The Buddhist Mentality

When I was 24 I became interested in Buddhism I began to read about it and soon realised the advice of the Buddha was the one of the best ways to understand life and death. I was, and still am, looking for increased wisdom in life.

The Buddha Dharma teaches you to live in the moment and realise that everything is in constant flux and change. Everything in the whole universe is fleeting. Nothing is permanent. When you realise this you will be able to ensure that you do not freeze reality in one state and expect it to always stay the same. Everything changes. As I sit and write this, cells in my body are being created and others are dying. My body is not the same one I had a year ago. Everything is aging and degrading. Take the Sun. The Sun has a finite amount of hydrogen to burn and will run out eventually. One day it may swell to a red giant and engulf the Earth. So, with that in mind make sure you take that with you every day of your life. Don’t freeze reality.

Another important realisation the Buddha Dharma teaches you is to see reality moment by moment, second by second. Without prejudice or allowing previous experiences or knowledge to affect the perception of your senses. Obviously, you can be aware of your experience and what your mind is telling you but do not substitute reality with your own thoughts! The foolish man discards what he sees, not what he thinks. The wise man discards what he thinks, not what he sees.

The way forward is to simply see reality in its entirety as one. See how everything is connected to everything else. See how your own actions and the way you treat people and what you say to people all have an effect on the world. Notice that you are part of the Universe. You are not separate from the World and the things around you – they ARE you and you ARE them I mean that literally. When you see reality – the whole – you will realise there is no difference at all between the trees in the park and your own body. They are all made up of cells grown from elements of the Universe and powered by solar energy making them change from one state to another. In fact your own body is completely inseparable from the Sun. You are made out of the Sun. If I died and was buried in the ground, my body would decompose into the soil and from there the energy and elements of my body would power other new lives such as plants and animals. From these plants and animals or animals eating the plants grown on my grave, they will gain energy and strength and then maybe a passing eagle would then eat these animals. The eagle would then be partly made up of the energy of my decomposed body. This is how everything works in the Universe. There is no beginning or end - just reality and how this moment has come to be.

When I started actively living like this it was so amazing to see what I was missing in life. Some people seem to reach the end of their lives not even realising they missed anything.