buddha
July 2008 
A Zen Mind ( Video)
Posted on Dec 13th, 2006
by 
Photizo
Photizo
In my daily work l manage a group of people and have named the team, "Team Tao". With the symbol of the Tao representing our team as a logo and on meeting agendas I am often asked ...."why?..... And what does that symbol mean?"
I use this universal principal to make the point that there is a "Middle Way" in the ever continuous change or flow of all things.
The essential message of Taoism is...
that life constitutes an organic, interconnected
whole which undergoes constant transformation.
that life constitutes an organic, interconnected
whole which undergoes constant transformation.
One of the key principles in understanding the Tao is to have an understanding of Wu-Wei or what we might call natural action or non-doing. Over the years I have become more and more impressed with the philosophical writings of Bruce Lee. On Wu-wei as a natural action he says,
"The basic idea of the Tao Te Ching is NATURALISM in the
sense of wu-wei (inaction), which really means taking no unnatural action.
It means spontaneity; that is. "to support all things in their natural stage" and
thus allow them to "transform spontaneously." In this manner Tao "Undertakes
no activity and yet there is nothing left undone." Bruce Lee
sense of wu-wei (inaction), which really means taking no unnatural action.
It means spontaneity; that is. "to support all things in their natural stage" and
thus allow them to "transform spontaneously." In this manner Tao "Undertakes
no activity and yet there is nothing left undone." Bruce Lee
It is what it is, and nothing extra need be added for all is as it should be if left to its natural state. It is our ego and sense of wanting to control and manipulate things for our own benefit and desires that leads to suffering. This conflict or suffering is an ever present state of mind when we desire permanence in a universe of motion, or impermanence. It is this unceasing flow that is the natural order of all things. By understating the unalterable law of change, we can cooperate with the natural order to increase our awareness for personal transformation. The idea here is to "Go with the Flow."
The Middle Way is summed up in the fourth noble truth - the Noble Eightfold Path - Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration. This is the Buddha's practical and realistic guide to avoiding the two extremes and treading The Middle Way.
The Four Noble Truths
1. Life means suffering.
2. The origin of suffering is attachment.
3. The cessation of suffering is attainable.
4. The path to the cessation of suffering.
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1. Life means suffering.
2. The origin of suffering is attachment.
3. The cessation of suffering is attainable.
4. The path to the cessation of suffering.
The unpleasantness we experience when in difficulty
is more often than not caused by our own reactions.
(I Ching)
is more often than not caused by our own reactions.
(I Ching)
Buddha taught this Middle Way when he referred to as a path that avoided extremes in sensory self-indulgence or it's opposite of self-mortification.
The Middle Way is summed up in the fourth noble truth - the Noble Eightfold Path - Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration. This is the Buddha's practical and realistic guide to avoiding the two extremes and treading The Middle Way.
The Four Noble Truths
1. Life means suffering.
2. The origin of suffering is attachment.
3. The cessation of suffering is attainable.
4. The path to the cessation of suffering.
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1. Life means suffering.
To live means to suffer, because the human nature is not perfect and neither is the world we live in. During our lifetime, we inevitably have to endure physical suffering such as pain, sickness, injury, tiredness, old age, and eventually death; and we have to endure psychological suffering like sadness, fear, frustration, disappointment, and depression. Although there are different degrees of suffering and there are also positive experiences in life that we perceive as the opposite of suffering, such as ease, comfort and happiness, life in its totality is imperfect and incomplete, because our world is subject to impermanence. This means we are never able to keep permanently what we strive for, and just as happy moments pass by, we ourselves and our loved ones will pass away one day, too.
2. The origin of suffering is attachment.
The origin of suffering is attachment to transient things and the ignorance thereof. Transient things do not only include the physical objects that surround us, but also ideas, and -in a greater sense- all objects of our perception. Ignorance is the lack of understanding of how our mind is attached to impermanent things. The reasons for suffering are desire, passion, ardour, pursue of wealth and prestige, striving for fame and popularity, or in short: craving and clinging. Because the objects of our attachment are transient, their loss is inevitable, thus suffering will necessarily follow. Objects of attachment also include the idea of a "self" which is a delusion, because there is no abiding self. What we call "self" is just an imagined entity, and we are merely a part of the ceaseless becoming of the universe.
3. The cessation of suffering is attainable.
The cessation of suffering can be attained through nirodha. Nirodha means the unmaking of sensual craving and conceptual attachment. The third noble truth expresses the idea that suffering can be ended by attaining dispassion. Nirodha extinguishes all forms of clinging and attachment. This means that suffering can be overcome through human activity, simply by removing the cause of suffering. Attaining and perfecting dispassion is a process of many levels that ultimately results in the state of Nirvana. Nirvana means freedom from all worries, troubles, complexes, fabrications and ideas. Nirvana is not comprehensible for those who have not attained it.
4. The path to the cessation of suffering.
There is a path to the end of suffering - a gradual path of self-improvement, which is described more detailed in the Eightfold Path. It is the middle way between the two extremes of excessive self-indulgence (hedonism) and excessive self-mortification (asceticism); and it leads to the end of the cycle of rebirth. The latter quality discerns it from other paths which are merely "wandering on the wheel of becoming", because these do not have a final object. Craving, ignorance, delusions, and its effects will disappear gradually, as progress is made on the path.
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