Enlightenment

Few days ago i had an enlightenment. ; )

I've been thinking of principles to guide me along in life and work. There are many. From many self-help books or gurus to the ultimate teacher Buddha himself. Some examples - think win-win, have compassion and wisdom, whole is greater than the sum of its parts, understand cause and effect, and do right things right.

So you see, whenever i'm faced with a situation, many good principles come to mind. But sometimes i wished there is one really 'powerful' one i could use especially when you are kind of rush. ;P

Guess it has been in my hardworking subconscious mind. Then finally a realization came. An enlightenment.

The answer that came was not something unknown to me. It is the word Impermanence. It is in fact a core teaching of Buddha. Perhaps it never got internalized to an extent. And i never realize that it can be used as THE Principle! Not sure if anyone understand when i say 'the principle'.

Can you imagine from today whenever you are faced with a situation and you are suddenly lost of which principle(s) to guide you, and you just use Impermanence principle. If you truly understand the meaning of impermanence you will likely know the answer to your problem. At least know how to react.

A quick note of my own understanding of impermanence in the context of Buddhist teaching. Nothing last forever. Someday and not knowing which day we will all die. Since we will all die, it means there is a change. So change is natural. With change, something must have occur. A reaction of sort. So there is a cause and effect. The root cause may be far from here, but there is still a cause. Back to nothing last forever. So shall anger. So there is no need to be angry as it shall come to pass. And therefore we shall be careful of our action or reaction cause causality comes to play. Since nothing last forever, we shouldn't be too emotional attach to the things we owe. Life is simply too short for unhappy stuff. ; )

misunderstanding and understanding of detachment

Many non Buddhists i know tend to think that detachment is a wrong attitude - as if these people don't care anymore. But the truth is that it is just the opposite.

Being detach in Buddhist term is just the knowledge of knowing the pros and cons of being attached. Being detach also means we become more objective as we don't allow emotion to come in between our minds. And finally being detach also means it's harder to get angry with things and people.

So there are many benefits in practicing detachment. But it has to begin with understanding of what detachment actually means in Buddhism and in practice.

The new attitude to work

Some years ago, i had a realisation which till today i still subscribe to it and still believe it is the right attitude towards work.. especially if you are working for other people. Here it goes:

"Work as if you are going to stay forever, but plan as if you are going to leave tomorrow."

So, do you think it has some truth? Somehow it makes me feel more fulfilled, kept me busy & moving forward, and not rest on my laurels.

While some may think it's a bit of a conflicting mindset, it is precisely this. If you have read my post on holding two conflicting ideas or thoughts, you will know what i mean. But seriously, i looked at it as a balanced mindset instead. A positive one and one having the right attitude.

What do you say?

What is happiness

Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory. - Albert Schweitzer

Far too many people these days think that happiness and success is wealth. And then far too many people will realize the truth many years later, and usually after they fell ill, broken relationships and/or gone broke due to business failure or bad investment choice. By then, it may be too late for some.

To be clinical, there are different types of happiness. Absolute or relative happiness. Relative happiness is short-term, like buying your long-waited latest model of iphone. This gives you an instant gratification that perhaps you didn't experience for quite a while.