The Buddha was one bad ass motherf*cker whose wisdom remains as relevant today as it did back in 600 BC.
Siddhartha Gautama, or better known as the Buddha, was a sage on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. The term 'Buddha' means 'Awakened One' or 'Enlightened One', which is someone who has awakened from the sleep of ignorance and sees things the way they really are.
49 days after the Buddha attained enlightenment he was requested to teach. The rest is history...
Here are my all-time favourite sayings from the Buddha, along with my interpretations.
“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”
Live in the Now and smell the roses, and be grateful for what you have. Being happy with nothing will make you happy with everything. Living too much in the future creates anxiety, stress, worry & unease, whilst living too much in the past creates guilt, regret, resentment & sadness. All negative emotions are derived from fear. Fear (False Evidense Appearing Real) is a figment of our imagination which is completely destroyed by being present.
“It is better to travel well then arrive”
Focus on the journey, not the destination. This is where one gains lessons and experiences, and also forces us to be in the present moment instead of being trapped by thinking about the future and having expectations which cause nothing but suffering.
“Each morning we are born again. What we do today matters most.”
We are born in one day, just as we die in one day. Imagine what else can be accomplished in just one day.
“Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.”
This is pretty self-explanatory as the truth will always prevail. As Leonardo Da Vinci said:
"Truth at last cannot be hidden. Dissimulation is of no avail. Dissimulation is to no purpose before so great a judge. Falsehood puts on a mask. Nothing is hidden under the sun.”
“Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others.”
Don't rely on others for your own happiness, man up and figure your own shit out. It's a lot easier said than done but nothing worthwhile in life comes easy, does it?
“Happiness does not depend on what you have or who you are. It solely relies on what you think.”
I know this one to be true by experience. You can have all the possessions and luxuries you want but if you have a shitty mindset you're going to be miserable, period. Change your thought patterns into positive ones and watch how not only will you live a more happy and fulfilling life, but you will also attract more positive things, thus the law of attraction.
“Every human being is the author of his own health or disease.”
This is one of my favourite quotes from the Buddha as it encapsulates the power we hold for our physical reality. Every illness and disease is stemmed from the mind, so if we change our thought patterns and belief systems, we change everything. The Placebo Effect alone proves that mind can alter matter.
“In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true.”
This is a big problem in today's society. We let our egos label everything, and we even fight about these beliefs instead of just letting it be. There are just some things in life that our minds cannot comprehend, like life itself. I mean isn't God, the universe, Allah, unified force, consciousness or whatever you want to call it, the exact same thing with different names?
“Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.”
On a fundamental level this is what spirituality is all about. It's about experiencing life by taking the empirical approach by experiencing and observing, instead of letting others dictate you into what to believe.
“However many holy words you read,However many you speak,What good will they do you If you do not act on upon them?”
Walk your walk and be the change you want to see in the world. Talking and preaching accomplishes nothing, while acting upon your words changes everything. This is what I try and live by and is one of my biggest motto's in life.
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Lots more to come :)