I would like to mention in this article two concepts that are vitally important if you wish to prosper, be happy, and be respected in life. I learned both of these concepts through taking an interest in Buddhism but these teachings are vital to all people including persons who don’t take much interest in spirituality.
I can testify that ignoring these concepts can wreck your social life and your career. So you are learning from my mistakes, from my hard earned experience.
So without further ado here are the two concepts:
- Guard your thoughts: Below is the relevant text from the Dhammapada:
We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world. Speak or act with an impure mind and trouble will follow you. As the wheel follows the ox that draws the cart.
We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world. Speak or act with a pure mind and happiness will follow you. As your shadow, unshakable.
(Sourced from: https://oshosearch.net/Convert/Articles_Osho/Dhammapada_Vol1/Osho-Dhammapada-Volume-1-00000001.html )
Actually this is a very common concept and everybody will have heard of self help gurus preaching positive thinking. I myself have been badly burned through following the advice of the gurus when I was young. But this core teaching or concept really works. And the Buddha was enlightened so there are valid grounds for trusting his advice.
To any doubters I would say only this: this teaching has survived for more than two and a half thousand words. And that is a long enough period for humanity to separate the wheat from the chaff. If this advice did not work then everyone would have come to know of it by now.
The second concept is as under:
- Be an island unto yourself – In other words be self reliant. Try not to rely on others as much as possible, be it financially, emotionally, socially or in any other way.
Obviously there are some situations when this advice may not apply. A housewife for example has to rely financially on her husband who works and earns. But let not the family need to ask for money from their social circle. People don’t like to be imposed upon and you (or your family) will not be respected if you are not self reliant in money matters.
And the same applies in other ways. Do not pester people for company because you are feeling lonely (this is something I used to do and I lived to regret it). Do not ask people to help you find a job (another of my mistakes). And once you have reached adulthood do not be a dependent on your parents. Earn enough to support yourself and contribute of the family finances.
Even the Bhagavad Gita mentions that being a dependant is not good. It is one of the ways that Bhagavan Krishna used to convince Arjuna to fight the Kurukshetra war.
OK so I have told you what to do. But how are you to do it?
That is a topic for another article.
I’ll end here. Please explore this blog for more articles on Self Help, Spirituality and Politics. Please comment on the articles if you liked them or even if you didn’t. Feedback from my readers keeps me going.
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