my buddhist blog number 135

Hi Everybody,
On this brilliant summers day in London. Literally azure blue skies from horizon to horizon. So i'm sitting in the garden in the slanting rays of the hot evening sun, listening to a blackbird singing its heart out at the top of a nearby tree. One of the ancillary purposes of writing The Case for Buddhism was to clear away some of the many stereotypes that obscure the western view of what Buddhism is about.
One of the many such stereotypes for example, that obscures the general perception of Buddhism in the west is that it is very much about giving things up, or, at the very least, about introducng a kind of spare asceticism into our lives, in pursuit of spirituality. The plain fact is that Buddhism is very much focused on increasing the richness of our experience of our lives, and in the here and now, rather than inn some heavenly hereafter. In the process it talks to us a great deal; about what we mean by happiness or well-being. In fact it is alone among the major world religions in proposing the extraordinary idea that happiness isn't a matter of chance or accident as we commonly believe, something that comes to us if we just happen to be particularly lucky or fortunate, but essentially a matter of choice. Indeed Buddhism goes further and argues that we can all without exception, learn how to make that choice. The learning process, it declares, is neither particularly difficult, nor exclusive, nor, most important of all, it is not dependant upon our external life circumstances. Again that is a truly life-changing idea, and one that is clearly worth discussing at any time, since what we all want, one way or another, is a greater measure of this stuff called well-being in our lives!

But it is, I would suggest, an idea of particular relevance at this time we happen to be living through. Why do I say that? Because for the very first time in its history, science too seems to have become keenly interested in the idea of happiness and how it might be achieved. So, it could be argued, we are privileged to live in very unusual times when very considerable and genuinely scientific energy is focused on understanding precisely what it is that makes people feel good about their lives and their relationships, in all kinds of circumstances, not just in wealthy or well-heeled or fortunate ones.

Some knowledgeable observers even sugges that we might be looking at the beginning of a whole new science, a science of happiness indeed. Perhaps. But at the very least we are being offered a wholly new way of looking at so many things about our motivation and behaviour that Buddhism has been talking to us about for many many years. That is one of the central themes of this book.'

Enough for today.
Thanks for reading.
See you next time.
William
PS The Case for Buddhism is available in English and Spanish! on Amazon or as a download on Kindle.