Theos-Talk Archives (April 1998 Message tt00264)

W. Dallas TenBroeck wrote:
>
>
> A student under Freud's personal tutelage reported that the
> "father of psychoanalysis" named Buddha as the greatest
> psychologist of all time.

This is also how I see Buddha. His teaching about desire as the cause of all
suffering is both simple and enormously powerful when applied. What I like about
the teachings of Buddha is their practicality. It is a do-it-yourself course in
liberation. Yes, his philosophy can be deep and his mind subtle, but it all is
focused in a how-to format. That is what we need, isn't it?

> The "Dhammapada" ranks with all the great books of the world,
> such as the Bhagavad Gita, the Tao Teh king, and the Verba
> christie of the New Testament. It bestows inspiration,
> enlightenment and energizes the heart showing the mind that there
> is a better way of living. It offers elf-examination,
> nourishment for reflection, mediation, and is a stimulant for
> self-discipline. It raises the focus of our consciousness from
> the sentient state of the body and our fears and hopes to the
> plane of the Soul where there is a peace born of insight into the
> vast inter-commingling of all the currents of nature, of which
> each one of us is one and is therefore essential to the working
> of the whole. This leads to contentment, not strife, to
> community of understanding and not to argument based on
> self-assertiveness that is individual and divisive. This is a
> preview of that peace of mind and serenity of soul which the
> followers of the foot-falls of the Master Teacher, the Buddha,
> offers.

Beautifully said.

Bjorn