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Buddha said life is suffering. It was from the Four Noble Truths - Buddha's first sermon after his Enlightenment which is the foundation of Buddhism. The Four Noble Truths includes:
1. The truth of suffering (dukkha) 2. The truth of the cause of suffering (samudaya) 3. The truth of the end of suffering (nirhodha) 4. The truth of the path that frees us from suffering (magga) The first Noble Truth – life is suffering – is about awareness. Bringing awareness to our minds and acknowledge suffering in our life like the sadness of losing the loved one, death in the family, struggle with money and health. The second Noble Truth – the cause of suffering – to observe and investigate the reason of what we suffer from – jealousy, selfishness, unworthiness, anger etc. The third Noble Truth – the end of suffering – to find a right remedy to heal the mind and heart. Personally, crying is one of my remedies. Once I learned how to cry, my world became so much easier. I gave myself permission to get closer to the pain and express it through tears. It gives my body a chance to release the emotional tensions. Also, doing yoga, reading inspiring books and journaling are the daily ‘vitamins’ to support my healing process. Time and practice transformed my past chronic thoughts, rebuilt my self-esteem and realigned my life in a healthier and happier state. The forth Noble Truth – the path that frees us from suffering – to create a new, positive pattern of habit, behavior and thought as we respond to negative emotions rather than react to them. However, in many cases, we constantly fall back into the same old patterns like addiction, overeating, misconduct or a destructive relationship. Why it is so difficult to end and free ourselves from those patterns even though we know they cause suffering? The simplest answer is fear. CHANGE IS SCARY. As human beings, we prefer feeling secure, to hold on to something that we are familiar with (even though it causes emotional and physical pain), rather than to overcome fear to make change (even though overcoming fear would give ourselves a chance to live in a better life than we could previously imagine.) In order to free ourselves from suffering, we have to be willing to walk the path. I believe no one can teach others to change, except those, themselves, who want to change can learn. When the student is ready to learn, the teacher will appear. When we are ready for the change, the path will be there. May all beings have the courage to lighten the darkness of fear. Namaste, Mandy :)
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For many people around the world, watching the recent news of the natural disasters in Japan was quite overwhelming. Internet, television, media kept updating the numbers of how many lands, homes, families and lives massively destroyed and lost by the earthquake and tsunami. Following the report of the nuclear meltdown, the fear level has reached a boiling point for not just the people in Japan, but also to most of the news viewers..
I constantly heard people using the news to make conversation sharing the concerns, worries and fear. The conversation continued from one tragedy to another connecting all the unfortunate things happening around the world. People start to believe life is full of sorrow and despair as they have the evidence from the news. We all are feeling different kinds of emotions. The feeling is real. I call it a state of feeling. The ability to feel is part of the human experiences. Feeling is a way of living. Without feeling we don’t know we are alive, how to make choices and move on to a better place. Right feeling is the first action of the right thought. With the right thought, we take the right action. However, we have to train our mind sitting with emotions skillfully especially the negative emotions – sadness, worry, fear, detachment, despair, hopelessness etc. With our trained mind, we see how we make up our imaginable drama; and yet see others’ before we become involved in it. The more we practice, the more we embrace feelings and choose the joy of it than be trapped by it. Life is so good to us. Let the flow of life flow like a stream of river; we drift along with it. Allowing the feelings to come as guidance; we embrace it and be with it. May all beings be free and have the joy of smelling the fragrance of emotions. We are so loved, so happy and so healthy. Thank you for your wisdom, Universe. Happy Spring! Much love, Mandy J p.s. Here are some links to make donations for Japan earthquake tsunami relief. Save the children Plan USA American Red Cross Doctors without Borders The Salvation Army World Vision MercyCorps |
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