Buddhism as Freedom from Negativity
The title of this paper is posed as a question so that one can explore
and investigate if Buddhism and meditation can bring the mind freedom
from negativity. One of the most important things I have learned thus
far, is that anger and hatred are based on projections and
exaggeration, not on objectivity or wisdom. This stikes me as very
important in my search for how to release negativity. If we can
accept that things feelings do not come from wisdom, that it may be
possible to realize that they are fundamentally incorrect.
Within Buddhism there are different sects and meditation practices
that look at life and practices in differing ways. Each of these
diverse forms of Buddhism present answers for dealing with negativity,
anger and suffering, all of which affect us in our lives constantly.
My search is to find which of these teachings can provide the most
help and guidance to subduing and transforming negativity. In
searching I also wish to discover the connections between the mind,
our thoughts and feelings and how these aspects are affected through
meditation.
Through the Four Noble Truths in Buddhism, we are guided on how to see
the world and ourselves within it. However, it sometimes becomes
difficult to see the world outside ourselves, and conversely, to see
the world and include ourselves within it. The Four Noble Truths
address these feelings of confusion and sometimes suffering and offer
almost a kind of plan of attack for overcoming the obstacles that can
be faced while making these connections. The first and most important
part of the Four Noble Truths is identifying the c...
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...ise now?
Wanting to get rid of one and grab the other
is merely realizing a scene of stupidity.
Even if you speak of the wonder of it all,
how do you deal with each thing changing?
-Ryokan-
In concluding with this poem by Ryokan, we can understand that he is
saying that there is no escape from anger and negativity. As humans,
we experience a range of different emotions, and anger is one of
them. To this we must understand that while we can “free” ourselves
from anger, we can never rid our minds of it. We can however, as all
of the meditation practices suggest, refuse to make attachments to
these feelings. We may feel them, and we may identify that we are
feeling anger, but by refusing to allow the thought and feeling to
stay within your mind, maybe it is possible to let it go, as if it
never existed.
Christianity believes in one God, which exists in three person; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Mankind was created to have relationship with God. Faith and believe in Jesus can save individual from happening sin and eternal death. Buddhism is a religion that does not include the idea of worshipping a creator god. Buddhism believes in path of practice and spiritual development direct to insight into the actual nature of reality. According to Buddhism nothing is eternal, every action have results and change is possible. Practicing meditation helps change in individual life and develops qualities of awareness, kindness and wisdom.
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Two main ways to treat anger involve helping patients to prevent anger activation or helping them to regulate anger manifestation. The former is generally a longer and more difficult approach due to the fact that early emotional behavior patterns are hard to change or eliminate. Therefore, the moderation of anger may prove to be a more effective route of therapy (Ambrose & Mayne, 1999). Many different schools of psychotherapy have addressed the problem of anger. Because of the lack of a universally identic...
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If one was learning about Buddhism and all of the conceptualities of Buddhism, the one concept to remember is the idea of impermanence. Impermanence is one of the main concepts of Buddhism as is plays a main role in Buddhists thoughts on life, spiritual practice, and death and karma. The idea of impermanence is embedded into every concept of Buddhism and especially into The Four Nobel Truths which guides a Buddhist. Every Buddhist must accept and believe in the truths to become a Buddhist. So why is the idea of impermanence so important? Is impermanence even real?
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This video lecture course is about Buddhism and how it is valid in the terms of modern psychology, hence the name Buddhism and Modern Psychology. In this essay, I will answer two questions pertaining to the topic of how Buddhism in the eyes of psychology is valid. The questions have been chosen out of a list and they are the ones that I felt were most relevant to the topic.
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Overtime many significant events have shaped history, from natural disasters, wars and the never ending feud of politics they have all played a significant role in history. But there is one that has had the most influential effect of all, religion. Throughout time there has been an abundance of different religions and practices formed over the years, from Christianity to Judaism, each of them having their own impacts on culture and society, one of the major religions that formed was Buddhism. Today we will discuss how Buddhism was founded, the practices of it, and how it has changed as it has entered a new area and interacted with a new people.
Upon reading the article “An Introduction to Buddhist Ethics” by Peter Harvey, I found that there were a lot of contradictions about abortion in the Buddhist perspective. In Buddhism, abortion is seen as being akin to killing an adult human, and therefore is seen as a serious act of crime (Harvey, 318). However, there is still a spectrum of circumstances that determines the type of punishment one receives depending on the severity and intentions behind the performance of such act. For example, the passages from Vinaya state that deliberately killing a human (i.e. abortion) is seen worse than killing any animal (whether noble or not). However, the same passages also state that the severity of the act of abortion as a crime is dependent on the age of the fetus (Harvey, 318). What this means is that if you kill a newborn baby, it is seen to be worse
According to the Buddhist doctrine, there is no self. Buddhists believe that the body is impermanent and behaves as a covering for what is permanent— your soul. What is focused on in Buddhist beliefs the doctrine of the “non-self”. In this paper, I will support the idea of the “non-self”. The doctrine of having no self means that the parts of who you are as a person is not you. All things on earth are not static, including people. First, I will go over what a Buddhist’s view of the self is and state reasons why one may be convinced that there is no self. Then, I will explain some objections of why other non-Buddhists would believe otherwise. Lastly, I will draw to a close of how the principle of no self is plausible.
From the moment we are born we have the tendency of craving the worldly desires that we are exposed to. Its part of human nature to want an ideal life where you are either wealthy, powerful, happy or all of the above without any suffering involved. Although that ideal sounds phenomenal, it is the thought of limitation that drives many people to seek for something more than just worldly pleasures. As some stay within the lines of an insatiable life, others come to the realization that living a life with nothing but worldly pleasures and goals are ultimately not everlasting. This is the point where people go on to pursue something bigger than themselves, something that gives them a purpose and infinite joy or as most would call it, a religion. One of the most fascinating major world religions that many have chosen to follow for centuries is Buddhism. A very complex, yet intriguing religion that seeks for a way of life that ultimately releases a person from suffering and leads them to inner peace and joy.
Anger is, perhaps, the most notorious of all human emotions. It has the ability to spring up when we least expect it, an almost natural and inherent response to an offense or frustration. Humanity’s natural tendency to engage in a primal “fight or flight” response to challenges has unavoidably led to anger being a primary response for many. Still for others, anger is a longer lasting thing, taking root and burning into ashes of bitterness or misgiving. It is obvious that anger is unhealthy – it almost defies intuition to say anything further. However, it remains a complex human emotion. Sure, everyone feels it at some point or another. But where does it come from? How does it manifest? And, most importantly, how can it be taken under control? a detailed examination of the nature of anger and, in response, how it may be managed, may give further insight into this human emotion.