5 things I have learned about Buddhism

I have been studying in the United States for about six years now. I have been through community college and moved four times since I first moved to the States. I have maintained a long-distance relationship for three years. I also went to Barcelona for a summer Internship last year. Among all this moving around the world, I never thought about myself on a deeper level and was looking for a way to discover myself.

In the beginning of this semester, I decided to take a Buddhism class that not only gave me an insight about what the religion is all about, but also gave me an insight about who I was as a person and who I wanted to be in the future. Here are five things that I learned from taking a class in Buddhism:

1. Buddhism is not all about Yoga.

Buddhism was born in India when Siddhārtha Gautama, a prince, decided to leave his kingdom to become a monk and find a way to end all suffering. Indeed, the prince was curious about the sufferings that all human beings had to endure such as old age, disease, and death. After going through various stages and practice of looking into his own mind and ‘cleaning’ himself of all impure thoughts (this blog is too short to explain the entirety of his practice), he reached Nirvana, which is a state of Bliss that breaks the cycle of birth that human beings have to go through (people in Hinduism, another religious based in India, through that one went through a cycle of birth and death based on one’s karma). Buddhism is also about practicing towards the goal of clearing one’s mind of all evil thoughts.

2. There are different schools in Buddhism and not everybody practices it the same way.

Originally, there was only the early Buddhist tradition that was developed by the First Buddha. However, as the tradition moved to other countries and cultures, people found new ways to reinterpret the original scriptures containing the teachings of the Buddha. The Buddhist traditions that I am currently seeing in class are the Chan tradition (which is based on the enlightenment of one’s own mind) and the Pure Land tradition (which focuses on the Amitabha Buddha as a savior who will take people away from the cycle of rebirth).

3. Buddhism is a hard religion to follow and practice.

Personally, I believe that Buddhism is one of the hardest traditions to practice on this Planet. According to reverend Kojima, (who runs a Japanese monastery in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles), practicing Buddhism is not all about mediation. Reverend Kojima studied in the monastery of Eiheiji in Japan, where they have strict rituals that all monks have to comply to, to be fully immersed in their studies. Indeed, all monks wake up at around four in the morning and start their meditation. After a quick breakfast, which only consists of a little bit of rice, soup, and vegetables, they take a quick break before going to their duties of physical work around the monastery before having lunch. In Eiheiji, they believe that meditating on the mind and physical work are both required to be fully able to concentrate on the self. After a long day of work, the monks have a small dinner before going to bed around 10 PM. And when the morning come back again, they start over with their routines.

I was amazed by the strict routines that monks had to abide by, because outsiders usually don’t think about having to ‘work’ in monasteries, and believe that monks are cared for through donation; however, that is not entirely true as monks do work in monasteries while practicing towards their goal of cleaning their minds of impurities.

4. It taught me to want to be a better person.

Through my study of Buddhism this semester, I learned that there are many ways in which I respect the Buddhist tradition, and it inspired me to become a better person. Indeed, I learned that many monks, through the bodhisattva path, concentrated on being compassionate, aiding the others and care for all human beings around them. I have heard of stories in which monks would aid others during different Wars in Asian countries, and of others who would sacrifice themselves to save those around them from suffering. I do believe that if everybody practiced even a little bit of Buddhism, the world would become a better place.

5. Here are 10 ways that you can use Buddhism to live in the moment.

When reverend Kojima visited us, he reminded us of how important the little moments can be in our lives. He told us that we are so used to multitasking (by that I mean that we can watch Netflix, eat our food and work on homework at the same time, and some of us actually do that), that we forget to focus and enjoy on just one activity per moment.

Here is a list that he gave us that I would like to share with you, which would enable you to both practice Buddhism and learn to focus on the little moments in our lives as well:

1. Do one thing at a time

2. Do it slowly and deliberately

3. Do it completely

4. Do less

5. Put space between things

6. Develop rituals

7. Designate time for certain things

8. Make cleaning and cooking meditation

9. Think about what is necessary

10. Live simply

I hope this blog taught you a bit more about Buddhism and how you can use it in your own life. How do you plan on using these ways in your daily lives?