7/31/2019 The Buddha (Secrets of the Mind)
1/1
From the coral strands of Ceylon to the islands of Japan and
throughout large sections of the mainland of Asia, hundreds of
millions of people, maybe as many as500 million, believe in the
gentle and peace-loving religion known as Buddhism.It was founded
by Siddhartha Gautama in 563 BC. He was born near the town of
Kapilavastu in what is now Nepal, near the Indian border.Stripped
of the poetic legends which surround all religious leaders, the
life ofGautama, 'The Buddha', meaning the enlightened one, is one
of the great and simple biographies of spiritual literature.Buddha
realised that cause and effect is the great unchanging law by which
the entire universe is bound. He saw that every action and reaction
is a natural law.These are some of the teachings of the Buddha.If
any man, whether he be learned or not, consider himself so great as
to despise another man, he is like a blind man holding a candle -
blind himself, he illuminates others.If you do nothing for your
fellow man, then all your prayers to the Buddha are in vain.Even
the Buddha may say, I don't know.Hurt none by word or deed, be
consistent in well-doing, be moderate in food, dwell in solitude,
and give yourself to meditation. This is the advice of the
Buddha.All beings seek for happiness. So let your compassion extend
itself to all.Whoever blames an innocent man, his evil returns upon
him as fine dust thrown against the wind.Covetous craving is the
greatest source of sorrow. Appearing as a friend in secr
et, it is our enemy.If one man conquers in battle a thousand
times a thousand men, and if another himself, he is the greatest of
conquerors. Ones own self conquered is better than allother people
conquered. Not even a god ... could change into defeat the
victoryof a man who has vanquished himself...Victory breeds hatred,
for the conquered is unhappy. He who has given up both victory and
defeat, is contented and happy. There is no fire like passion;
there is no evil like hatred; there is no pain like this bodily
existence; there is nohappiness higher than peace.Hunger is the
worst of diseases, bodily demands the greatest evil; if one
knowsthis truly, that is Nirvana...The faults of others are easily
perceived, but those of one's self are difficultto perceive; a man
winnows his neighbours faults like chaff, but his own fault
he hides, as a cheat hides an unlucky cast of the die. If a man
looks after thefaults of others and is always inclined to be
offended, his own passions will grow...
