Happy Waisak 2559

Being a Buddha is not being some omnipotent spiritual superman,
but becoming at last, a true human being - Sogyal Rinpoche

First of all wishing all Buddhists in Indonesia and around the world a happy Vesak day! Alright as I've mentioned last year Vesak falls on different days, somehow, in different countries. It falls on the 2nd of June this year here in Indonesia so yep! Vesak is an important day for Buddhists because it commemorates 3 events of the Buddha's life - his birth, enlightenment and death (paranirvana).

I've been deepening my Buddhism starting from May as I've mentioned in my previous post. It's been truly an enlightening experience so far. And nope I'm not done yet. I have so much more to go! But after knowing a few main and core lessons of the Buddha's teachings, I've gained a deeper admiration and awe towards Buddhism. And of course, to the man himself - The Buddha.

So around 2500 years ago, a man named Siddharta left his life of wealth and pleasure behind. He is a prince of a kind, enjoying life everyday. But he knew that this "wonderful" life of his will not last forever. He came across with old age, sickness and death - something we can never run away from. And contemplating about this, he became sad. But he went for a search to end this suffering.

After exploring different methods of meditation, which includes an extreme way where he only eats one grain of rice a day, Siddharta went into a deep meditation and he realised three things - That everything in life is impermanent, and whatever is impermanent causes suffering. And whatever is impermanent and causes suffering, is insubstantial. He discovered the middle-way approach - which is a path in which we neither do  extreme self-mortification nor enjoying too much sensual pleasures.

He became enlightened, awakened. In fact a Buddha is someone who is "awakened". He is free of his own ego. He is free of his own delusions. And I like Sogyal Rinpoche's words from his book "The Tibetan Book of the Living and Dead". That "being a Buddha is not being some omnipotent spiritual superman, but becoming at last, a true human being". This sentence gave me so much enlightenment.

Contrary to popular belief, a lot of people (including some Buddhists) regard the Buddha as a god or some super human that grants wishes and health and wealth. To me he is not a "god". He is my teacher. He is someone who helped me to go across paths in life with his teachings. After learning more about Buddhism, I'm more convinced that Buddhism is not a religion. It is a philosophy, it is a teaching. Lessons you can learn that can perhaps make you a better, happier person.

In fact I agree with the Dalai Lama who said that you shouldn't learn Buddhism to become a Buddhist. But become a better whoever-you-are as a person!

Well somehow the more I "dig" deeper into Buddhism, the more enlightened I become. About everything! About life, about who I am as a human, a person, about other people, about mankind and more. I am so far from becoming enlightened, of course. But the Buddha is really my inspiration. He is someone I want and strive to become. And I welcome you to read more about Buddhism. And no I'm not asking you to convert into a Buddhist. I just hope the Buddha's teachings can inspire you :)

Alright that's all from me for now! Wishing everyone a happy Vesak again.

Sabbe Satta Bhavantu Sukithatta - May all living things be happy!