How The Buddha saved me: 3 quotes that helped me through difficult times
We all go by living life through its various ups and downs being guided by our own beliefs and faith that we have embodied over the years through personal experience. But, each of us have indefinitely found ourselves in unknown territories of failures, disappointments, mistakes and regrets and most often than not have failed to bring ourselves back up as soon, or as effectively as we would have liked to.
The same goes with me for most part of my life, where multiple detours threw me completely off guard. During these moments, I always wondered “why me”, “what now”, and “how is this going to end”, that haunted me for a long time to come. They say that the greatest strength lies within yourself, which is true, but this is not applicable at all times. If you are time and again being tested in life, without your own doing, you can hit a road block and enter a hopeless zone. This zone can be very tricky and delicate where no support system or third person can truly comprehend or advise you fairly as to how to deal and cope. And, when you don’t have anything to look within yourself for, for any amount of strength or hope — things can get out of hand.
It’s during these dire moments that I found myself resorting to philosophers and philosophies from around the world. I find it meditative to read the thoughts of the greatest minds ever lived — Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Friedrich Nietzsche, Charles Bukowski, Alan Watts, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Sadhguru, Rumi, to name a few of my favorites. And, not forgetting religious texts like verses from the Gita, Bible, Quran and Buddhism — always gave me a sense of the larger view of life than what my problems seemed to be at the current moment. Reading the troubles of the world always helped me realize that my troubles weren’t so different after all, and I somehow found solace in that. When you change perspective, the world always transforms into a better place.
These are few quotes from The Buddha that truly helped me change perspective about what life is about and almost instantly calmed my inner state.
Quote 1
“Give, even if you only have little”
The world runs on expectations, regardless. When was the last time you helped someone out unconditionally? If you have a ready answer then you mostly land in the ‘givers bucket’, and if not, you probably need a little more giving to do! Buddha tells us that in the process of giving, even if you have very little to offer — you will find immense peace. When you replace emotions and distract your mind with better alternatives in the present moment, you find yourself feeling an instant relief of pent up emotions. Changing action into something benevolent instead of stereotypical receiving automatically shifts gear within. There is an immediate shock, that shakes your current state. It’s also the happy chemical release within your mind which helps you overcome the immediate blues. So, in reality giving makes you feel better. And, The Buddha has very beautifully encapsulated this.
Quote 2 : “They blame those who remain silent, they blame those who speak much, they blame those who speak in moderation. There is none in the world who is not blamed.”
What are problems in life caused by? Generally, it is external circumstances — people, places, positions — that cause inner turmoil. On average we live for 78.3 years. Most of us remember people we meet after age 5. Assume we interact with 3 new people daily in cities, 365 days in a year plus leap yeas days is 365.24. In total it will be (78.3–5) x 3 x 365.24 = 80,000 people. Now, 80,000 people thinking and perceiving 80,000 versions of you tends to cause obvious discomfort in your life. Because, at the end of the day we seek validation at our core and want to be ‘understood’. The biggest truth is we all want to be loved. The Buddha very articulately states that you will be blamed no matter what. If you speak or don’t speak, if you act or don’t act — you will be blamed or judged. And, this very quote made me realize in moments of utter despair that there is no truth to whatever others say until I believe it. “My belief” was the fuel to everything around me, without which, the truth about me in the minds and words of others would cease to exist. The more power you give to others opinions of you, the more power their opinions gain. It is, therefore, ludicrous to live for others opinions.
Quote 3: “Better it is to live one day seeing the rise and fall of things than to live a hundred years without ever seeing the rise and fall of things.”
Blessed are the ones who have experienced hardships. If you can see the beauty in pain, you will be able to survive through anything that life throws at you. Pain builds resilience. I have always thanked my hardships more than my accomplishments because it’s the tough times that proved my strength to me. It tested the depth of my character and defined who I am today. My difficulties have given me the confidence to take on life head on, my difficulties have pushed my endurance further, my difficulties have proven to me who my real friends are, and also the blatant conviction that no matter how hard life knocks me down — I will get back up. If you do not face the noise, how will you realize what music is? The beauty of this wonderful life is in it’s totality and not devoid of the imperfection. A perfect life would be boring. A perfect life would entail perfect people and perfect people my friend, would lead to perfect mistakes. The Buddha with this quote has helped me thank my hardships and when I’m down in the rut and read this particular saying, I find no bigger solace that shifts my internal chaos to finer perspective and ultimately — peace.
I find that learning from the greatest minds of the world, has saved me a whole lot of time in life. Buddhism has some of the most revered teachings that can truly change the course of your life, if you believe. And, this is how The Buddha saved me on many occasions.
