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Post new topic   Reply to topic how the samsara can HELP you
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 PostPosted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 2:54 am Reply with quote        
i thought i knew who i was before i was introduced to buddhas teachings, i was aware of my life, and not so much aware of myself. the samsara, or wheel of life, has given me so much insight into the workings of my mind that i thought i'd share its greatness with you. it's helped me in realizing how i suffer, and how to prevent it or stop it.

i'll be talking about the six realms of existence, google "samsara" or "wheel of life" to find out more about the rest.

it doesnt matter whether or not the beings depicted in the samsara are real or fake, it's not important that you believe in these beings. what's important is the insight you gain. so whether you have theistic beliefs, or atheist, buddhism can help you gain insight without abandoning your beliefs.

ask yourself "who am i?" from moment to moment and you'll start to understand yourself more than you ever have before, you can utilize this to make better choices instead of being driven by your feelings, desire, anger, ignorance, fear.
click the photo for larger pic.


there are six realms, theyre divided into an upper half and a lower half.
1. deva/god
2. azura
3. human

4. hungry ghost
5. animal
6. hell


1. in the deva/god realm, these beings are born into a life of abundance, and are so consumed with how lavish their own lives are that they dont see or understand other peoples suffering. in other words, they are distracted by desire and lack compassion.
if someone is walking around in a mall and they are reaching for fine garments, gadgets, trinkets, food, whatever, this is filling their life up with ordinary happiness. ordinary happiness doesnt last long, and before it's exhausted theyve filled their life with other things. theyre concerned with their desires. the difference between ordinary happiness and true happiness is that ordinary happiness is fleeting, and usually comes from external sources. true happiness is lasting, and it comes from within (blissful).

2. the azura also live lives of abundance but are consumed by feelings of jealousy and anger toward the deva. they have a sense of authority and superiority, they go to war with the deva because they believe thats their rightful place.
so if grade schooler tommy thinks his shoes are the shit compared to his friends ollys shoes, tommy is in the azura realm. if olly has nice shoes but is jealous of tommy, he is in the azura realm
if your neighbor has knowledge that others dont, like a phd in engineering, and she thinks that knowledge makes her better than other people, she is in the azura realm.

3. humans suffer with everything all of the other realms suffer from but they are not consumed by pleasure or hate. this is the best realm to be in to rid yourself of suffering (dissatisfaction).
<===>

4. hungry ghosts are beings with, aside from being filled with flames, big empty stomachs. they have trouble eating because their mouths are too small and necks too thin. if theyre lucky enough to get food, it burns before they can enjoy it. all these beings know is suffering.

basically, this is the opposite of the deva realm. these people have burning desire but it's never satiated, theyre never satisfied, therefore theyre always suffering. have you ever had any desires that werent satiated?

5. the animal realm. beings in this realm like being surrounded by what theyre familiar with and dislike anything theyre unfamiliar with. theyre ignorant, theyre comfortable where they are and dont want change, and they devour eachother.

we are psychologically in this realm when we assume dominance over someone else, when we're opposed to learning new things, when we're opposed to change or find it hard to cope with change. also, when we do anything to get what we desire even if it means hurting people.

6. the hell realm is half fire and half ice. the beings on the fire side are consumed by anger and the ones on the ice side are cold and unfeeling.

______________________________

inside the inner most ring are the three poisons, ignorance, greed (attachment/desire), and anger.

the beast holding the wheel is called the yama, he symbolizes death/impermanance.

_________________
only this moment is life
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fickle



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 PostPosted: Sun Jun 14, 2015 12:15 am Reply with quote        
what is suffering?

the buddha teaches us "life is suffering" but what he meant by suffering is much deeper than the english definition of suffering. the buddha uses the word dukkha not suffering, heres a link to help you understand what dukkha is http://buddhism.about.com/od/thefournobletruths/a/dukkhaexplain.htm
Quote:
Defining Dukkha

The Buddha taught there are three main categories of dukkha. These are:

Suffering or pain (dukkha-dukkha)
Impermanence or change (viparinama-dukkha)
Conditioned states (samkhara-dukkha)

Let's take these one at a time.

Suffering or Pain (Dukkha-dukkha). Ordinary suffering, as defined by the English word, is one form of dukkha. This includes physical, emotional and mental pain.

Impermanence or Change (Viparinama-dukkha). Anything that is not permanent, that is subject to change, is dukkha. Thus, happiness is dukkha, because it is not permanent. Great success, which fades with the passing of time, is dukkha. Even the purest state of bliss experienced in spiritual practice is dukkha.

This doesn't mean that happiness, success and bliss are bad, or that it's wrong to enjoy them. If you feel happy, then enjoy feeling happy. Just don't cling to it.

Conditioned States (Samkhara-dukkha). To be conditioned is to be dependent on or affected by something else. According to the teaching of dependent origination, all phenomena are conditioned. Everything affects everything else. This is the most difficult part of the teachings on dukkha to understand, but it is critical to understanding Buddhism.

this link tells us to ditch the word dissatisfaction, but for me, that word gives me a firmer grasp on what suffering is.

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 PostPosted: Tue Sep 13, 2016 3:47 am Reply with quote        
This is apparently kind of old, but I just wanted to say thank you for this information. We briefly went over Samsara in an anthropology class of mine, but not enough for me to really get it. This is much appreciated.
fickle



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 PostPosted: Sat Sep 24, 2016 9:56 am Reply with quote        
youre welcome. i'm glad you got something out of this post c:
i edited what i had written for the deva realm, it didnt explain well. i think i made it more clear now.

_________________
only this moment is life
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