Do Budhists not enjoy Life at all?

1. 77

   Mr. Happyposted 12 years ago

   Do Budhists not enjoy Life at all?
   
   I just read a comment which stated: " Even for meditation... the ultimate goal is not to go deep within yourself, but to realise the illusion of your own existence ...  to surpass this illusion to liberate from sufferings inherant with life."
   
   That to me is a bit of a sad view of looking at Life. It seems like a constant try to escape a part of Life: this three dimensional perspective, to be percise. Do monks not like anything about this three dimensional perspective? Do they find no use in it maybe? Can anyone explain? (Or do they just like being sad puppies lol)

   replyreport
2. 0

   msorenssonposted 12 years ago

   Quite the contrary...in the beginning, one realizes that the first Noble Truth, the truth of suffering, is real, works through it, finds the source of suffering and then, one day, after such a long work, with realizes, that everything, every breath, is joy....

   replyreport
3. 66

   Amy Bechererposted 12 years ago

   By the standards of the average American, it might seem that Buddhists do not enjoy life.  Their purpose, however, is to achieve awareness through meditative contemplation that abhors violence, greed, theft, materialism, sexual misconduct and substance abuse that alters mindfulness. Buddhists believe that human suffering results from learning to enjoy and becoming addicted to lifestyles that ultimately foster greed, hate and delusion.
   
   While the monastic lifestyle that the Buddhists subscribe to, may appear austere to the vast majority, they derive great joy in their purpose by living simply., Without monetary wealth or worldly possessions, they are free from the weight of the excess baggage most of us carry, to attain their goal of supreme happiness through striving for enlightenment and peace.

   replyreport
4. 67

   RandomThoughts...posted 12 years ago

   To throw a personal spin on this...I did a Sabbath week for school and that meant changing somethings around me and taking time out. I turned off the TV and the computer and had a picnic dinner by candle light with my daughter. I thought I would like to try a Buddhist meditation and found a center a friend of mine had frequented. The Buddhist nun that did the meditation was so happy and funny that she glowed. She was like a little kid in a candy store sharing her goodies with us. I was very inspired because I too did not see the flip side of the suffering.
   
   They follow the Four Noble Truths which discovers suffering, the origin of suffering, the lessening of suffering and The Way. I believe when you stop and meditate you actually find peace within yourself, not escape and aren't disappointed when you don't find it with things or other people. And on the contrary, they believe it is also the illusion of loneliness we hold onto. For them , we are all connected and therefore do not have that fear of being alone or dying alone. My impression is, the more you are ok with sitting with yourself, the happier and less disappointing life is. They still go through the daily occurrences that all of us experience. My impression, Mr. Happy, is that they are happy, it just doesn't look like the definition we may place on it....Great question

   replyreport
5. 39

   H P Roychoudhuryposted 12 years ago

   Enjoyment of life is different to person to person. A Buddhist might mediate to liberate himself from sufferings inherent with life. This is also a kind of enjoyment unparallel with any other material enjoyment.

   replyreport