Report of the Teachings of the Buddha
The Sage. The genuine wisdom comes, when a person is able to overcome all the negative thoughts, judgements and opinions. The sage can never accompany ignorance, negative emotions and envy.
Virtue. The smells of the most fragrant plants and trees cannot compete with the strengths of the winds, being limited to some locations. However, the fragrance of good thoughts and positive energy travel without limits and spread until the end of the world.
Sand Castles. This story clearly shows the uselessness of the earthly worries and troubles, which are temporary and insignificant. Even the most beautiful creations and the most solid buildings fall. The only idea worth caring, protecting and admiring is the human soul and human personality.
Body and Mind. The human personal consists of both body and mind, visible and invisible, corporal and non-corporal, past, present and future. It is impossible to view the human being, separately from the combination of efforts of body and mind.
The Empty World. Many people view the world through the paradigm of the death and inevitable ending. However, it is important to realize the world as the emptiness, which always awakens, evolves, moves and changes. Regarding the world as empty allows overcoming the fear of death and destruction.
Serenity and Joy. Wise craftsmen and workers do everything to succeed in their job and reach success. Similarly, every person should follow the instructions of mind and heart to live the truthful and worthy life.
Inner Peace. The surface of the ocean is changing and moving, but the depth is tranquil, calm and stable. The same is true about the human individuality, since the real peace and calamity are born in the soul.
Blessing Chant. Human thoughts can be compared to the rivers, which flow and influence everything on their ways. Thus, it is important to make these thoughts wise, kind and objective not to harm anybody, but bring only positive effects.
Patience. In some cases, people think that they should change the location, conditions, jobs or belongings, if they are not beneficial or harmful. However, the true mission of humans is to eliminate the injustice or poverty by staying at the same place. There is no need in avoiding difficulties, as the genuine delight consists in their improvement.
The Women at the Well. People judge each other by nationality, social status, origin, age, gender, ethnicity and race, often offending others by the prejudiced and subjective treatments. However, the nobility of every man and woman lives in the soul and thoughts. As a result, every human can become a worthy and noble personality.
Treasure. The real wealth does not comprise of material things, finances, jewelry or precious stones. The only wealth people can obtain are the goodness, charity, self-restraint and self-control.
Wise Householders. The wealth is the matter of wisdom. No one can become rich without following the wise directions and moderate recommendations. The wisdom leads to the financial and moral prosperity and success.
On Knowing Karma. The humans cannot predict their future life with the mere help of musing and thinking. Moreover, the subjective judgements do not do any good, as they often spoil the human personality and views. Thus, people should refuse judging others for the sake of personal well-being.
Self-Respect. It is true that there is nothing more valuable than the individual self, and the issue of self-respect is of paramount importance for each individuality. However, people should demonstrate their self-respect in such a way that does not harm or affect others.
The Dharma is like the Ocean. The genuine knowledge and ocean have many common features. Thus, both are deep, precise, endless, never-decreasing, permanent, eternal and significant. Both knowledge and ocean present many valuable peals and jewelry, which should be investigated and discovered.
Miracle of Awakening. The awakening in the consciousness or soul is the remedy against death and end of the world. It establishes a new hope, new life and new purposes of the existence. People, who can experience the awakening of their souls, are blessed and happy.
Fleeting World. The earthly world resembles a dream, mirage or illusion. The humans should not consider this world of the paramount significance, as it quickly passes away and disappears.
Verses on the Faith Mind. The Great Way may seem difficult and full of obstacles. However, it looks easy for those, who are deprived of any biases, prejudices, judgments and unjust attitudes. Only those, who do not feel any negative emotions and feelings, can pass this way and reach the salvation.
Enlightenment Has no Form. There is no good without evil, as well as there is no light without the darkness. The pure enlightenment cannot be noticed without the delusion and ignorance. The ignorance allows noticing the imperfection of the world and drives humans to change and improve it.
Bodhichitta. Bodhichitta is the beginning and source of wisdom, protection, good manners, positive thinking and energy, knowledge, inspiration and self-searches. It helps to balance the world and show humans the way and means for the eternal salvation.
Reflections
The above-described stories reveal the basic ideas and principles of Buddhism and its doctrine. It is possible to notice that all of them refer to the questions of genuine wisdom, sage, knowledge, enlightenment, self-control and self-moderation as the most valuable and important virtues of the individuals. They all emphasize the importance of virtuous life and its role in the personal salvation. From this point of view, these stories strongly appeal to my moral and ethical considerations, as I totally agree on the idea of virtues, positive attitudes and treatments among all individuals.
The discussed stories make a clear distinction between the good and evil, wisdom and ignorance, virtues and drawbacks, truth and lie. It shows that the world always comprises of the oppositions, which, though, cannot exist without each other. The wisdom cannot be noticed without ignorance as well as the truth does not exist without the lies. In this case, it is very important for humans to be aware of this balance and existence of the oppositions. Both good and evil, darkness and light, enlightenment and delusion are important for the earthly harmony and balance. However, the task of every individual is to distinguish between these notions and search for the positive ones. Each individual should seek amplifying the positive ideas, feelings and emotions as well as eradicating the negative ones. These ideas are very important for me, as I suppose that this strategy will help to overcome the size of the global injustice and protect the peace in the world.
Another important idea, expressed in many Buddhist stories, is the concept of knowledge, wisdom and sage. The Buddhist compare wisdom to the ocean, which is endless in size and time. Similarly, the wisdom comprises of the great depth of knowledge, skills and experiences, which enlighten the human soul and lead to the salvation. Many people are afraid to swim in the ocean without seeing the bottom and realizing its threats. The same is about the wisdom, which may be difficult to obtain. However, the access to the sage can be easily achieved in case people give up the negative emotions, feelings and attitudes. Thus, the true wisdom is always a reflection of a virtuous and truthful life.
