10 REASONS THAT WILL CONVINCE YOU TO LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE

-
Image
  Learning a new language is fun but it can be challenging too. It is not just great for your confidence, creativity and career prospects but also for your brain. Here are 10 benefits of learning a new language:   1.            Ward off Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease Learning a second or a new language makes changes in your brain structure which are linked with resilience against Alzheimer’s disease. It really can delay the development process of these two diseases. To maintain a healthy brain, we need to challenge and expand it consistently. Learning languages is a good option in this case.   2.          You become more smarter Your brain is a muscle and it also needs some exercise. When you learn new vocabulary and new grammar, your brain gets a nice workout which helps in improving the overall functionality of your brain. “You live a new life for every language you speak. If you know only one langu...

Why Buddhism Isn’t Just A Religion but A Way of Living?

-


Buddham Sharanam Gachhami (I go to the Buddha for refuge)

Dhammam Sharanam Gachhami (I go to the Dhamma for refuge)

Sangham Sharanam Gachhami (I go to the Sangha for refuge)               

 

Let us dive into the meaning of the above mantra. Buddha represents wisdom, which takes our mind towards mindfulness. It means that the person is now surrendered to Buddha, the enlightened one. Dhamma is the ultimate truth and reality. Truth can be found only in reality and not in illusions. Sangha is the community of Buddhist monks and nuns, who have willingly accepted the noble eightfold path for attaining wisdom.

 

Buddha and His Early Life

 

Buddhism is one of the major religions in the world and was founded by Buddha. Buddha was born as Siddhartha Gautama, a Hindu in Lumbini in Nepal. He was born into a royal family and had access to all the luxuries to himself. It was predicted that he would become either a great king or a great spiritual leader. His father wanted that his son would become a great king so he kept him away from all the miseries of life and away from religious knowledge. He was given all kind of luxuries and pleasure. He was then married to Princess Yashodhara and had a son.

On a rare visit outside the palace, he saw an old man, a sick man and people carrying away a corpse. This was the first time that he was witnessing old age, sickness and death. This new view of the world raised several questions in his mind and he soon renounced all materialistic and luxurious things and set out on a path to discover an end to all these sufferings. He finally attained enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree in Bodh Gaya after rigorous meditation and finally came to be known as the Buddha or the Enlightened One.

 

Some Buddhism Beliefs

 

1.    Followers of Buddhism do not believe in the existence of God. Even Buddha is not considered as God. He was a human being who attained enlightenment. Buddhists focus on achieving enlightenment by following Buddha’s teachings.

2.    Buddhists often meditate and they believe that meditation is the path to achieve wisdom and attain enlightenment.

3.    Buddhism is said to be a way of living and not a religion. People can follow other religion and practice Buddhist teachings simultaneously.

4.    Buddhists believe in impermanence (nothing in this world is permanent and change is inevitable), which further explains that there is no existence of soul.

5.    Buddhism does not believe in the concept of sins. However, it believes in Karma. Whatever is happening in a person’s life is because of his own actions and deeds. Good deeds balance bad deeds.

6.    It teaches not to dwell in the past and not to dream about the future. We should live in the present.

7.    Rebirth or reincarnation happens due to the actions of a person and leads to endless cycles of life and death called samsara, which is painful and unsatisfactory and can be ended by achieving Nirvana.

 

The Four Noble Truths

 

1.    Sufferings exist and life is full of sufferings.

2.    The cause of suffering is attachment and greed.

3.    There is an end to this suffering.

4.    The way to end suffering is by following the Middle Path i.e. the Eightfold Path.

 

The Five Rules to live by


1.    Do not harm or kill living beings

2.    Do not steal or do not take things unless they are given

3.    Do not lie and speak unkind of others

4.    Do not consume intoxicants i.e. drugs and alcohol

5.    Do not indulge in sexual offences or sexual misconduct

 

The Noble Eightfold Path

 

1.    Right understanding of the Four Noble Truths

2.    Right thinking – Freeing oneself from hatred, ignorance and attachment

3.    Right speech – No gossiping, lying, abusing and talking ill about others

4.    Right action – Refrain from killing, hurting and harming, stealing and misusing sex. Learning to live honestly.

5.    Right livelihood – Learn to co-exist with other living beings. Avoid dishonesty and support yourself without harming others.

6.    Right effort – Discourage evil thoughts and encourage good thoughts. Action starts from the thoughts in our mind. Cultivate good qualities.

7.    Right mindfulness – Be aware of your feelings, body and mind.

8.    Right concentration – Practice meditation for a calm mind and for wisdom, which leads to Nirvana.

 

Buddhism teaches us a rich way of living our lives. It is all about self-discipline, inner peace, positivity and clarity of mind. Compassion and right attitude towards life is the core of this religion. These are just the basic values of life.

What have you learnt from Buddhism?

 

 


Popular posts from this blog

Toxic Relationships: 5 signs that you have a toxic best friend

-
Image
  Friends are those people who care for you, supports you no matter what and love you for the way you are. The great thing about friends is that they energize your soul. Do you notice that you are feeling disturbed or stressed by your friend’s behavior? Do you feel like you are not that close with your friend like how you used to be? And now you are probably wondering that how you two became friends in the first place. Then maybe you are stuck in a toxic friendship. Read on to see what toxic friendship actually is and what are the signs to look for to check whether your friend is being toxic. You are probably in a toxic friendship when you feel like you are being emotionally disturbed by your friend. You feel hurt, not understood and like you are being treated badly. Instead of feeling happy and energized, you feel drained when talking to them. It is hard to let go of a dear one but sometimes it is better to let them go if they are not willing to change. The main pillar of ...
Read more

Some Misconceptions about Mental Health: Getting rid of the mental health stigma

-
Image
The stigma around mental health is still there in today’s society. And because of the stigmas associated with it, so many misconceptions have arisen due to which people hesitate to reach out for help and decide to be silent about it. Read on to get all those common myths debunked because a little knowledge is often a dangerous thing.   1.    MYTH - People who are mentally ill are violent and dangerous FACT – Most of the mentally ill people are not violent and are like other normal beings. Only 4% violence happening is associated with cases of severe mental illness while the rest 96% violence is associated with the general population. But it is mostly seen that mentally ill people are more likely to be a victim of violence.   2.    MYTH – Mentally ill people are weak and can’t take up responsibilities FACT – Mental illness is not a sign of weakness or failure. Mental illness could be because of trauma, abuse, genetics, disability or changes ...
Read more