buddhism

Every human being wants to lead a happy life as long as he is alive. No one really knows what happens after death. Every one on this earth follows some religion or other and every religion preaches some thing about life after death. All most all religions preach that depending on ones deeds the person shall go to heavens and enjoys or suffers in hell. The differences and disagreements are over the periods for which the persons are going to stay in such places.......

continue reading "HELL AND HEAVENS"

With our assumptions of correctness, beliefs try to make a known out of the unknown. They make presumptions about what is yet to come, how it will be, what it will mean, and how it will affect. Faith, on the other hand, doesn't carve out reality according to our preconceptions and desires. It doesn't decide how we are going to perceive something but rather is the ability to move forward even without knowing. Faith, in contrast to belief, is not a definition of reality, not a received answer, but an active, open state that makes us willing to explore. While beliefs come to us from outside—from another person or a tradition or heritage—faith comes from within, from our alive participation in the process of discovery.

continue reading "Faith Quotes: Faith Verses Belief"

In an interview with Belief Net, Sharon Salzberg answers the question "What does faith mean to you?" this way:

Faith means several different things to me. It means having the courage to go forward into the unknown. I think we spend so much of our lives trying to pretend that we know what's going to happen next. In fact we don't. To recognize that we don't know even what will happen this afternoon and yet having the courage to move forward--that's one meaning of faith.

continue reading "Sharon Salzberg on Faith"

Buddhism teaches peace as an individual practice and towards global peace. The word is engulfed in turmoil, greed and hatred that have become common traits of human behavior. It is essential to understand what causes peace. Then only, we can direct efforts towards achieving peace. Imagine some one wants to cool hot soup being boiled in a pot. As long as the pot remains on the fire, the soup would be boiling. First thing to do is to move the pot away from the fire. Stirring would aid in cooling the soup. In this case, cooling the soup is the aim and the first thing to do is to isolate the pot from the fire. Similarly, if violence has to be removed, the reasons that cause and lead to violence should be identified. In our example, isolating boiling soup in a pot from fire was the first action identified. Unless we direct our efforts at the correct causes and fundamental issues, all other actions would be futile. It must be remembered that peaceful minds lead to peaceful actions. If the minds of living beings are at peace, the world also will be at peace. Most of us live in disturbed state and live in peace for a short while. How many of us are at peace? If all the people in the world are sages does peace exist in the world? (1)

continue reading "Buddhism and World Peace"

The most interesting questions that a man faces in this world are, “why God has created world and what the purpose of man’s life is and what are the goals?” It would be necessary to know the origin of world, and man to know the purpose of his being in the world. All religions give explanations for these questions as per their beliefs.

continue reading "The Purpose of Man's Life"