many associations are brought about, and a thought jumps to 108,000 miles away... We must learn to be aware of it, see clearly it is running, but not being led by it, and this scattered mind will gradually settle down.
In daily life, our thoughts are also impermanent and changing. When happiness comes, it will not be happy forever; when pain comes, it will not be painful forever. When the mood is high, it may not be maintained for a long time; when the mood is depressed, it may not be maintained forever.
Thoughts are always erratic, every thought is impermanent, and it is changing all the time. If you realize the impermanent nature of your mind, you will not be attached to a certain feeling, will not be complacent because of good times, and will not be unable to extricate yourself because of bad times.
Tips: Observe slowly and practice frequently in this way. It turns out that our minds run around the six senses (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind), and quickly arise and die. The Buddha said that the fastest birth and death in the world is our minds, and it is easiest to observe impermanence. Therefore, the Buddha taught us to observe impermanence in the four mindfulnesses.
Dharma refers to all dharmas in the universe and life.
I refer to the master who exists alone and remains unchanged.
All dharmas in the universe, including ourselves, are formed by the combination of many causes, and there is no single entity in it. But sentient beings are delusional and ignorant, and they are falsely aware of having self. Therefore, practicing the view of the Dharma without self can cure our greed for all things in the world.
For example, a light and tasteless steamed bun can save lives when hungry, but when full, it becomes a waste of money. There is no distinction between good and bad in nature in the outside world, but sentient beings are reversal, and people are driven by the "ego" heart to judge and choose.
Do not look at things with the subjective likes and dislikes of "I" and "I want" hearts, so there is no need to be angry, troubled or happy about external things. To put it bluntly, it means that all dharmas have no self and see through the "self-attachment".
Tips: Observing the law without self is mainly to realize that all law has no self by observing five ridges , five aggregates , six senses, six dust , etc. The specific details are quite complicated. If you want to know more, you can refer to the relevant classics of Tiantai Sect and Theravada Buddhism.
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