Compared with the external body, the inner beauty is lasting. It will not be lost with age. On the contrary, inner beauty needs long-term accumulation to shine. Just like rough jade, it can only show its bright and clean beauty and pure beauty after countless times of carving and polishing.
This inner beauty is the beauty of personality, soul and quality of life. From the perspective of Buddhism, the highest state of inner beauty is Buddha and Bodhisattva. Of course, buddhas and bodhisattvas not only have inner beauty, but also present external beauty. According to the classic records, the Buddha has 32 phases and 80 kinds of goodness, that is to say, every part of his body is perfect and impeccable. The perfection of this figure depends not on makeup or plastic surgery, but on the infinite merits of Buddha's achievements. In the classics, it is called "all virtues are wonderful scenery", hence the name "hundred blessings are solemn".
When we say Buddha and Bodhisattva, it seems far away, which is another time and space different from reality. In fact, Buddha and Bodhisattva are not a symbol of status, but represent the perfection of two qualities: sadness and wisdom. The so-called wisdom is the ability to relieve troubles and realize the truth of life; The so-called sadness is to make a vow to help all sentient beings relieve their troubles and prove the truth.
Many people like to worship Buddha and burn incense in temples. When we look up at the Buddha statue, we often feel an unusual peace and tranquility in our hearts. Of course, not all statues can show the artistic conception of Buddha and Bodhisattva, which requires not only superb skills, but also an understanding of the connotation of Buddha and Bodhisattva.
So, what should a real Buddha and Bodhisattva look like?
He is very quiet. This silence is not silent silence, but inner silence. Like a quiet mountain, it is extremely quiet, but it has some unspeakable power like the voice of heaven and earth. This is the nirvana silence mentioned by Sanfayin, which comes from the heart after all the agitation has subsided and from the highest truth of cosmic life. This silence is not only beneficial to the Buddha and Bodhisattva themselves, but also purifies the people around them and even the surrounding environment.
He is infinitely empty. The biggest feature of ordinary people's hearts is impetuous and turbulent, constantly swinging in the delusion of various changes. If you want to be quiet, you can't be quiet; Want to sleep, sleep is not practical; Want to think, can't concentrate. Why? Because there is too much garbage in my heart, I have never cleaned it up. This makes us unable to see the real needs of life at all, so we have to stay busy and cover up this loss with superficial enrichment. The result of being busy is just to continue to create delusions and mental garbage. Buddhists and Bodhisattvas see that the five aggregates are all empty because the body is empty, just like the void where the dark clouds have cleared away, clear and flawless.
He is full of joy. This kind of joy is not what is usually called happiness. Because happiness is only the relief of pain, and it is based on certain conditions. When we taste some kind of happiness and have persistence, once the conditions change, our dependence on happiness will fail and turn into pain. Therefore, the happiness in the world is short-lived and has side effects. The joy of Buddha and Bodhisattva comes from the inside of life, but it spreads from the whole body, which is what Buddhist scriptures say, "holding up the body and smiling." Only an enlightened person who has a thorough understanding of himself can make every pore full of smiles and exude joy.
Therefore, the highest state of beauty in life is Buddha and Bodhisattva. To learn Buddhism is to follow the example of Buddha and Bodhisattva, constantly remove the existing bad conscience and develop the potential noble quality. When there are no more flaws in life, we can become pure and true people like Buddha and Bodhisattva, perfect and beautiful people.
We should not only pay attention to the external beauty, but also pay attention to the beauty of the soul, so as to shine forever. Because body and mind are interdependent and influence each other. When we are depressed, our bodies will become heavy and even accumulate into various diseases. When we are in high spirits, we will feel relaxed and the original diseases will be alleviated. Therefore, the internal improvement of life is of great significance. So, how can we beautify life and live solemnly?
First, we need to know about life. In fact, life is also a product, a product made in ignorance. For this five-element life, the most essential thing is human heart and humanity, which is manifested as good and evil. According to Confucianism, a person can be a saint or a saint, but he can also be a devil wears Prada. Western religions have a similar view that people are sacred, but at the same time there are * * *. This shows that people have two sides.
The conclusion of Buddhism is that people have Buddha nature and sentient beings. Buddha realized the Tao under the bodhi tree and found that every life has the same potential as Buddha and Bodhisattva. Therefore, although we are just ordinary people full of confusion and troubles at present, there is still hope. As long as the inner potential is developed, it can be proved by the Buddha. Buddhism says that all beings are equal, and the so-called equality is not a phenomenal equality, but everyone has the potential to become a Buddha. This is also one of the important characteristics that distinguish Buddhism from other religions. No religion believes that believers and believers are equal and can become their own believers through practice.
But we can't be blindly optimistic and feel that we have a treasure, so we don't have to worry. You know, before this treasure has been developed, it won't work, although it is there. Because our living conditions are still ordinary, greedy and eat drink man woman. If we don't practice hard with our former selves, we won't see the inner treasure, let alone use it.
Secondly, we should understand what is beautiful and what is not beautiful in life. This kind of beauty is actually what Buddhism calls goodness, and vice versa. So, how does Buddhism define good and bad?
Buddhism believes that the behavior that can bring us happy results and future benefits is good, and the behavior that brings painful results and future damage is bad. This cause and effect is not only phenomenal, but also occurs in our hearts. When we have good ideas, our hearts will be filled with joy, bringing harmony and warmth to ourselves and others. On the contrary, when we have evil thoughts, it is like touching the focus in our hearts, which will immediately trigger various adverse reactions and make our body and mind suffer and feel pain. Some people may say, don't some people take pleasure in doing evil? That kind of happiness is a deformed rather than normal happiness, and it is a distorted mentality. Therefore, what evil attracts is not only the bitter fruit in the future, but also the pain in the present. As soon as it appears, it will cause pain to others.
On the surface, it seems that we live in the same world. In fact, we live in our own spiritual world. What kind of heart we have determines what kind of world we see.
If you think that everyone is not a good person, when this idea arises, everyone will be hostile and antagonistic, which is a feeling of tension and depression. Because you are the enemy of the world, how can you be happy in such a tense mood? Needless to say, everyone, even if they think someone is bad, will tie a knot in their hearts. The next time you think of this person, the knot will appear and continue to haunt and torture you. Maybe the other person doesn't know you hate him yet, but you are exhausted by your own hatred. So is hatred, so is greed, ignorance and jealousy. So any negative emotions are harmful.
Everyone has all kinds of psychological activities, sometimes happy and sometimes sad; Sometimes excited, sometimes depressed; Sometimes generous, sometimes haggle over every ounce; Sometimes full of love, sometimes indifferent. For some people, the opportunities for various psychological activities are basically equal, showing a variety of personalities. For some people, a certain psychology will get special development, occupy a dominant position, and make it obviously tend to be good or bad.
In this lively and extraordinary spiritual stage, you can sing all kinds of roles, and I will also appear. But we never know how these hearts come into being, how they move and how they transition, because we have never managed our own hearts. Some people may think that it is not good to let nature take its course like this, and it is equally wonderful. But we must know that just like garbage will be produced at any time in life, our words and deeds will leave traces in our hearts and produce spiritual garbage. If left untreated, these greedy garbage will not degrade on its own, but will continue to breed new problems.
Therefore, it is very important to understand the law of psychological formation. Because we don't live in reality, but in our inner world. Everything we see has been projected by emotions and processed by ideas. You think someone is good and everything is pleasing to the eye; I feel sorry for a person, and everything about him is embarrassing. This feeling may be contrary to what others say about them. Why? The reason is that what you see is not the objective person, but the person you feel.
How can we control our mentality?
Our hearts are like a field. If we plant thorns, we will spread thorns and bring us pain. If we plant flowers, they will blossom and bring us happiness. Therefore, what we think and do every day is very important, because it is sowing seeds for the soul.
What we think and do have two results. One is the external result, which is the objective result of things. One is the internal result, that is, the psychological record of the formation of the mind, which is what Buddhists call seeds. When these seeds meet the right environment, they will continue to grow and accumulate strength. After forming a certain strength, it will urge us to repeat and grow stronger in the process of repetition. When a certain psychology develops to a certain extent, it will dominate the whole life. If this kind of psychology is negative, it will make us victims of it. Just like those criminals, although they have caused harm to others, aren't they victims themselves? The only difference is that they are all victims of their own troubles and negative psychology. In addition, some people are victims of love, some are victims of fame and fortune, some are victims of vanity, and some are victims of gambling. This phenomenon can be seen everywhere in life.
Why is this happening? Because they never run their own hearts. Finally, I unconsciously strengthened my bad psychology and turned myself into a puppet. To reverse this situation, we must understand and effectively manage our own hearts. Nothing is more important than life. Because the heart is the closest relationship with us, we can't escape and we can't give up.
The biggest problem in modern society is people's bad mentality. Many people, after reaching a certain level, find that they have not got the expected happiness, and even have various psychological problems that are difficult to solve. Only then can we understand that the problems in life can not be solved by material things, but are rooted in our hearts. Therefore, psychology has also begun to attract attention from all walks of life.
In our minds, besides negative psychology, there are many benign psychology, which need special training to effectively improve the quality of life. Every action will leave a mark on the heart and form strength. This power will accumulate into psychological habits, and over time, it will become our character, our personality and the quality of life now. But human nature is not fixed and can be changed through practice, otherwise we have no hope.
Buddhism believes that everything in the world originates and changes, and the key lies in adjustment. So, how to make adjustments? Everyone's existence is nothing more than two things, one is an idea and the other is a state of mind. Ideas will create mentality, and mentality will affect the formation of ideas.
We face many problems every day, which have different effects on us. So, will the same thing affect everyone the same? Obviously not. Because the degree of this influence depends on everyone's view of the problem, not the thing itself. In fact, everything is infinite. If we can face it correctly, good things can turn into bad things, and bad things can also turn into good things. The so-called disaster comes from the mouth, and the disaster comes from the mouth.
Emptiness is the highest theory of Buddhism, which tells us that every finite moment is infinite. The reason why we think it is limited is related to our understanding of it and our setting of it. Therefore, the key is how to treat it. If we start from subjective emotions and see our own settings, there will be gains and losses, there will be opposition, and there will be unconscionable behavior. On the contrary, if we can look at everything with wisdom, we can be detached from the immediate things and resolve all gains and losses and opposites.
The beauty of life lies in recognizing the different levels of life and then changing them. The beauty of the body is based on health, so is the soul. Only a healthy mind can make life glow. So, what is healthy psychology and what is unhealthy psychology? From the Buddhist point of view, wisdom can bring health, while ignorance is unhealthy.
Ignorance does not mean that there is no knowledge. I believe everyone here has their own professional knowledge and ability to cope with the world. What we are talking about here is ignorance of the fundamental problems of mankind. Like who am I? Where is the land I come from? Where are you going? Why do people live? What is fate? Maybe some people will think, why think about these issues? Don't you want to live the same life?
In fact, this is an eternal problem for mankind. As long as you think deeply about life, you must face it and find the answer. On the other hand, all troubles have evolved from these problems. We pay attention to ourselves every day, care about ourselves, feel that I am in love, I am in hate, I am in distress, and regard these emotions as a part of life. In fact, these emotions do not represent me, but a mental tumor derived from the development of life.
Without a healthy lifestyle, you will get sick. Without the correct concept and mentality, the heart will be full of troubles and stagnate into a disease. Today, with the improvement of material life, psychological diseases are spreading at an unprecedented speed, such as depression, autism and mania. These diseases not only interfere with people's normal life, but even lead people into a dead end, which is extremely lethal. According to relevant statistics, depression will become the second biggest killer threatening human life in this century. In China alone, the number of people suffering from depression has reached 30 million, and globally, there are more than 500 million people suffering from this disease. What an amazing number this is.
How to treat it? This has to start with the heart. The so-called heart disease still needs heart medicine. We should realize that these diseases are not "me", but only distortions produced in the process of life extension. In other words, it is to observe the disease as an object, instead of caring about it and running with it. Then, the bad mood will gradually fade away. Buddhist meditation plays such a role.
If the heart is compared to a stage, all kinds of ideas are participants, and they flow and appear alternately on the stage. If we devote ourselves wholeheartedly, every character will wave the flag and shout as soon as they come on stage, and we will spend our whole lives in fatigue. This is not only a great waste to people, but also a terrible thing, which will accumulate bad habits and affect future life. The correct attitude is to welcome and reject, not to follow your favorite ideas, nor to reject your annoying ideas. When you settle down carefully, your thoughts will fade away because of lack of echo. Otherwise, we are often influenced by the ups and downs of our thoughts and constantly inject spiritual energy to amplify it. Every time you care, its power will increase. To a certain extent, it is difficult for us to control the situation.
Because of ignorance, we will take many things that don't belong to me as me. Why are people afraid of death? Because I think my body is me. Naturally, I am afraid that I will disappear with this body. If you know that the color body is only a temporary residence in the continuation of life, you will not be so afraid of death, so you will be so frightened.
Life is like running water, and the body in front of us is just spray. Although the waves are undulating, the running water continues. Recognizing this truth, the birth and death of the body will not cause psychological harm to us, because it is purely to scare ourselves. If I persist, I will be reluctant to go, and the pain is inevitable.
What we care about most is family, wealth, career, children and so on. I care because I was labeled "I" in front of me. Because of this setting, my family is superior to others, my wealth is more important than others, my career is better than others, and my children are special. Then there will be comparison and competition. Because of this sense of self-importance and superiority, it will also bring the desire of self-domination, always wanting to dominate others, making life face conflicts everywhere.
Modern people are restless. This impetuous spirit not only affects the heart, but also affects our external temperament and even appearance when it is expressed. Even if a person has an impeccable appearance, if he is impetuous, he can't make people feel beautiful. And an ordinary-looking person, if quiet and indifferent, will also exude a detached temperament. There is a saying that people are beautiful because they are cute, not because they are beautiful. This is a fact.
In order to make life beautiful and solemn, we must establish a healthy lifestyle from both physical and mental aspects.
First, look down on things. All troubles are related to our persistence, and what we care about will hurt us. The extent of this injury depends on our care. If you care a little, you will be a little troubled and hurt. If you care a lot, you will be annoyed and hurt. Get rid of the wrong settings we attach to things, so as not to cause unnecessary trouble and harm because of persistence.
Second, live a quiet and regular life and learn to enjoy leisure. We are always used to being busy. When we are free, we will chat, surf the Internet and watch TV. Nowadays, people would rather do something they know is boring than enjoy their leisure quietly. In fact, they also have no ability to enjoy leisure. Because this turbulent heart lacks support, it always needs to find support. In fact, our hearts have everything, and the key is to realize it. Meditation is to help us realize our inner potential, rather than blindly looking for it.
For life, the most important thing is to have a correct concept and a good attitude. Only in this way can we face the changes in the world calmly and not be moved by the realm of obedience and disobedience. Further, we should be a heart that benefits the public. This kind of life is a beautiful life and a meaningful life.