Every day we wake up and fall into our usual routines. But deep down we want to curl up in bed and stay there all day long, walled up from life. It’s very tempting to forget all our worries and pretend like we don’t have a job we need to go to, the bills we need to pay, or the boss we have to please. But we also know that avoiding life is not going to make our problems go away. Tomorrow they will still be there, waiting for us.
Is there a secret, or rather secrets to life that can make us stronger, more resilient, and happier? Yes, there are three of them, and the Buddha realized them thousands of years ago. We don’t have to give up everything and move to a monastery to benefit from these Buddhist principles. All we need to do is to start our path of learning the Buddha’s teachings and practice them in our daily lives.
#1. Buddhist Principle that States Everything Is Constantly Changing (And How that Benefits Our Daily Life)
We all know the saying, “Don’t give up, it will get better.” At some point in our life, someone told us those words in a very comforting way. But did we take time to reflect deeply about the reason why these words are so soothing and healing? Because they express one of the most powerful Buddhist principles: everything is changing and impermanent.
Here’s the Buddha’s quote from Dhammapada (Words of Truth):
Sabbe saṅkhārā aniccā.
All conditioned things are impermanent.
(Dhammapada, Chapter XX, verse 277)
Whatever adversity we’re facing right now, whatever painful emotions we’re experiencing, they will all pass because they are impermanent.
#2. Buddhist Principle that Uncovers a Simple Cause of All Unhappiness (And What to Do About it)
What is unhappiness? We use this word so often, but do we know its true meaning? Or better yet, do we know what causes it? The answer to this question is linked to one of the previous Buddhist principles – impermanence. And here’s how… We feel unhappy when we cling or attach ourselves to something that is impermanent.
As the Buddha puts it:
Sabbe saṅkhārā dukkhā.
All conditioned things are dukkha.
(Dhammapada, Chapter XX, verse 278)
When someone breaks our heart, we’re unhappy because we are attached to a person whose feelings have changed and he or she does not feel the same way about us.
When we experience a financial loss, we’re unhappy because we are attached to material things which are subject to change and unstable.
When we get older, we’re unhappy because we are attached to our bodies that were young and attractive, but have become old and frail.
#3. Buddhist Principle that Shows There Is No Fixed Self or “I” (And How It Can Make Us Happy)
What do we say when we meet someone for the first time? We say “Hi, my name is…..” Whatever comes after that phrase is our identity. It’s our sense of self, a sense of who we are in this world. We believe that this self or “I” is constant and unchanging but this is the biggest delusion of our lives. By completely identifying with our name, occupation, social status, we cling to an illusion created by our mind. And what happens when we are attached to an illusion? Eventually, it dissolves and we suffer.
Here’s the Buddha’s original saying:
Sabbe dhammā anattā.
All dhammas are without self.
(Dhammapada, Chapter XX, verse 279)
Buddhists believe that everything is impermanent and changing, including our own “self”. Once we realize this through the study of Buddhist scriptures, and rigorous practice of mindfulness and meditation, it will give us the power to stop worrying and create our own reality every single moment of our lives.
This is so true but why we still find ourself so traped in the memories that keep us hurting for so long? I have been trying to detach myself from certain someone but cant figure a way out. Could you suggest me something? That will mean a lot.
Hi Astro, the answer to this question will be different for every person based on his or her unique situation. But if I were to to give a very general answer then I would say that our path starts with conceptual understanding of the Buddhist teachings and then moves into experiential realm when we start applying them in our own lives. The way we deal with different feelings, including feelings of attachment, is by working with them closely in our meditation practice and learning to detach from them in order to weaken their control over our behavior.
Hi Astro the answer for everything is mindful meditation, which will help you to live at present, just close your eyes for 10 mins out of 24hrs and don’t think anything, initially will be difficult then you will start to feel relaxed.
My son is in prison and I’m not sure for how long. I desperately need something to help me cope. Is there any Buddha teachings that can help me? Or something I can send him?
Thank you so very much.
Hi Phyllis, I’m sorry for what you’re going through right now. The hardest situations are those where something has already happened, and all we can do is have the strength to persevere and weather the storm. There is an American Buddhist nun Pema Chodron who has written extensively on how to overcome difficult times. You can look up any of her books, but the one I would recommend is called Comfortable with Uncertainty: 108 Teachings on Cultivating Fearlessness and Compassion. It has a lot of practical exercises, and I hope it will help you.
Thank you gavril, for your wonderful insight into Buddhism. For a long time, since I was a child I was fascinated by Asian people and their philosophy of life. For many years, I had felt very u happy regarding my work situation and the constant voice in the back of my head making me believe I couldn’t do anything about it.
Buddhism and mediation has taught me that you can be who ever you want to be, be the change of yourself. I’m now in college studying, so I believe in that I can do anything.
Keep posting the positivity of the Buddha teaching and thank you so much. Wish you a very happy and peaceful life.
Stephen.
Hi Stephen, yes, repetitive negative thoughts can prevent us from moving forward. I’m glad that Buddhism and meditation are helping you make a positive change in your life. I wish you all the best in your studies, and I hope to see you again.
It’s so true no situation is permanent. The universe is constantly changing and we must continue to adapt to make a meaning.
Hi Chris, I agree with you. When I look back, I remember some situations that seemed impossible to overcome, but here I am, alive and well. When facing new difficulties, I always remember that they are not permanent, and I can take the right action to resolve them.
I read your post & related to each principle. Im in hospital recovering from subdermal hematoma aneurysms surgeries & (giant sized surgeries on brain) believe my life as I knew it is over & maybe it is BUT maybe with Buddha’s principles I can learn to live again…just differently & maybe better?!? Thank you kindly my friend.
Hi Judith, I’m so sorry this happened to you. I hope you recovered quickly and doing well right now. And yes, sometimes, it’s the painful things like this that change our lives in unexpected and better ways.
Yes This is true everything is impermanent We are born live and dye this is the circle
Hi Hema, I’m glad you found this post insightful.
I also think that impermanence is one of the most important principles that can give us strength and resilience to face not only major challenges but even small things that go wrong in our daily life.
By the way, one of the readers sent me a private message about this post saying that there are more Buddhist principles than the ones I mention here and he was right. There are more, but for this post I chose only these three.
I plan to write more article about Buddhism and I will announce them in my weekly newsletter. I hope you’ll enjoy them too.
I thought only when we human realise the rationale behind reincarnation and decided to get away from this mechanism that we can start to talk about buddhism
Hi, it is true that Buddha’s teachings were mainly directed to monks, who left everything behind and dedicated their lives to achieving enlightenment.
But I firmly believe that we also can benefit from this wisdom to make our lives better.