4 Of The Most Essential Buddhist Texts For More Inspiration And Insight

1. 4 Of The Most Essential Buddhist Texts For More Inspiration AndInsight Buddhism is an ancient religion that’s over two thousand years old. For a beginner, exploring this spiritual practice might seem daunting. Especially because there are so many ancient scriptures with incredible lessons just waiting to bediscovered. You don’t need to be a Buddhist to take a leaf out of the ancient Buddhist texts. In fact, these lessons can be applied to your everyday life, right here, right now. That’s how accessible and relevant they trulyare. So, what are the most influential Buddhists texts out there and how can we benefit from them today? We’re going to cover 4 essential Buddhist texts and break down the key takeaways from each. What Are BuddhistSutras?

2. Many of the core teachings of Buddhism come from the Buddha. Who was the Buddha? He was a man named Siddhārtha Gautama who lived and taught in India between the 6th and 4th century BCE. Many of the Buddha’s lessons have been transformed into sutras. Buddhist sutras, or suttas, are short passages that communicate a core teaching. Some are just a few lines long. Other span manypages. These Buddhist sutrasmake up many of the most essential Buddhist texts we have access to today. Is There A Holy Book Of Buddhism? Sacred texts are often essential to spiritual practices. Christians follow the Bible. Muslims have the Quran. So, is there a holy book ofBuddhism? Well, Buddhists actually have three major Buddhist texts: the Tripitaka, the Mahayana Sutras, and the Tibetan Book of the Dead. But don’t worry — we’re not going to throw all three at you today. Instead, we’re going to focus on four of the most powerful Buddhist sutras and the lessons we can use in our lives today.

3. 4 Essential Buddhist Texts To Inspire AndEngage Ready for a crash course in Buddhism? Let’s begin with the legend of the fishbasket. 1. The Legend Of The FishBasket The Buddhist story of the fish basket tells the tale of a young girl who arrives in a village selling fish. The men in the village beg for her hand in marriage. She tells them that the first man to successfully recite the Lotus Sutra will be herhusband. The village had never heard the teachings of the Buddha before. As a result, they had to study the sutras carefully in order to recite them when the girl returned. When the young girl selling fish returned to the village, only one man could successfully recite the sutras. She agreed to marry him, but on the night of their wedding, she tragically died of a heart attack. The young man was devastated. As they prepared to bury the young bride, a monk appeared. He told them that the girl’s coffin was empty and there was no reason for mourning. And he was right—the coffin wasempty!

4. In fact, the young girl had been a manifestation of the beloved bodhisattva, Guan Yin. She had wanted to spread the teachings of the Buddha. Once her job was done, she was free toleave. The legend of the fish basket communicates two very essential lessons: never judge a book by its cover and keep an eye out for important teachings because they may come in any form. 2. The Metta Sutta: The Ultimate Guide To LovingKindness The Metta Sutta is one of the most popular Buddhist texts. This sutra covers an essential Buddhist ideal: lovingkindness. As a matter of fact, the Metta Suttais one of the Buddha’s most influentialteachings. In Pali, the word metta means loving kindness. And the Metta Sutta not only explains what loving kindness is but how to put it into everydaypractice. The best way to understand what the Metta Sutta is all about is to read some of its core teachings. Here are some of the key passages from the Metta Sutta: “Let him cultivate boundless thoughts of loving kindness towards the whole world — above, below and all around, unobstructed, free from hatred andenmity.” “May all beings be well and safe, may their hearts rejoice.”

5. “Just as a mother would protect her only child with her own life, even so, let him cultivate boundless thoughts of loving kindness towards allbeings.” The Metta Sutta is all about generating feelings of love and benevolence toward others — not only those you know but those you don’t know. The Metta Sutta encourages you to generate love and goodwill even toward those who have wrongedyou. One of the best ways to put the Metta Sutta into practice? Buddhist metta meditation. It’s a serious gamechanger. 3. The Lankavatara Sutra: Consciousness IsKey The Lankavatara Sutra is one of the more existential Buddhist texts, but don’t worry. We’re going to break everything down into bite-sizedpieces. The Lankavatara Sutra is popular in Mahayana Buddhism — the largest and most prominent branch of Buddhism in theworld. This sutra is a record of a conversation the Buddha had with a bodhisattva named Mahāmati. In this conversation, the Buddha explained to Mahāmati that our consciousness is our only true reality. “My teaching is based upon the recognition that the objective world, like a vision, is a manifestation of the mind itself,” said theBuddha. The Lankavatara Sutraencourages Buddhist practitioners to recognize the unique nature of our reality. There is no such thing as a single objective reality. Everyone’s reality is unique, and it’s based entirely on our own perceptions, beliefs, andvalues.

6. 4. The Kalama Sutta: QuestionEverything The final Buddhist text we’ll explore is the Kalama Sutta: the Buddha’s finest teaching on free inquiry. The Buddha was a big advocate of critical thinking. In fact, he encouraged his followers to question everything, including hisown teachings. “Don’t go by reports —” explained the Buddha, “— by legends, by traditions, by scripture, by logical conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by probability, or by the thought.” For the Buddha, nothing was above being questioned. In the Kalama Sutta, he instructed the Kalama clan to use their instincts to decide what to believe and who tofollow. Essentially: if the old ways don’t work, remake them. If the old ideas are outdated, find new ones. Never be afraid to question the norm. Always stand up for what you know to be right. You won’t be led astray so long as you listen to your instincts and trust yourgut. As Deborah King, Author of Mindvalley’s Be A Modern Master Programsays, “Finding and using your voice is an essential part of living the life you came here tolive.”

7. So, there you have it. Four of the most essential Buddhist texts for deeper insight andinspiration.