Purpose of leading a spiritual life
From TheBuddhism.Net
Once the Buddha addressed his diciples thus: “Monks it may be that ascetics belonging to other sects will ask you what is the purpose of leading a spiritual life under the Buddha.?” The monks remained silent. Then the Buddha himself gave the answer.
“You should answer them thus: It is for the purpose of understanding things that should be fully understood that we lead a spiritual life under the Buddha.” Then the Buddha continued: “What are the things that should be fully understood? They are the five aggregates of clinging: material form, feeling, perceptions, mental formations and consciousness.”
From this incident we can see that the path laid down by the Buddha is essentially a path of understanding.
The understanding aimed at is not mere conceptual knowledge or a collection of information. Rather it is an insight into the true nature of our existence.
This understanding brings liberation, the release of the mind from all bonds and fetters and issues in the cessation of Dukkha or suffering.
The Buddha offers us the Dhamma as a search light that we can focus on our own experience in order to understand it in correct perspective. To understand our experience or our existence, involves two steps:
1) We have to look into the makeup of our being to see what our existence consists of, we have to take it apart mentally, to see how it works, then put it together again and see how it holds together.
2) We have to examine our experience in order to discover its most pervasive features, the universal characteristics of phenomena.
The True Nature of Existence – By Bhikkhu Bodhi
http://www.beyondthenet.net/dhamma/fourNoble.htm
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The Buddha offers us the Dharma as a search light, to establish a set of values, principles and beliefs that give life meaning to us. We then use them to guide the decisions and actions we undertake. Spirituality is related to many important aspects of human functioning as such spiritual people have positive relationships, high self-esteem, and they have a meaning and purpose in life. Spirituality also influences end-of-life decisions where it help people cope with illness, suffering and death. Spirituality has helps us to see things from a different angle and understand our life’s greater purpose.
Reading this post have me understand better.
Thank you Rinpoche with folded hands for this profound teachings.
This is a wonderful answer about leading a spiritual life. That spiritual life is for us to understand all that was needed to be understood. Cool.