132-Doing the right thing - Buddhism in daily life

Doing the right thing

Buddhists in particular often want to do the right thing, are righteous people, do not want to harm any living being.

But what is 'the right thing', isn't this classification subjective for every human being, dependent on personal filters?

Even in the time of Jesus Christ, this seemed to be a problem, as it is written in the Bible (Luke 18:9-14) that some trusted in being righteous and would despise those they thought were not righteous. For those, the founder of the religion also had the advice that he who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will then be exalted.

Over the centuries, the opinion about the righteousness even frequently changed sides, depending on power and the powerful, the simple man became only the plaything of the authorities. Many people like to think that they create the right, are righteous.

But according to Buddha we should not want, not wish and not judge, what seems "good" today can turn out to be a complete failure tomorrow, what seemed "bad" sometimes becomes a stroke of luck.

And what few people even think about is the fact that righteousness can also go completely "in the pants". Because there is a big difference between righteousness and self-righteousness, which is not known to everyone.

Doing the right thing is already clearly mentioned in the Buddha's noble eightfold path, namely right seeing, right understanding (realization), right speaking and right acting, i.e. all righteous steps.

The teaching of the teacher of all teachers reached a critical point when the exalted one was considering whether to strive for his own perfection or for the propagation of his worldview. So to make clear the demarcation between righteousness and self-righteousness. His decision was delayed, he could not decide for a while. But then he preferred the transmission of the teaching to his own studies, Buddhism had experienced an important turning point.

But what is the right thing? This question is still unresolved. Well, the readers of my blog will have a good basic idea "of the right thing to do", because what is meant here is not a valuation, but an action that is without attachments, without desires, without opinions, without judgments and without prejudices. So, we should live a righteous life, not valuing things and living beings, therefore then live "happily".

Anyway, the person is a righteous person who speaks the truth, because at the beginning there are the cognitive abilities, who does not speak the truth, he does not find the wayless path, because the noble eightfold path of Buddha cannot be without truth.

As a trained German lawyer, I know roughly how law should be, but we are still too far away from that in this society. However, if righteousness turns into self-righteousness, then the problems are pre-programmed.

Because then the heart falls into turmoil, the conceit, arrogance and ignorance produce hatred, greed and delusion, from which anger, rage and disappointment arise. Here it is then not far to delusion, which not infrequently ends in an asylum, according to Buddha it is the thoughts that make us ill. Are you righteous?

The way is as always the goal!

World is like a royal carriage, just come and see! - Colorful and more colorful. World drips off the mind of the sage; only the fool submerges in it

- Buddha - honorary name of Siddharta Gautama - 560 to 480 before the year zero

Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de

(Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores)