Buddhism is like riding a bicycle
To reach enlightenment you just have to keep riding!
Albert Einstein, whom I admire very much, said: "Life is like riding a bicycle - to keep your balance you have to keep moving"! An almost Buddhist saying, which is why his sentence inspired me to write today's article.
Whoever follows the teachings of Buddha can only have one goal: "Enlightenment"!
The legacy of the great man was his awakening, his message to us is that enlightenment is in everyone and can be achieved by all.
What do I mean by "Buddhism is like riding a bicycle?" Well, a Buddhist cannot follow the teachings of the historical model in 'part-time', either you are a Buddhist, or you are not.
Thus, the philosophy of Buddha penetrates into all areas of our lives, such as the way we treat other people, what and how we eat, how we earn our living, how we look at things, even our political attitude, but also general views on life, as in the great religions (charity, decency, honor), are influenced.
In this context, it is not so easy to "stop the bike", to pause the ride. A big problem for outsiders are the confusing "rules" of the different Buddhist communities, depending on the various Buddhist branches, the guidelines differ partly very much, quite different traditions developed in the different Asian countries.
I follow the Buddhist lineage of Shaolin Temple, which was founded by Bodhidharma around 500 AD. This philosophy of introspection, derived from Mahayana Buddhism, is called "Chan Buddhism" in China, while in the West its teachings became known as "Zen Buddhism".
Characteristic of Chan (Zen) is meditation (mindfulness or concentration exercises) as a spiritual practice that expands consciousness. The goal is the experience of enlightenment (as exemplified by the historical Buddha). It is important for all Buddhists to always continue the journey (with the imaginary bicycle), not to stop the aspirations, not to interrupt the journey to enlightenment.
Joachim Ringelnatz wrote the following in 1933: In Hamburg lived two ants who wanted to travel to Australia. Near Altona on the Chaussee, there their legs hurt, and there they wisely then renounced the last part of the journey.
The journey to "enlightenment", there can also sometimes 'hurt our legs', there can be setbacks, self-doubt, perhaps lack of understanding in the environment, why am I doing this, is this really the right thing for me, can I also achieve awakening?
Yes, we can, the historical Buddha has left us his message, his legacy, everyone can awaken, enlightenment is already within us, we have to bring it out from under the many broken pieces of our lives, sweep the dust from our souls, find our true being again under all the rubble of our history.
No one said the journey would be easy, that our legs wouldn't hurt along the way. But the journey is worth it. Promise! Just keep going!
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To travel with a guide is a blessing, to travel without one is the opposite
- Mark Twain - American writer - 1835 to 1910
It is not the destination, it is the journey
- Ralph Waldo Emerson - American philosopher and writer - 1803 to 1882
Only through regular exercise could one move forward
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - German poet - 1749 to 1832
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