Buddhism 101

A dear friend of mine started his searching for the meaning of life and sent me the link of Bill Moyers on Faith & Reason: Portraits — Pema Chödrön. It’s a really wonderful interview! Chödrön did an excellent job explaining the Buddhism in plain English and pointing out the essence. Not only she cleared a lot of misconceptions that a non-Buddhist might have, but she also clarified what the Buddhism is really all about. For example, she said, “It isn’t the things that happen to us in our lives that cause us to suffer, it’s how we relate to the things that happen to us that causes us to suffer.” This is what “Emptiness” is, and this is why Chan Practice is so important. The physical pains in life won’t stop, but we can choose not to suffer from them. And because of our choice, the suffering stops.