Buddhism for beginner- as I understand it.

A man has got to do what a man has got to do, may seem like a Forest Gump simplistic sort of response to the complexity of human life; it was also the Buddha's approach some two thousand six hundred years ago. The essence of the Historical Buddha's message was to not complicate life more than it already is and to as much as possible take a balanced approach or what He called the Middle Way, neither too strict nor too loose. Suffering lies in being extreme in our approach to our daily choices in life; Greed, Hate and Ignorance is the result of our extremism. Man, said the Buddha is inflicted by these three illnesses since the beginning and for as long as he is identified with a sense of I, me or mine, or his ego he will be bounded by these  illnesses; this is the cause of suffering according to the teachings of Buddhism.

Desire is primarily the cause of suffering so much so that the desire to end desire itself is also the cause of suffering. The desire for more than what is needed to sustain one's life, the desire to accumulate and hoard, to cling on to and covet what one has already attain, the inability to let go of to be able to say enough is enough, has led man to cause more suffering in this life than any other motive in life. This happens when man fails to acknowledge the impermanence of life, that at the end of life one leaves behind all that he has struggled to own and depart empty handed just as when he had arrived at birth. In so doing he failed to  realize what is the permanent and eternal, that which is his Buddha Nature. Every living soul is a potential Buddha in the making and as we evolve through this existence we either climb to higher state or descend to a lower through our realization of this karmic law of existence. Hence Ignorance is also the cause of suffering. Ignorance is not only the lack knowledge or wisdom but also the refusal to learn and understand one's predicament in this life due to being unable to differentiate between what is permanent and what is temporal,(relating to worldly as opposed to spiritual affairs; secular

  
The practice of Dhyana or meditation is one of the simplest form of remedy for man to overcome his craving for more, the need to indulge in excessive and often redundant quest in his life. In the practice of Dhyana ((in Hindu and Buddhist practice) profound meditation which is the penultimate stage of yoga) the mind or mental faculty is being carefully observed of its tendencies and transcended where ignorance, hate an greed is found to be the driving force in any given situation. The human mind is the most potent tool that governs our human traits and habits and when left to its own devices will lead us on to the causes of suffering in this life. The human mind is like fire, a good servant but a destructive master. Right and wrong said the Buddha is a sickness of the mind. Hence Right Understanding is the first of the Eighthfold Path of the healing process that the Buddha has expounded in order to overcome ignorance. Right understanding of the workings of the human mind is paramount to the Buddha's teaching as the human mind is the primary tool that man is endowed with in this life to live and to survive as a specie, that which differentiate us from other life forms.

Our thoughts, impulses, consciousness etc. is governed by a dual thinking mind. a mind of right and wrong, good and bad, black and white, a mind of opposites. To transcend the opposite one has to transcend the mind or bring it to a halt, silence the mind and this is achieved through the practice of Dhyana or meditation. It is in the silencing of the mind that one is able to perceive reality as it is, neither right nor wrong, neither this or that but is is just as it is...a simple tool of expression.
#Buddhism,# Buddha,# Dhyana,#Buddha Nature,#Mind,Dual thinking mind.