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Practicing Buddhism in Everyday Life

It is ironical that science which continues to provide us with more-and-more sophisticated material conveniences and comforts, at the same time gives rise to corresponding stress and insecurity. For our own happiness and peace of mind it is imperative that we open our eyes to the fact that material possessions, including money, are very good slaves, but extremely bad masters.

It is also ironical that unlike in olden times when many people found spiritual joy and contentment by an unquestioning adherence to the teachings of spiritual leaders, today many cannot accept theistic religious concepts on faith alone, but need concrete logical explanations to justify their trust.

The answer to this dilemma lies in the teachings of the Buddha. Buddhism cannot categorically be considered as a religion nor is it merely a philosophy, but rather a combination of both, a religious-philosophy, whereby through the Practice of Buddhism in Everyday Life, we begin to at first understand, and then gradually realize to our inestimable benefit, the profound wisdom disclosed by this great and wonderful teacher.

Buddhism tells us that our life is merely a temporary state of existence. We are not the owners but simply caretakers of all our possessions, including the very bodies we inhabit.
Buddhism, clearly demonstrates how mind is chief and the driver of the vehicle, in which our brain is the engine, with the balance constituting the body. Unfortunately, many tend to forget the temporal, fragile state of our existence, and by putting their trust in impermanent material possessions beget their own unhappiness. Truly the reigning monarch of today is the God of wealth and power at whose alter many unwittingly sacrifice spirituality, and thereby enter a stygian darkness of spiritual decay from which maze it is truly hard to exit. It would not be digressing to site a small example to show how implicit trust in material possessions causes unhappiness. Let us say that we earnestly desire to own something, be it animate, inanimate or anything for that matter. However, no sooner we possess what we desire, even an inanimate object assumes power over us. We constantly think and worry about it. and if anything untoward happens to our cherished possession, imagine how distressed and unhappy we become. Buddhism, therefore, in explaining the impermanence of existence, shows us how we can own and objectively use any possession, even our own bodies, without becoming

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