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The Buddha was a philosopher, meditator, spiritual
teacher, and religious leader who is credited

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as the founder of Buddhism.

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He was born as Siddhartha Gautama in India
in 566 BC into an aristocratic family and

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when he was twenty-nine years old, he left
the comforts of his home to seek the meaning

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of the suffering he saw around him.

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After six years of arduous yogic training,
he abandoned the way of self-mortification

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and instead sat in mindful meditation beneath
a bodhi tree.

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On the full moon of May, with the rising of
the morning star, Siddhartha Gautama became

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the Buddha, the awakened one.

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The Buddha wandered the plains of northeastern
India for 45 years more, teaching the path

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or Dharma he had realized in that moment.

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Around him developed a community of people,
drawn from every tribe and caste, devoted

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to practicing this path.

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Nowadays, he is worshiped by most Buddhist
schools as the enlightened one who has escaped

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the cycle of birth and rebirth, transcending
Karma.

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Their main teachings focus on their insight
into duhkha meaning “suffering” and into

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Nirvana, which means the end of suffering.

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He had a huge influence not only in Asia,
but all around the world, and so here are

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the 10 life lessons we can learn from Buddha:

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Practice the Middle Way
The Buddha says “The root of suffering is

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desire.”

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Siddharta Gautama spent the rest of their
life reflecting on the Four Noble Truths:

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1.

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There is suffering.

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2.

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The cause of suffering is our desires.

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3.

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The solution to our suffering, then, is to
release ourselves from our desires.

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4.

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The Noble Eightfold Path that leads to our
release from suffering.

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He realized that life was far from perfect
and people often try to distract themselves

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from realities by seeking material attachments
like wealth, fame, and honor.

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He had the chance to experience this first
hand, being born in a very wealthy family.

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Before his enlightenment, he walked out of
their palace for the first time and saw the

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three harsh realities - poverty, sickness,
and death.

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Embracing asceticism, he later tried to escape
the internal sufferings by depriving himself

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of any material comfort and need.

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With this, he grew very ill, and realized
that their asceticism did not spare him from

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their desires and suffering.

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Hence he tells us that we must strive for
the “Middle Way” - the life between luxury

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and extreme poverty, a balance between overindulging
and depriving ourselves of the things we desire.

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To practice the Middle Way, one must free
oneself of one’s desires.

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We must celebrate the idea of “just enough”
and embrace a more balanced, sustainable lifestyle

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that embraces the pleasures of existence rather
than those of consumption.

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Nurse Bronnie Ware, an Australian nurse who
focused on caring for terminally-ill people,

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says that one of the common regrets of a dying
person is “I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.”

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We tend to lose too much of our time chasing
things that are easily disposable - getting

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the latest gadgets, wanting to get a new position,
wanting to make five digits in our bank account.

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But after getting all of these things, we
still find ourselves wanting more, or sadly,

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that we do not seem happy with it.

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When we equate our happiness with getting
what we desire, we will never be happy and

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will suffer every day.

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Adopt the right view

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According to The Buddha, “Do not get upset
with people or situations, both are powerless

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without your reaction.”

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The Buddha is asking us to adopt the right
view – to be more “philosophical” about

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the opinions we hold, to become aware of what
we think, and then to inquire more deeply

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into why we think what we think.

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Only then can we know if our thoughts are
true, false, or confused.

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Our thoughts affect our daily decisions and
relationships deeply, and we would make better

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decisions in all aspects of our lives if we
were clearer about the foundations of our

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own thinking.

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The problem with us is that we tend to react
quickly to things that happen around us.

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Stephen Covey, in his book “The 7 Habits
of Highly Effective People” calls this the

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90-10 Rule of Life: Life is 10% what happens
to us and 90% how we react to it.

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Imagine that before going to work, you trip
on your child’s bike in the driveway.

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Your child runs to help you, apologizing,
but instead you yell at him, say bad words

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enough to be heard by your wife, who storms
outside and tells you to watch your mouth.

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You start an argument with your wife that
ends up with you either missing your morning

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bus or almost getting in an accident for driving
too fast on the road.

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Then, when you arrive at work 15 minutes late,
you become unproductive for the day because

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you are still angry.

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Your team leader reprimands you, and because
of what happened in the morning, you yell

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back at him.

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You come home with probationary suspension,
a cold treatment from your family, and a sour

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day.

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Imagine alternately that when you tripped,
you stood up, breathed slowly, then forgave

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your child and said, “Be careful next time;
remember to keep your bike inside the garage.”

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You won’t be starting an unnecessary argument
that cannot solve what happened, you won’t

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miss the bus or hurry through traffic, and
you will take control of your day.

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We can be happy if we become proactive, not
reactive to what is happening to us.

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We need to have a Right View of things - that
we can always choose not to be affected by

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what is happening around us, but to use what
we have around us towards our own growth.

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Create good karma
In the words of the Buddha “It is mental

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volition, O monks, that I call karma.

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Having willed, one acts through body, speech
or mind.”

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In Buddhism, karma means only actions of one’s
own volition, not all actions.

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As volitions can be relatively good or bad,
so the resulting karma will be good or bad.

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Good karma will lead to good outcomes and
bad karma to bad outcomes in life.

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Volition is a more complex concept in Eastern
philosophies than in Western ones, which defines

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will as a faculty independent of emotions
and reason.

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In Eastern philosophies, volition is the most
significant factor in determining the karma,

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it is what determines the ethical quality
of the action.

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It is a mental impulse, an urge, pushing us
in the direction of a particular experience.

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Volition is something at the cross-roads between
emotion and reason.

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A bad volition is based on a bad attitude
or a bad intention and to avoid having a bad

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karma, we have to align our actions to positive
attitudes and intentions, in other words,

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we have to work firstly on our attitudes and
intentions, to be clean in our thoughts and

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feelings.

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Our intentions will lead to our actions and
they can have great consequences in our life.

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We need to work on ourselves in the present
in order to build a better future for ourselves.

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As what we did in the past has echoes in the
present, what we do now will have echoes in

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the future.

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If we don’t study well for an exam, we may
fail.

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If we sleep through our deadlines and delay
doing our tasks, we may be late.

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If we eat too much, we may suffer from sickness
in the future.

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If we indulge in smoking and alcohol, we may
struggle to give them up in the years to come.

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But remember, if we choose to give more effort
today, then we are sure to go beyond our past

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mistakes.

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If we, for example, choose to study better
starting now, we still can achieve our dream

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job or graduate in the course we love - even
if that would take longer than we planned.

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If we choose to make a schedule, plan how
we will balance our priorities and our workload,

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then we can still finish and be better in
our job.

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If we choose to start exercising, we can still
live more healthily than we are now.

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Nothing is written in stone.

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Our past does not define us, and what we do
today can shape our present and our future.

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However, to make the right changes takes effort
and this effort will not have everlasting

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effects unless it comes from a good attitude
and good intentions, or, in other words, from

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a deep compassion towards ourselves and others.

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Live every day like it is your last
The Buddha says, “Ardently, do today what

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must be done.

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Who knows?

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Tomorrow death comes.”

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Buddhism believes that life is a cycle of
birth and rebirth - and our goal should be

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to liberate ourselves from that cycle of suffering.

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The problem is we tend to think that we have
all the time in the world.

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We put all our efforts into a tomorrow that
may not come - “I’ll start exercising

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tomorrow.

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I’ll finish my work tomorrow.

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I’ll call my mom tomorrow.

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I’ll ask for forgiveness tomorrow.”

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And that is a reality we need to face.

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If we learn to see that everyday can be our
last, we will live ardently each day, making

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peace with everyone, doing what we can do
today, and sleep peacefully at night knowing

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that we lived our day to the fullest.

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That is why it is important to start your
day right - by practicing mindfulness meditation

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- for example, when you focus on breathing
in and breathing out, you have a direct experience

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of impermanence - when you meditate on your
painful and sad stories, you have a direct

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experience of suffering.

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It motivates you to live in the moment.

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When you are eating, eat.

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When you are reading, read.

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When you are doing your job or at school,
do your tasks with focus.

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When you are driving your car, drive your
car.

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When you are with someone, spend that moment
with them.

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This allows you to step away from the past
and future and live in the present moment,

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to be where you are right now.

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Great things are the results of small good
habits

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The Buddha teaches us “Drop by drop is the
water pot filled.

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Likewise, the fool, gathering it little by
little, fills himself with evil … Likewise,

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the wise man, gathering it little by little,
fills himself with good.”

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The Buddhist approach to goodness and evil
is very practical.

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Evil may, for a time, lead us to happiness,
but all our bad actions together will eventually

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ripen and lead us to illness and bad experiences.

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So while we may suffer from time-to-time,
even if we are good, all our good actions

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will eventually ripen and lead us to true
happiness and goodness.

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According to the European Journal of Social
Psychology, it takes 18-254 days of constant

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exercise and practice to develop a new habit.

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On whatever skill you wish to learn, you can
always start today.

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You can’t exercise for one day and immediately
assume that you will be healthier all of the

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sudden.

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Starting with small things, like switching
to healthier alternatives of food, brisk walking,

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or waking up early in the morning to stretch.

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In the same way, whatever bad habit you wish
to change, you can always start small.

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Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the NIH’s National
Institute on Drug Abuse, suggests that the

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first step is to become more aware of your
habits so you can develop strategies to change

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them.

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You may start by avoiding the places that
can trigger your vice - like lessening your

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time in pubs - or try switching to healthier
alternatives - choosing unsalted popcorn over

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a bag of potato chips, or chewing gum over
reaching for a cigarette.

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It doesn’t matter if you fail sometimes
- that is part of learning.

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Show your wisdom in silence
The Buddha tells us “Know from the rivers

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in clefts and in crevices; those in small
channels flow noisily, the great flow silent.

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Whatever’s not full makes noise.

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Whatever is full is quiet.”

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He believed that there is always a time to
speak and to listen.

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If one is to talk, he must talk only when
he means-well, and is just, endearing, and

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true.

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But one must learn to listen more, acknowledging
that we do not know everything.

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He goes against useless chatter or those who
judge arbitrarily and with their biases.

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In today’s digital information, whenever
we scroll through social media, it is easy

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for us to fall for fake news.

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Sometimes, we even justify our wrong beliefs
with one youtube video or a single article.

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Little knowledge is dangerous because we assume
that there’s an easy answer, that every

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other question is invalid, that we are the
only ones that know the truth.

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It is called the “wisdom paradox”.

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Take for example the great Albert Einstein
when he said “The more you learn, the more

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you are exposed to what you don't know”.

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Buddha reminds us that those who are wise
know to listen, because they acknowledge that

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there are things that they do not know.

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A little knowledge is dangerous, because you
might be so convinced with your opinion that

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you fail to look at the truth because you
easily dismiss other people.

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One can share wisdom and also learn from another
by listening and engaging in healthy dialogue.

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If in a conflict, choose compassion
According to the Buddha “Hatred is never

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appeased by hatred in this world.

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By non-hatred alone is hatred appeased.”

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Even Siddharta Gautma experienced discrimination
and suffering, he was sometimes abused and

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he had to go through a hard journey to build
his legacy.

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Also, other famous leaders, like Martin Luther
King Jr and Mahatma Gandhi, who had both advocated

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nonviolent action that led to societal changes
in their corresponding countries, were victims

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of evil words, discrimination, and disbelief.

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Buddhism teaches us that the cycle of violence,
of hatred, of abuse, of revenge can never

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be stopped with hatred.

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When someone insults you, and you insult back,
sometimes they come back worse.

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When someone punches and we punch back, we
go home with more bruises and wounds.

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Nonviolence is not just letting yourself be
harassed or assaulted, it is a way to protect

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yourself from even greater evils.

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Take for example, when you are bullied by
a classmate or a colleague, as long as you

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don’t feel physically threatened, empower
yourself first.

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Remind yourself of your goodness, that their
words can never hurt you, and that you may

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make mistakes, you can keep trying.

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Remember, the bully wants you to feel angry
and powerless because they are also experiencing

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something bad in their own life.

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Some practical solutions include - when a
bully is approaching you, count from 1 to

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100 to relax yourself - or maybe you can just
walk away - or if he insults you, join in

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- insult yourself and laugh with him then
walk away - or you can look at them with compassion

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and be nice to them.

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Do something about it: do not keep it in,
do not hide from it.

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Maybe asking help from authorities would help,
especially if the bullying becomes serious

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or involves physical assault or abuse.

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Meditating on your own giftedness lets you
see that you are more than what they say.

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Choose friends for quality over quantity
According to the Buddha, “Admirable friendship,

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admirable companionship, admirable camaraderie
is actually the whole of the holy life.

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When a monk has admirable people as friends,
companions, & comrades, he can be expected

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to develop & pursue the noble eightfold path.”

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The Buddha reminds us that it is better to
seek fellowship with noble men than to associate

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with evil companions.

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The Buddha acknowledges that life is not a
solitary journey.

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Along the way, we encounter a lot of people,
but not every one of these people are good

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influences for us.

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Some bad habits are developed because of negative
peer pressure.

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In our experiences, when we are rich or in
prosperity, when we are famous or well-known,

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people like to be around us.

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But when we are in need of support, we find
fewer friends to go to.

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We can make the decision to choose the people
who can influence us to be better.

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Good friends are those who lead you to goodness,
to virtue, to develop good habits - and not

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those who let you go astray, those who push
you to vices.

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It is better to have few friends who support
and care for you truly, and who work with

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you towards a better life.

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Be generous

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In the words of the Buddha “Thousands of
candles can be lit from a single candle, and

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the life of the candle will not be shortened.

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Happiness never decreases by being shared.”

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Buddha has always emphasized how generosity
and helping each other can create great change

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in the world.

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According to various research, there is a
ripple effect of kindness.

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Just as anger or fear can be passed on to
others, so does a simple act of kindness.

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A simple smile to someone can inspire them
to work better.

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A gesture of compassion can be passed on to
another person.

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When you help someone carry their groceries,
they might be inspired to open a door for

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a stranger.

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That stranger would be inspired to pass on
that act of kindness by giving a lunch to

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a coworker, or assisting an elderly person
cross the street.

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A lot of things can spring forth from that
simple act of kindness.

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Buddha, however, first asks us to take care
of ourselves.

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You cannot give what you do not have.

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You may really want to help people to the
point of you exhausting yourself or breaking

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down your boundaries or not giving yourself
time to eat, or sleep - and then you get sick

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or burnt-out - then you would not be able
to offer help to anyone else.

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It is important to take care of yourself,
to live healthily, to give yourself time for

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meditation, to ask for support from other
people, because only then can you give the

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strength and love you have within you.

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You can be a Buddha too
In our final quote for this video, the Buddha

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says, “You yourself must strive.

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The Buddhas only point the way.”

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All these life lessons given to us by Buddha
are meant to teach us that we can be a Buddha

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too - we can also be enlightened - but only
if we choose to live out these Buddhism teachings

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daily.

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The Buddhas that came after him and developed
Buddhism can be a source of inspiration and

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a guide to all of us.

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Right now, we may feel like life is hopeless
- we may find ourselves in debt, unhappy in

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our job, having fights with our family and
friends.

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We may feel like life is too hard on us already.

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Buddha reminds us that change starts with
us.

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We should take control of our lives and not
leave it up to fate or the heavens.

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Struggle well and do not give up easily.

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Each of the Noble Eightfold Path: Right View,
Right Resolve, Right Speech, Right Action,

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Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness,
and Right Concentration: is something we can

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start cultivating more by the habits we build.

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We can always read more - research more - and
we hope together to achieve liberation from

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the life of suffering, or Nirvana, that the
Buddha guides us to.

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So, if you enjoyed this video, please do make
sure to check out the full Philosophies for

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Life channel and for more videos to help you
find success and happiness using ancient philosophical

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wisdom, don’t forget to subscribe.

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Thanks so much for watching.