Yep, you heard me right. Superman. I'm not talking Frederich Nietzche, but Clark Kent - THE Superman - blue suit, red cape, you know the guy.
Your first thought of course is, why Superman and what does he have to do with Eastern Philosophy? Many people consider him to be a bit of a weenie, or a boy scout, never one of the cool super heroes. I beg to differ.
What Superman represents is exactly what Buddhism teaches us - the potential for humanity to do good by its own actions. Not by divine intervention, but through ourselves.
Check this out - (you'll have to click to enlarge, but trust me, worth the few seconds):
This comic book page right here epitomizes what Superman is about - an iconic figure in pop culture not as a savior, but as an inspiration, to make those fictional characters of Metropolis, and possibly some real-life people stand up and show the world that the world can be a better place if we each choose to do our part and make it one.
Buddhism teaches us that we all possess the ability to control what we think, do and say, and to make our lives a representation of compassion and wisdom, rather than one of greed, fear, and selfishness.
The ability is within each and every one of us to refrain from acts (be they in body, speech, and mind) that can cause pain to ourselves or to others. With that said, we each also have the ability to perform acts this those same ways that promote happiness and peace.
How many times to we see people who are constantly negative about everything talking about how terrible the world and everything around them is? As we've said before, negative, brings forth negative. We have the potential to cleanse ourselves of that negativity and purify our minds - making each one of us another step towards a better world.
That is a huge part of what Buddhism is about - it's not about dogma or rules to follow. It's about the potential inside each of us.
Buddha said that looking at ourselves honestly, we'd find that the root of much of our pain is our own ignorance and the misconceptions we hold about the true nature of our existence.
The path to our own happiness lies in getting rid of our wrong ideas about why things are why they are, and create a mindset of generosity and morality.
Generosity not only helps take away our selfishness, but brings us a joy and good feeling that creates bonds of friendship and love with others around us. The less we grasp at possessing things and worrying about what we don't have, the more we can open up to the world around us and contribute positively to it.
In Buddhism, morality is looked at as refraining from using negative words and deeds. By not feeding the negative, we begin to free ourselves from falling into its grasp and start to live more positively, hopefully inspiring others to do the same.
So take a cure from Superman - stop looking for a savior to fix everything and start realizing we have the ability to do it ourselves. It starts with each and every one of us. Use your gifts to help others, and to inspire them to do the same.
Be the kind of person you want the world to be filled with. Over time, you might find that the world isn't so bad. :)
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