When introduced to the teachings of Buddhist wisdom, one may mistake the identity of the information to be a belief system. This is why I begin my scroll of wisdom which is on my website with the quote from the Buddha “Do not listen to what anybody says, including me, if it does not agree with your own common sense.” Upon learning the teachings of Buddhist wisdom such as “If we just abandon hate, then we can enjoy being hate free.” one may wonder how they might accomplish becoming hate free with their mind or misunderstand the meaning of the application of this teaching. In order to apply this teaching, one must begin practicing the removal of hatred whenever they become aware that they are experiencing hatred. The removal of hatred itself can be performed by a conscious decision to not adopt it or by other methods such as practices of meditation to feel the emotion until it passes. After doing this enough times it becomes easy. It also becomes your instinct. Practicing the teachings of Buddhist wisdom is like learning how to drive. They become second nature. There are many mental health benefits as well as beneficial character development qualities that can be gained through the practice of Buddhist knowledge.
I would also like to point out that the reason that the Buddha is depicted as laughing can be understood through this quote of “If we just abandon hate, then we can enjoy being hate free.” Certain explanations of Buddhist teachings explain it in the words that people are foolish and that they need to realize it and that is all that they need to do in order to become “enlightened”, which is being aware of oneself and acquiring the knowledge and practice of the teachings of Buddhist wisdom. Hatred is an unhealthy emotion that, through practice, can be expelled. The laughter of the Buddha stems from the idiocy one may have if they are simply not aware of the fact that the mind can be altered and transformed to our liking.
