By - Devasis Chakma
Introduction:
Buddhism is one of the oldest religions in the world founded by Gautam Buddha. It teaches about how we can make our life more beautiful as everything is in our hands. So, to know the right way, we have to see ourselves only. Many spiritual teachers have shown the right path for all human beings to overcome their day to day problems and Gautam Buddha was one of them who shown the right path to common people for living a happy and a peaceful life.
Buddhism is not a religion, it is a way of life. So, anyone can adopt this path in order to live peacefully and make one’s life more meaningful. Gautam Buddha’s philosophical thoughts are very simple and easy to understand and the following are some of the rules for living a happy life.
A) Two Things to Remember in Life:
1. Take care of your thoughts when you are alone.
2. Take care of your words, when you are with people.
B) Three Simple Rules in Life:
1) If you do not go after what you want, you will never have it.
2) If you do not ask, the answer will always be no.
3) If you do not step forward, you will always be in the same place.
C) Three Things Cannot be Hidden:
1) The sun
2) The moon and
3) The truth
D) Never Forget three Peoples in Life:
1) The one who help you in difficult times
2) The one who leave you in difficult times and
3) The one who put you in difficult times
E) Four Noble Truths in Life:
1. The Truth of suffering states that suffering is an intrinsic part of life.
2. The Truth of Arising locates the cause of this suffering in craving.
3. The Truth of Cessation explains that removing craving will remove suffering.
4. The Truth of the Path outlines the way to achieve nirvana — by following the Buddha’s Eightfold Path.
F) Five Rules of Happiness:
1) Don’t Worry
2) Don’t Hate
3) Give More
4) Expect Less
5) Live Simply
G) Five Things You Will Never Recover in Life:
1) A stone after it is thrown.
2) A word after it is said.
3) An occasion after it is missed.
4) Time after it is gone.
5) Trust after it is lost.
H) Six Rules of Life:
1) Before you pray, Always Believe
2) Before you speak, Always Listen
3) Before you spend, Always Earn
4) Before you write, Always Think
5) Before you quit, Always Try
6) Before you die, Always Live
I) Six Rules to be Happy in Life:
Never hate
Don’t worry
Live simple
Expect a little
Give more
And always smile
J) Six Best Doctors:
Sunshine
Water
Rest
Air
Exercise, and
Diet
K) Seven Steps to Happiness:
1) Think Less, Feel More
2) Frown Less, Smile More
3) Talk Less, Listen More
4) Judge Less, Accept More
5) Watch Less, Do More
6) Complain Less, Appreciate More
7) Fear Less, Love More
L) Eight fold path for a happy life:
1) Right View
2) Right Intention
3) Right Speech
4) Right Action
5) Right Livelihood
6) Right Effort
7) Right Mindfulness
8) Right Concentration
M) 12 Steps for Self Care:
1) If you feel wronged, don’t do it.
2) Say “exactly” what you mean.
3) Don’t be a people pleaser.
4) Trust your instincts.
5) Never speak badly about yourself.
6) Never give up your dreams.
7) Don’t be afraid to say “no”
8) Don’t be afraid to say “yes”
9) Be kind to yourself.
10) Let go of what you can’t control.
11) Stay away from drama & negativity.
12) Love
After a stupendous struggle of six years, in His 35th Year the ascetic Gautam, unaided and unguided by any supernatural agency and solely relying on His own efforts and wisdom, eradicated all defilements, ended the process of grasping and realizing things as they truly are by His own intuitive knowledge, became a Buddha – the Enlightened One.
Gautam Buddha propagated his teachings for nearly 45 years for the benefit of the common people. His only intention was to share the right knowledge for right purpose. The following philosophical thoughts straight away touches the hearts of all human beings to select their paths for happy and peaceful life.
“We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.”
A man asked Gautama Buddha, “I want happiness”. Buddha said, first remove “I,” that’s EGO, then remove “WANT,” that’s DESIRE. See now you are left with only “HAPPINESS.”
A positive mind finds opportunity in everything. A negative mind finds faults in everything.
Acceptance of yourself is far more important than acceptance from others.
A good relationship is when someone accepts your past, supports your present, loves you and encourages your future.
“Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.”
All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.
An insincere and evil friend is more to be feared than a wild beast – a wild beast may wound your body, but an evil friend will wound your mind.
Be careful with your words. Once they are said, they can only be forgiven, nor forgotten.
Be happy. You don’t know how much time you have left.
Be selective with your battles. Sometimes peace is better than being right.
Be strong but not rude. Be kind but not weak. Be bold but not a bully. Be humble but not timid, and be proud but not arrogant.
Before you speak, let you words pass through three gates: Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?.
Calm your mind. Life becomes much easier when you keep your mind at peace.
Change is never painful. Only resistance to change is painful.
Do not dwell in the past; do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.
Don’t blame people for disappointing you. Blame yourself for expecting too much from them.
Don’t mix bad words with your bad mood. You will have many opportunities to change your mood, but you will never get the opportunity to replace the words you spoke.
Don’t tell people your plans, show them your results.
Everything that has a beginning has an ending. Make your peace with that and all will be well.
Forget who hurt you yesterday, but don’t forget those who love you every day. Forget the past that makes you cry and focus on the present that makes you smile. Forget the pain, but never the lessons you gained.
Give, even if you only have a little.
Happiness does not depend on what you have or who you are. It solely relies on what you think.
Happiness is a choice, not a result. Nothing will make you happy until you choose to be happy. No person will make you happy unless you decide to be happy. Your happiness will not come to you. It can only come from you.
Happiness is not the absence of problems; it’s the ability to deal with them.
Happy people focus on what they have. Unhappy people focus on what’s missing.
Never reply when you are angry. Never make a promise when you are happy. Never make a decision when you are sad.
Never search your happiness in others; it will make you feel alone. Search it in yourself; you will feel happy even when you are left alone.
Raise your words, not voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.
Relationship never dies a natural death. They are murdered by Ego, Attitude and Ignorance.
Set your heart just on doing good. Do good over and over again and you will be filled with joy.
Speak only when you feel that your words are better than your silence.
You cannot change the truth, but truth can change you.
You cannot change your future; you can change your habits. And surely your habit will change your future.
You don’t meet people by accident. There’s always a reason. A lesson or a blessing.
Your problem is not the problem. Your reaction is the problem.
Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts.
Conclusion: It can be concluded by saying that to understand the philosophical thoughts of Gautama Buddha three things must be taken into consideration. They are Self, Thought and Love. So, we have to watch our thoughts continuously with rapt attention for a happy and a healthy life as everything is with an individual only. These philosophical thoughts are very useful not only for common people but also for the students.
References:
Allan R. Bombhard, The Essential Teachings of Buddhism, Charleston Buddhist Fellowship, Charleston SC USA, 2010 (2554)
Narada Mahathera, The Buddha and His Teachings, Reprinted for free distribution by The Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation Taipei, Taiwan. July 1998
Buddha. (2018, May 9). Philosophical thoughts of Buddha for happy and healthy lifeRetrieved May 9, 2018, from Pinterest: https://in.printerest.com
(The author of this article is a Post Graduate in Education as well as in Sociology. Recently he has also obtained another Post Graduate Degree in Political Science. Besides these he has also completed two certificate courses in “Guidance and Counselling” and “Desktop Publishing”. Currently he is running his his own private school in Mizoram as its Principal. He can be reached at Mobile No. 8413826986 and Email: devasischakma1993@gmail.com /0devasischa1993@gmail.com)
