Buddhist point of view

　     What is "superiority"? Where does it happen? Superiority is the idea of ​​"comparing oneself with others and thinking that one is higher than others". Similar concepts are: pride, arrogance, conceit, etc. Some people think that they are more capable and smarter than others, so they have a sense of superiority and look down on ordinary people; some people look down on poor people because they are rich; when it happens between races, some people think that their own races are more civilized, so they discriminate against people of other races; some practitioners think that their spiritual state is high, so they look down on other practitioners. These are the senses of superiority, which are called "arrogance" and "self-conceit" in Buddhism. Why is there a sense of superiority? The reason for this is the excessive cherishing of the self, hoping to be superior to others; like greed, hatred, and delusion, it all stems from the attachment of the s...

　     As a part of all living beings, we will have annoyances more or less. In addition to the big and small annoyances in life, we also have to experience unavoidable annoyances such as "birth, old age, sickness and death"; because they will trouble us, affect our lives, bring pain and often haunts us, and they cannot be eliminated immediately, so it is called "annoyances". Buddhism believes that if we can be freed from "all" annoyances, we can be called saints; maybe we can not solve problems such as "birth, old age, sickness and death" in a short period of time, but if we can start to solve the annoyances in daily life one by one, then it can be regarded as a kind of practice! 　     Modern life is busy and stressful. It is inevitable that there will be conflicts between people. So, we become impatient and anxious and often lose our temper and when the situation does not allow us to be angry we become annoyed privately. No one likes to get angr...

　     As a human being lived in the world, we are more or less attached to something; during school, some people are very clinging to their academic performance, and they often argue for higher exam scores from the grading teacher; when we are young, some people are very attached to love, or when some people choose their spouse, they are clinging to that the spouse must match some certain conditions and then they are willing to get married; after finding job, they become attach to things such as salary, social status, house, car, etc. In order to meet their own standards, they work hard for making money, even if they are very tired or exhausted, for the sake of what they are attached to, they have to endure it; some other people cling to their own reputation, even if they need to live with a mask, they still have to shape their external image. 　     The matter of "attachment" has so many aspects, which are cunningly hidden in everyone's daily life. We may even mistak...

　　     Although it is said that Buddhist Dharma can help people be away from suffering and attain happiness, but, for those who are less exposed to Dharma, practicing Dharma can sometimes be too esoteric and over their ability. However, there are still some methods that can help Buddhist beginners to temporarily get rid of suffering and attain happiness. As long as they lay a solid foundation, it will be much easier when they want to go deeper into Buddhist Dharma in the future. 　　 1. Make money the right way 　　    In modern society, people advocate material things, and people's values ​​are seriously distorted; they think that as long as you have money, you will be happy. Some people always feel envious when they see rich people showing off their wealth, and hope that they can be like them. So the social atmosphere gradually tends to worship money; if there is a chance to make money, they will do anything for that and it doesn't matter whether or not they violate mo...

　　     Life is only a few short decades; what kind of life is it that we can say we did not come to this world in vain? This is an issue we should take seriously. Maybe we won't have any great achievements in this life, but we should still discuss how to improve the quality of our life. 　　     As human beings, the first thing we have to do is to "fill our stomachs". This is a very realistic issue. If we can't achieve basic survival, then other things will be meaningless. The way of modern people's survival is to "make money", and then use the money to buy the necessities of life, and then they can survive. However, when we are not busy, sometimes we will feel empty; our lives have nothing to rely on, but we have no choice; we can only make ourselves more busy to forget these feelings. In fact, a good quality of life is not only material satisfaction, but also spiritual pursuit. The more we understand the essence of life, the more meaningful we can live a...

　     In modern times, Buddhism in the world is divided into three categories. Although they are all called Buddhism, the theories and practice methods are very different. The reason for this is that when the Buddha was alive, he would explain different teachings according to the abilities of those who heard the Buddhist Dharma. After more than two thousand years of circulation and evolution, various schools have gradually formed. In fact, at the end of Buddhist practice, it is all in the same state —— that is, becoming a Buddha. Maybe different schools have different theories and methods of practice, but all roads lead to Rome, as long as it is Buddhist Dharma, no matter what kind of practice, one can eventually become a Buddha. . 　     Modern Buddhism can be roughly divided into three types: Theravada Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhism and Vajrayana Buddhism. After a Buddhist beginner has been in contact with the Buddhist Dharma for a period of time, he can continue to pr...

　     Confucianism has the so-called "中庸之道 (the golden mean)", which has a similar meaning to the "middle way" of Buddhism, but the middle way of Buddhism, in the extension of the theory and the practice of behavior, goes beyond the Confucian way of the golden mean. 　     The middle way of Buddhism emerged in order to solve the problem of "the world of duality in which we live". What is "the world of duality"? In the time and space we live in, all things are one positive and one negative; they emerge in the form of duality: big and small, cold and hot, there be and there not be, pain and pleasure, good and bad, same and different, existence and non-existence......etc. When we are practicing, we will gradually find that in our dualistic world, no matter what we do or think, we cannot get balance by leaning towards one side, because that is a kind of attachment. The Buddha once said: If the strings are too tight, the sound will be sharp and the str...

 　     The Buddha once predicted: In the end of the Buddhist Dharma, the people’s mind will become more and more depraved, and the earth will be in the process of "the calamity of decreasing lifespan", society will become more chaotic; natural and man-made disasters will continuously occur, and appalling social events will emerge one after another. People’s morality will get weaker and weaker; in order to snatch their own interests, conflicts will continuously arise. 　     If we want to slow down social chaos, we must research the root cause of the problem and solve it. Otherwise, it will still be ineffective after a lot of manpower, money, and material resources are spent. From the Buddhist Point of view, the root of all problems comes from "the attachment of self" —— clinging to the existence of ”I”; because of "the attachment of self", people greedily want to get more benefits and wealth for themselves; so when their own interests are taken over or thre...

 　     Buddhists must abide by the "precepts", and Buddhists of different identities have different precepts. What exactly is "precept"? Let's discuss it now. 　     More than 2,000 years ago, after the Buddha became enlightened, he began to preach the scriptures and establish a sangha. At first, he did not formulate the precepts; but as the sangha became larger and larger, there were more and more Buddhist disciples; for regulating the disciples’ behavior to make the Dharma can continue stably, so the Buddha began to formulate the precepts. The "precepts" used in modern Buddhism were not formulated at one time. Some of them were formulated after the Buddha's disciples committed inappropriate behavior; the Buddha announces that such behaviors should not be done in the future. These are the origins of "precepts" in Buddhism. From this, it can be seen that the function of "precepts" is to prevent the occurrence of "inappropria...

　     We often hear people mentioning "greed, anger, and ignorance". In Buddhism, it is also said that "greed, anger, and ignorance" will poison people's body and mind and hinder people's practice, so they are called "Three Poisons". But what does "greed, anger, and ignorance" really mean? Let's discuss it now: 　     The so-called "greed" means "wanting more and not being contented." For example, at meal time, we have been full, but we crave the deliciousness of the food and continue to eat. This is a kind of "greed". Some people have already been very rich, but they still want to make more money than they need in their life. It is also a kind of "greed". From this point of view, "greed" seems to happen all the time in daily life. Some people may think: human nature is like this, it's no big deal; but if a person is too greedy and avaricious, then his life must be full of annoyance...

　     What are the texts of Buddhism? Where did the teachings and theories of Buddhism come from? The most familiar should be the Buddhist "sutras". For example, the Heart Sutra and the Diamond Sutra are Buddhist texts that everyone is familiar with. The so-called "Three Treasures" in Buddhism refers to these books. "Three Treasures" is further divided into "sutras", "disciplines" and "treatises", so they are collectively called "Three Treasures". As for why it is called "Three Treasures"? I think it may have the meaning of "treasure" and "collection"! 　     The first and most primitive Buddhist teachings came from the teachings that Buddha Shakyamuni said and spread out in India more than 2,000 years ago. These teachings later became the theories and methods of practice for later generations of Buddhists. Because of the collection, recording, and translation of these teachings by later ...

 　     The word "Buddha (佛陀)" is transliterated from Sanskrit, and its original meaning is "enlightened one". Its pronunciation is closer to Sanskrit in Taiwanese or English. In Chinese, if the original pronunciation of "佛陀 (fó tuó)" is read "Buddha (bù dá)", it will be relatively close to Sanskrit, but now everyone is used to using "佛陀 (fó tuó)". In fact, knowing the meaning of "Buddha" is more important than correct pronunciation; what is the meaning of "enlightened one"? We often say that the state of the Buddha is "the Highest Perfect Enlightenment". In the spoken words, it means "the one who reaches the highest, really everything-equal, and correct enlightenment in the universe." This state is the most complete and perfect state in the universe. There is no other state that can transcend this state. Such an enlightened person is called a "Buddha". 　     Buddha has three kinds of ...

　     Although the Heart Sutra is just over 200 words long (in Chinese), if we carefully study the Buddhist concepts contained in it, they are quite rich. Since the Heart Sutra is very short, yet it also needs to explain the difficult and profound Buddhist teachings which are difficult to express, therefore its terms are determined after repeated deliberation. This reason makes us, who study Heart Sutra in the later time, should repeatedly research and deliberate the words in it; hoping that, from the concise word selection, we can get some clues to prove the point of view that the Buddhist Dharma in the Heart Sutra and other sutras are consistent with each other. 　     The Heart Sutra says from the very beginning: If you can see the "five aggregates are empty", then you can eliminate all suffering; what are the "five aggregates"? In Buddhist terminology, they are the five products of the mind: "matter, feeling, thinking, action, and consciousness"; in spo...

 　     In Taiwanese modern Buddhist groups, people are often referred to as "Bodhisattva" because they do difficult work in Buddhism, or older believers are often referred to as "Old Bodhisattva". What is the original meaning of "Bodhisattva"? We're going to discuss it today. 　     The word "菩薩 (pú sà  Bodhisattva)" is the abbreviation of the Sanskrit "Bodhisattva", which in Chinese should be translated as "to enlighten sentient beings", which means "to make all sentient beings enlightened". Why say so? Because the "Bodhisattva" has vowed not only to be enlightened and become a Buddha himself, but also to make all sentient beings enlightened and become a Buddha. Therefore, in the perception of all living beings, "Bodhisattvas" are all compassionate. 　     The bodhisattva in Buddhist scriptures usually refers to the "entered-stages-bodhisattva", that is, the bodhisattva who has entere...

　     In ordinary people's cognition, Buddhism is called "教 (belief)" because Buddhism is generally classified as a kind of religion. However, in fact, there are many differences between Buddhism and religion. Buddhism breaks the stereotype of that religion is just preaching people to do good or spiritual sustenance; it is worth letting people who have not come into contact with it to do a thorough research. 　     First of all, the founder of Buddhism "Shakyamuni Buddha" is a "person" with detailed records in history, and he is not a god; Buddha taught the Dharma and his footprints are all over India, and he is a real person in history. In Buddhism, there is no god, savior, or creator that is superior to the world or the only. The Buddha advocated in the teachings of Buddhism that everyone can reach the state of the Buddha, and that all sentient beings are equal. 　     Buddhism has precise theories and practical methods for practicing. The Buddha was a...

 　     There is a big difference between the "wisdom in worldly usage” and the "wisdom in Buddhism”. Most of the “wisdom in worldly usage” refers to “intelligence”. However, from the perspective of Buddhism, intelligent people are not necessarily wise. In ancient China, there was a master Huineng. Although he was illiterate, he had a deep understanding of Buddhism and was even selected as the inheritor of Zen Buddhism; that is to say, although Huineng was not intelligent by the standards of the world, he possessed the wisdom of Buddhism. The scope of "intelligence" is the secular things in the world, and "wisdom" represents a thorough understanding of the universe and life, and its scope is beyond the world. And only through the wisdom of Buddhism can it be possible to fully and fundamentally solve all problems in life. 　     The word "wisdom" mentioned in Buddhism is a translation of the ancient Indian Sanskrit "prajna". To be precise,...

 　     With the fast development of information in modern society, the temptations that hinder our practice are rapidly increasing, and our minds become complicated, chaotic, and unable to be calm. If we can keep our minds in a state of concentration through meditation, we can get rid of all kinds of temptations, calm the mind, reduce the annoyances, and then develop the ability to understand the truth of life and the universe; once we have this ability, we can get away from various kinds of suffering and get real happiness. 　     "Meditation" is "by practicing to allow our mind to stablly focus in a state of concentration" in which our mind is not easily pulled away or disturbed by external circumstances or internal thoughts; The trivial things of daily life, various kinds of desires and worries, fears, and various kinds of pain can be temporarily put aside in meditation, and the mind becomes calm, relaxed, but clear and sharp. Such a state is suitable for thin...

　     When the Buddha enlightened to the truth and became a Buddha under the Bodhi tree, what truth did he enlighten? The answer is: Twelve Causes and Conditions; as long as you thoroughly understand the Twelve Causes and Conditions, and then practice to eliminate all "Ignorance", you can enter No-remained Nirvana and become a Buddha. 　     To say that, the environment in which we live — the universe — manifests and exists according to the law of Twelve Causes and Conditions, so if you want to understand the truth of life and the universe, you must understand the Twelve Causes and Conditions. Enlightening the Twelve Causes and Conditions can help us cut off suffering, annoyances, birth, old age, sickness and death, and finally become enlightened people like the Buddha. "Cause and Condition", simply put, is the rule of cause and effect; if there is a "cause", there will be an "effect". If we plant the cause (seed) of the "melon", and the...

　     The word "Buddha" is transliterated from Sanskrit, the language used in ancient India. It originally means "enlightened one". Because Buddha has realized the highest and most complete truth of life and the universe, people honor him as "Enlightened One". Although there is not only one enlightened person in the vast universe, most of the "Buddhas" we talk about refer to "Shakyamuni Buddha" who was born in India more than 2,000 years ago. 　     Buddha Shakyamuni is not a god, but a "human". He was a prince of a country in ancient middle India. He was proficient in worldly knowledge and martial arts when he was young. He married a wife when he was seventeen, and later had a son. Because he saw the suffering of "birth, old age, sickness and death" for all living beings in the world, he gave up his future throne and a happy life, became a monk, and sought the way of getting relief.. 　     During his practicing perio...