Buddhism in daily life - Mindfulness in every day tasks

Your best teacher is your last mistake If we make one mistake and do not correct it, we are already making the second. Mistakes are part of life, we all make mistakes. The question is, how do we deal with it, what do we do when we realize the mistake? Often we notice the mistake the moment we make it. But what can we do, should we "fix it" even at the risk of "losing face"? Or look aside in shame...

Winter Solstice Twice a year the sun turns, from the highest to the lowest position of the sun . Starting today, the days are getting longer again, life will soon awaken tentatively. Already our ancestors revered the sun, myths were about the special days, special festivals were celebrated. In the Germanic Julfest the Christmas festival could have its origin, also the celebrations around the sun g...

Shi Miao Hai - Let Go and Enjoy I learned today that life can be like a roller coaster. It always goes up and down, to the right and to the left, just like in life; sometimes we have many friends, sometimes we have little to laugh about, sometimes we have a lot of money, sometimes little, sometimes we are very lucky, sometimes not. Often we deprive ourselves of the joy of life by holding on to con...

"Draw me a sheep ..." Who knows this sentence? Correct, it comes from "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, published at the time of the Second World War. I highly recommend the book, it is critical of the evaluation of outward appearances instead of human values, a clear criticism of the decay of the morals of that time (similar problems as nowadays as well). Here is told about a small...

Buddhism is like riding a bicycle To reach enlightenment you just have to keep riding! Albert Einstein, whom I admire very much, said: "Life is like riding a bicycle - to keep your balance you have to keep moving"! An almost Buddhist saying, which is why his sentence inspired me to write today's article. Whoever follows the teachings of Buddha can only have one goal: "Enlightenment"! The legacy of...

The truth about wolves There are two wolves living in us; one wolf is bad, he stands for bad qualities like arrogance, jealousy, greed, envy and jealousy. The other wolf is good, representing peace, goodness, hope and love. These two wolves are in each of us, fighting daily against each other, consciously or unconsciously. The wolf that we feed, that we pay attention to with our thoughts, that we...

The Robber Aṅgulimāla - the Story of the 99 Cut Off Fingers Aṅgulimāla was a murderer at the time of the historical Buddha. He was a student at the college, he came from a distinguished family. Legends tell of his extraordinary good looks. His teacher's wife was also more fond of him than other students, but he refused further contact. Thus, the race woman is said to have been incensed by the reje...

The power of the moment The eye looks, the moment passes instantly! By a moment we understand a short moment, a small time interval. A moment passes very quickly, it is irretrievable. It has power, every moment is different, none is comparable, if it passes unused, it remains lost forever. The strength of each moment we can also sometimes feel, we feel the energy of the moment, positive and also n...

When you meet the Buddha, what do you ask him? People pray to God, to the prophets, and to Buddha. They ask for this, they wish for that, they ask for that! In the course of time the wishes change. Just quickly bought at Amazon the so longed-for new toy (which one had to have absolutely), and already one wishes for something else. I wish for a beautiful wife, a nice man, a great job, health, happi...

The devil and the angel on our shoulder.... ........ we are, we are angels and devils in human form Do the figures on your shoulders often talk to you? And anyway, who are these figures that talk to us? Well, the answer is very simple: we are ourselves, the characters do not exist, our ego designs the characters; it is our ego that "whispers" nonsense into our ears (by means of the characters), be...

Questions about questions Because we don't know what we are doing ...... I would like to share with you a circumstance that has been bothering me. Whenever I set my alarm clock, I wake up 5 (five) minutes before the alarm. I know from some friends and acquaintances that they feel the same way. If you don't feel the same way, you probably can't really relate to my thoughts. This raises some questio...

The Prince and the Beggar Child Buddhist reflections on life Do you know Mark Twain? In 1881, the English author wrote a historical novel about two boys who looked incredibly alike, and were also born on the same day. One was a beggar child (Tom), the other the son of the King of England (Edward). Tom's childhood was terrible, his father was poor, brutal and a criminal. He learned to read and writ...

About timing in our lives Buddhism and timing About timing in our lives Imagine you are driving down a road in a car, a car in the opposite lane leaves the lane, rolls over and crashes head-on into your car. Do you see the overturning car coming towards you, can you imagine this situation? Or you drive along the same road 2 minutes earlier, when then the other car overturns, you are already decisi...

The own ego is an illusion Buddhism and the own perception The own ego is an illusion, we all play a role in it. According to Shakespeare, the world is only a stage. Over time we have merged with the role we play, it has become "flesh and blood" to us. We think we are the person from the role, but have we ever been that person? The task of a Chan (Zen) master is to peel off layer after layer of pe...

The way is the goal! The mountain outside my door Once upon a time there was a man who lived secluded, right on the path between a beautiful mountain and the nearest town. When the man went outside the door, he saw the mountain, looked at it long and closely, delighted in the grace, radiance and nobility of the silent giant far in the distance. The slopes shone in bright green, the middle layers a...

Reflections on the Ego What's the point? I recently had a conversation with a very nice man, we have known each other for some time but have never really spoken. I'll call him Charly here. Charly has depression, therefore hardly comes out of the house, buries himself, has good and bad days. Medicine, he said, can't really help him. Charly has lost his job because of his illness, has few human cont...

Do I want enlightenment, do I want to awaken? Buddhism and our desires WE SELDOM THINK OF WHAT WE HAVE, BUT ALWAYS OF WHAT WE LACK. [ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER] According to the historical Buddha, thinking is what hurts us, harms us. As with Arthur Schopenhauer's quote, we think especially of the people and things we lack, what we have we take for granted. We wish for so many things, a loving partner, mo...

The question is how we deal with the "waiting"! We are constantly waiting for this and that. For the doctor's appointment, for the end of work, for our partner, for the children to come home, for a vacation, for the pain to subside, for us to get well, we are always waiting for something. And waiting is one of the most difficult things of all. Remember that moment when the mother said: "BE PATIENT...

You can't get into the same river twice. Buddhism and the river What is life like, what constitutes our existence? The best way to compare life is with a river. THE GREEK PHILOSOPHER HERACLITUS IS CREDITED WITH THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE: "YOU CANNOT GET INTO THE SAME RIVER TWICE." It is our body that gets into the river, yesterday and today, but it is not the same water, it is an entirely different w...

Our fathers The different fathers Some time ago I was sitting in a coffee house in Stuttgart at the Schlossplatz in the midday sun. An elderly lady asked if the second chair was still free, I said yes, she sat down, we got into conversation. She said she was a Christian, I said I was a Buddhist. "Oh, those are the egoists, always looking out for themselves" she said, I was puzzled. "Where did they...

People and mental problems Buddhism and Mental Problems In today's complicated world, many, if not very many, people have mental problems. People are insecure, frightened, usually have enough to do but little time to take care of themselves, have developed neuroses, depression and mental problems. Since the connection to the church is decreasing more and more, the spiritual component also comes le...

You can't stop the wave Buddhism and the perfect wave Have you ever seen surfing on TV or on the beach? It's all about the right moment to "jump on" the wave, to ride it, to surf it. And it all has to be in harmony with nature, we are a part of nature, but often we forget this. We didn't make the wave, I didn't make the path, nature made the wave, I have to become a part of the wave, of the water....

Yuima Sutra Buddhism and the Yuima Sutra (Wéimójié - 佛說維摩詰經 - Vimalakīrtinirdeśa). When people are drowning, the master must jump into the water and help. Nothing can be accomplished from the outside. A master must not be proud, when people are suffering, he must assist these persons. According to "Yuima" it makes no difference whether it is a prostitute or a minister; the master must "be wi...

Buddhism and the clear view University degrees, journeyman's certificates, master's certificates, accreditations, credentials, paper upon paper, web pages upon web pages, texts upon texts. Blind faith in diplomas, certificates, bills and contracts, videos and podcasts. But how do you recognize the person who can really help you? For example, a Chan master (Zen). How can you find out the real maste...

Closed eyes Close your eyes .... what you see then belongs to you! Many people define themselves by what they own, what they buy, what they present to the outside world. This is understandable, because the inside is not "showable" and it is difficult to explain or even to represent it. As Buddhists, it is precisely not the outside that we find ourselves through, but our inner values that count, su...