This weekend we are on the road again. Another home away game (it is one of our home games but we are playing more than 2 hours from where we are in Kyoto City). We have had many of these home away games this year so we have stayed in a lot of hotels as we are in a hotel for many of our actual away games too.
When we get to a hotel I always try to connect to the internet so I can talk to family (many places dont have WiFi but rather a LAN cord that you have to plug in). In my search for the internet cord to plug into the wall I happen to notice that there is a book that is in every hotel room here.
If I said there was the same book in every hotel room in the States you might guess that it is the Bible. But here in Japan Christianity isnt very common. So, when you open up the drawer the book you see is: The Teaching of Buddha. I know the Bible has many versions but every Teaching of Buddha I have seen look exactly like this.
Even though it is in every hotel room we have been at I cant say that I am well versed in what Buddha says. I think I may have picked it up twice and glanced over a page or two in all our stays.
After seeing this book though I was a little interested in what Buddhism is based on so I looked it up.
Buddhism is based on 4 Noble truths:
The first: The First Noble Truth is that life is suffering. To live, you must suffer. It is impossible to live without experiencing some kind of suffering. We have to endure physical suffering like sickness, injury, tiredness, old age and eventually death and we have to endure psychological suffering like loneliness, frustrations, fear, embarrassment, disappointment, anger, etc.
The second: The Second Noble Truth is that all suffering is caused by craving. When we look at psychological suffering, it is easy to see how it is caused by craving. When we want something but are unable to get it, we feel frustrated. When we expect someone to live up to our expectation and they do not, we feel let down and disappointed. When we want others to like us and they don't, we feel hurt. Even when we want something and are able to get it, this does not often lead to happiness either because it is not long before we feel bored with that thing, lose interest in it and commence to want something else. (Put simply, the Second Noble Truth says that getting what you want does not guarantee happiness. Rather than constantly struggling to get what you want, try to modify your wanting. Wanting deprives us of contentment and happiness).
The third: The Third Noble Truth is that suffering can be overcome and happiness attained. This is perhaps the most important of the Four Noble Truths because in it the Buddha reassures us that true happiness and contentment are possible. When we give up useless craving and learn to live each day at a time, enjoying without restlessly wanting the experiences that life offers us, patiently enduring the problems that life involves, without fear, hatred and anger, then we become happy and free. Then, and then only, do we begin to live fully. Because we are no longer obsessed with satisfying our own selfish wants, we find that we have so much time to help others fulfil their needs. This state is called Nirvana. We are free from psychological suffering.
The fourth:The Fourth Noble Truth is the Path leading to the overcoming of suffering. This path is called the Noble Eightfold Path and consists of Perfect Understanding, Perfect Thought, Perfect Speech, Perfect Action, Perfect Livelihood, Perfect Effort, Perfect Mindfulness, and Perfect Concentration. Buddhist practice consist of practising these eight things until they become more complete. You will notice that the steps on the Noble Eightfold Path cover every aspect of life: the intellectual, the ethical and economic and the psychological and therefore contains everything a person needs to lead a good life and to develop spiritually.
The explanation of the 4 truths is taken from Buddha.net
Not sure what you think but I found this quite interesting. Hope you enjoyed reading it.
When we get to a hotel I always try to connect to the internet so I can talk to family (many places dont have WiFi but rather a LAN cord that you have to plug in). In my search for the internet cord to plug into the wall I happen to notice that there is a book that is in every hotel room here.
If I said there was the same book in every hotel room in the States you might guess that it is the Bible. But here in Japan Christianity isnt very common. So, when you open up the drawer the book you see is: The Teaching of Buddha. I know the Bible has many versions but every Teaching of Buddha I have seen look exactly like this.
Even though it is in every hotel room we have been at I cant say that I am well versed in what Buddha says. I think I may have picked it up twice and glanced over a page or two in all our stays.
After seeing this book though I was a little interested in what Buddhism is based on so I looked it up.
Buddhism is based on 4 Noble truths:
The first: The First Noble Truth is that life is suffering. To live, you must suffer. It is impossible to live without experiencing some kind of suffering. We have to endure physical suffering like sickness, injury, tiredness, old age and eventually death and we have to endure psychological suffering like loneliness, frustrations, fear, embarrassment, disappointment, anger, etc.
The second: The Second Noble Truth is that all suffering is caused by craving. When we look at psychological suffering, it is easy to see how it is caused by craving. When we want something but are unable to get it, we feel frustrated. When we expect someone to live up to our expectation and they do not, we feel let down and disappointed. When we want others to like us and they don't, we feel hurt. Even when we want something and are able to get it, this does not often lead to happiness either because it is not long before we feel bored with that thing, lose interest in it and commence to want something else. (Put simply, the Second Noble Truth says that getting what you want does not guarantee happiness. Rather than constantly struggling to get what you want, try to modify your wanting. Wanting deprives us of contentment and happiness).
The third: The Third Noble Truth is that suffering can be overcome and happiness attained. This is perhaps the most important of the Four Noble Truths because in it the Buddha reassures us that true happiness and contentment are possible. When we give up useless craving and learn to live each day at a time, enjoying without restlessly wanting the experiences that life offers us, patiently enduring the problems that life involves, without fear, hatred and anger, then we become happy and free. Then, and then only, do we begin to live fully. Because we are no longer obsessed with satisfying our own selfish wants, we find that we have so much time to help others fulfil their needs. This state is called Nirvana. We are free from psychological suffering.
The fourth:The Fourth Noble Truth is the Path leading to the overcoming of suffering. This path is called the Noble Eightfold Path and consists of Perfect Understanding, Perfect Thought, Perfect Speech, Perfect Action, Perfect Livelihood, Perfect Effort, Perfect Mindfulness, and Perfect Concentration. Buddhist practice consist of practising these eight things until they become more complete. You will notice that the steps on the Noble Eightfold Path cover every aspect of life: the intellectual, the ethical and economic and the psychological and therefore contains everything a person needs to lead a good life and to develop spiritually.
The explanation of the 4 truths is taken from Buddha.net
Not sure what you think but I found this quite interesting. Hope you enjoyed reading it.
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