The Mormon Buddhist

In Buddhism there is a concept known as "buddhadhātu" in Sanskrit, which translates to "Buddha-Nature". This is the belief that all humans have the ability to recognize right from wrong. This is almost a universal believe among religions. The Muslims call it "Taqwa", the Chinese call it "Ren", the Quakers call it "Inner Light", the Freemasons represent it with the square and compass, Mormons call it "The Light of Christ", in everyday language we would simply call it "conscience". Some say that we were created by a god with this sense and some say we evolved it for better survival. Regardless of how we got it, we have it now, and that's what matters. Let's focus on this concept in the Buddhist context for now. Buddhists believe that we inherently have the ability to realize their enlightenment. There are many that believe we are naturally enlightened, and over time we lose sight of that. By following our Bud...

The sentence that really stuck out to me this week during my studies was this: "The goal of Buddhism is not the attainment of a ficticous paradise but the conversion of the actual world into an ideal realm". This really resonated with me and is what I'd like to talk about this week. We have the power to make this life and this world a great one, but do we? How often do we want someone else to do it for us or just hope it'll get better? The 4th part of the 8-fold path is action. If we want the world to be a better place, we have to roll up our sleeves and be the ones to act. We have to be the change we want to see in the world. We have to help those in need and strive to not cause harm, and sometimes that means doing nothing causes harm. To invoke the chorus from a song from my Mormon heritage: "Put your shoulder to the wheel; push along, Do your duty with a heart full of song, We all have work; let no one shirk. Put your shoulder to the wheel." ...