The Unequal Brothers A very wise father had two sons who could not have been more different. Outwardly they were very similar, but in character they were complete opposites. One son was an optimist, his brother was basically skeptical. One was always cheerful, the other was taciturn and constantly absorbed in his thoughts. One brother liked to read a lot, the other did not even look at books, while one brother danced, the other covered his ears. One was cold, the other always had heat, one...

Trapped in thoughts? Are you caught in the "thought carousel"? Constantly brooding, "what if"? Have I done something "wrong"? Is it "up to me"? NO Self-criticism is important, but too much of it will lead to depression. It is always important to question why this thought arises in us right now, what brought us to brooding in the first place, was there a reason for it (and if so, what was it), does brooding have a benefit, how do we feel while we are brooding, what feelings do we...

I have a lot to regret! Or not? Who has nothing to regret, who is free from mistakes, who casts the first stone! However, it is important how we deal with our past, do we learn from our history, or do we continue as before? According to the teachings of Buddha, everything is already written, everything has come exactly as it had to come. So what can we change for the future? Can we change anything at all? YES and NO If we reconsider our behavior for the future, then this is also our...

When I tried to be someone I am not.... According to Buddha, life is not as it appears to us. According to Shakespeare, the whole world is a stage, and we are only the actors in it. We all try to present ourselves as well as possible to the outside world. In doing so, we bend ourselves, because we want to please other people. In any case, we present ourselves in such a way that we believe we can impress others. But this is wrong. When we meet a person we want to get to know his real...

Was Diogenes a Buddhist? Diogenes was a Greek philosopher who propagated the doctrine of "needlessness", i.e. the complete opposite of today's "consumer society". In his view, man should desire only elementary things. Everything beyond that, the scholar considered "useless", external conventions, such as marriage, he rejected. For me as a Buddhist, Diogenes' views appear to be of elementary foresight; if I, as a human being, am going to crumble to dust anyway, what good are gold and money...

News Detox Every day we are bombarded with "news". Politician X demands .................... Politician Y wants .................. Politician Z is appalled ....................... I can't listen to it anymore! So for some time now I have refused to listen to the media garbage that is poured over me. Imagine it is "peace", there is silence around us, the "concerned" statements no longer reach me. Therefore, I no longer read news, such or otherwise, I am no longer "reachable". I don't...

About the downfall of a culture If you look at the course of history, there have been many outstanding cultures. The Romans, the Greeks, the Chinese, the Indians, in different times different cultures have shaped the world and brought it forward. Different ideas shaped entire eras, from the teachings of Buddha to the French Revolution, outstanding thinkers were able to leave a mark on entire generations. What was responsible for the rise, or decline, of a cultural group? How could the...

1984 The novel by the English writer George Orwell appeared in 1949, and quickly became a work of wide-ranging significance. It depicts the life of Winston Smith in a total surveillance state. His world was divided into three great powers, which were enemies of each other. The protagonist lived in the "English part", the "Landing Field 1″. Through a new language ("Neusprech") the population was suppressed, people were controlled and bugged with constantly running "Televisors". Obscure...

The tree In a beautiful forest stood a young tree, directly at the brook it struck deep roots, it had enough sun, in front of it were bushes, which protected it from the wind. A hiker passed by and stopped right here for a rest. The man was in a bad mood, had lost his job, life was hard for him. He looked at the healthy young tree, his mood became even worse, he became "jealous" of the tree that had such good conditions, occupied such a wonderful place; he, on the other hand, was...

The Stories of Aesop The Greek poet Aesop lived about the time of Buddha. He founded the so-called "example narrative", he conveyed "morals" and "values" in his short stories. The German phrase "getting a lion's share" goes back to a tale by Aesop, the "Fable of the Lion's Share". Here, a lion and a donkey go hunting together. The lion divides the hunted prey into 2/3 for himself and 1/3 for the donkey, simply because he is the stronger. He found in the fable many arguments why he had to...

The wisdom of Socrates Socrates was a Greek philosopher whose understanding of the world was characterized by knowledge of human nature, ethical principles and unchanging values. In many points his views show great overlap with the teachings of Buddha. Few personalities were able to leave a lasting mark on their posterity; Socrates was such an exceptional figure. The following story has been handed down from his life, which by its simple clarity has retained its validity to this day: A...

Gold in the cupboard In a prosperous town once lived a rich man. He had many businesses, he was involved in almost all aspects of economic life, he did not miss any good deal. He kept his wealth in a large cash box in the closet of his house, every day he opened it, looked at his coins, thought about the profitable and past transactions, when he looked at his fortune became quite "warm around the heart". One fine day, when he came back to his house after a long, busy day, he already had a...

A little piece of heaven Every year, a large German company organizes various company outings, joint events and various activities that are intended to strengthen team cohesion, build a sense of community and make it easier for colleagues and employees to get to know each other. The company's management places particular emphasis on the shared experience, trust and motivation. This spring, it was the turn of the management level to participate in seminars, a team hike was scheduled for the...

There are millions of reasons to smile! The fat Buddha In the gift store of a temple, the nearsighted woman asked, "How much is that fat Buddha, the one standing back there next to the door?" "Shh! Speak softly," whispers the monk at the cash register, "that's our abbot." Buddha is often depicted as a "Happy Buddha"; in Chinese there is the expression "Mi Le Fo" (弥勒佛). The broad laughter on his face is said to symbolize his endless love for all living beings, and his fat belly shows the...

Bad luck becomes good luck - and vice versa My father used to say, "Son, there is nothing bad that doesn't have something good about it"! Examples (freely invented): Mr. K. broke his leg in a car accident, a complicated comminuted fracture, at first the doctors thought they would have to remove the foot, he was in the hospital for almost two months, for a long time he thought he would never be able to walk properly again. / during his time in the hospital he met a nurse, the two fell in...

Listening helps! In China, there was a Buddhist teacher who taught throughout the country. He was very respected, his wisdom was legendary, many people attended his talks. As a monk of his monastery he was popular, many brothers listened to him. When he was about to leave for another reading tour, a novice (aspiring monk) approached him and asked if he could accompany him. Since the two men were about the same age, and the travels were exhausting him more and more, the teacher agreed, and...

Everything passes In a Buddhist temple, a great master taught, he was already very old, but incredibly white, he had many followers, the monks of the temple, and also the people from the neighboring town, respected him, as a counselor and as a gifted scholar. In the great hall of the temple he lectured, organized meetings, provided social gatherings, gave advice, and there he taught his students the philosophy of Buddha, also meditation and prayer. He was particularly fond of a local...

What is poverty? Let me call the family "the Peters" for simplicity's sake. The father has a prosperous business, he manufactures spare parts for cars. In his early youth he became an apprentice in a similar company, graduated as a master craftsman there. A few years later he started his own business, with diligence and luck he worked his way up, became wealthy, his company grew bigger and bigger. He was very proud of his success, liked to brag about his possessions, felt important to other...

Love comes like a thief - unexpectedly We all want to be loved and to love. Love is beautiful, builds us up, gives us strength, we can move mountains when we love. Endless songs tell of beautiful love stories, there are love movies, love novels, a whole industry takes on love. Not everyone will experience love in his life; others possibly several times, karma is karma, the history of our life is predetermined. It doesn't help to beg fate, to present our wishes to the gods, love comes...

5 blind and 1 elephant 5 Blind Men and 1 Elephant At the court of a popular king there lived many learned men who served him as advisors. No matter what the subject, there were always disputes between the many "experts"; the experts did not agree on anything. The quarrels became more violent every day, the palace was filled with bickering and strife. The king decided to remedy the situation, he thought about what he could do. One day he had a good idea. Among his advisors were five blind...

The color of our skin You think you can determine your life? I tell you, nothing you can determine! Have you chosen your "skin color"? Or the "color of your hair"? Their "sex"? Or the "place" where you were born? NO You did not determine any of these things, you did not choose any of these things. You were born in a certain body, in a certain place, at a certain time, all this you did not choose yourself, it was your karma! THE ROMAN POET OVID WROTE CA. 25 V. CHR.: "EVERYONE SHOULD KEEP...

Buddhism and the right tempo Every person has his or her own pace, his or her typical energy level. In the modern world, people are rushing through their lives, stressed and under pressure. I, for example, always have a fast pace, often have a lot to do, rush from appointment to appointment, and am always on the go in my private life. Lately, however, I've been noticing a slight pain in my left hip (when walking fast), which got me thinking about my pace and energy level. After all, in a...

Excuses and Buddhist Answers Every human being has "talked himself out of it" at one time or another. The boundary between an excuse and a lie is fluid, the more often one uses "white lies" the more fluently they roll off the tongue. If something is important to us, we will find a way to realize it, to stay on it, we become creative, develop strength and think about how it could be done. If something is not important to us, our ego creates excuses, evasions and lies. Do we want to be lied...

What does a master give me? The question arises: "What advantage does a Chan master bring me, what can he give me"? The central theme of Buddhism is "enlightenment", the teaching of the teacher of all teachers is about "awakening". Certainly Buddha said and did many wise things, but what made him really special and unique was the (re)discovery of "enlightenment". Nowadays, when we strive for "enlightenment", the very approach turns out to be very difficult. Buddha did not leave his...

Nothing is mine WITH WORRIES THE GATE SPEAKS: "MY MONEY AND MY CHILDREN!" "HIS" IS NOT EVEN HIMSELF, BUT CHILD AND MONEY EVEN LESS. - BUDDHA- Nothing belongs to us, even the dirt under our nails is not ours. We will perish, crumble into shreds, our bones will turn to dust, coming from nothingness, the journey for our body will go back to the lack of content, to emptiness. And then we say: "My son, my daughter, my money, my house, my car, mine, mine, mine"! Nothing is mine! And nothing...