April 8 is commemorated by Buddhists as the birthday of
Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha.
Siddhartha was born in to a family of wealth in the year 563
BC in present day India. His father,
King Suddhodana was told his princely son would either be a great monarch or a
Buddha, a supremely enlightened teacher.
To ensure his son would become the monarch, he kept Siddhartha locked
away in the palace away from the human conditions of disease, aging, and death.
After some time, the curiosity of the outside world proved
to be too much for Siddhartha and he secretly left the palace gates. He began to live a life of an ascetic. An ascetic is one who lives a life of extreme
self discipline and denies himself any form of indulgence. After years as an ascetic, he was still
unfulfilled. He sat under a tree and
vowed to remain in this state of meditation until he found enlightenment.
He eventually found enlightenment and from this point
forward he was the Buddha. He taught others
the foundations of Buddhism which are the four noble truths, which I am
paraphrasing…
1.
Life in suffering
2.
Suffering is caused by our desires
3.
There is a way to end suffering, finding nirvana
4.
The way to end suffering requires following the
eightfold path of right views, right resolve, right speech, right livelihood,
right action, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.
His teachings were spread throughout most of Asia by Buddha
and his disciples.
We often lose sight of our happiness and become too attached
to our “things”. What are you attached
to? What causes you stress? Is there a way to better manage your
stress? What examples do you see in the world
where the idea of attachment has given the wrong ideas about happiness?
I feel that I am too attached to electronics and little toys that don't matter, compared to The Big Picture of life. I should feel blessed to have as many wonderful things as I do. I think that homework and after-school activities cause me most of my stress. Not the actual action of the activity, but more of trying to cram everything in my schedule. I think that if I planned and prioritized more, I would be able to alleviate some of that stress. A good example of material attachment is money. Our society tells us that money buys us everything we need to be happy. We are told that without money we aren't as good. We even have a social status based off of money! This idea is wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, and oh yeah WRONG! Sure money gets you a list of pretty sweet things, but happiness is not on that list! ~ It's people that count!!!
ReplyDeleteI am really attached to video games. The biggest thing that causes me stress are my grades. I manage stress by planning everything out in my mind, creating a clear picture of the things I need to do, and doing them one by one. All over, advertisements show that material things will make you happy and others happy, and when you receive a gift you'll feel happy, but not true happiness. I think that being happy is being at peace with yourself and everyone.
ReplyDeleteI am really really attached to books.What causes me stress are my test grades or quiz grades.I manage stress by taking my mind off of things,so listening to music or playing video games.Smoking, My Aunt will sometimes just disappear for 5 min at some family reunion to smoke a cigarette and not visit her family.
ReplyDeleteI am too attached to electronics. I become stressed when someone is angry at me and when school gets very tough. Some ways to manage stress that works for me are taking long showers, sleeping, golfing, and playing video games. Many people think that it is weird to be attached to things that people presume to be childish like legos and Star Wars. But a lot of older people do those things just like kids but they are too scared to tell someone that they like those things. For example my friend from France loved Star Wars and he loved to collect Star Wars collectables. He told me that I was one of the only people that he told that he liked Star Wars.
ReplyDeleteI personally am too attached to electronics and social networking sites. Things that cause me stress is when I have a lot to do in a little amount of time. Mostly this happens when I have homework in almost all my subjects and have a 4 hour volleyball practice after school. I can maybe manage my stress better by prioritizing and taking advantage of time to do my homework and not talk. A good example of material attachment is money. Our society tells us that money buys us happiness. We are told that without money we aren't as good as everyone else. We even have a social status based off of money which is wrong!
ReplyDeleteI am attached to my iPad and books. I like to play games on my iPad and I also enjoy reading. There are many things that cause me stress, but the main causes are school and soccer. In life I try to manage my time and work effectively to help control my stress, but there are always times where I have too much to do and it overwhelms me. In the world I see people attached to their phones and to computers, and some people are even obsessed. They seem to think that their devices give them all the happiness that they need, but really they don't. These gadgets are just distractions in life. Instead of socializing with family and peers, people are preoccupied with text messages, social networking sites, or addictive games on their phones (especially iPhones). It's okay to be on your phone or computer, but too much too often can be a distraction to finding enlightenment in the world.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great self judgment question. My answer is watching too many youtube videos, playing on my PS4 too much, and legos. Stress is interesting for me because I have the regulars like school, but when I want to do something nice for people in a small amount of time and it's not complete it really bugs me. Also when people make promises and don't keep them and make a lame excuse. Prioritizing is a big one for me because when I get started on something for example a lego I have the desire to finish it that very night, but then I forget that I have to study for a test or do 2 hours of homework. A better way for me to accomplish this task for me would be too get all of my homework done before I start any other projects. The biggest attachment that we all face is just common possessions for example I love legos but even the thought of giving them away or braking them distracts me and clouds my mind with ignorance and anger. Another example is when we want something. It clouds our minds and distracts us from the true virtue of life love.
ReplyDeleteI am very attached to the out doors and hunting with a side of sports mainly lacrosse.Stress to me is something of unimportance but school mostly and getting to things on time. Not that I know of other than try harder.Yes and No.
ReplyDeleteI am attached to my phone and other electronic devices, when I should we thankful what I have and be more attached to my family and friends (the important people in my life). The things that get me most stressed are not getting my homework in a timely manner, when my mom loads me up with chore to do and I already have so many other thing to do, and when I need to study for a test and everyone around me is detracting me. Yes there is, I should get things I have to do earlier instead of waiting and manage my time for doing things with school and other curricular activities. Our society tells/makes us think that money can make everything better. They say you can buy your happiness, but that isn't true. To be happy you have to be positive. Some of the people with the least amount of money are happier than the people with money and everyone with lots o money thinking they need more to be happy...is wrong.
ReplyDeleteI am attached to my electronics. What gives me stress is when I have a big test coming up or I think I am going to get in trouble or before I have to do a presentation. Yes there is a better way to manage stress I think that way is you should just relax take a deep breath and calm down. A lot of people are attached to their cars, money, houses, etc. They think that that will make them happy. To be happy you need to be with the people you love.
ReplyDeleteI am attached to electronics, books, and little things that really bug me. I get so focused on my electronics and books that I shut the world out and can't hear anything except the things going on in the screen or action plot at the time. I get bugged by the littlest things and then I can't forget about for the whole day. Some things that stress me are schoolwork, sports, and household events. I get so worked up over them that I don't know that I am stressed until it is over and I realize that I have been holding in a big breath that I can finally let go of. Some ways to manage stress for me are praying to God, taking a step back from the situation, and letting others help me. Some things that are the wrong idea of happiness are fame, wealth, and material things. Our society tells us that we need to be famous to be cool, have money to be in the popular group, and have material things to look good. Those things lead us away from God, and make our relationship with Him distant. To be happy you have to trust God to lead you on your path of life. Everyone finds happiness some way or another, but for everyone of us, it is different.
ReplyDeleteI am too attached to electronics. I use my laptop everyday to do little things like talk to my friend, look up things, and do homework. Also, I use my phone a lot to do many different things, focusing on what I'm doing there rather than who is talking to me or what is going on around me. The thing that stresses me out the most is either when we have to do a presentation in class or thinking about the future, past, what might go wrong, etc. I don't think I can control what I think that much or when I think of it, and I am not able to control whether or not I have to present. All I can do is think positive things before I go in front of the class and do my best. Today, most people think happiness is having what you want, money, and being popular. That shouldn't be their thoughts, though. happiness is more than items you will soon no longer have.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes get attached to electronics: my phone, tv, iPod.. I use these things very much especially my phone. I can be doing homework and then get a text and not come back to homework for a while. The things that stress me out is when people I am playing a sport with or I am in a class project with them, they say they know what there doing, but acutely don't have a clue and will not ask a question. Test and studying often stress me out because i get caught up in one thing or another and forget about the life around me. I need to step back and take a deep breath some times, and i think that we all need to. Envy and wanting or wishing thou were something else often takes you away from God.
ReplyDeleteI would definitely say that I am attached to my iPad, iPod, and other electronic devices. Mostly I get stressed when I still have a lot of homework to do and it is already late at night. For me, my way of relieving stress is to play with my cat, Simba. He always makes me feel better. Most people say that money gives you happiness. When you really think about it family is the true source of happiness.
ReplyDeleteI am very attached to my electronics, which includes my phone and iPad. I feel like I have to have my phone with me all the time. Tests and homework are the two things that cause me the most stress. I am not very good at sitting down and getting my work done. I will procrastinate and wait until the last minute to get something done. In order to manage my stress, I need to stay ahead of the game. If I know there is a test coming up, I need to study for it a week in advance, and not the night before. If I have a project due, I need to keep up on it, and not push it off until the weekend before it’s due. In this world, we are too attached to money, fame, recognition, and material goods. Seeing people with these things gives us the impression that they are the key to happiness, but they aren’t. True happiness comes when we humble ourselves, and forget all the things that take us away from God.
ReplyDeleteI am extremely attached to books. I love reading!
ReplyDeleteMy stress is usually caused by homework and grades, though.
Studying a lot for tests and taking lots of notes helps reduce my stress, as can getting everything turned in on time and not procrastinating.
Money. Lots of people are EXTREMELY attached to money. All forms of advertising often say that if you have a lot of money, you buy your way to happiness.
I get attached to lots of social networking sites, Netflix, and electronics, in general. I am on my phone a lot, which makes doing homework hard. Little things distract me, and everyday tasks or drama consume me with stressful thoughts. When these things happen, I need an escape, and thats how I get attached to electronics. The things that cause stress for me is drama, friend issues, homework, everyday tasks, anything that just goes wrong, little things that bug me and turn into big things and drama, and major tests. When I have too much on my plate, I feel overwhelmed. Thinking about the things that stress me out that happened to me today get me nowhere. I end up feeling more stressed, which causes me to procrastinate and get attached to electronics. Better ways for me to manage my stress is to take deep breaths, prioritize, set goals, and to just keep quiet. Also, music helps me manage my stress. Money is something in our society that people become attached to and that gives people the wrong impression about happiness. We see everywhere that money will buy you happiness, but it really won't.
ReplyDeleteI feel that I am attached to basketball and my electronics. I can't go a day without going on my phone or escaping outside to shoot some hoops. The thing that causes me the most stress is when I have put off quite a few assignments off to the side then I don't have that much time to finish them. I can obviously manage my stress by not putting my assignments to the side and then finishing them with limited time left. The things that cause the people to get the wrong perspective about happiness are money, fame, and recognition.
ReplyDeleteI am attached to my Xbox one and my grades. I get stressed out about my grades and homework when I have a lot and when my grades start to drop. Money and material things can lead to false happiness and the real happiness is in God and faith. Material things are fun and great until they get in between you and God. Money can always buy material things but not eternal happiness.
ReplyDeleteI am very attached to my grades. Grades also cause me a lot of stress. I can manage my stress by studying hard and concentrating on my subjects when I am learning them. I see it in money, material things, and in different ways of obtaining power.
ReplyDeleteI am very attached to my electronics, social networking sites, and netflix. I feel like I have to always have my phone with me where ever I go. I am always on Instagram or Snapchat and so when ever I am doing something I become really distraced by social network. I love watching netfilx like when I am bored, sick, or tired. Something that causes me stress are my grades becasue it is important to do well in school and my parents exspet good grades from me. Some thing else that casues me stress is having lots to do in a small amount of time. A way to manage my stress is to plan ahead and prioritize. Sometimes I save stuff until the last minute and panic. People can think that having the most material goods will make you the most happy.
ReplyDeleteI am very attached to my electronics. I have a bad habit of always having to have my phone wherever I go and I feel like I always need to have it but I don't. Something that causes me stress is competitive dance and my grades. My grades stress me out because its important to do good in school and if I don't do good in school, I get threatened that I will have to stop dancing. Dance stresses me out because I always need to keep getting better and making more progress. To manage my stress, I finish the small things so they are out of the way and I can focus on the bigger things. Many people in the world today are attached to material things or money because they think that is what matters most and that will make them happy. But those things don't matter, Jesus won't judge you on what you have or don't have; you can't bring your money or material things with you to heaven.
ReplyDeleteI am very attached to school and electronics. I am always stressed about my grades because it is important to me that I do well in school. I also have a habit of having my phone everywhere I go. I am very attached to things like instagram, snapchat, and netflix when what is more important is my family. Some ways that I can manage my stress is being organized and doing the most important things in my day first and then worry about the things that are less important after. I see this in material goods most of the time in the world.
ReplyDeleteI am very attached to my social networking sites and my electronics. I feel like I need to check the social networking sites all the time. My whole family gets really annoyed when I check all the time. I am also on my phone all the time. I carry it everywhere with me and I just randomly get on it even when I am doing homework. I also am watching some tv show on netflix all the time. I watch it whenever I feel stressed. It probably doesn't relieve my stress very much but it defiantly distracts me. Some people may judge but I also care a lot about celebrities. I probably shouldn't allow their fame to attract me. Many things cause me stress. From being to close to other cars on the road to schoolwork to arguments with people I care about. Even though I have many stress causers, I also can find ways to reduce it. Some of the things I do to reduce stress are talking to my friends and sleeping… Other things I do is try to focus on one thing at a time. I really helps me to keep my mind set on one thing at a time. I see a lot of attachment to material goods in this world. People need to stop worrying about what they have and what they look like. Material goods may make you happy for an hour, but it WILL NOT cause eternal happiness.
ReplyDeleteI am attached to my electronics.I always have my phone and am on instagram snapchat,texting and netflix. I always have it and check constantly. I can see how distracting it is but They are definatelty not as important as many things. The biggest stress for me is my grades. It can get very very overwhelming for me. One the only biggest stress reliever for me is soccer. It helps cool me down and take things slowly. When im playing I let it out.Another way is trying to stay organized
ReplyDeleteI find myself attached to my phone and other electronics. I get stressed by school and we had a conversation in class about how we don't get to decide if we get an A,B,C,D, or an F. But sometimes I get stressed with the homework and studying for tests. Stressing about tests is easy but so is becoming not stressed. I can study earlier in the week instead of one or two days before the test. Sometimes people get so attached to things and then they can lose them and that can lead to being unhappy.
ReplyDeleteI am attached to football and my animals. Homework and my grades cause me stress. I think a good way to manage my stress is to stay on top of things with school work and study a lot. You need to make sure you are prepared for everything in school. I think learning not to procrastinate is also a good way to manage stress like this. The world tells us that money and material things will make you happy. True happiness comes from peace a and love.
ReplyDeleteI am attached to my grades and electronics. I always want to get good grades and im always on my electronics. when things dont go as planned, i get stressed. A good way to manage stress it to not worry about the things you cant control.
ReplyDeleteI am very attached to school and electronics. I am always stressed about my grades because it is important to me that I do well in school. I can manage my stress by studying hard and concentrating on my subjects when I am learning them. I see it in money, material things, and in different ways of obtaining power.Lots of people are EXTREMELY attached to money. All forms of advertising often say that if you have a lot of money, you buy your way to happiness. True happiness comes from god.
ReplyDeleteI am really attached to competition. When it comes to competition I take it really seriously and I get really aggressive and if I don't do well I get extremely mad and frustrated. Things that cause me stress are grades and basketball. In basketball I have to keep improving and get better. If I mess up I think that I am a failure and I believe it. I have to satisfy my dad because he has really high expectations and I feel like he doesn't love me when I fail. I guess I have to try harder until I am satisfied and my dad is satisfied then when I feel his acceptance and that he loves I will not stress that much anymore. Most people now find happiness in their money and material things. You cannot buy happiness and these people think that they can.
ReplyDeleteI am very attached to my sports. One thing that stresses me out is when I'm expected to do something perfectly and I am afraid that I will mess up. A way to manage stress is to just breath and plan things out. How I think the world has given the wrong idea of being attached to your things is that we are all focused on just random things when we need to focus on the happy stuff and learn to just start living and just be free for stressful things.
ReplyDeleteSomething I don't think I can let go of is sports. Everything about it just makes me feel like I am in another world. I personally find stress moderate to manage. I just have to take a deep breath and relax. There are things you can buy and happiness isn't one of them. If the world as a whole could learn how to manage stress our world would be so much better.
ReplyDeleteI always feel attached to my electronics, social life, and my social media accounts. Stress is caused by who you appear to someone or something such as your outfits or grades. It seems as if, if you don't have good grades no one will appreciate you as much as someone with a higher A. If you don't own Uggs it may seem like people won't stop to look, such as most people (girls) think. I manage stress by telling myself that God would appreciate me no matter what. One thing I think is an attachment at the moment is finding the Malaysian flight, it may be a good thing for this world to find it and some of the bodies but it has gone to extremes. They say that if they don't find this and how the plane went down the people that lost their families will never be happy. I think since it seems to me that every country has a vessel out there trying to find this plane, but it's not really about finding it, it's about the pride of their country. This is showing to people that America or whatever country you live in will be the best if they come in first, which is not always true.
ReplyDeleteMy dog, technology, housing, privileges. School, Friends, fitting in, family, expectations. Manage time, excercise, play chess. Power, and status.
ReplyDeleteI am attached to my phone and social networking. My phone causes me stress because I feel like i'm forgetting to do something when i'm on it. I manage my stress by going outside or playing with my bunny. Attachment gave us the wrong idea about happiness because you think your happy when really your just being blinded by TV, phones, and computers or anything your attached to and not being able to see whats really out there for you to actually become attached to something better.
ReplyDeleteI am attached to my phone.. a lot!! I stress a lot about my grades. I manage my stress by playing with my dog or hanging out with my friends. A lot of people get attached to smoking or drinking because people display it as a good stress reliever or the way to a happy life, when it's really not.
ReplyDelete