Laying down meditation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBVi2TCHb64



So, this time I have decided to try a laying down meditation with this music. While doing this I thought to myself, "I have been writing so much about Buddhism, but what have I actually learned"? As I was drifting off, I brought myself back and I concentrated. Loving. Kindness. Peace. Happiness. Enlightenment. Those words would consecutively come up during my meditation. It then clicked. Buddhism is about meditation. Buddhism is realism. It made me realize that things are going to happen. Bad, good, or what have you, events come our way, and it is up to us to decide how we will react. It is about yourself and becoming aware with you and your surroundings. It's about asking yourself "Are you sure"? And, being able to answer yourself. Buddhism is about clarity and atonement with yourself. It's about being able to have more control over your emotions and driving yourself to better your life. 


If I could describe this Religion--or should I say, practice-- in two words, I would say "Everything Changes".


The Buddha had many wise words.


“Ultimately, humanity is one, and this small planet is our only home. If we are to protect this home of ours, each of us needs to feel a vivid sense of universal altruism. It is only this feeling that can remove the self-centered motives that cause people to deceive and misuse one another. If you have a sincere and open heart, you naturally feel self-worth and confidence, and there is no need to be fearful of others.”

—

The Dalai Lama Although, I cannot say that I have fully grasped the meaning, and Idea of Buddhism, I do strongly believe I understand a lot more than I did. I Learned that they believe in reincarnation, out-of-body experiences, astral projection, lucid dreaming, and anything metaphysical. I started thinking about this religion situation by studying the way the natural world works. To me the only way a religion could be compatible with the natural world is if they reflect each other; meaning they have stark similarities. So the basic way the world works is through cycles. Everything in the world is circular. Cycles are our way of life; a natural law. Buddhism is not a religion, it is a way of life.

Lord Buddha

Lord Buddha was one who left all his riches to ultimately attain his happiness.


There are different types of buddhism.
Most scholars divide the different types of Buddhism into three sections. The first of these is Southern Buddhism, or Theraveda Buddhism. This is the oldest form. It means that meditation is the biggest aim to true enlightenment or awareness.
The second type of Buddhism that is mentioned is Eastern Buddhism, or, Mahayana Buddhism. This along with meditation believes you can attain enlightenment through compassion and humbleness towards others.
The third of the different types of Buddhism is Northern or Tibetan Buddhism. This relates much to the religion of Hinduism. It is open to many teachings that is deemed to be "true".

The four Noble Truths of Buddhism

The four noble truths combined with the eightfold path are the essence of Buddhism. Here are those noble truths:

1) Life means suffering
2) The origin of suffering is attachment
3) Suffering ceases when attachment to desire ceases
4) Freedom from suffering is possible by practicing the Eightfold Path

The fourth truths, is the path to the cessation of suffering. Suffering, Buddha teaches, can be minimized, if we base our lives on bettering them, and being self-aware. This path is a sort of self-improvement course to help you attain Nirvana—freedom from the cycle of birth and death. We don’t want to die; the only way to overcome death is to become one with everything.

“Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.”

—	Buddha http://www.buddhanet.net/wheel2.htm interactive tour of the buddhist wheel of life

The Eight Fold Path to Nirvana

“The opportunity you have now, as a human who is capable of thinking clearly, who can see truly the suffering in which you live, who comprehends its causes and who has at last found the true Path to escape it, is rare beyond all rarity.”

Geshe Michael Roach - The Garden Discovered by Buddha Himself, the eightfold path is the only way to Nirvana. It avoids the extreme of self-torture that weakens one’s intellect and the extreme of self-indulgence that hinders spiritual progress. [Going back to the whole goal of Buddhism; to end self suffering]. It consists of the following eight factors: 1. Right Understanding is the understanding of oneself as one really is. The keynote of Buddhism is this Right Understanding. Buddhism, is based on knowledge and not on unreasonable belief. It is focussed on improving one's lifestyle and loving what you have. 2. Right Thoughts are: The thoughts of reincarnation. Kind Thoughts. Thoughts of harmlessness. These tend to purify the mind. 3. Right Speech deals with refraining from lying, stealing, gossiping, harsh words and intense talks. 4. Right Action deals with staying away from killing, stealing and lack of chastity. It helps one to develop a character that is self-controlled and mindful. 5. Right Livelihood deals with five kinds of trades that should be avoided by a lay disciple. They are: Trade in deadly weapons Trade in animals for slaughter Trade in slavery Trade in intoxicants Trade in poisons Right Livelihood means earning one’s living in a way that is not harmful to others. 6. Right Effort is: The journey to discard evil that has already is here. The journey to prevent the coming of evil. The journey to develop that good which has already arisen. The journey to promote that good which has not already come. Effort is needed to cultivate Good Conduct or develop one’s mind, because we are often distracted or tempted to take the easy way out of things.  7. Right Mindfulness is: Mindfulness with regard to body Mindfulness with regard to feeling Mindfulness with regard to mind Mindfulness with regard to mental objects Right Mindfulness is the awareness of one’s deeds, words and thoughts. 8. Right Meditation. Meditation means the gradual process of training the mind to focus on a single object and to remain fixed upon the object without wavering. The constant practice of meditation helps to develop a calm and concentrated mind and helps to prepare for the ultimate attainment of Wisdom and Enlightenment.

Who is the Buddha?

“The essence of Buddhism is if you can, help others. If not, then at least refrain from hurting others.”

—

Tenzin Gyatso Gautama Buddha was the founder of Buddhism.  According to the legend, an astrologer told his father, that his son would give up the throne and luxury, the day he would see four things: An old man, a sick man, a diseased man and a dead man. He married at the age of sixteen. At the age of 29 he had his first son, Gautama on the same day saw an old man, a sick man, a diseased man and a dead man. When he saw the dark side of life, it made him leave his wife and son and start his travels in poverty. He practised Hindu discipline, then, Jainism. For several years he observed fasting. He realized that tormenting his body did not bring him closer to true wisdom, so he resumed eating normally. At the age of 35, one evening as he sat beneath a giant fig tree, he felt that he had found the solution to his problem and felt that he had attained enlightenment. From this day on he became known as, Gautama, The Buddha, or ‘The Enlightened One’. Later, he spent 45 years in preaching the truth that he felt he had discovered. He travelled from city to city bare-footed, clean-headed, with nothing more on his self than his saffron robe, walking stick and begging bowl. He died at the age of 80 in the year 483 BC. Buddha was about teaching people that life isn't about materialistic goods, and more about finding yourself.

What Buddhism is focussed on

Peace. Enlightenment. Forgiveness. Love.

Buddhism is focussed on improving the human life. To exclude suffering, and enjoy life for what it is.

By practicing Buddhist teachings, people protect themselves from suffering and problems. All the problems we experience during daily life originate from ignorance, and the method for eliminating ignorance is to practice Dharma, which is one of the many popular teachings of Buddha. It teaches lasting happiness, and inner peace. The simplest focus of Buddhist teaching is on loving kindness. If you could experience absolute loving kindness for all beings, then you will be enlightened. Buddhism is focussed more on teachings rather than God. They don't believe that we deserve to suffer, if we can in fact, take it away.


The Buddha teaches that attaining happiness and Enlightenment depending upon one’s own efforts. Effort is the root of all achievement. If one wants to get to the top of a mountain, just sitting at the foot thinking about it will not bring one there. It is by making the effort of climbing up the mountain, step by step, that eventually the summit is reached. Thus, no matter how great the Buddha’s achievement may be, or how excellent His Teaching is, one must put the Teaching into practice before desired results can be obtained.

‘The Value of Life does not lie in the number of years but in the use you make of them. Whether you have lived enough depends on your Will, not on the number of years’ - Michael de Montaigne 1553-1592

Meditation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CR3dM-GlZK8

This music is used as a buddhist relaxation method. It is supposed to cleanse the mind and help you feel at ease. It makes you mindful and aware of not only yourself, but of the world around you. Although there are some similar meditative practices, there is also a wide range of variety when it comes to meditating. While meditating, there should be no room for distraction. You solely focus on you and only you. I personally have tried it, and I must say... I love it. 




“We could say that meditation doesn’t have a reason or doesn’t have a purpose. In this respect it’s unlike almost all other things we do except perhaps making music and dancing. When we make music we don’t do it in order to reach a certain point, such as the end of the composition. If that were the purpose of music then obviously the fastest players would be the best. Also, when we are dancing we are not aiming to arrive at a particular place on the floor as in a journey. When we dance, the journey itself is the point, as when we play music the playing itself is the point. And exactly the same thing is true in meditation. Meditation is the discovery that the point of life is always arrived at in the immediate moment.”

- Alan Watts | Sven Ericsson