Growing up, I had access to two very different religions in my home. My mother raised me as a catholic, while my dad practiced a mix of Taoism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. I spent the better part of my childhood going to religion class and attending church, but I never once felt I had a sense of faith. It was in 11th grade that I had an opportunity to take an Eastern Philosophy class in school, and I excitedly added it to my schedule in hopes of learning more about their way of thinking. Being surrounded by the ideas of such philosophies most of my life allowed me to go into the class with an open mind and a basic understanding of what I was learning. In other words, the way of thinking wasn’t completely foreign to me. It quickly became my favorite class as I felt so comforted by everything I was hearing. Hinduism resonated with me a lot, and I found myself very intrigued by their mindset. We examined The Vedas, or the most ancient Hindu texts, working our way through the books and observing their slow process of understanding the life around them. We examined their development of gods, questioning who came first— god or man? What was the reason for being put on this planet? Is it more important to understand nature or just appreciate it? I also remember clearly being interested by their concept of body, soul, and death. In the Bhagavad-Gita, translated as “The Singing God”, they describe the idea that your body is just a vessel for the soul. The body is not the person, therefore death is not a bad thing because it is just a disconnection from the physical form. This is told through the story of Arjuna, the third of the five Pandavas, debating whether or not he should fight in the Mahabharata War against his teachers, friends, and relatives. Krishna, a major Hindu god, explains to him this concept of death. I found this fascinating and it made so much more sense in my terms of living. Then, we moved on to Buddhism. I would consider my beliefs to be a mix of eastern religions, like my dad, but more so Buddhism. I decided to pursue this as my main religion because it most closely aligned with the way my mind works. 

There are a lot of levels of Buddhism and much to discuss, which I will dive into in many other blogs, but the first main idea that stuck with me was the idea of suffering. Suffering (dukkha), is the basis of the Four Noble Truths: (1) there is suffering (2) there is a cause of suffering (3) there is an end to suffering (4) there is a way to end the suffering. Essentially, life is suffering.  I remember learning about this in class, and other students and friends being shocked by this notion. To them, it seemed like a dark outlook on life. However, that is the western way of thinking. To me, I felt comfort in this idea because it made sense. We will always encounter suffering, and making peace with that from the beginning eases the stress when difficulties arise. It is not this surprise that needs to be fixed, it is something naturally occurring and inevitable.

The path to ending the suffering, and reaching enlightenment, is known as The Noble Eightfold Path. The eight steps are:

(1) Right Understanding (Samma Ditthi)

(2) Right Thought (Samma Sankappa)

(3) Right Speech (Samma Vaca)

(4) Right Action (Samma Kammanta)

(5) Right Livelihood (Samma ajiva)

(6) Right Effort (Samma Vayama)

(7) Right Mindfulness (Samma Sati)

(8) Right Concentration (Samma Samadhi).

These steps are not meant to be completed in any order, but are important in unveiling the mask of our perceived life. They stress living in an honest way. See things as they truly are, speak in a kind and honest way, etc. These principles changed my life.

Another aspect of Buddhism was the idea of detachment. It is important to detach oneself from extremes of emotion, the past, and the future. It is very important to detach from the “self”. In Buddhism there is no self, only what makes up the self. The creation of an identity is ego driven. It drives you into the “should”mindset—the mindset where you think things “should” be a certain way and close yourself off to any other. It also creates this sense of ownership that does not exist. Nothing truly belongs to you, that is just an ego driven sense of self that has been created in your mind. I work on thinking this way in my life. It is impossible to be perfect, but I use these ideas to better myself. I try not to attach myself to a particular outcome in the future, good or bad. For example, “I need to get accepted into this college!” is attaching yourself to this outcome. When this outcome does not come true, it causes suffering. Ah yes… we’ve come full circle :). Instead look at it as, “I would like to get into this college, but if I don’t, that’s okay too!” Life does not necessarily have a plan, but it doesn’t stop when something goes wrong.

The last principle I am going to discuss in this blog is the notion that everything is temporary. As previously stated, life keeps going. All pain and surface level happiness is temporary. The suffering you may feel after not getting into that college, is going to pass. You will go to a different college and be sent on a different path that is not necessarily any better or worse than the path you feel you’re missing out on. And you won’t ever know will you? That’s the beauty of it, you’re not supposed to know. On the opposite spectrum, the pleasantries of life are also temporary. Material goods, reached goals, gifts, etc. are sources of temporary happiness. After getting a new car, you wont be screaming with joy every time you see it for the next year.—you will just get in and drive… on to the next thing. True happiness is reaching Enlightenment, not the temporary manufactured happiness we create for ourselves. Once you understand this, let it bring you peace instead of anxiety. It is the true nature of life, don’t fight it, let it in and enjoy the present.

I look forward to sharing more Buddhism and Eastern religious beliefs in the future. It has helped me through my darkest times, and really saved me. If you are Catholic, Muslim, Jewish, or practice any other religion, you do not need to convert to another religion and your religion is just as beautiful. If these ideas resonate with you, that is not a bad thing! You can allow these ideas in spiritually alongside your own religion. The beauty of Buddhism is that there is no worshipping of a Deity, and you are not betraying your belief systems by allowing in these philosophies. Do whatever you’re comfortable with as long as it brings you peace.