Summary of Philosophy Class June 4th 2015

What is the middle way in Buddhism?

The middle way helps us understand how to live our life in balance. Just before the Buddha found enlightenment he was starving himself thinking that performing austeries were important for finding spiritual enlightenment. However he realised that he was too weak to focus on meditation and he was at the point of fainting. Just at the moment that his physical weakness was overcoming him, he heard some passing musicians travelling nearby on a boat. A teacher was explaining to a student that in order to play the sitar well, the string must not be strung too tight as it could snap. Also it should not be left too loose as then there is not enough tension for it to be played. It should be just tight enough so that beautiful music can be played. This inspired the Buddha to live his life path in the same way - not depriving himself of anything and not allowing excess of anything. He ate a bowl of rice - just sufficient to feel energised and strong enough to meditate and in his meditation he found enlightenment.

The idea of the middle way teaches us to aim to have not too much and not too little of anything in life so as not to feel deprived but also not to feel so attached to anything that we cannot progress. Progressing here means seeing that real and lasting happiness lies in controlling our thoughts and not being too focussed on the outer world where things are constantly changing and can never give permanent happiness.

  A yogi named Nagarjuna who lived after the Buddha talked a lot about not being attached to the outside world. He said that when we look for happiness in the outer world, addictions and aversions can arise. If we like something then we continually search for it again and again.  This search becomes an addiction and in the process of becoming addicted to something we loose our peace and hence our happiness. If we dislike something in the outside world then we spend our lives running away from that thing and we bring ourselves unhappiness this way. He explained that it is better to look inside for permanent happiness. When we control our thoughts we can bring peace inside and when we connect to the peace inside and develop contentment, we can find a more permanent happiness.


How can we really be present?

In order to really be present we need to realise several things. First of all realise that the past has already happened. It cannot be changed. By dwelling too much on the past we allow for sadness to enter and we bring frustration to the mind. The future on the other hand has not yet been created. It has unlimited possibilities. Most of these possibilities will never manifest and we lose a lot of energy of the mind worrying about outcomes that will never be. The best thing to do is to be present - that way we are calmer and prepared for any possible future. And more importantly we learn to enjoy the present moment. If we learn to accept ourselves for who we are it becomes easier to want to keep our awareness in the present. We can then slowly start to enjoy living each moment of life in the present and so we can start to really enjoy life in general instead of worrying about the future and instead of being stuck in the past.


How can we really experience happiness in a relationship?

The first thing to do is to learn to love yourself. Once you do this then you are automatically are filled with happiness and you naturally want to share happiness with those around you without any expectation. This serves then to strengthen your relationships.

The other golden rule is to learn to forgive. Often when we are angry it is because of something within ourselves that we are not happy about. Again if we can learn to love ourselves then it becomes natural to forgive. It just takes work and meditation.

What are the important teachings of the yogi Tilopa?

 As well as teaching how important it is in terms of relaxing the mind to be present, he also taught that we should not try and control things, as most of what happens in the world is beyond our control. Instead try to work in harmony and bring positive changes naturally into the world. He also taught not to examine. The mind often tries to interpret that which it can never understand and so in the process the mind looses a lot of energy. We should teach the mind to watch the breath and to be very present, focussed and relaxed.