Monthly Archives: August 2014

Checking on Balance

12422416221542450468Esoteric_Taijitu.svg.hi This Eastern symbol can be interpreted as balance.  As one of the four four boundless qualities to be cultivated within  an individual, according to Buddhism, it is equanimity.

There are so very many ways in which to consider balance, for example, within an individual, the impact of genetics and environment.  Other balance-able diads include good and evil, right and wrong, war and peace, slow and fast, small and large,  too much and too little,  the two sides of a see-saw, and so on.

Of course, more than two things can also be balanced, such as the three points on a plane which determine a triangle, and four points in space which determine a four triangular faced solid, a center of gravity of which can be imagined.

When we want to balance more things,  it is more difficult to  visualize, and then we can consider that we are in multiple dimensional space.

 

 

The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism

Buddha taught that there were four noble truths.

Buddha's appearance, AUG 17, 2014 220px-Gandhara_Buddha_(tnm) And they posted this exact same photograph, next to which was the additional information that it was from Afghanistan (100 -200 CE, which is the same as AD.

As they were so nicely summarized by BBC under their category of “Religions” on 2009-11-17, the four truths are, and I quote,:

  1. The truth of suffering
  2. The truth of the origin of suffering
  3. The truth of the cessation of suffering
  4. The truth of the path to the cessation of suffering

The BBC article goes on to say that the first two are concerned with the “diagnosis” of suffering.

By implication the last two are related to the treatment and cure of suffering.

And here fits the “Hippocratic Oath”,

  •  First of all, do no harm.

Surprisingly, this oath is nearly contemporary with Buddha’s teaching life.

I would love to wave a wand and remove all suffering of everybody and every creature.  As well aware of suffering as I am, there is lots of room for improvement on helpful skills to do so.