Philosophies for Life 82: How to Love Your Ordinary Life – Philosophy of Zen Buddhism
May 10, 2025
25:02
In this podcast, we will discuss how you don’t need the extraordinary to be happy—you just need yourself and your ordinary life to see the magic in your ordinary life, according to the philosophy of Zen Buddhism
Philosophy of Zen Buddhism focuses on the little things and its disregarding of external factors leads to lots of insightful lessons, but the biggest benefit is that you will realise you don’t need the extraordinary to be happy - you just need yourself, and your ordinary life.
Here's how you can see the magic of ordinary life -
01. Meditate
02. Recognize Your Ignorance
03. Get To Know Yourself
04. Love The Ordinary
05. Live In The Here And Now
We hope you enjoyed listening to this audio and hope this video, from the philosophy of Zen Buddhism, helps you to see the magic of your ordinary life.
‘Zen’ is a term derived from the Japanese pronunciation of the Middle Chinese word, chán, which means ‘meditation.’ It is also a form of Buddhism that distinguishes itself with its almost exclusive focus on personhood and the present. Rather than meditations on life, death, religion, or the world, ‘Zen’ urges you to focus inwards and on the ordinary only. Like all other forms and practices of Buddhism, Zen is not an ideology or belief, but rather a way of life.
Buddhism was created in India but gradually travelled through Asia throughout the centuries - and in every country, it spawned multiple sub-sections of Buddhism. The Zen subsection of Buddhism was created in China, leading to the Chinese School of Zen Buddhism becoming the most successful school of Buddhism in the entirety of China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam.
Philosophy of Zen Buddhism focuses on the little things and its disregarding of external factors leads to lots of insightful lessons, but the biggest benefit is that you will realise you don’t need the extraordinary to be happy - you just need yourself, and your ordinary life.
Here's how you can see the magic of ordinary life -
01. Meditate
02. Recognize Your Ignorance
03. Get To Know Yourself
04. Love The Ordinary
05. Live In The Here And Now
We hope you enjoyed listening to this audio and hope this video, from the philosophy of Zen Buddhism, helps you to see the magic of your ordinary life.
‘Zen’ is a term derived from the Japanese pronunciation of the Middle Chinese word, chán, which means ‘meditation.’ It is also a form of Buddhism that distinguishes itself with its almost exclusive focus on personhood and the present. Rather than meditations on life, death, religion, or the world, ‘Zen’ urges you to focus inwards and on the ordinary only. Like all other forms and practices of Buddhism, Zen is not an ideology or belief, but rather a way of life.
Buddhism was created in India but gradually travelled through Asia throughout the centuries - and in every country, it spawned multiple sub-sections of Buddhism. The Zen subsection of Buddhism was created in China, leading to the Chinese School of Zen Buddhism becoming the most successful school of Buddhism in the entirety of China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam.