The Buddha

I enjoyed this reading. I found it to be insightful and very interesting.

“You are all Buddhas. There is nothing that you need to achieve. Just open your eyes". I think that what he is saying is that we don’t have to rely on someone or something else to show us what it is that we need…we need to just open our eyes and look within ourselves and we’ll figure it out. We don’t have to be The Pope, for example, to have wisdom or to know what we need or want. Anyone is capable of becoming enlightened.

“It is proper to doubt. Do not be led by holy scriptures, or by mere logic or inference, or by appearances, or by the authority of the religious leaders.” A lot of students seemed to take issue with this particular portion of the reading, but I feel like they just misinterpreted it. I don’t think he was literally saying absolutely do not listen to your religious leaders or holy scriptures. I think he was saying not to just blindly follow what a “leader” says or what is written in a book. An intelligent person is going to stop and think about what someone says or what they read. It would be foolish to just follow someone or something blindly, without question.

"When you realize that something is unwholesome and bad for you, give it up. And when you realize that something is wholesome and good for you, do it." I feel like he is just pointing out the obvious here. When you know something is hurting you, stop doing it. If something is positively affecting you or will positively affect you, then do it. This made me think of the quote “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Don't expect a different outcome if you're doing the same thing.


“As a mother at the risk of her life watches her only child, so let everyone cultivate a boundlessly compassionate mind toward all beings.” I think this is a nice concept, but probably difficult to really carry out. If we could care for all people as a mother cares for her child or treat a stranger as they were a member of our family, the world would be a far better place. Unfortunately, there are some pretty sick and twisted people out there, which is why I personally do treat strangers as strangers. This sort of concept of loving all people and having compassion for all reminded me of the previous reading “Shmelke of Nikolsburg.” It's a good idea, but a lot easier said than done.


“Be a lamp to yourself. Be your own confidence. Hold to the truth within yourself, as to the only truth.” This was my favorite quote in the whole reading. I like the idea of believing in ourselves and not believing that we must count on someone or something else to fulfill our hopes, dreams, or needs.