Meg Harrie's Buddhism Dictionary Journal
The monk on the left perfectly depicts me at the beginning of this journey. Having the time of my life but on the verge of possibly being so scared I pee my pants (luckily that never happened.)
This blog chronicles my time and thoughts in the moment of experience that has been this semester. Overall I would say that I have learned more in this class about myself than any classes I have taken for my major.
This blog chronicles my time and thoughts in the moment of experience that has been this semester. Overall I would say that I have learned more in this class about myself than any classes I have taken for my major.
Buddhism stresses the importance of paying attention. But paying attention can be interchanged with being fully “aware” of yourself and your surroundings.
Being aware is putting Renunciation into action. “Renunciation is about disentangling oneself from the unsatisfactory and moving with determination toward what matters most. It is about freedom and meaning,” (Ricard reading). It’s value in Buddhist practice sets the path to wisdom, compassion, and if successful, inner peace and the end of dukkha.
“Coming to know dukkha is coming to know one’s experience of dukkha, and thus coming to know oneself."This can be an analogy to looking at dukkha and Buddhism as a whole. We must look at our predispositions and factor how they affect our view. Once we know how they affect us, we will be able to account for that, and better understand how to change our predispositions and the habits they cause, to no longer affect us.
Understanding your predispositions about life and understanding the role of dukkha in one’s life will lead to a better understanding of who we are. It will then allow us to leave our dispositions behind and be empty to fill ourselves with the new knowledge of Buddhism. Leading to one being “aware” or paying attention, and ultimately to inner peace and the end of dukkha.
I connected the most with being aware because it applied directly to my life right when we started talking about it. I have a high office in my sorority that is very time consuming along with 17 credits of all upper division classes. Most of my days are a to do list that has to be checked off before I can go to bed, wake up and do the same thing again. Before starting Buddhism, I did not take the time in my day to sit and be with each moment of experience. I have connected with Buddhism because it has been very applicable to how I want to live my life. I have been making changes to incorporate the Buddhist way of life to my current busy college life. It is nice to sit and focus on my breathing to remind myself of why I am here, the many conditions that caused this individual moment of my life to be. Overall, the work that I have done this semester has done a lot for me as far as realizing how blessed I am and to make sure I make the most of my blessings. ICA has been strongly incorporated with being aware in unpacking Buddhism for me. I like to think about the different conditions that must play into how each person lives their lives and how it is that I end up crossing paths with them.
Being fully aware is not going to completely unpack Buddhism, because once it is completely unpacked, you are awakened. But being aware helps one to see the different Buddhist terms unfold in daily life. We no longer see ourselves unconnected to society but see Interdependent Co-Arising in our daily interactions and notice that the dukkha in our lives does not just affect the individual but the whole. I have extremely enjoyed my dive into the Buddhist way of life and plan on continuing to apply it to my life.
Being aware is putting Renunciation into action. “Renunciation is about disentangling oneself from the unsatisfactory and moving with determination toward what matters most. It is about freedom and meaning,” (Ricard reading). It’s value in Buddhist practice sets the path to wisdom, compassion, and if successful, inner peace and the end of dukkha.
“Coming to know dukkha is coming to know one’s experience of dukkha, and thus coming to know oneself."This can be an analogy to looking at dukkha and Buddhism as a whole. We must look at our predispositions and factor how they affect our view. Once we know how they affect us, we will be able to account for that, and better understand how to change our predispositions and the habits they cause, to no longer affect us.
Understanding your predispositions about life and understanding the role of dukkha in one’s life will lead to a better understanding of who we are. It will then allow us to leave our dispositions behind and be empty to fill ourselves with the new knowledge of Buddhism. Leading to one being “aware” or paying attention, and ultimately to inner peace and the end of dukkha.
I connected the most with being aware because it applied directly to my life right when we started talking about it. I have a high office in my sorority that is very time consuming along with 17 credits of all upper division classes. Most of my days are a to do list that has to be checked off before I can go to bed, wake up and do the same thing again. Before starting Buddhism, I did not take the time in my day to sit and be with each moment of experience. I have connected with Buddhism because it has been very applicable to how I want to live my life. I have been making changes to incorporate the Buddhist way of life to my current busy college life. It is nice to sit and focus on my breathing to remind myself of why I am here, the many conditions that caused this individual moment of my life to be. Overall, the work that I have done this semester has done a lot for me as far as realizing how blessed I am and to make sure I make the most of my blessings. ICA has been strongly incorporated with being aware in unpacking Buddhism for me. I like to think about the different conditions that must play into how each person lives their lives and how it is that I end up crossing paths with them.
Being fully aware is not going to completely unpack Buddhism, because once it is completely unpacked, you are awakened. But being aware helps one to see the different Buddhist terms unfold in daily life. We no longer see ourselves unconnected to society but see Interdependent Co-Arising in our daily interactions and notice that the dukkha in our lives does not just affect the individual but the whole. I have extremely enjoyed my dive into the Buddhist way of life and plan on continuing to apply it to my life.