It's All in the Mind.

Went for my 2nd Dharma Circle this sem, enriching=) *Seen some more light=P*

A few lessons learnt about the mind...

With understanding comes love=)
Hence if we can drop all perceptions about other people, be open-minded, and not let unpleasant first impressions or assumptions affect our compassion for our friends and family. It's like putting ourselves into other people's shoes and try to understand their real intentions.

Mind is the start of everything=)
Our thoughts determine our actions which in turn determine the consequences and impacts on others around us. Hence it is really important to purify our mind to ensure that our actions are positive.

Emotions cloud our mind=)
With so many emotions arising as a result of what's happening around us, it is challenging that we dont get attached to these emotions. Just acknowledge them that they are arising within us, watch it slowly fade away. Most importantly, we should not react to these emotions, otherwise we will be a slave of our mind.

Precepts are our living guide.
Initially when I just started learning about Buddhism, the 5 precepts seems to be such a "chim" concept! But it's basically boils down to a "standard" for guiding our lives. *Somehow similar to our Codes of Practices=P* How do we know what we are doing are right or wrong?

It's actually simple, we just have to make sure that what we do does not cause harm to others or ourselves, then we are on the right track. Nothing really complex about it actually. *TingX3!*

Anyway for those who are interested:
The 5 Precepts are commitments to abstain from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and intoxication.

Mindfulness is the key to the right way of living.
So we need to be aware of our thoughts and intentions before we can determine whether our following actions are right. This requires mindfulness - simply being aware of our thoughts. Sometimes we do thing without realizing, such as habits, this is where we become unaware of our behaviours.

Being mindful allows us to have that ability to check on ourselves and reflect on our behaviours. With so many things happening around us all the time, it can be difficult. Hence, meditation is a form of training our mind to be more focus and mindful of the present moments, instead of being constantly distracted by external environment.

Cindy highlighted an important point with regards to meditation. Practising Buddhism does not necessary means that one has to meditate everyday. The concious efforts to be mindful throughout our daily life are already acts of practising Buddhism.

Just to clarify:

Practising Buddhism is not worshipping the Buddha statue. It is learning the teachings of the Buddha, otherwise known as Dharma. These teachings arise as a result of him being enlightened. Being a Buddhist is basically practising the Dharma and living it.

Letting go

It does not mean not to care about what has happened. I think that what Buddha is trying to teach us is that we should not dwell with the past, but more importantly what can be done now. Forget about "What I could have done?", instead focus on "What can I do now to deal with this?"=) Focus on the changeable and let go of the un changeable facts.

Alright! Glad that I attended this Dharma Circle=) Hope to attend the rest of them as they are on dealing with the issue on mind=) *InterestingX2!*=D

Live in the present!