by The Power of Ideas
Buddhism is a profound philosophy that counters what we are taught in the west. It offers something for everyone, no matter your faith or lifestyle.
We are all facing problems and challenges in our life, but learning to accept and even embrace these challenges can help us live more fulfilling lives.
Each person is unique in their own way, and the challenges are always different, but Buddhism is comprised of a few profound truths that can benefit all of us.
If you want to make some changes in your life, especially regarding your attitude, here are 5 keys of Buddhism that will help you out:
1. Knowledge & Insight
We are living in the era of technology and information, which most importantly means we have access to all human knowledge at our finger tips.
We just need to use this privilege with care. The Buddha advises to take in all the knowledge you can, but at the same time it’s imperative that you keep your critical thinking hat on.
A famous quote from Buddha says:
Believe nothing, no matter where you read it or who say it, unless it agrees with your own reason and common sense.
2. Resistance & Replacement
Every time we face obstacles in life, it will test us in one way or another. Changes are hard and if you find yourself struggling to stay focused and in control, overcome it with a new commitment or inclination, like working out or eating healthy.
The urge to go back to your old habits and addictions might be strong, so focus on replacing your old bad habits with healthy ones.
Always try to overcome the bad with the good.
Buddha reminds us that if we are able to overcome our bad habits, we have achieved the greatest task:
“To conquer oneself is a greater task than conquering others”
3. Consumption
Did you ever look at your everyday consumption of things? Remember the statement “Everything in moderation” and live by it. It is a really wise statement because if we have a habit of consuming too much or too little of something, we might find ourselves attaching ourselves to a certain outcome. For example, you might not be happy until you get that new iPhone. And then when you do, it’s a let down because it isn’t really meaningful.
Ask yourself this: “ Do I really need this much/little?”
Buddha warns about attaching ourselves to anything:
“You only lose what you cling to.”
4. Patience & Persistence
If we want to achieve our goals in life, we need to be always moving forward. This statement goes for relationship goals just as much as for professional goals. It is really important to learn to work hard while moving in the right direction for the things we want.
Everything which comes easily can easily disappear. You have nothing to look forward to if all your wishes come to you on a silver platter. If you are patient and persistent when following your goals, you will find success in your life.
Buddha says we must keep on our path:
“No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.”
5. Avoidance
One of the hardest things in everyday life is to deals with people who express negativity. Something like this can drain you from your ambitions and joy.
Everybody feels negativity from time to time, but when you do, remember this quote from Buddha:
In a controversy the instant we feel anger we have already ceased striving for the truth, and have begun striving for ourselves.”
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