They are:
1. birth as a human being (manussatta-bhava-dullabha),
2. encountering a Buddha (buddhuppada-dullabha),
3. going forth from the life of a layperson and becoming a bhikkhu/bhikkhuni (pabbajita-bhava-dullabha),
4. attaining confidence in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha
(saddha-sampattiyo-dullabha), and
5. hearing the true teaching (saddhamma-savanam atidulla-bha)
(Chiggala Sutta, S.v.456).
Des/boo-ngoh
Senin, 17 Maret 2008
Can environmental factors overcome
Can environmental factors overcome the genetic factors totally.
Yes it can.
In case of gentically transmitted disease Phenylketouria, if the person is born and not treated
the person becomes mentally retarded.
If the person is given special food to avoid the disease to manifest then the person can be normal.
Following that line if a person is born with heavy Karma burden and can be spotted by an advanced practitioner, then he/she can be guided by the master to avoid ceerrtain unwholesome deeds and the heavy Karma burden can be prevented from ripening.
Des/boo-ngoh
Yes it can.
In case of gentically transmitted disease Phenylketouria, if the person is born and not treated
the person becomes mentally retarded.
If the person is given special food to avoid the disease to manifest then the person can be normal.
Following that line if a person is born with heavy Karma burden and can be spotted by an advanced practitioner, then he/she can be guided by the master to avoid ceerrtain unwholesome deeds and the heavy Karma burden can be prevented from ripening.
Des/boo-ngoh
Give love:
The most effective way to help yourself is to give love.
Love if it stays within may turn stale.
Love if given away is good for others and is good for you.
Des/bo-ngoh
Love if it stays within may turn stale.
Love if given away is good for others and is good for you.
Des/bo-ngoh
After all you have tried:
After all you have tried and nothing seems to happen and nothing changes accept it, as it is, it's Karma, it's Dharma, it's part of the practice.........
Of course something has happened.
The seeds are planted.
When will it sprout, it's all up to Karma.
When you plant the seed in the wild at least it comes back to you as an echo, after a pause.
Des/boo-ngoh
Of course something has happened.
The seeds are planted.
When will it sprout, it's all up to Karma.
When you plant the seed in the wild at least it comes back to you as an echo, after a pause.
Des/boo-ngoh
Those who do and don't:
Dharma is what you do to get benefit; if you don't you don't benefit from it.
In a group you see who do and who don't.
Those who do accumulate merits.
Those who don't we share merits with them.
No good, no bad just the way it is.
Learning to do requires effort.
Not doing requires no effort.
Effort or diligence is what leads you to Nirvana, Buddha said.
Des/boo-ngoh
In a group you see who do and who don't.
Those who do accumulate merits.
Those who don't we share merits with them.
No good, no bad just the way it is.
Learning to do requires effort.
Not doing requires no effort.
Effort or diligence is what leads you to Nirvana, Buddha said.
Des/boo-ngoh
Work on Dharma
When you do work on Dharma,concentrate on Dharma;don't get side-tracked or distractedwhen you do work on Dharma;be respectfulto Buddha-Dharma-Sangha,not to anybody else in particular.When you do work on Dharma,try to put yourself in another person's shoes.When you do work on Dharma,don't say harsh words to others.When you do work on Dharma,don't respond in haste to the weighty Truth of Dharma.When you do work on Dharma,learn to be respectful to the Sangha;then you can learn to be respectful of the Dharma;then only you can say for sureyou are respectful to the Buddha.When you do the work of Dharma,the goal should be total liberation,getting off Samsara, on to Nirvana,but Nirvana can be around youlike the flight attendant likes to warn you before the plane takes off:(Please take a moment to look around for the nearest exit door,and in some cases, the nearest exit door can be just behind you"),so don't get stuck with the idea that the door to Nirvana is far, far, far away from youor from Samsara.~ Desmond Chiong
(Tipitaka) Seberang : Kisah Pendengar-pendengar Dhamma
Pada suatu kesempatan, sekumpulan orang dari Savatthi membuatpersembahan khusus kepada para bhikkhu secara bersama-sama, dan merekameminta para bhikkhu memberikan khotbah Dhamma sepanjang malam ditempat mereka. Pada saat itu, banyak di antara para pendengar tidakdapat duduk sepanjang malam, dan mereka pulang lebih cepat; beberapaorang duduk dengan pemikiran yang mendalam sepanjang malam, tetapikebanyakan dari mereka pada waktu itu mengantuk dan setengah tidur.Hanya sedikit orang yang mendengarkan dengan penuh perhatian khotbahDhamma itu.Pagi hari para bhikkhu berkata kepada Sang Buddha tentang apa yangterjadi pada malam hari sebelumnya, Beliau menjawab, "Kebanyakan orangterikat pada dunia ini, hanya sedikit orang yang dapat mencapai pantaiseberang (nibbana)".Kemudian Sang Buddha membabarkan syair 85 dan 86 berikut ini:Di antara umat manusia hanya sedikit yang dapat mencapai pantai seberang,sebagian besar hanya berjalan hilir mudik di tepi sebelah sini.Mereka yang hidup sesuai dengan Dhamma yang telah diterangkan dengan baik,akan mencapai Pantai Seberang,menyeberangi alam kematian yang sangat sukar diseberangi.
Filsafat Budha
Terapkan hukuman untuk membatasi yang berlebihan, bukan karena marah atau balas dendam, hanya untuk menyadarkan yang bodoh .
Jangan membuat orang lain menjadi korban demi keegoisan diri sendiri
Just Be Yourself?While western psychology tends to affirm the ungraspable “ego” in a supposedly healthy way, Buddhist psychology urges meditation to realise the shape-shifting nature of one's “self” - which is really healthier spiritually. In fact, it is liberating. When you free yourself from even your “self”, what greater freedom could there be? “Just be yourself”? Just be. Period. No “yourself” - no “yours”, no “self” - just pure freedom.~ shian
Rigpa Glimpse of the Day The extraordinary qualities of great beings who hide their nature escapes ordinary people like us, despite our best efforts in examining them. On the other hand, even ordinary charlatans are expert at deceiving others by behaving like saints. ~ PATRUL RINPOCHE
Rigpa Glimpse of the Day
There is a Buddhist practice in which one imagines giving joy and the source of all joy to other people, thereby removing all their suffering. Though of course we cannot change their situation, I do feel that in some cases, through a genuine sense of caring and compassion, through our sharing in their plight, our attitude can help alleviate their suffering, if only mentally. However, the main point of this practice is to increase our inner strength and courage.I have chosen a few lines that I feel would be acceptable to people of all faiths, and even to those with no spiritual belief. When reading these lines, if you are a religious practitioner, you can reflect upon the divine form that you worship. Then, while reciting these verses, make the commitment to enhance your spiritual values. If you are not religious, you can reflect upon the fact that, fundamentally, all beings are equal to you in their wish for happiness and their desire to overcome suffering. Recognizing this, you make a pledge to develop a good heart. It is most important that we have a warm heart. As long as we are part of human society, it is very important to be a kind, warm-hearted person. May the poor find wealth,Those weak with sorrow find joy.May the forlorn find new hope, Constant happiness and prosperity.May the frightened cease to be afraid, And those bound be free.May the weak find power, And may their hearts join in friendship.--from "An Open Heart: Practicing Compassion in Everyday Life" by the Dalai Lama, edited by Nicholas Vreeland, afterword by Khyongla Rato and Richard Gere~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When you meditate, keep your mouth slightly open as if about to say a deep, relaxing "Aaah." By keeping the mouth slightly open and breathing mainly through the mouth, it is said that the "karmic winds" that create discursive thoughts are normally less likely to arise and create obstacles in your mind and meditation. Sogyal Rinpoche~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Grant your blessings so that my mind may be one with the Dharma.Grant your blessings so that Dharma may progress along the path.Grant your blessings so that the path may clarify confusion.Grant your blessings so that confusion may dawn as wisdom. GAMPOPA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~If this elephant of mind is bound on all sides by the cord of mindfulness,All fear disappears and complete happiness comes.All enemies: all the tigers, lions, elephants, bears, serpents (of our emotions);And all the keepers of hell; the demons and the horrors,All of these are bound by the mastery of your mind,And by the taming of that one mind, all are subdued,Because from the mind are derived all fears and immeasurable sorrows. SHANTIDEVA~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~In a cloudless night sky, the full moon,"The Lord of Stars," is about to rise . . .The face of my compassionate lord, Padmasambhava,Draws me on, radiating its tender welcome. My delight in death is far, far greater thanThe delight of traders at making vast fortunes at sea,Or the lords of the gods who vaunt their victory in battle;Or of those sages who have entered the rapture of perfect absorption.So just as a traveler who sets out on the road when the time has come to go,I will not remain in this world any longer,But will go to dwell in the stronghold of the great bliss of deathlessness. THE LAST TESTAMENT OF LONGCHENPA~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~When people begin to meditate, they often say that their thoughts are running riot and have become wilder than ever before. But I reassure them and say that this is a good sign. Far from meaning that your thoughts have become wilder, it shows that you have become quieter and are finally aware of just how noisy your thoughts have always been. Don’t be disheartened or give up. Whatever arises, just keep being present, keep returning to the breath, even in the midst of all the confusion. Sogyal Rinpoche~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Do not make the mistake of imagining that the nature of mind is exclusive only to our minds. It is in fact the nature of everything. It can never be said too often that to realize the nature of mind is to realize the nature of all things. Sogyal Rinpoche~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Switch on the television or glance at the newspaper: You will see death everywhere. Yet, did the victims of those plane crashes and car accidents expect to die? They took life for granted, as we do. How often do we hear stories of people whom we know, or even friends, who died unexpectedly? We don’t even have to be ill to die: Our bodies can suddenly break down and go out of order, just like our cars. We can be quite well one day, then fall sick and die the next. Sogyal Rinpoche~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Each time the losses and deceptions of life teach us about impermanence, they bring us closer to the truth. When you fall from a great height, there is only one possible place to land: on the ground—the ground of truth. And if you have the understanding that comes from spiritual practice, then falling is in no way a disaster, but the discovery of an inner refuge. Sogyal Rinpoche
Jangan membuat orang lain menjadi korban demi keegoisan diri sendiri
Just Be Yourself?While western psychology tends to affirm the ungraspable “ego” in a supposedly healthy way, Buddhist psychology urges meditation to realise the shape-shifting nature of one's “self” - which is really healthier spiritually. In fact, it is liberating. When you free yourself from even your “self”, what greater freedom could there be? “Just be yourself”? Just be. Period. No “yourself” - no “yours”, no “self” - just pure freedom.~ shian
Rigpa Glimpse of the Day The extraordinary qualities of great beings who hide their nature escapes ordinary people like us, despite our best efforts in examining them. On the other hand, even ordinary charlatans are expert at deceiving others by behaving like saints. ~ PATRUL RINPOCHE
Rigpa Glimpse of the Day
There is a Buddhist practice in which one imagines giving joy and the source of all joy to other people, thereby removing all their suffering. Though of course we cannot change their situation, I do feel that in some cases, through a genuine sense of caring and compassion, through our sharing in their plight, our attitude can help alleviate their suffering, if only mentally. However, the main point of this practice is to increase our inner strength and courage.I have chosen a few lines that I feel would be acceptable to people of all faiths, and even to those with no spiritual belief. When reading these lines, if you are a religious practitioner, you can reflect upon the divine form that you worship. Then, while reciting these verses, make the commitment to enhance your spiritual values. If you are not religious, you can reflect upon the fact that, fundamentally, all beings are equal to you in their wish for happiness and their desire to overcome suffering. Recognizing this, you make a pledge to develop a good heart. It is most important that we have a warm heart. As long as we are part of human society, it is very important to be a kind, warm-hearted person. May the poor find wealth,Those weak with sorrow find joy.May the forlorn find new hope, Constant happiness and prosperity.May the frightened cease to be afraid, And those bound be free.May the weak find power, And may their hearts join in friendship.--from "An Open Heart: Practicing Compassion in Everyday Life" by the Dalai Lama, edited by Nicholas Vreeland, afterword by Khyongla Rato and Richard Gere~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When you meditate, keep your mouth slightly open as if about to say a deep, relaxing "Aaah." By keeping the mouth slightly open and breathing mainly through the mouth, it is said that the "karmic winds" that create discursive thoughts are normally less likely to arise and create obstacles in your mind and meditation. Sogyal Rinpoche~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Grant your blessings so that my mind may be one with the Dharma.Grant your blessings so that Dharma may progress along the path.Grant your blessings so that the path may clarify confusion.Grant your blessings so that confusion may dawn as wisdom. GAMPOPA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~If this elephant of mind is bound on all sides by the cord of mindfulness,All fear disappears and complete happiness comes.All enemies: all the tigers, lions, elephants, bears, serpents (of our emotions);And all the keepers of hell; the demons and the horrors,All of these are bound by the mastery of your mind,And by the taming of that one mind, all are subdued,Because from the mind are derived all fears and immeasurable sorrows. SHANTIDEVA~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~In a cloudless night sky, the full moon,"The Lord of Stars," is about to rise . . .The face of my compassionate lord, Padmasambhava,Draws me on, radiating its tender welcome. My delight in death is far, far greater thanThe delight of traders at making vast fortunes at sea,Or the lords of the gods who vaunt their victory in battle;Or of those sages who have entered the rapture of perfect absorption.So just as a traveler who sets out on the road when the time has come to go,I will not remain in this world any longer,But will go to dwell in the stronghold of the great bliss of deathlessness. THE LAST TESTAMENT OF LONGCHENPA~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~When people begin to meditate, they often say that their thoughts are running riot and have become wilder than ever before. But I reassure them and say that this is a good sign. Far from meaning that your thoughts have become wilder, it shows that you have become quieter and are finally aware of just how noisy your thoughts have always been. Don’t be disheartened or give up. Whatever arises, just keep being present, keep returning to the breath, even in the midst of all the confusion. Sogyal Rinpoche~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Do not make the mistake of imagining that the nature of mind is exclusive only to our minds. It is in fact the nature of everything. It can never be said too often that to realize the nature of mind is to realize the nature of all things. Sogyal Rinpoche~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Switch on the television or glance at the newspaper: You will see death everywhere. Yet, did the victims of those plane crashes and car accidents expect to die? They took life for granted, as we do. How often do we hear stories of people whom we know, or even friends, who died unexpectedly? We don’t even have to be ill to die: Our bodies can suddenly break down and go out of order, just like our cars. We can be quite well one day, then fall sick and die the next. Sogyal Rinpoche~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Each time the losses and deceptions of life teach us about impermanence, they bring us closer to the truth. When you fall from a great height, there is only one possible place to land: on the ground—the ground of truth. And if you have the understanding that comes from spiritual practice, then falling is in no way a disaster, but the discovery of an inner refuge. Sogyal Rinpoche
Minggu, 16 Maret 2008
Basic Buddhism:
Do not pass go Basic Buddhism.
If you do you do not know Buddhism and you are no good Buddhism.
As much hate mail as i will get i have to say once again basic Buddhism is built on respect, a lineage of respect.
If all of the Buddhsts stand in line they will all stand straigt in one line out of respect to the one ahead of him/her with the Buddha at the head of the line.
All will bow in unison as a sign of respect to the one ahead of him/her.
A Buddhist who has not learned respect and who will not learn respect ain't no Buddhist.
Out of respect we keep the Temple clean.
Out of resepct we donate to help the Temple financially.
Out of respect we do not step on the others' toes.
Out of respect for human beings we help other human beings.
Out of respect for the abbot we help the abbot with whatever is needed voluntarily.
Out of respect we study and practice diligently.
Out of respect for the environment we keep the environment clean.
Out of respect for the Buddha within we respect others as we will respect Buddha.
If you have not learned respect and are not interested in learning respect you are no fit for Buddhism, not here not there not anywhere.
Des/boo-ngoh
If you do you do not know Buddhism and you are no good Buddhism.
As much hate mail as i will get i have to say once again basic Buddhism is built on respect, a lineage of respect.
If all of the Buddhsts stand in line they will all stand straigt in one line out of respect to the one ahead of him/her with the Buddha at the head of the line.
All will bow in unison as a sign of respect to the one ahead of him/her.
A Buddhist who has not learned respect and who will not learn respect ain't no Buddhist.
Out of respect we keep the Temple clean.
Out of resepct we donate to help the Temple financially.
Out of respect we do not step on the others' toes.
Out of respect for human beings we help other human beings.
Out of respect for the abbot we help the abbot with whatever is needed voluntarily.
Out of respect we study and practice diligently.
Out of respect for the environment we keep the environment clean.
Out of respect for the Buddha within we respect others as we will respect Buddha.
If you have not learned respect and are not interested in learning respect you are no fit for Buddhism, not here not there not anywhere.
Des/boo-ngoh
Grwoing old gracefully:
Growing old gracefully is not like what comes to you naturally.
Growing old gracefully is like the practice of Buddhism
Which has to be done actively and diligently and voluntarily guided by wisdom and not with greed.
No matter how old you are you still have greed. in fact you will have greed till death and perhaps beyond.
That's not good.
Because of greed some end up with artificaly means of life because of greed to stay alive.
Because of greed some end up with the burden of attachment to keeping their property their belongings their children etc etc etc.
That's not easy for you when you have to cut off the attachment when dead comes, and dead will not come easy then.
If my patients will listen i will tell them to start deatching while they are still healthy and getting old.
Detach from whatever you own what ever si in your name.
If you don't own much do not own more.
If you own too much start to unload and make the burden lighter and easier for you to go when the time comes.
Do not have too much attachment even to your children your grandchildren etc.....
Just owning and keep a property is a big attachment. most seniors will not willing give up where they live till they end up in the convalescent hospital and they are forcibly kept there against their will.
I know because that's when they call me for a psychiatrist consult.
I feel veyr sorry for theses folks but in all honesty i can't with good conscience let them go home.
they just can't care for themselves and they will still deny it.
Prepare while you can voluntarily.
I know this is a free country, a free world, but things can still be forced on you just because you did not prepare.
For an old couple to own their property is a big hassle.
I can't imagine how they can upkeep it in good order, taking care of the yard the plumbing the electricity the gadgets running the whole place in order.
I have seen old folks brought in psychiatric hospital having lived in filth in their homes.
They did not voluntarily let go.
Now they will head to convalescent hospital via the psychiatric hospital involuntarily.
I have advised many ahead of the disaster.
Some have listened and have benefited from it.
Some don't and face more peoblems later and i can't help because they had not listened and followed to give up.
Most doctors will not discuss this out of fear of "losing" their patients. that's unprofessional.
I tremble with fear when i hear old folks acquire new aquisitions.
Not because i have an ill will.but because of good will and the good wisdom that allow me to see
they are heading into hellish state before they even exist this state.
Yes that's a pretty straight talk.
But i have vowed to tell the Truth as a Buddhist and that's how i say it to myself and to others
that will listen to my wisdom.
This wisdom is hard to come by and i know it because i came after years of practice.
It is harder to put into practice.
I know it too.
But you have to pay heed to it and try to voluntary do it.
If you do you will have peace of mind from now till death and beyond.
If you don't do it to yourself or to your loved ones you will have a terrible time when death comes
Knocking on your door.
Des/boo-ngoh
Growing old gracefully is like the practice of Buddhism
Which has to be done actively and diligently and voluntarily guided by wisdom and not with greed.
No matter how old you are you still have greed. in fact you will have greed till death and perhaps beyond.
That's not good.
Because of greed some end up with artificaly means of life because of greed to stay alive.
Because of greed some end up with the burden of attachment to keeping their property their belongings their children etc etc etc.
That's not easy for you when you have to cut off the attachment when dead comes, and dead will not come easy then.
If my patients will listen i will tell them to start deatching while they are still healthy and getting old.
Detach from whatever you own what ever si in your name.
If you don't own much do not own more.
If you own too much start to unload and make the burden lighter and easier for you to go when the time comes.
Do not have too much attachment even to your children your grandchildren etc.....
Just owning and keep a property is a big attachment. most seniors will not willing give up where they live till they end up in the convalescent hospital and they are forcibly kept there against their will.
I know because that's when they call me for a psychiatrist consult.
I feel veyr sorry for theses folks but in all honesty i can't with good conscience let them go home.
they just can't care for themselves and they will still deny it.
Prepare while you can voluntarily.
I know this is a free country, a free world, but things can still be forced on you just because you did not prepare.
For an old couple to own their property is a big hassle.
I can't imagine how they can upkeep it in good order, taking care of the yard the plumbing the electricity the gadgets running the whole place in order.
I have seen old folks brought in psychiatric hospital having lived in filth in their homes.
They did not voluntarily let go.
Now they will head to convalescent hospital via the psychiatric hospital involuntarily.
I have advised many ahead of the disaster.
Some have listened and have benefited from it.
Some don't and face more peoblems later and i can't help because they had not listened and followed to give up.
Most doctors will not discuss this out of fear of "losing" their patients. that's unprofessional.
I tremble with fear when i hear old folks acquire new aquisitions.
Not because i have an ill will.but because of good will and the good wisdom that allow me to see
they are heading into hellish state before they even exist this state.
Yes that's a pretty straight talk.
But i have vowed to tell the Truth as a Buddhist and that's how i say it to myself and to others
that will listen to my wisdom.
This wisdom is hard to come by and i know it because i came after years of practice.
It is harder to put into practice.
I know it too.
But you have to pay heed to it and try to voluntary do it.
If you do you will have peace of mind from now till death and beyond.
If you don't do it to yourself or to your loved ones you will have a terrible time when death comes
Knocking on your door.
Des/boo-ngoh
Before you say:
before you say I WANT A TEACHER!!!!
Say to yourself first and to your potential teacher what kind of student do your prepare yourself to be.
Just like you will apply for a job you will have to prepare your resume to apply to be accepted
as students.
NO it 's not that easy to say I WANT TO TEACHER and bingo the teacher appears.
That does not happen. a good teacher does not appear that way.
A good job will not accept you right Away just because you say: I WANT A JOB!!!!!.
Nowadays there are so many false teachers that jump in to respond to I WANT A TEACHER.
Just try yelling COME BUDDHA!!!! and see if He comes.
No just because you want, does not mean you will get, i mean quality stuff.
Go back to the basic and find out what it is to be a good student and then think how many qualities
you have to be a good student and then RESPECTFULLY submit your application.
That's just basic Buddhism.
Des/boo-ngoh
Say to yourself first and to your potential teacher what kind of student do your prepare yourself to be.
Just like you will apply for a job you will have to prepare your resume to apply to be accepted
as students.
NO it 's not that easy to say I WANT TO TEACHER and bingo the teacher appears.
That does not happen. a good teacher does not appear that way.
A good job will not accept you right Away just because you say: I WANT A JOB!!!!!.
Nowadays there are so many false teachers that jump in to respond to I WANT A TEACHER.
Just try yelling COME BUDDHA!!!! and see if He comes.
No just because you want, does not mean you will get, i mean quality stuff.
Go back to the basic and find out what it is to be a good student and then think how many qualities
you have to be a good student and then RESPECTFULLY submit your application.
That's just basic Buddhism.
Des/boo-ngoh
Go ahead and live:
If that's what make you fell happy truly happy:
- go ahead and live:
a life of lies
a life of denial
a life of disrespect
a life of disgrace
a life of heavy burden from attchments
a life of running away from reality
a life of care free, practice free, mindfulness free
a life of false pride
a life without teacher
a life without self discipline
a life of pleasure principles.
If you still think you are truly happy you do NOT nedd Buddhism.
Des/boo-ngoh
- go ahead and live:
a life of lies
a life of denial
a life of disrespect
a life of disgrace
a life of heavy burden from attchments
a life of running away from reality
a life of care free, practice free, mindfulness free
a life of false pride
a life without teacher
a life without self discipline
a life of pleasure principles.
If you still think you are truly happy you do NOT nedd Buddhism.
Des/boo-ngoh
Showing off old:
What does an old person has to show off if not his/her wisdom.
If he/she has not he/she has nothing to show off.
What does an old person has to show off if not how he/she lives his/her life.
If he/she has not he/she has nothing to show off.
What does an old person has to show off except what he/she possesses.
Then that old person has nothing really to show off.
Des/boo-ngoh
If he/she has not he/she has nothing to show off.
What does an old person has to show off if not how he/she lives his/her life.
If he/she has not he/she has nothing to show off.
What does an old person has to show off except what he/she possesses.
Then that old person has nothing really to show off.
Des/boo-ngoh
Like or not
Whether You like Buddhism or not Buddhism is Right in front of you. If you accept it You accept Karma & you will be A good Buddhist. If you don't accept it The loss is yours & you could not have become A good Buddhist Anyway. Des boo ngoh
Like or not
Whether You like Buddhism or not Buddhism is Right in front of you. If you accept it You accept Karma & you will be A good Buddhist. If you don't accept it The loss is yours & you could not have become A good Buddhist Anyway. Des boo ngoh
Determine Environment
If you are determined The Environment Changes For you. If you are not determined You blame on The Environment For your failure To succeed.Des boo ngoh
Have the right pride
Have the right pride of being a member of the sangha.
Have the right sense of privilege of being a part of the sangha.
Do not think for a moment it is easy to have such a sangha.
So not misuse the sangha and hel protect it from others from misusing it.
Your contribution is always welcome but please contribute with respect to others and to the e-Temple.
Learn to ahev respect for yourself and others and have the right pride of knowing and having undertaken the basics of Buddhism.
Des/boo-ngoh
Have the right sense of privilege of being a part of the sangha.
Do not think for a moment it is easy to have such a sangha.
So not misuse the sangha and hel protect it from others from misusing it.
Your contribution is always welcome but please contribute with respect to others and to the e-Temple.
Learn to ahev respect for yourself and others and have the right pride of knowing and having undertaken the basics of Buddhism.
Des/boo-ngoh
Have the right pride
Have the right pride of being a member of the sangha.
Have the right sense of privilege of being a part of the sangha.
Do not think for a moment it is easy to have such a sangha.
So not misuse the sangha and hel protect it from others from misusing it.
Your contribution is always welcome but please contribute with respect to others and to the e-Temple.
Learn to ahev respect for yourself and others and have the right pride of knowing and having undertaken the basics of Buddhism.
Des/boo-ngoh
Have the right sense of privilege of being a part of the sangha.
Do not think for a moment it is easy to have such a sangha.
So not misuse the sangha and hel protect it from others from misusing it.
Your contribution is always welcome but please contribute with respect to others and to the e-Temple.
Learn to ahev respect for yourself and others and have the right pride of knowing and having undertaken the basics of Buddhism.
Des/boo-ngoh
Future of Clinical Buddhist Psychology:
lClinical Buddhist Psychology
includes the study and application of psychology for
the purpose of understanding, preventing,
and relieving psychologically-based distress
or dysfunction and to
promote subjective well-being
and personal development.
lCentral to its practice is
Cognitive Buddhist psychotherapy,
although clinical Buddhist psychologists
may also engage in research, teaching, consultation,
forensic testimony, and program development and
administration.
lClinical Buddhist psychology
can become ultimately
a regulated mental health profession
like other mental healt profession.
Des/boo-ngoh
includes the study and application of psychology for
the purpose of understanding, preventing,
and relieving psychologically-based distress
or dysfunction and to
promote subjective well-being
and personal development.
lCentral to its practice is
Cognitive Buddhist psychotherapy,
although clinical Buddhist psychologists
may also engage in research, teaching, consultation,
forensic testimony, and program development and
administration.
lClinical Buddhist psychology
can become ultimately
a regulated mental health profession
like other mental healt profession.
Des/boo-ngoh
Helping self:
Buddha helped Himself, first then others.
Therefore Buddhism is first to help yourself.
Buddha had the right attitude in helping Himself.
Buddhab studied well and studied as much as he could studied from His two teachers and he respected them so much and felt so much gratitude towards them that once he became Enlightened
He thought of paying back his two teachers with His Enlightenment. He looked for them and found out they died already.
Follow Buddha, help yourself but make sure you will study under teachers but still strive hard on your own and go as far as you can go if possible much more beyond your own teachers and when you succeed do not forget to repay your teachers and try find them out like Buddha did and hopefully your teachers will still be living.
Des/boo-ngoh
Therefore Buddhism is first to help yourself.
Buddha had the right attitude in helping Himself.
Buddhab studied well and studied as much as he could studied from His two teachers and he respected them so much and felt so much gratitude towards them that once he became Enlightened
He thought of paying back his two teachers with His Enlightenment. He looked for them and found out they died already.
Follow Buddha, help yourself but make sure you will study under teachers but still strive hard on your own and go as far as you can go if possible much more beyond your own teachers and when you succeed do not forget to repay your teachers and try find them out like Buddha did and hopefully your teachers will still be living.
Des/boo-ngoh
Work of Dharma
When you do the work of Dharma,be sure you justconcentrate on the work and on Dharma,with no expectation of return from the work or from anyone,or you will be setting yourself upfor your own suffering. When you do the work of Dharma,be sure you have no one to pleasebut Buddha-Dharma-Sangha,and you owe it all to them for your work of Dharma. When you do the work of Dharma,it is practice, practice, and practice,and you will see a transformation coming over you in time,and you will feel it,and others can see it, too. Whereas, if you don't do anything,you will be the same,and you will feel the same pain,and others can sense your pain, too. Even with compassion from others,you still will have the pain,and the pain will not lessenuntil you concentrate fullyon doing the work of Dharma. Yes, there is the power,and there is the transformationif you seriously devote doingthe work of Dharmawith no distractionand no expectationexcept the respect for the Buddha-Dharma-Sangha.~ Desmond Chiong
Should i or should i not:
Should I or should i not ...................................... and then you can fill in the blank.
This has always caused problems to people in general.
As a Buddhist this should not be a problem.
A Buddhist believes in Karma and what is brought in front of you is due to Karma.
What is brought in front of you is not good is not bad until you make it so.
So if you need a teacher who ever shows up in front of you is your teacher.
That teacher is not good is not bad until you have doubt and in trying to clear your own doubt
you are led astray in your judgement and thus good or bad.
What ever you want to eat what is in front of you is what you should eat. when you get up
and try to get something else that's when you eat the wrong stuff.
What ever you wish to do what is in front of you is what you should do.
When you start to re-think what else you should be doing then you do the wrong thing.
In meditation too what ever you are led to do in meditation is what you should do.
Once you start reading should it be vipassna or should it be samatha or just blank meditation
that's when you do the wrong meditation.
Asking someone else beside your own teacher, what you need to do is absurd.
No one else know what is your Karma.
Anyone likes to think he/she knows what is right for you but that person is wrong and you will be wrong too if you follow the advice.
You and your karma is unique andonly you can know.
No one else can.
So do what is in fornt of you.
If you do not like what is in front of you then run.
That's what you have been doing RUNNING.
Do you wish to keep RUNNING still?????
des/boo-ngoh
This has always caused problems to people in general.
As a Buddhist this should not be a problem.
A Buddhist believes in Karma and what is brought in front of you is due to Karma.
What is brought in front of you is not good is not bad until you make it so.
So if you need a teacher who ever shows up in front of you is your teacher.
That teacher is not good is not bad until you have doubt and in trying to clear your own doubt
you are led astray in your judgement and thus good or bad.
What ever you want to eat what is in front of you is what you should eat. when you get up
and try to get something else that's when you eat the wrong stuff.
What ever you wish to do what is in front of you is what you should do.
When you start to re-think what else you should be doing then you do the wrong thing.
In meditation too what ever you are led to do in meditation is what you should do.
Once you start reading should it be vipassna or should it be samatha or just blank meditation
that's when you do the wrong meditation.
Asking someone else beside your own teacher, what you need to do is absurd.
No one else know what is your Karma.
Anyone likes to think he/she knows what is right for you but that person is wrong and you will be wrong too if you follow the advice.
You and your karma is unique andonly you can know.
No one else can.
So do what is in fornt of you.
If you do not like what is in front of you then run.
That's what you have been doing RUNNING.
Do you wish to keep RUNNING still?????
des/boo-ngoh
Best Honesty:
Honest is not the best policy.
For Buddhist honesty is the only policy and and the only way to live.
I can tell without looking or seeing the face who lies.
I can tell looking across the cyber space who lies.
I can tell from even the silence who lies.
Those that lie sometimes don't know they lie.
Those that lie and know they lie keep on lying as a habit.
Only when they confess and repent can they get over their lying habit.
As long as you lie you are not keeping precepts.
As long as you still lie i can love you but only the Karua love or compassioan love
A love of those less than you are.
If you don't lie then i can love you the Metta love, or loivng kindness a love of people of same level.
When you do not accept what comes up in front of you, you lie too.
In this case you lie to yourself.
You cheat yourself.
You cheat Karma.
And that lie will catch up with you.
But that's not my business.
I should not be even saying it
That's your Karma business.
Go ahead and keep on lying and you can run but no thide from your own Karma.
Des/boo-ngoh
For Buddhist honesty is the only policy and and the only way to live.
I can tell without looking or seeing the face who lies.
I can tell looking across the cyber space who lies.
I can tell from even the silence who lies.
Those that lie sometimes don't know they lie.
Those that lie and know they lie keep on lying as a habit.
Only when they confess and repent can they get over their lying habit.
As long as you lie you are not keeping precepts.
As long as you still lie i can love you but only the Karua love or compassioan love
A love of those less than you are.
If you don't lie then i can love you the Metta love, or loivng kindness a love of people of same level.
When you do not accept what comes up in front of you, you lie too.
In this case you lie to yourself.
You cheat yourself.
You cheat Karma.
And that lie will catch up with you.
But that's not my business.
I should not be even saying it
That's your Karma business.
Go ahead and keep on lying and you can run but no thide from your own Karma.
Des/boo-ngoh
Start with the basic:
So you want to be a Buddhist.
Start with the basic.
[1] believe in the self first before you can think of no-self.
[2] believe in suffering first before you can learn from suffering.
[3] believe in things will last before you say to yourselfthis too shall pass.
[1] when you believe in self you have to believe you are made of your Karma not god but karma.
And the way Karma makes you is: it molds you through your six senses.
So tune in to your six senses and accept everything calmly, everything that comes through the six senses. that is YOU caused by your karma. that's the basic.
[2]believe in suffering. yes there is suffering, yes there is pain.
Do not run away.
Do not run to the doctors right away.
Do not run back to your parents because of pain in your marriage.
Do not complain to your boss there is pain in your job.
Pain has been there with you since you were born.
Do you hear the cries when you were born. that's pain.
Accept it.
Do NOT blame on any one or anything.
It's the suffering of life.
It's basic.
[3] yes Buddha is there; yes Dharma is there; yes Sangha is there. believe in that.
Accept that.
That's basic.
Do not jump and think you are way ahead in Buddhism and get all confused and start believing falsely, get rid of Buddha, chop the statue; get rid of Dharma throw away all Dharma books; get rid of Sangha and have no respect at all for the sangha, for nothing is impermanentnothing stays forever etc.
That is silly, the height of folly.
Get serious, be a good Buddhist, and start with the basic.
Then get a good teacher and get to the next step, the higher level Buddhism:
[1] there is no-self
[2] there is wisdom in suffering
[3] nothing is permanent.
Don't think Buddhism is so easy you can do it all by yourself with no teacher.
All the Buddhism you do by yourself is wrong, to say the least.
It's because you did not start with the basic.....
How much longer do you want to keep running away from the basic.
And yes do NOT use Buddhism to run more
Des/boo-ngoh
Start with the basic.
[1] believe in the self first before you can think of no-self.
[2] believe in suffering first before you can learn from suffering.
[3] believe in things will last before you say to yourselfthis too shall pass.
[1] when you believe in self you have to believe you are made of your Karma not god but karma.
And the way Karma makes you is: it molds you through your six senses.
So tune in to your six senses and accept everything calmly, everything that comes through the six senses. that is YOU caused by your karma. that's the basic.
[2]believe in suffering. yes there is suffering, yes there is pain.
Do not run away.
Do not run to the doctors right away.
Do not run back to your parents because of pain in your marriage.
Do not complain to your boss there is pain in your job.
Pain has been there with you since you were born.
Do you hear the cries when you were born. that's pain.
Accept it.
Do NOT blame on any one or anything.
It's the suffering of life.
It's basic.
[3] yes Buddha is there; yes Dharma is there; yes Sangha is there. believe in that.
Accept that.
That's basic.
Do not jump and think you are way ahead in Buddhism and get all confused and start believing falsely, get rid of Buddha, chop the statue; get rid of Dharma throw away all Dharma books; get rid of Sangha and have no respect at all for the sangha, for nothing is impermanentnothing stays forever etc.
That is silly, the height of folly.
Get serious, be a good Buddhist, and start with the basic.
Then get a good teacher and get to the next step, the higher level Buddhism:
[1] there is no-self
[2] there is wisdom in suffering
[3] nothing is permanent.
Don't think Buddhism is so easy you can do it all by yourself with no teacher.
All the Buddhism you do by yourself is wrong, to say the least.
It's because you did not start with the basic.....
How much longer do you want to keep running away from the basic.
And yes do NOT use Buddhism to run more
Des/boo-ngoh
Start with the basic:
So you want to be a Buddhist.
Start with the basic.
[1] believe in the self first before you can think of no-self.
[2] believe in suffering first before you can learn from suffering.
[3] believe in things will last before you say to yourselfthis too shall pass.
[1] when you believe in self you have to believe you are made of your Karma not god but karma.
And the way Karma makes you is: it molds you through your six senses.
So tune in to your six senses and accept everything calmly, everything that comes through the six senses. that is YOU caused by your karma. that's the basic.
[2]believe in suffering. yes there is suffering, yes there is pain.
Do not run away.
Do not run to the doctors right away.
Do not run back to your parents because of pain in your marriage.
Do not complain to your boss there is pain in your job.
Pain has been there with you since you were born.
Do you hear the cries when you were born. that's pain.
Accept it.
Do NOT blame on any one or anything.
It's the suffering of life.
It's basic.
[3] yes Buddha is there; yes Dharma is there; yes Sangha is there. believe in that.
Accept that.
That's basic.
Do not jump and think you are way ahead in Buddhism and get all confused and start believing falsely, get rid of Buddha, chop the statue; get rid of Dharma throw away all Dharma books; get rid of Sangha and have no respect at all for the sangha, for nothing is impermanentnothing stays forever etc.
That is silly, the height of folly.
Get serious, be a good Buddhist, and start with the basic.
Then get a good teacher and get to the next step, the higher level Buddhism:
[1] there is no-self
[2] there is wisdom in suffering
[3] nothing is permanent.
Don't think Buddhism is so easy you can do it all by yourself with no teacher.
All the Buddhism you do by yourself is wrong, to say the least.
It's because you did not start with the basic.....
How much longer do you want to keep running away from the basic.
And yes do NOT use Buddhism to run more
Des/boo-ngoh
Start with the basic.
[1] believe in the self first before you can think of no-self.
[2] believe in suffering first before you can learn from suffering.
[3] believe in things will last before you say to yourselfthis too shall pass.
[1] when you believe in self you have to believe you are made of your Karma not god but karma.
And the way Karma makes you is: it molds you through your six senses.
So tune in to your six senses and accept everything calmly, everything that comes through the six senses. that is YOU caused by your karma. that's the basic.
[2]believe in suffering. yes there is suffering, yes there is pain.
Do not run away.
Do not run to the doctors right away.
Do not run back to your parents because of pain in your marriage.
Do not complain to your boss there is pain in your job.
Pain has been there with you since you were born.
Do you hear the cries when you were born. that's pain.
Accept it.
Do NOT blame on any one or anything.
It's the suffering of life.
It's basic.
[3] yes Buddha is there; yes Dharma is there; yes Sangha is there. believe in that.
Accept that.
That's basic.
Do not jump and think you are way ahead in Buddhism and get all confused and start believing falsely, get rid of Buddha, chop the statue; get rid of Dharma throw away all Dharma books; get rid of Sangha and have no respect at all for the sangha, for nothing is impermanentnothing stays forever etc.
That is silly, the height of folly.
Get serious, be a good Buddhist, and start with the basic.
Then get a good teacher and get to the next step, the higher level Buddhism:
[1] there is no-self
[2] there is wisdom in suffering
[3] nothing is permanent.
Don't think Buddhism is so easy you can do it all by yourself with no teacher.
All the Buddhism you do by yourself is wrong, to say the least.
It's because you did not start with the basic.....
How much longer do you want to keep running away from the basic.
And yes do NOT use Buddhism to run more
Des/boo-ngoh
(Tipitaka) pantai Kisah Pendengar-pendengar Dhamma
Pada suatu kesempatan, sekumpulan orang dari Savatthi membuatpersembahan khusus kepada para bhikkhu secara bersama-sama, dan merekameminta para bhikkhu memberikan khotbah Dhamma sepanjang malam ditempat mereka. Pada saat itu, banyak di antara para pendengar tidakdapat duduk sepanjang malam, dan mereka pulang lebih cepat; beberapaorang duduk dengan pemikiran yang mendalam sepanjang malam, tetapikebanyakan dari mereka pada waktu itu mengantuk dan setengah tidur.Hanya sedikit orang yang mendengarkan dengan penuh perhatian khotbahDhamma itu.Pagi hari para bhikkhu berkata kepada Sang Buddha tentang apa yangterjadi pada malam hari sebelumnya, Beliau menjawab, "Kebanyakan orangterikat pada dunia ini, hanya sedikit orang yang dapat mencapai pantaiseberang (nibbana)".Kemudian Sang Buddha membabarkan syair 85 dan 86 berikut ini:Di antara umat manusia hanya sedikit yang dapat mencapai pantai seberang,sebagian besar hanya berjalan hilir mudik di tepi sebelah sini.Mereka yang hidup sesuai dengan Dhamma yang telah diterangkan dengan baik,akan mencapai Pantai Seberang,menyeberangi alam kematian yang sangat sukar diseberangi.
Filsafat Budha
Jika mampu, tolonglah mereka. Jika tidak mampu, paling tidak janganlah menyakiti mereka
Orang yang rendah hati dan ingin belajar dapat lebih maju
Orang yang pendapatnya masuk akal tidak pernah bertindak kasar
Rigpa Glimpse of the Day On that momentous night when Buddha attained enlightenment, it is said that he went through several different stages of awakening. In the first, with his mind “collected and purified, without blemish, free of defilements, grown soft, workable, fixed and immovable,” he turned his attention to the recollection of his previous lives. This is what he tells us of that experience: I remembered many, many former existences I had passed through: one, two births, three, four, five . . . fifty, one hundred . . . a hundred thousand, in various world-periods. I knew everything about these various births: where they had taken place, what my name had been, which family I had been born into, and what I had done. I lived through again the good and bad fortune of each life and my death in each life, and came to life again and again. In this way I recalled innumerable previous existences with their exact characteristic features and circumstances. This knowledge I gained in the first watch of the night.
A lifetime without love is of no accountLove is the water of lifeDrink it down with heart and soul.Rumi
Orang yang rendah hati dan ingin belajar dapat lebih maju
Orang yang pendapatnya masuk akal tidak pernah bertindak kasar
Rigpa Glimpse of the Day On that momentous night when Buddha attained enlightenment, it is said that he went through several different stages of awakening. In the first, with his mind “collected and purified, without blemish, free of defilements, grown soft, workable, fixed and immovable,” he turned his attention to the recollection of his previous lives. This is what he tells us of that experience: I remembered many, many former existences I had passed through: one, two births, three, four, five . . . fifty, one hundred . . . a hundred thousand, in various world-periods. I knew everything about these various births: where they had taken place, what my name had been, which family I had been born into, and what I had done. I lived through again the good and bad fortune of each life and my death in each life, and came to life again and again. In this way I recalled innumerable previous existences with their exact characteristic features and circumstances. This knowledge I gained in the first watch of the night.
A lifetime without love is of no accountLove is the water of lifeDrink it down with heart and soul.Rumi
Jumat, 14 Maret 2008
Cermin: Kehidupan Sang Elang
Elang merupakan jenis unggas yang mempunyai umur paling panjang didunia.Umurnya dapat mencapai 70 tahun. Tetapi untuk mencapai umur sepanjang ituseekor elang harus membuat suatu keputusan yang sangat berat pada umurnyayang ke 40.Ketika elang berumur 40 tahun, cakarnya mulai menua, paruhnya menjadipanjang dan membengkok hingga hampir menyentuh dadanya. Sayapnya menjadisangat berat karena bulunya telah tumbuh lebat dan tebal, sehingga sangatmenyulitkan waktu terbang. Pada saat itu, elang hanya mempunyai dua pilihan:Menunggu kematian, atau mengalami suatu proses transformasi yang sangatmenyakitkan --- suatu proses transformasi yang panjang selama 150 hari.Untuk melakukan transformasi itu, elang harus berusaha keras terbang keatas puncak gunung untuk kemudian membuat sarang di tepi jurang , berhentidan tinggal disana selama proses transformasi berlangsung.Pertama-tama, elang harus mematukkan paruhnya pada batu karang sampai paruhtersebut terlepas dari mulutnya, kemudian berdiam beberapa lama menunggutumbuhnya paruh baru. Dengan paruh yang baru tumbuh itu, ia harus mencabutsatu persatu cakar-cakarnya dan ketika cakar yang baru sudah tumbuh, ia akanmencabut bulu badannya satu demi satu. Suatu proses yang panjang danmenyakitkan. Lima bulan kemudian, bulu-bulu elang yang baru sudah tumbuh.Elang mulai dapat terbang kembali.Dengan paruh dan cakar baru, elang tersebut mulai menjalani 30 tahunkehidupan barunya dengan penuh energi!Dalam kehidupan kita ini, kadang kita juga harus melakukan suatu keputusanyang sangat berat untuk memulai sesuatu proses pembaharuan. Kita harusberani dan mau membuang semua kebiasaan lama yang mengikat, meskipunkebiasaan lama itu adalah sesuatu yang menyenangkan dan melenakan.Kita harus rela untuk meninggalkan perilaku lama kita agar kita dapat mulaiterbang lagi menggapai tujuan yang lebih baik di masa depan. Hanya bila kitabersedia melepaskan beban lama, membuka diri untuk belajar hal-hal yangbaru, kita baru mempunyai kesempatan untuk mengembangkan kemampuan kita yangterpendam, mengasah keahlian baru dan menatap masa depan dengan penuhkeyakinan.Halangan terbesar untuk berubah terletak di dalam diri sendiri dan andalahsang penguasa atas diri anda. Jangan biarkan masa lalu menumpulkan asa danmelayukan semangat kita. Anda adalah elang-elang itu.Perubahan pasti terjadi. Maka itu, kita harus berubah
Filsafat Budha
ZazenGood Morning Everyone, One should not sit without a time keeper. If not in a Zendo with a timekeeper, use a timer. I use my wrist watch alarms. Each period is 25 minutes. You can use less or more, but to sit without a time limit allows for Sloppy Zen. Sloppy Zen is Zen without discipline. Sloppy Zen is anything goes Zen. Last night at Zen Judaism, a participant talked about his experience of "seeing the light" by which I believe he meant, slipping into a deeply relaxed state where time essentially stopped. This is one type of meditation practice, but it is not zazen. If our aim in our practice is to relax, allow stress to dissipate from our mind-mind, then this "seeing the light" meditation is useful. If our aim, however, is to be present regardless of environmental or internal factors and without getting stuck on them or by them, this is not effective practice. Zazen, Shikantaza Zen, is the Zen of the Buddhas and ancestors. It is what Master Dogen calls "practice realization" and goes beyond just sitting on a cushion. To practice shikantaza, just sit with an open mind, a mind that refuses to grasp or seek. A timer is essential because we cannot be thinking about when to stop. Our practice period is predetermined. Please enjoy this practice. Be well.
Rigpa Glimpse of the Day The nature of everything is illusory and ephemeral,Those with dualistic perception regard suffering as happiness, Like they who lick the honey from a razor’s edge. How pitiful are they who cling strongly to concrete reality: Turn your attention within, my heart friends. ~ NYOSHUL KHEN RINPOCHE
Rigpa Glimpse of the Day The nature of everything is illusory and ephemeral,Those with dualistic perception regard suffering as happiness, Like they who lick the honey from a razor’s edge. How pitiful are they who cling strongly to concrete reality: Turn your attention within, my heart friends. ~ NYOSHUL KHEN RINPOCHE
Buddhism Is for the Strong-Minded
Thanks to the Buddha-Dharma-Sangha,there is Buddhismfor those strong-minded people. That's technical jargonfor those who are commonly calledstubborn people. These people are attracted to Buddhism,and Buddhism has the unique power to keep themand shield them from problemsthey could have gotten themselves intoif they did not find Buddhism. Buddhism is such a challenging pursuitthat it wears down these stubborn peopleonce they embark on the Way.By and by, their stubbornness wears thin,and they begin to look like a jewel. In point of fact, if you look back at their historythat jewel was indeed covered with a thick layer of stubbornness dirt.~ Desmond Chiong
No I am not
No I am no What you think I am. No I am not What you want me to be. No I am not What I should be. Yes I just want to be free Liberated. Yes I am what I am Non self. You can't make anything Out of non-self. Des boo ngoh
No Path
There is no Path To Enlightenment. If there were a Path Buddha would have said it. Nirvana A place of no-description Can be reached Only by no Path. If Nirvana Can be described in words The Path that leads to it Can also be said In words. Silly Some look for a Path To Nirvana A place beyond words. Des boo ngoh
Who is your Buddhist teacher:
Buddhists have vowed to speak the Truth.
Buddhists have vowed too to make effort to know the Truth and speak out the Truth.
You should attempt to do the same if you wish to be a good Buddhist.
In Truth who ever you have learned or are learning or will learn Buddhism from
are your teachers.
And your teachers started all the way above with the historical Sakyamuni Buddha because
you still learn from His teachings about the Dharma.
And successively who ever you have learned or learning or will learn Buddhism from are your teacher.
Though you may have the most respect for the Buddha [and you should] you should have similar respect even if it is at a lesser degree for all the teachers you learn Buddhism from.
You are not paying money to learn Buddhism. you are paying respect to learn Buddhism.
If you don't pay money you don't buy anything. if you do not pay respect you don't learn anything
in Buddhism.
Whether you learn in silence or not the teachers are still your teachers. if your mind knows no respect i will wonder how that state of mind of yours is.
No, Buddhist teachers do not demand or expect respect.
Buddha never demended or expected Respect.
All His disciples, Sariputra, Mahakasapa, Bodhidharma, Sayadaws of Burma etc do not demand
or expect respect.
But without respect, the students of Buddhism will learn no Buddhism from the past teachers or the present teachers.
Of course you have a choice.
Whether or not you wish to pay respect to your teachers in Buddhism is your choice.
No one will know your choice except your own brain mind and your Karma.
Your brain mind is what you have to live with till you die and your brain kind knows
if you have been truthful or not. Karma is what you will live with till you die and beyond and Karma will treat you accprdingly in accordance with your own honesty.
What you do with your brain mind and your Karma is your choice, a free choice.
No one can pressure you to do what you must do freely.
In the traditional Buddhism respect is paid to Buddha Dharma Sangha Teachers Parents,
in that order if you wish to practice the right Buddhism.
des/boo-ngoh
Buddhists have vowed too to make effort to know the Truth and speak out the Truth.
You should attempt to do the same if you wish to be a good Buddhist.
In Truth who ever you have learned or are learning or will learn Buddhism from
are your teachers.
And your teachers started all the way above with the historical Sakyamuni Buddha because
you still learn from His teachings about the Dharma.
And successively who ever you have learned or learning or will learn Buddhism from are your teacher.
Though you may have the most respect for the Buddha [and you should] you should have similar respect even if it is at a lesser degree for all the teachers you learn Buddhism from.
You are not paying money to learn Buddhism. you are paying respect to learn Buddhism.
If you don't pay money you don't buy anything. if you do not pay respect you don't learn anything
in Buddhism.
Whether you learn in silence or not the teachers are still your teachers. if your mind knows no respect i will wonder how that state of mind of yours is.
No, Buddhist teachers do not demand or expect respect.
Buddha never demended or expected Respect.
All His disciples, Sariputra, Mahakasapa, Bodhidharma, Sayadaws of Burma etc do not demand
or expect respect.
But without respect, the students of Buddhism will learn no Buddhism from the past teachers or the present teachers.
Of course you have a choice.
Whether or not you wish to pay respect to your teachers in Buddhism is your choice.
No one will know your choice except your own brain mind and your Karma.
Your brain mind is what you have to live with till you die and your brain kind knows
if you have been truthful or not. Karma is what you will live with till you die and beyond and Karma will treat you accprdingly in accordance with your own honesty.
What you do with your brain mind and your Karma is your choice, a free choice.
No one can pressure you to do what you must do freely.
In the traditional Buddhism respect is paid to Buddha Dharma Sangha Teachers Parents,
in that order if you wish to practice the right Buddhism.
des/boo-ngoh
Delayed Ordination
It happened again. This week a lovely woman, a long-term
student and fellow sci-fi geek applied for monastic
ordination. And again I had to postpone the application
process of yet another enthusiastic candidate. But why?
Why was her application process postponed? Because we
have no monastery for her to ordain into. As a Lama, as a
teacher it is my responsibility to:
house,
clothe,
feed
and train
all who ordain with me.
It is not that I’ve grown weary of living BELOW the poverty
level, it’s not that I seek the prestige of founding, supporting
and nurturing San Diego’s first Buddha of Compassion
Monastery and Meditation center, it’s that earnest men and
woman have sought my help to become:
nuns and monks,
high Bodhisattvas
and the next generation of teachers who will instruct
other’s in the non-sectarian path of devotion to the
Buddha of Compassion.
This is the task that has been set before me. That is why I
offer audio CDs in exchange for donations. That is why I
offer telephone-teachings in exchange for donations. Folks
already receive my FREE:
essays,
prayer-books,
guided meditations
and devotional images.
Why do they choose to make donations to my work?
Because we all long to be a part of something important,
and greater then ourselves that will actually outlive us. We
don’t all have the desire, means or opportunity to study,
practice, accomplish or teach the Buddha’s path; BUT by
financially helping those who do; we get to be apart of
something truly beautiful.
THIS month we’re sending out the “Mastering the Mani” course – for a significant discount. If you don’t have it
already, make sure you don’t get left behind.
Race over to
http://www.lamajigme.com/Mastering-The-Mani.html
and make sure you place your order before the discount is
over. The race in ON. Don’t walk or trot. High-tail it.
Om Mani Padme Hum,
Lama Jigme Gyatso
Tibetan-Buddhist: Monk, Teacher, Healer and Tantrika
student and fellow sci-fi geek applied for monastic
ordination. And again I had to postpone the application
process of yet another enthusiastic candidate. But why?
Why was her application process postponed? Because we
have no monastery for her to ordain into. As a Lama, as a
teacher it is my responsibility to:
house,
clothe,
feed
and train
all who ordain with me.
It is not that I’ve grown weary of living BELOW the poverty
level, it’s not that I seek the prestige of founding, supporting
and nurturing San Diego’s first Buddha of Compassion
Monastery and Meditation center, it’s that earnest men and
woman have sought my help to become:
nuns and monks,
high Bodhisattvas
and the next generation of teachers who will instruct
other’s in the non-sectarian path of devotion to the
Buddha of Compassion.
This is the task that has been set before me. That is why I
offer audio CDs in exchange for donations. That is why I
offer telephone-teachings in exchange for donations. Folks
already receive my FREE:
essays,
prayer-books,
guided meditations
and devotional images.
Why do they choose to make donations to my work?
Because we all long to be a part of something important,
and greater then ourselves that will actually outlive us. We
don’t all have the desire, means or opportunity to study,
practice, accomplish or teach the Buddha’s path; BUT by
financially helping those who do; we get to be apart of
something truly beautiful.
THIS month we’re sending out the “Mastering the Mani” course – for a significant discount. If you don’t have it
already, make sure you don’t get left behind.
Race over to
http://www.lamajigme.com/Mastering-The-Mani.html
and make sure you place your order before the discount is
over. The race in ON. Don’t walk or trot. High-tail it.
Om Mani Padme Hum,
Lama Jigme Gyatso
Tibetan-Buddhist: Monk, Teacher, Healer and Tantrika
Good or Bad
No matter If you have done good Or bad Leave it As it is.
It will come back To you As your KARMA. Once you have done it, Good or bad, You can't stop The KARMA That has arisen From it. Let people talk What they like About what you did.Sometimes They do not know The Truth. That's because of Ignorance. Care more about How your Karma will be That will come to you For sure Later. Whether you have Proper respect Or not It Will come back To you As your KARMA.
Des boo ngoh
It will come back To you As your KARMA. Once you have done it, Good or bad, You can't stop The KARMA That has arisen From it. Let people talk What they like About what you did.Sometimes They do not know The Truth. That's because of Ignorance. Care more about How your Karma will be That will come to you For sure Later. Whether you have Proper respect Or not It Will come back To you As your KARMA.
Des boo ngoh
Chan Doctrine of No-Doctrine
The Southern school implicitly carried the paradoxes in Buddhism to their logical conclusion.
We looked earlier at how Buddhism's paradox of desire entialed the Boddhisattva ideal.
The Boddhisattva is one who at the last moment gives up the desire for Nirvana that has motivated all the earlier steps
—giving up the desire for sex, money, prestige, food, etc.
The Chan twist is this.
Why make the desire for Nirvana the last desire you give up?
Why not make it the first and avoid the search at the outset?
Then with classic Daoist logic,
they note that to give up the desire for Nirvana is to give up the distinction between Nirvana and Samsara.
To give up that distinction is to accept that we are already in Nirvana.
There is nothing to realize except that we are already enlightened.
Nirvana/samsara is Buddhism's counterpart of Nietzsche's real-world/apparent-world distinction.
When we give it up, we just turn our minds to practical everyday things
and to our natural or ordinary activities.
The logic leading to Chan is implicit in other aspects of Buddhist doctrine, too.
Consider another feature of the goal of Nirvana.
If it consists in the realization that in fact the ego or soul is an illusion and there is no continuing self,
then the Boddhisattva ideal is necessary.
Since there is no individual, there is no individual salvation.
Salvation must be total--all consciousness must be obliterated at once or none is.
The individual consciousness in an illusion
so its obliteration is not an accomplishment.
However when we focus on "all" consciousness we talk about all there is.
All there is, is Buddha-nature.
Once we are aware that the sum of illusions is Buddha-nature,
we see that there is nothing to change.
We have an awareness that is synonymous with enlightenment.
We no longer see illusions; we see only the Buddha nature
—which is identical with our self-nature.
This leaves us in ordinary activity, which we do with the fulfilling and tranquil attitude that
Zhuangzi's Butcher Ding exemplified
—a total absorption in our "art" where the distinction between ego and activity disappears.
The meditation school had always conceived of enlightenment as a kind of emptiness
in which all learning and concepts were set aside.
This ideal was close to that of Laozi who taught that in pursuit of Dao
one "subtracts" every day.
In principle, enlightenment relied on no scriptural learning.
Even the gradual enlightenment school saw the attainment of prajna-wisdom
as an uncommunicable insight
--but saw it as requiring long preparation via sitting in silent meditation.
The Sudden Enlightenment school, in Daoist fashion,
expressed its doctrine by also denying the distinction between praja-wisdom
(or satori, enlightenment, or any other term for the goal of meditation)
and ordinary consciousness.
Since there was nothing to achieve,
meditation could not be a means to it.
Thus they reinterpreted meditation to be the practical attitudes one takes
when one has abandoned the distinction.
Meditation became the ongoing awareness
that one is already Buddha,
not as a step toward getting there.
Where Mahayana had first made us imagine that our neighbor might be Buddha,
Chan teaches that we ourselves are.
Hu Shi cites an ancient summary of Chan doctrines which includes all the following sayings:
There is neither Truth [Dharma] to bind us, nor Buddhahood to attain.
Even if there be a life better than Nirvana, I say that that too is as unreal as a dream.
There is neither cultivation, nor no‑cultivation; there is neither Buddha, nor no‑Buddha.
The Tao is everywhere and in everything. Every idea, every movement of the body‑‑a cough, a sigh, a snapping of the fingers, or raising of the eyebrows is the functioning of the Buddha‑nature in man. Even love, anger, covetousness and hate are all functionings of the Buddha‑nature.
Let the mind be free. Never seek to do good, nor seek to do evil, nor seek to cultivate the Tao. Follow the course of Nature, and move freely. Forbid nothing, and do nothing. That is the way of the 'free man,' who is also called the 'super‑man.'
Hu Shi: "Chan Buddhism in China: Its History and Method."
If all true existence is Buddha nature,
then everything truly already is Buddha nature.
Hence there is nothing to change,
nothing to achieve, nothing to do.
Chan is the antithesis of Buddhism set right within the religion itself.
One familiar feature of Buddhism is its opposition to eating meat and its consequent classification of butchers as the lowest profession.
Chinese Chan is replete with stories of the enlightenment of Butchers
(no doubt reflecting the popularity of Zhuangzi's story of Cook Ting).
A proverb has it "He puts down his butcher's cleaver and he is Buddha."
It may seem puzzling that Chan,
which we think of as a model of Chinese Buddhist doctrine would be anti-Buddhist,
but let us look at the description given by a contemporary opponent of the Chan movement in China.
Nowadays, few men have the true faith. Those who travel the path of Ch'an go so far as to teach the people that there is neither Buddha, nor Law (dharma) and that neither sin nor goodness has any significance. When they preach these doctrines to the average men or men below the average, they are believed by all those who live their lives of worldly desires. Such ideas are accepted as great truths which sound so pleasing to the ear. And the people are attracted by them just as the moths in the night are drawn to their burning death by the candle light. . . Such doctrines are as injurious and dangerous as the devil (Mara) and the ancient heretics.
Liang Su (753-793) quoted by Hu Shi: "Chan Buddhism in China: Its History and Method."
Of course,
the paradoxical location of Chan within Buddhism is sound.
Its fueled its rejection of Buddhist orthodoxy by its internal contradictions and paradoxes.
They are indeed following Buddhist doctrine in abandoning it.
Feng Yu-lan,
a modern historian of Chinese philosophy,
agrees that Chan is not a single school but a widespread social phenomenon
with common "popular" traits.
He lists five views shared by nearly all the various original Chan schools in Tang China:
1. The Highest Truth is inexpressible.
2. Spiritual cultivation cannot be cultivated.
3. In the last resort, nothing is gained.
4. There is nothing much in Buddhist teaching.
5. In carrying water and chopping wood, therein lies the wonderful Dao.
These "doctrines" however, are expressed in the numerous stories that circulated as Chan worked its Daoist revolution on orthodox Buddhism. Let us look at some:
22. Happy Chinaman
Hotei, the laughing Buddha, is usually portrayed as a fat fellow carrying a linen sack.
This Hotei lived in the Tang dynasty. He had no desire to call himself a Zen master or to gather many disciples about him. Instead he walked the streets with a big sack into which he would put gifts of candy fruit, or doughnuts. These he would give to children who gathered around him in play. He established a kindergarten of the streets.
Whenever he met a Zen devotee he would extend his hand and say: "Give me one penny." And if anyone asked him to return to a temple to teach others, again he would reply: "Give me one penny."
Once as he was about his play‑work another Zen master happened along and inquired:
"What is the significance of Zen?"
Hotei immediately plopped his sack down on the ground in silent answer.
"Then," asked the other, "what is the actualization of Zen?"
At once the Happy Chinaman swung the sack over his shoulder and continued on his way.
3. Gutei's Finger
Gutei raised his finger whenever he was asked a question about Zen.
A boy attendant began to imitate him in this way.
When anyone asked the boy what his master had preached about, the boy would raise his finger.
Gutei heard about the boy's mischief. He seized him and cut off his finger. The boy cried and ran away. Gutei called and stopped him. When the boy turned his head to Gutei, Gutei raised up his own finger.
In that instant the boy was enlightened.
When Gutei was about to pass from this world he gathered his monks around him.
"I attained my finger‑Zen" he said, "from my teacher Tenryu, and in my whole life I could not exhaust it"'
Then he passed away.
8. Tozan'sThree Pound.
A monk asked Tozan when he was weighing some flax: "What is Buddha?"
Tozan said: "This flax weighs three pounds."
22. Kashapa's Preaching Sign
Ananda asked Kashapa: "Buddha gave you the golden‑woven robe of successorship. What else did he give you?"
Kashapa said:"Ananda."
Arlanda answered: "Yes, brother."
Said Kashapa: "Now you can take down my preaching sign and put up your own."
24. Without Words, Without Silence
A monk asked Fuketsu: "Without speaking without silence, how can you express the truth?"
Fuketsu observed: "I always remember springtime in southern China. The birds sing among innumerable kinds of fragrant flowers."
Selected from Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, by Paul Reps.
Here in my place, I have not a single truth to give you. My work is only to free men from their bondage, to heal their illness, and to beat the ghosts out of them.
Inwardly and outwardly, do try to kill everything that comes in your way. If the Buddha be in your way, kill the Buddha. If the Patriarchs be in your way, kill the Patriarchs. If the Arahats be in your way, kill them. If your father and mother be in your way, kill them too.... That is the only path to your liberation, your freedom.
"Be independent, and cling to nothing.... Even though Heaven and Earth are turned upside down, I doubt not. Even though all the Buddhas appear before my eyes, I have not the slightest gladness at heart. Even though the hellfire of all the three underworlds burst open before me, I have not the slightest fear."
"Recognize yourself! Wherefore do you seek here and seek there for your Buddhas and your Bodhisattvas? Wherefore do you seek to get out of the three worlds? O ye fools, where do you want to go?"
Hu Shi: "Chan Buddhism in China: Its History and Method." Attributed to Yixuan (died 866).
These stories illustrate the first maxim.
When asked for some content of Chan teaching or the point of Chan,
the master instead gives some perfectly mundane ordinary truth—or says nothing at all.
The following illustrate the second maxim: Spiritual cultivation cannot be cultivated.
34. Learning Is Not the Path
Nansen said: "Mind is not Buddha. Learning is not the path."
41. Bodhidharma Pacifies the Mind
Bodhidharma sits facing the wall. His future successor stands in the snow and presents his severed arm to Bodhidharma. He cries: "My mind is not pacified. Master, pacify my mind."
Bodhidharma says: "If you bring me that mind, I will pacify it for you."
The successor says: "When I search my mind I cannot hold it."
Bodhidharma says: "Then your mind is pacified already."
Mumon's comment: That broken‑toothed old Hindu, Bodhidharma, came thousands of miles over the sea from India to China as if he had something wonderful. He is like raising waves without wind. After he remained years in China he had only one disciple and that one lost his arrn and was deformed. Alas, ever since he has had brainless disciples.
Selected from Zen Flesh, Zen Bones.
The key to this second maxim already lay in Hui Neng's poem expressing his understanding
—there cannot be any dust (illusions) to be wiped away.
The mind is already clean and pure.
Beyond accepting our self-nature, there is nothing to do.
Of course, accepting our self nature means doing all kinds of ordinary things.
We do them with focused concentration and calmness we saw illustrated in the Zhuangzi.
In Japan, Zen became integral to a wide range of cultivated arts, most famously the martial arts, flower arranging and tea-making. However, any action can be a theatre for the expression of Chan/Zen meditation.
19. "Now, this being the case, in this method,what is meant by sitting in meditation? In this method, to sit means to be free from all obstacles, and externally not to allow thought to rise from the mind over any sphere of objects. To meditate means to realize the imperturbability of one's original nature. What is meant by meditation and calmness? Meditation means to be free from all characters externally, calmness means to be unpeturbed internally. If there are characters outside and the inner mind is not disturbed, one's original nature is naturally pure and calm. It is only because of the spheres of objects that there is contact, and contact leads to perturbation. There is calmness when one is free from characters and is not perturbed. There is meditation when one is externally free from characters, and there is calmness when one is internally undisturbed. Meditation and calmness mean that external meditation is attained and internal calmness is achieved. The Wei-mo-chieh [so-shuo] ching says, 'Immediately we become completely clear and recover our original mind.' The P'u-sa chieh ching (Scripture of Disciplines for Bodhisattvahood) says, 'We are originally pure in our self-nature.' Good and learned friends, realize that your self nature is naturally pure. cultivate and achieve for yourselves the Law-body of your self-nature. Follow the way of the Buddha yourselves. Act and achieve Buddhahood for yourselves."
Chan, Sourcebook p. 436
"What is meant by the Pure [Law] of the Buddha? Good and learned friends, our nature is originally pure. All dharmas lie in this self-nature. If we think of all kinds of evil deeds, we will practice evil. If we think of all kinds of good deeds, we will do good. Thus we know that all dharmas lie in one's self-nature. Self-nature is always pure, just as the sun and moon are always shining. It is only when they are obscured by clouds that there is brightness above but darkness below and the sun, the moon, and the stars cannot be seen. But when suddenly a gentle wind blows and scatters all clouds and fog, all phenomena are abundantly spread out before us, all appearing together.
Chan, Sourcebook p. 437
17. Stingy in Teaching
A young physician in Tokyo named Kusuda me a college friend who had been studying Zen.
The young doctor asked him what Zen was.
"I cannot tell you what it is," the friend replied, abut one thing is certain.
If you understand Zen, you will not be afraid to die."
That's fine," said Kusuda. "I will try it. Where can I find a teacher?"
"Go to the master Nan‑in," the friend told him.
So Kusuda went to call on Nan‑in. He carried a dagger nine and a half inches long to determine whether or not the teacher himself was afraid to die.
When Nan‑in saw Kusuda he exclaimed: "Hello friend. How are you? We haven't seen each other for a long time!"
This perplexed Kusuda, who replied: 'We have never met before."
"That's right," answered Nan‑in. "I mistook you for another physician who is receiving instruction here."
With such a beginning, Kusuda lost his chance to test the master, so reluctantly he asked if he might receive Zen instruction.
Nan‑in said: "Zen is not a difficult task. If you are a physician, treat your patients with kindness. That is Zen."
Kusuda visited Nan‑in three times. Each time Nan‑in told him the same thing. "A physician should not waste time around here. Go home and take care of your patients."
It was not yet clear to Kusuda how such teaching could remove the fear of death. So on his fourth visit he complained: "My friend told me that when one learns Zen one loses his fear of death. Each time I come here all you tell me is to take care of my patients. I know that much. If that is your so‑called Zen, I am not going to visit you any more."
Nan‑in smiled and patted the doctor. 'I have been too strict with you. Let me give you a koan." He presented Kusuda with Joshu's Mu to work over, which is the first mind‑enlightening problem in the book called The Gateless Gate.
Kusuda pondered this problem of Mu (NoThing) for two years. At length he thought he had reached certainty of mind. But his teacher commented: "You are not in yet."
Kusuda continued in concentration for another year and a half. His mind became placid. Problems dissolved. No‑Thing became the truth. He served his patients well and, without even knowing it, he was free from concern over life and death.
Then when he visited Nan‑in, his old teacher just smiled.
35. Every‑Minute Zen
Zen students are with their masters at least ten years before they presume to teach others. Nan‑in was visited by Tenno, who, having passed his apprenticeship, had become a teacher. The day happened to be rainy, so Tenno wore wooden clogs and carried an umbrella. After greeting him Nan‑in remarked: "'I suppose you left your wooden clogs in the vestibule. I want to know if your umbrella is on the right or left side of the clogs."
Tenno, confused, had no instant answer. He realized that he was unable to carry his Zen every minute. He became Nan‑in's pupil, and he studied six more years to accomplish his every‑minute Zen.
80. The Real Miracle
When Bankei was preaching at Ryumon temple, a Shinshu priest, who believed in salvation through the repetition of the name of the Buddha of Love, was jealous of his large audience and wanted to debate with him.
Bankei was in the midst of a talk when the priest appeared, but the fellow made such a disturbance that Bankei stopped his discourse and asked about the noise.
"The founder of our sect," boasted the priest, "had such miraculous powers that he held a brush in his hand on one bank of the river, his attendant held up a paper on the other bank, and the teacher wrote the holy name of Amida through the air. Can you do such a wonderful thing?"
Bankei replied lightly: "Perhaps your fox can perform that trick, but that is not the manner of Zen. My miracle is that when I feel hungry I eat, and when I feel thirsty I drink."
Selected from Zen Flesh, Zen Bones.
Fung's third precept is most famously expressed by the quasi-paradoxical Buddhist saying
about the transformation of mountains during enlightenment. Before one hears about Buddhism,
the mountains appear as mountains.
When one begins to study Buddhism (especially the doctrine of illusion) the Mountains seem to disappear.
After enlightenment, the mountains again appear as mountains.
In the last resort, nothing is gained.
"The Teacher said 'formerly . . . there was a certain disciple who stayed at the Square Pool Chan Monastery at Shi-fang in Han-zhou There he made a poem which he displayed widely and which read: "In the square pool there is a turtle-nosed serpent. Ridiculous indeed when you come to think of it! Who pulled out the serpent's head?"' . . . . "The Emperor said: 'Another line is needed.' 'It was only made with three lines,' replied the Teacher. 'Why only three lines?' asked the Emperor. The Teacher replied: 'His idea was to wait (for someone else to finish the poem). For two hundred years no one was able to add anything, but later an old monk of the Ta Sui (Monastery), named Yuan-qing after reading over the first three lines, made a statement of his own which said: "In the square pool there is a turtle-nosed serpent" ' " (28.663).
Fung p. 401
18. A Parable
Buddha told a parable in a sutra:
A man traveling across a field encountered a tiger. He fled, the tiger after him. Coming to a precipice, he caught hold of the root of a wild vine and swung himself down over the edge. The tiger sniffed at him from above. Trembling, the man looked down to where, far below, another tiger was waiting to eat him. Only the vine sustained him.
Two mice, one white and one black, little by little started to gnaw away the vine. The man saw a luscious strawberry near him. Grasping the vine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other. How sweet it tasted!
34. A Smile in His Lifetime
Mokugen was never known to smile until his last day on earth. When his time came to pass away he said to his faithful ones: "You have studied under me for more than ten years. Show me your real interpretation of Zen. whoever expresses this most clearly shall be my successor and receive my robe and bowl."
Everyone watched Mokugen's severe face, but no one answered.
Encho, a disciple who had been with his teacher for a long time, moved near the bedside. He pushed forward the. medicine cup a few inches. This was his answer to the command.
The teacher's face became even more severe. "Is that all you understand?" he asked.
Encho reached out and moved the cup back again.
A beautiful smile broke over the features of Mokugen. "You rascal," he told Encho. "You worked with me ten years and have not yet seen my whole body. Take the robe and bowl. They belong to you."
70. The Most Valuable Thing in the World
Sozan, a Chinese Zen master, was asked by a student: "What is the most valuable thing in the world?"
The master replied: "The head of a dead cat."
"Why is the head of a dead cat the most valuable thing in the world?" inquired the student.
Sozan replied: "Because no one can name its price.
1. Joshu's Dog
A monk asked Joshu, a Chinese Zen master: "Has a dog Buddha‑nature or not?"
Joshu answered: "ç„¡ wulack."
Selections from Zen Flesh, Zen Bones.
As we saw, the Chan "theory" mainly takes Buddhist paradoxes to their logical conclusion—thus becoming Buddhism's own antithesis. The effect of eliminating the distinction between Nirvana and Samsara, between meditation and ordinary consciousness, is to abandon both the traditional Buddhist goal and the means to that goal, is that one rejects Buddhism.
There is nothing much in Buddhist teaching.
The best place to be is not to take it up at all! The next best is, having heard it, to ignore it. Chan affirmed ordinary consciousness in action. This rejection in China included rejecting a lot of Buddhist morality and deliberately flouting precepts in ways that would shock pious Buddhists.
The following are from "Recorded conversations of I-Hsüan"
9. When the Master was among Huang‑po's congregation, his conduct was very pure. The senior monk said with a sigh, Although he is young, he is different from the rest!" He then asked, "Sir, how long have you been here?"
The Master said, "Three years."
The senior monk said, "Have you ever gone to the head monk (Huangpo) and asked him questions?"
The Master said, "I have not. I wouldn't know what to ask."
The senior monk said, "Why don't you go and ask the head monk what the basic idea of the Law preached by the Buddha clearly is?"
The Master went and asked the question. But before he finished, Huang‑po beat him. When he came back, the senior monk asked him how the conversation went. The Master said, "Before I finished my question, he already had beaten me. I don't understand The senior monk told him to go and ask again.
The Master did and Huang‑po beat him again. In this way he asked three times and got beaten three times.... Huang‑po said, "If you go to Ta‑yu's place, he will tell you why."
The Master went to Ta‑yu, who asked him, "Where have you come from?"
The Master said, "I am from Huang‑po's place."
Ta‑yu said, "What did Huang‑po have to say?"
The Master said, "I asked three times about the basic idea of the Law preached by the Buddha and I was beaten three times. I don't know if I was mistaken."
Ta‑yu said, "Old kindly Huang‑po has been so earnest with you and you still came here to ask if you were mistaken!"
As soon as the Master heard this, he understood and said, "After all, there is not much in Huang‑po's Buddhism." (TSD, 47:504)
6. Question: "What is meant by the mind's not being different at different times?"
The Master answered, "As you deliberated to ask the question, your mind has already become different. Therefore the nature and character of dharmas have become differentiated. Seekers of the Way, do not make any mistake. All mundane and supramundane dharmas have no nature of their own. Nor have they the nature to be produced [by causes]. They have only the name Emptiness, but even the name is empty. Why do you take this useless name as real? You are greatly mistaken! . . . If you seek after the Buddha, you will be taken over by the devil of the Buddha, and if you seek after the patriarch, you will be taken over by the devil of the patriarch. If you seek after anything, you will always suffer. It is better not to do anything. Some unworthy priests tell their disciples that the Buddha is the ultimate, and that he went through three infinitely long periods, fulfilled his practice, and then achieved Buddhahood. Seekers of the Way, if you say that the Buddha is the ultimate, why did he die lying down sidewise in the forest in Kusinagara after having lived for eighty years? Where is he now?. . . Those who truly seek after the Law will have no use for the Buddha. They will have no use for the bodhisattvas or arhats. And they will have no use for any excellence in the Three Worlds (of desires, matter, and pure spirit). They will be distinctly free and not bound by material things. Heaven and earth may turn upside down but I shall have no more uncertainty. The Buddhas of the ten cardinal directions may appear before me and I shall not feel happy for a single moment. The three paths (of fire, blood, and swords) to hell may suddenly appear, but I shall not be afraid for a single moment. Why? Because I know that all dharmas are devoid of characters. They exist when there is transformation [in the mind] and cease to exist when there is no transformation. The Three Worlds are but the mind, and all dharmas are consciousness only. Therefore [they are all] dreams, illusions, and flowers in the air. What is the use of grasping and seizing them?. . .
"I have no trick to give people. I merely cure disease and set people free.... My views are few. I merely put on clothing and eat meals as usual, and pass my time without doing anything. You people coming from the various directions have all made up your minds to seek the Buddha, seek the Law, seek emancipation, and seek to leave the Three Worlds. Crazy people! If you want to leave the Three Worlds, where can you go? 'Buddha' and 'patriarchs' are terms of praise and also bondage. Do you want to know where the Three Worlds are? They are right in your mind which is now listening to the Law." (TSD, 47:499‑500)
5. The Master told the congregation: "Seekers of the Way. In Buddhism no effort is necessary. All one has to do is to do nothing, except to move his bowels, urinate, put on his clothing, eat his meals, and lie down if he is tired. The stupid will laugh at him, but the wise one will understand. An ancient person said, 'One who makes effort externally is surely a fool.'" (TSD, 47:498)
2. The Master ascended the hall and said, "Over a lump of reddish flesh there sits a pure man who transcends and is no longer attached to any class of Buddhas or sentient beings. He comes in and out of your sense organs all the time. If you are not yet clear about it, look, look!"
At that point a monk came forward and asked, "What is a pure man who does not belong to any class of Buddhas or sentient beings?" The Master came right down from his chair and, taking hold of the monk, exclaimed, "Speak! Speak!" As the monk deliberated what to say, the Master let him go, saying, "What dried human excrement‑removing stick is the pure man who does not belong to any class of Buddhas or sentient beings!" Thereupon he returned to his room. (TSD, 47:496)
Chan Sourcebook
We looked earlier at how Buddhism's paradox of desire entialed the Boddhisattva ideal.
The Boddhisattva is one who at the last moment gives up the desire for Nirvana that has motivated all the earlier steps
—giving up the desire for sex, money, prestige, food, etc.
The Chan twist is this.
Why make the desire for Nirvana the last desire you give up?
Why not make it the first and avoid the search at the outset?
Then with classic Daoist logic,
they note that to give up the desire for Nirvana is to give up the distinction between Nirvana and Samsara.
To give up that distinction is to accept that we are already in Nirvana.
There is nothing to realize except that we are already enlightened.
Nirvana/samsara is Buddhism's counterpart of Nietzsche's real-world/apparent-world distinction.
When we give it up, we just turn our minds to practical everyday things
and to our natural or ordinary activities.
The logic leading to Chan is implicit in other aspects of Buddhist doctrine, too.
Consider another feature of the goal of Nirvana.
If it consists in the realization that in fact the ego or soul is an illusion and there is no continuing self,
then the Boddhisattva ideal is necessary.
Since there is no individual, there is no individual salvation.
Salvation must be total--all consciousness must be obliterated at once or none is.
The individual consciousness in an illusion
so its obliteration is not an accomplishment.
However when we focus on "all" consciousness we talk about all there is.
All there is, is Buddha-nature.
Once we are aware that the sum of illusions is Buddha-nature,
we see that there is nothing to change.
We have an awareness that is synonymous with enlightenment.
We no longer see illusions; we see only the Buddha nature
—which is identical with our self-nature.
This leaves us in ordinary activity, which we do with the fulfilling and tranquil attitude that
Zhuangzi's Butcher Ding exemplified
—a total absorption in our "art" where the distinction between ego and activity disappears.
The meditation school had always conceived of enlightenment as a kind of emptiness
in which all learning and concepts were set aside.
This ideal was close to that of Laozi who taught that in pursuit of Dao
one "subtracts" every day.
In principle, enlightenment relied on no scriptural learning.
Even the gradual enlightenment school saw the attainment of prajna-wisdom
as an uncommunicable insight
--but saw it as requiring long preparation via sitting in silent meditation.
The Sudden Enlightenment school, in Daoist fashion,
expressed its doctrine by also denying the distinction between praja-wisdom
(or satori, enlightenment, or any other term for the goal of meditation)
and ordinary consciousness.
Since there was nothing to achieve,
meditation could not be a means to it.
Thus they reinterpreted meditation to be the practical attitudes one takes
when one has abandoned the distinction.
Meditation became the ongoing awareness
that one is already Buddha,
not as a step toward getting there.
Where Mahayana had first made us imagine that our neighbor might be Buddha,
Chan teaches that we ourselves are.
Hu Shi cites an ancient summary of Chan doctrines which includes all the following sayings:
There is neither Truth [Dharma] to bind us, nor Buddhahood to attain.
Even if there be a life better than Nirvana, I say that that too is as unreal as a dream.
There is neither cultivation, nor no‑cultivation; there is neither Buddha, nor no‑Buddha.
The Tao is everywhere and in everything. Every idea, every movement of the body‑‑a cough, a sigh, a snapping of the fingers, or raising of the eyebrows is the functioning of the Buddha‑nature in man. Even love, anger, covetousness and hate are all functionings of the Buddha‑nature.
Let the mind be free. Never seek to do good, nor seek to do evil, nor seek to cultivate the Tao. Follow the course of Nature, and move freely. Forbid nothing, and do nothing. That is the way of the 'free man,' who is also called the 'super‑man.'
Hu Shi: "Chan Buddhism in China: Its History and Method."
If all true existence is Buddha nature,
then everything truly already is Buddha nature.
Hence there is nothing to change,
nothing to achieve, nothing to do.
Chan is the antithesis of Buddhism set right within the religion itself.
One familiar feature of Buddhism is its opposition to eating meat and its consequent classification of butchers as the lowest profession.
Chinese Chan is replete with stories of the enlightenment of Butchers
(no doubt reflecting the popularity of Zhuangzi's story of Cook Ting).
A proverb has it "He puts down his butcher's cleaver and he is Buddha."
It may seem puzzling that Chan,
which we think of as a model of Chinese Buddhist doctrine would be anti-Buddhist,
but let us look at the description given by a contemporary opponent of the Chan movement in China.
Nowadays, few men have the true faith. Those who travel the path of Ch'an go so far as to teach the people that there is neither Buddha, nor Law (dharma) and that neither sin nor goodness has any significance. When they preach these doctrines to the average men or men below the average, they are believed by all those who live their lives of worldly desires. Such ideas are accepted as great truths which sound so pleasing to the ear. And the people are attracted by them just as the moths in the night are drawn to their burning death by the candle light. . . Such doctrines are as injurious and dangerous as the devil (Mara) and the ancient heretics.
Liang Su (753-793) quoted by Hu Shi: "Chan Buddhism in China: Its History and Method."
Of course,
the paradoxical location of Chan within Buddhism is sound.
Its fueled its rejection of Buddhist orthodoxy by its internal contradictions and paradoxes.
They are indeed following Buddhist doctrine in abandoning it.
Feng Yu-lan,
a modern historian of Chinese philosophy,
agrees that Chan is not a single school but a widespread social phenomenon
with common "popular" traits.
He lists five views shared by nearly all the various original Chan schools in Tang China:
1. The Highest Truth is inexpressible.
2. Spiritual cultivation cannot be cultivated.
3. In the last resort, nothing is gained.
4. There is nothing much in Buddhist teaching.
5. In carrying water and chopping wood, therein lies the wonderful Dao.
These "doctrines" however, are expressed in the numerous stories that circulated as Chan worked its Daoist revolution on orthodox Buddhism. Let us look at some:
22. Happy Chinaman
Hotei, the laughing Buddha, is usually portrayed as a fat fellow carrying a linen sack.
This Hotei lived in the Tang dynasty. He had no desire to call himself a Zen master or to gather many disciples about him. Instead he walked the streets with a big sack into which he would put gifts of candy fruit, or doughnuts. These he would give to children who gathered around him in play. He established a kindergarten of the streets.
Whenever he met a Zen devotee he would extend his hand and say: "Give me one penny." And if anyone asked him to return to a temple to teach others, again he would reply: "Give me one penny."
Once as he was about his play‑work another Zen master happened along and inquired:
"What is the significance of Zen?"
Hotei immediately plopped his sack down on the ground in silent answer.
"Then," asked the other, "what is the actualization of Zen?"
At once the Happy Chinaman swung the sack over his shoulder and continued on his way.
3. Gutei's Finger
Gutei raised his finger whenever he was asked a question about Zen.
A boy attendant began to imitate him in this way.
When anyone asked the boy what his master had preached about, the boy would raise his finger.
Gutei heard about the boy's mischief. He seized him and cut off his finger. The boy cried and ran away. Gutei called and stopped him. When the boy turned his head to Gutei, Gutei raised up his own finger.
In that instant the boy was enlightened.
When Gutei was about to pass from this world he gathered his monks around him.
"I attained my finger‑Zen" he said, "from my teacher Tenryu, and in my whole life I could not exhaust it"'
Then he passed away.
8. Tozan'sThree Pound.
A monk asked Tozan when he was weighing some flax: "What is Buddha?"
Tozan said: "This flax weighs three pounds."
22. Kashapa's Preaching Sign
Ananda asked Kashapa: "Buddha gave you the golden‑woven robe of successorship. What else did he give you?"
Kashapa said:"Ananda."
Arlanda answered: "Yes, brother."
Said Kashapa: "Now you can take down my preaching sign and put up your own."
24. Without Words, Without Silence
A monk asked Fuketsu: "Without speaking without silence, how can you express the truth?"
Fuketsu observed: "I always remember springtime in southern China. The birds sing among innumerable kinds of fragrant flowers."
Selected from Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, by Paul Reps.
Here in my place, I have not a single truth to give you. My work is only to free men from their bondage, to heal their illness, and to beat the ghosts out of them.
Inwardly and outwardly, do try to kill everything that comes in your way. If the Buddha be in your way, kill the Buddha. If the Patriarchs be in your way, kill the Patriarchs. If the Arahats be in your way, kill them. If your father and mother be in your way, kill them too.... That is the only path to your liberation, your freedom.
"Be independent, and cling to nothing.... Even though Heaven and Earth are turned upside down, I doubt not. Even though all the Buddhas appear before my eyes, I have not the slightest gladness at heart. Even though the hellfire of all the three underworlds burst open before me, I have not the slightest fear."
"Recognize yourself! Wherefore do you seek here and seek there for your Buddhas and your Bodhisattvas? Wherefore do you seek to get out of the three worlds? O ye fools, where do you want to go?"
Hu Shi: "Chan Buddhism in China: Its History and Method." Attributed to Yixuan (died 866).
These stories illustrate the first maxim.
When asked for some content of Chan teaching or the point of Chan,
the master instead gives some perfectly mundane ordinary truth—or says nothing at all.
The following illustrate the second maxim: Spiritual cultivation cannot be cultivated.
34. Learning Is Not the Path
Nansen said: "Mind is not Buddha. Learning is not the path."
41. Bodhidharma Pacifies the Mind
Bodhidharma sits facing the wall. His future successor stands in the snow and presents his severed arm to Bodhidharma. He cries: "My mind is not pacified. Master, pacify my mind."
Bodhidharma says: "If you bring me that mind, I will pacify it for you."
The successor says: "When I search my mind I cannot hold it."
Bodhidharma says: "Then your mind is pacified already."
Mumon's comment: That broken‑toothed old Hindu, Bodhidharma, came thousands of miles over the sea from India to China as if he had something wonderful. He is like raising waves without wind. After he remained years in China he had only one disciple and that one lost his arrn and was deformed. Alas, ever since he has had brainless disciples.
Selected from Zen Flesh, Zen Bones.
The key to this second maxim already lay in Hui Neng's poem expressing his understanding
—there cannot be any dust (illusions) to be wiped away.
The mind is already clean and pure.
Beyond accepting our self-nature, there is nothing to do.
Of course, accepting our self nature means doing all kinds of ordinary things.
We do them with focused concentration and calmness we saw illustrated in the Zhuangzi.
In Japan, Zen became integral to a wide range of cultivated arts, most famously the martial arts, flower arranging and tea-making. However, any action can be a theatre for the expression of Chan/Zen meditation.
19. "Now, this being the case, in this method,what is meant by sitting in meditation? In this method, to sit means to be free from all obstacles, and externally not to allow thought to rise from the mind over any sphere of objects. To meditate means to realize the imperturbability of one's original nature. What is meant by meditation and calmness? Meditation means to be free from all characters externally, calmness means to be unpeturbed internally. If there are characters outside and the inner mind is not disturbed, one's original nature is naturally pure and calm. It is only because of the spheres of objects that there is contact, and contact leads to perturbation. There is calmness when one is free from characters and is not perturbed. There is meditation when one is externally free from characters, and there is calmness when one is internally undisturbed. Meditation and calmness mean that external meditation is attained and internal calmness is achieved. The Wei-mo-chieh [so-shuo] ching says, 'Immediately we become completely clear and recover our original mind.' The P'u-sa chieh ching (Scripture of Disciplines for Bodhisattvahood) says, 'We are originally pure in our self-nature.' Good and learned friends, realize that your self nature is naturally pure. cultivate and achieve for yourselves the Law-body of your self-nature. Follow the way of the Buddha yourselves. Act and achieve Buddhahood for yourselves."
Chan, Sourcebook p. 436
"What is meant by the Pure [Law] of the Buddha? Good and learned friends, our nature is originally pure. All dharmas lie in this self-nature. If we think of all kinds of evil deeds, we will practice evil. If we think of all kinds of good deeds, we will do good. Thus we know that all dharmas lie in one's self-nature. Self-nature is always pure, just as the sun and moon are always shining. It is only when they are obscured by clouds that there is brightness above but darkness below and the sun, the moon, and the stars cannot be seen. But when suddenly a gentle wind blows and scatters all clouds and fog, all phenomena are abundantly spread out before us, all appearing together.
Chan, Sourcebook p. 437
17. Stingy in Teaching
A young physician in Tokyo named Kusuda me a college friend who had been studying Zen.
The young doctor asked him what Zen was.
"I cannot tell you what it is," the friend replied, abut one thing is certain.
If you understand Zen, you will not be afraid to die."
That's fine," said Kusuda. "I will try it. Where can I find a teacher?"
"Go to the master Nan‑in," the friend told him.
So Kusuda went to call on Nan‑in. He carried a dagger nine and a half inches long to determine whether or not the teacher himself was afraid to die.
When Nan‑in saw Kusuda he exclaimed: "Hello friend. How are you? We haven't seen each other for a long time!"
This perplexed Kusuda, who replied: 'We have never met before."
"That's right," answered Nan‑in. "I mistook you for another physician who is receiving instruction here."
With such a beginning, Kusuda lost his chance to test the master, so reluctantly he asked if he might receive Zen instruction.
Nan‑in said: "Zen is not a difficult task. If you are a physician, treat your patients with kindness. That is Zen."
Kusuda visited Nan‑in three times. Each time Nan‑in told him the same thing. "A physician should not waste time around here. Go home and take care of your patients."
It was not yet clear to Kusuda how such teaching could remove the fear of death. So on his fourth visit he complained: "My friend told me that when one learns Zen one loses his fear of death. Each time I come here all you tell me is to take care of my patients. I know that much. If that is your so‑called Zen, I am not going to visit you any more."
Nan‑in smiled and patted the doctor. 'I have been too strict with you. Let me give you a koan." He presented Kusuda with Joshu's Mu to work over, which is the first mind‑enlightening problem in the book called The Gateless Gate.
Kusuda pondered this problem of Mu (NoThing) for two years. At length he thought he had reached certainty of mind. But his teacher commented: "You are not in yet."
Kusuda continued in concentration for another year and a half. His mind became placid. Problems dissolved. No‑Thing became the truth. He served his patients well and, without even knowing it, he was free from concern over life and death.
Then when he visited Nan‑in, his old teacher just smiled.
35. Every‑Minute Zen
Zen students are with their masters at least ten years before they presume to teach others. Nan‑in was visited by Tenno, who, having passed his apprenticeship, had become a teacher. The day happened to be rainy, so Tenno wore wooden clogs and carried an umbrella. After greeting him Nan‑in remarked: "'I suppose you left your wooden clogs in the vestibule. I want to know if your umbrella is on the right or left side of the clogs."
Tenno, confused, had no instant answer. He realized that he was unable to carry his Zen every minute. He became Nan‑in's pupil, and he studied six more years to accomplish his every‑minute Zen.
80. The Real Miracle
When Bankei was preaching at Ryumon temple, a Shinshu priest, who believed in salvation through the repetition of the name of the Buddha of Love, was jealous of his large audience and wanted to debate with him.
Bankei was in the midst of a talk when the priest appeared, but the fellow made such a disturbance that Bankei stopped his discourse and asked about the noise.
"The founder of our sect," boasted the priest, "had such miraculous powers that he held a brush in his hand on one bank of the river, his attendant held up a paper on the other bank, and the teacher wrote the holy name of Amida through the air. Can you do such a wonderful thing?"
Bankei replied lightly: "Perhaps your fox can perform that trick, but that is not the manner of Zen. My miracle is that when I feel hungry I eat, and when I feel thirsty I drink."
Selected from Zen Flesh, Zen Bones.
Fung's third precept is most famously expressed by the quasi-paradoxical Buddhist saying
about the transformation of mountains during enlightenment. Before one hears about Buddhism,
the mountains appear as mountains.
When one begins to study Buddhism (especially the doctrine of illusion) the Mountains seem to disappear.
After enlightenment, the mountains again appear as mountains.
In the last resort, nothing is gained.
"The Teacher said 'formerly . . . there was a certain disciple who stayed at the Square Pool Chan Monastery at Shi-fang in Han-zhou There he made a poem which he displayed widely and which read: "In the square pool there is a turtle-nosed serpent. Ridiculous indeed when you come to think of it! Who pulled out the serpent's head?"' . . . . "The Emperor said: 'Another line is needed.' 'It was only made with three lines,' replied the Teacher. 'Why only three lines?' asked the Emperor. The Teacher replied: 'His idea was to wait (for someone else to finish the poem). For two hundred years no one was able to add anything, but later an old monk of the Ta Sui (Monastery), named Yuan-qing after reading over the first three lines, made a statement of his own which said: "In the square pool there is a turtle-nosed serpent" ' " (28.663).
Fung p. 401
18. A Parable
Buddha told a parable in a sutra:
A man traveling across a field encountered a tiger. He fled, the tiger after him. Coming to a precipice, he caught hold of the root of a wild vine and swung himself down over the edge. The tiger sniffed at him from above. Trembling, the man looked down to where, far below, another tiger was waiting to eat him. Only the vine sustained him.
Two mice, one white and one black, little by little started to gnaw away the vine. The man saw a luscious strawberry near him. Grasping the vine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other. How sweet it tasted!
34. A Smile in His Lifetime
Mokugen was never known to smile until his last day on earth. When his time came to pass away he said to his faithful ones: "You have studied under me for more than ten years. Show me your real interpretation of Zen. whoever expresses this most clearly shall be my successor and receive my robe and bowl."
Everyone watched Mokugen's severe face, but no one answered.
Encho, a disciple who had been with his teacher for a long time, moved near the bedside. He pushed forward the. medicine cup a few inches. This was his answer to the command.
The teacher's face became even more severe. "Is that all you understand?" he asked.
Encho reached out and moved the cup back again.
A beautiful smile broke over the features of Mokugen. "You rascal," he told Encho. "You worked with me ten years and have not yet seen my whole body. Take the robe and bowl. They belong to you."
70. The Most Valuable Thing in the World
Sozan, a Chinese Zen master, was asked by a student: "What is the most valuable thing in the world?"
The master replied: "The head of a dead cat."
"Why is the head of a dead cat the most valuable thing in the world?" inquired the student.
Sozan replied: "Because no one can name its price.
1. Joshu's Dog
A monk asked Joshu, a Chinese Zen master: "Has a dog Buddha‑nature or not?"
Joshu answered: "ç„¡ wulack."
Selections from Zen Flesh, Zen Bones.
As we saw, the Chan "theory" mainly takes Buddhist paradoxes to their logical conclusion—thus becoming Buddhism's own antithesis. The effect of eliminating the distinction between Nirvana and Samsara, between meditation and ordinary consciousness, is to abandon both the traditional Buddhist goal and the means to that goal, is that one rejects Buddhism.
There is nothing much in Buddhist teaching.
The best place to be is not to take it up at all! The next best is, having heard it, to ignore it. Chan affirmed ordinary consciousness in action. This rejection in China included rejecting a lot of Buddhist morality and deliberately flouting precepts in ways that would shock pious Buddhists.
The following are from "Recorded conversations of I-Hsüan"
9. When the Master was among Huang‑po's congregation, his conduct was very pure. The senior monk said with a sigh, Although he is young, he is different from the rest!" He then asked, "Sir, how long have you been here?"
The Master said, "Three years."
The senior monk said, "Have you ever gone to the head monk (Huangpo) and asked him questions?"
The Master said, "I have not. I wouldn't know what to ask."
The senior monk said, "Why don't you go and ask the head monk what the basic idea of the Law preached by the Buddha clearly is?"
The Master went and asked the question. But before he finished, Huang‑po beat him. When he came back, the senior monk asked him how the conversation went. The Master said, "Before I finished my question, he already had beaten me. I don't understand The senior monk told him to go and ask again.
The Master did and Huang‑po beat him again. In this way he asked three times and got beaten three times.... Huang‑po said, "If you go to Ta‑yu's place, he will tell you why."
The Master went to Ta‑yu, who asked him, "Where have you come from?"
The Master said, "I am from Huang‑po's place."
Ta‑yu said, "What did Huang‑po have to say?"
The Master said, "I asked three times about the basic idea of the Law preached by the Buddha and I was beaten three times. I don't know if I was mistaken."
Ta‑yu said, "Old kindly Huang‑po has been so earnest with you and you still came here to ask if you were mistaken!"
As soon as the Master heard this, he understood and said, "After all, there is not much in Huang‑po's Buddhism." (TSD, 47:504)
6. Question: "What is meant by the mind's not being different at different times?"
The Master answered, "As you deliberated to ask the question, your mind has already become different. Therefore the nature and character of dharmas have become differentiated. Seekers of the Way, do not make any mistake. All mundane and supramundane dharmas have no nature of their own. Nor have they the nature to be produced [by causes]. They have only the name Emptiness, but even the name is empty. Why do you take this useless name as real? You are greatly mistaken! . . . If you seek after the Buddha, you will be taken over by the devil of the Buddha, and if you seek after the patriarch, you will be taken over by the devil of the patriarch. If you seek after anything, you will always suffer. It is better not to do anything. Some unworthy priests tell their disciples that the Buddha is the ultimate, and that he went through three infinitely long periods, fulfilled his practice, and then achieved Buddhahood. Seekers of the Way, if you say that the Buddha is the ultimate, why did he die lying down sidewise in the forest in Kusinagara after having lived for eighty years? Where is he now?. . . Those who truly seek after the Law will have no use for the Buddha. They will have no use for the bodhisattvas or arhats. And they will have no use for any excellence in the Three Worlds (of desires, matter, and pure spirit). They will be distinctly free and not bound by material things. Heaven and earth may turn upside down but I shall have no more uncertainty. The Buddhas of the ten cardinal directions may appear before me and I shall not feel happy for a single moment. The three paths (of fire, blood, and swords) to hell may suddenly appear, but I shall not be afraid for a single moment. Why? Because I know that all dharmas are devoid of characters. They exist when there is transformation [in the mind] and cease to exist when there is no transformation. The Three Worlds are but the mind, and all dharmas are consciousness only. Therefore [they are all] dreams, illusions, and flowers in the air. What is the use of grasping and seizing them?. . .
"I have no trick to give people. I merely cure disease and set people free.... My views are few. I merely put on clothing and eat meals as usual, and pass my time without doing anything. You people coming from the various directions have all made up your minds to seek the Buddha, seek the Law, seek emancipation, and seek to leave the Three Worlds. Crazy people! If you want to leave the Three Worlds, where can you go? 'Buddha' and 'patriarchs' are terms of praise and also bondage. Do you want to know where the Three Worlds are? They are right in your mind which is now listening to the Law." (TSD, 47:499‑500)
5. The Master told the congregation: "Seekers of the Way. In Buddhism no effort is necessary. All one has to do is to do nothing, except to move his bowels, urinate, put on his clothing, eat his meals, and lie down if he is tired. The stupid will laugh at him, but the wise one will understand. An ancient person said, 'One who makes effort externally is surely a fool.'" (TSD, 47:498)
2. The Master ascended the hall and said, "Over a lump of reddish flesh there sits a pure man who transcends and is no longer attached to any class of Buddhas or sentient beings. He comes in and out of your sense organs all the time. If you are not yet clear about it, look, look!"
At that point a monk came forward and asked, "What is a pure man who does not belong to any class of Buddhas or sentient beings?" The Master came right down from his chair and, taking hold of the monk, exclaimed, "Speak! Speak!" As the monk deliberated what to say, the Master let him go, saying, "What dried human excrement‑removing stick is the pure man who does not belong to any class of Buddhas or sentient beings!" Thereupon he returned to his room. (TSD, 47:496)
Chan Sourcebook
THE HEART SUTRA
Om Homage to the Perfection of Wisdom the Lovely, the Holy !
Avalokita, the Holy Lord and Bodhisattva, was moving in the deep course of the Wisdom which has gone beyond.
He looked down from on high, He beheld but five heaps, and He saw that in their own-being they were empty.
Here, O Sariputra,
form is emptiness and the very emptiness is form ;
emptiness does not differ from form,
form does not differ from emptiness,
whatever is emptiness, that is form,
the same is true of feelings, perceptions, impulses, and consciousness.
Here, O Sariputra,
all dharmas are marked with emptiness ;
they are not produced or stopped, not defiled or immaculate, not deficient or complete.
Therefore, O Sariputra,
in emptiness there is no form nor feeling, nor perception, nor impulse, nor consciousness ;
No eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind ;
No forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touchables or objects of mind ;
No sight-organ element, and so forth, until we come to :
No mind-consciousness element ;
There is no ignorance, no extinction of ignorance, and so forth, until we come to :
There is no decay and death, no extinction of decay and death.
There is no suffering, no origination, no stopping, no path.
There is no cognition, no attainment and no non-attainment.
Therefore, O Sariputra,
it is because of his non-attainmentness that a Bodhisattva,
through having relied on the Perfection of Wisdom,
dwells without thought-coverings.
In the absence of thought-coverings
he has not been made to tremble,
he has overcome what can upset, and in the end he attains to Nirvana.
All those who appear as Buddhas in the three periods of time
fully awake to the utmost, right and perfect Enlightenment
because they have relied on the Perfection of Wisdom.
Therefore one should know the prajnaparamita as the great spell,
the spell of great knowledge, the utmost spell,
the unequalled spell, allayer of all suffering, in truth -- for what could go wrong ?
By the prajnaparamita has this spell been delivered.
It runs like this :
gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha.
( Gone, gone, gone beyond, gone altogether beyond,
O what an awakening, all-hail ! -- )
This completes the Heart of perfect Wisdom.
(Translated by E. Conze)
Avalokita, the Holy Lord and Bodhisattva, was moving in the deep course of the Wisdom which has gone beyond.
He looked down from on high, He beheld but five heaps, and He saw that in their own-being they were empty.
Here, O Sariputra,
form is emptiness and the very emptiness is form ;
emptiness does not differ from form,
form does not differ from emptiness,
whatever is emptiness, that is form,
the same is true of feelings, perceptions, impulses, and consciousness.
Here, O Sariputra,
all dharmas are marked with emptiness ;
they are not produced or stopped, not defiled or immaculate, not deficient or complete.
Therefore, O Sariputra,
in emptiness there is no form nor feeling, nor perception, nor impulse, nor consciousness ;
No eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind ;
No forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touchables or objects of mind ;
No sight-organ element, and so forth, until we come to :
No mind-consciousness element ;
There is no ignorance, no extinction of ignorance, and so forth, until we come to :
There is no decay and death, no extinction of decay and death.
There is no suffering, no origination, no stopping, no path.
There is no cognition, no attainment and no non-attainment.
Therefore, O Sariputra,
it is because of his non-attainmentness that a Bodhisattva,
through having relied on the Perfection of Wisdom,
dwells without thought-coverings.
In the absence of thought-coverings
he has not been made to tremble,
he has overcome what can upset, and in the end he attains to Nirvana.
All those who appear as Buddhas in the three periods of time
fully awake to the utmost, right and perfect Enlightenment
because they have relied on the Perfection of Wisdom.
Therefore one should know the prajnaparamita as the great spell,
the spell of great knowledge, the utmost spell,
the unequalled spell, allayer of all suffering, in truth -- for what could go wrong ?
By the prajnaparamita has this spell been delivered.
It runs like this :
gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha.
( Gone, gone, gone beyond, gone altogether beyond,
O what an awakening, all-hail ! -- )
This completes the Heart of perfect Wisdom.
(Translated by E. Conze)
Chinese Buddhism
By Jayaram V
Buddhism entered China a few centuries after the passing away of the Buddha,
at a time when Confucianism and Taoism were the predominant religions in a country
that was as a big as a continent and rivaled India in historical antiquity and cultural pluralism.
In the early phases of its entry, Buddhism did not find many adherents in China.
But by the 2nd Century AD, aided to some extent by the simplicity of its approach and some similarities with Taoism,
it managed to gain a firm foothold and acquired a sizeable following.
The arrival of many new Buddhist scholars from the Indian subcontinent and central Asia,
like An Shih-Kao, a Parthinian monk, and Lokakshema, a Kushana monk from Central Asia
gave an impetus to the new religion that had many attractive features
besides an inbuilt organizational approach to the study and pursuit of religion.
During the same period many Buddhist texts were translated from Pali and Sanskrit into Chinese.
The collapse of Han dynasty around 220 AD, was followed by a period of confusion
which continued to trouble Chinese society for the next 350 years.
During this period Confucianism and Taoism gradually yielded place to Buddhism.
The new Mongolian rulers of China from the Northern Wei dynasty and some rulers in the south like Emperor Wu found in Buddhism a great opportunity to demolish the old order and establish a new one.
As a result by 6th Century AD,
China was teaming with millions of Buddhist monks and thousands of monasteries.
During this turbulent period in China,
two major developments took place in Buddhism.
One group
consisting mostly of the sophisticated gentry dwelled on the philosophical and mystical aspects of Buddhism,
while the other group
dominated by rural folk followed Buddhism in their own superstitious and simple ways
imparting to it in the process a peculiar Chinese Character.
During this period many Buddhist scholars came to China from the east
and worked selflessly to make Buddhism a mass religion.
Notable among them were scholars like
Dharmaraksha (3rd Century AD)
Kumarajiva (4th Century AD),
who got a number of Buddhist texts translated into Chinese.
By this time China produced its own eminent Buddhist scholars with extraordinary vision like
Seng-Chao, Tao-Sheng and Fa-hsien
who also contributed richly to the growth of Buddhism China through their translations.
Between the 6th Century AD and 10th Century AD China was ruled by Sui and T'ang dynasties
who were also patrons of Buddhism.
During this period Buddhism reached its glorious heights in China.
At the same time the process of degeneration also began.
Many Buddhist monasteries turned to serious business and indulged in farming, trade
and money lending for their own benefit neglecting the spiritual side of their responsibilities.
Strangely, in a very uncharacteristic way, the Buddhist monasteries cultivated the farm lands,
ran mills and oil presses using slave labor and low ranking monks
and hoarded vast amounts of precious stones and metals.
They also indulged in pawn brokering and money lending.
Many new schools of Buddhism also emerged in China during this period.
Each school derived its authority from some ancient Buddhist text or doctrine.
Some of these schools spread to countries like Korea and Japan
and contributed to the emergence of Buddhism as the predominant religion.
The fall of Buddhism began during the reign of a Chinese Emperor Wu-Tsung (841-847).
Probably noticing the greed that characterized many monasteries,
he ordered for the general destruction of all Buddhist establishments
and return of all Buddhist monks and nuns to lay life.
This shook the foundations of Buddhism though it did not destroy it.
Emperor Wu dismantled the greedy monasteries probably to fill his own coffers, but not Buddhism.
However his actions definitely reversed the fortunes of Buddhism in China
and sowed the seeds of its decline .
From 11th Century onwards,
China witnessed the reemergence of Confucianism
and revival of people's interest in their traditional religions.
By their own excesses and neglect of their primary duties,
the Buddhist monasteries became the contributory factors to the declining popularity of Buddhism.
During the same period the Buddhism faced tremendous challenges
from the increasing popularity of Brahmanism and the aggressive policies of the Islamic rulers
of the Indian subcontinent.
These new developments in the land of the Buddha
had a direct impact on the fortunes of Buddhism in China
since for a very long period the monks from the subcontinent provided
a recurring source of inspiration and information to their brethren in China.
This decline contributed greatly to the slackening of standards in the recruitment of monks
and the emergence of some decadent schools of Buddhism.
These schools deviated from the original rules prescribed by the Buddha
for monastic discipline among the brethren
and emphasized the need for exploring the lighter side of life in the practice of Buddhism
instead of sorrow and suffering.
One prominent example was the emergence of Pu-Tai, or the Laughing Buddha.
He was but a decadent version of the exalted and highly revered Maitreyi Buddha.
The Yuan dynasty that came to power in 1280 adopted Lamaism as their state religion.
It was the Tibetan version of Buddhism which gained ascendance in the mountainous country
following the emergence of Vajrayana Buddhism in eastern India.
During this period some secret schools of Buddhism also emerged in China.
They believed in the future advent of Maitreya and the emergence of new world order.
These schools practiced martial arts like Kungfu
and sometimes indulged in the petty politics of the local warlords.
Although Buddhism lost most of its dynamism and vibrancy by the 20th century,
it continued to flourish in China till the advent of the Communism.
As is well known, the emergence of communism sounded the death knell of Buddhism.
The Communist government of China did succeed officially
in putting an end to the practice of religion by abolishing all forms of public worship
and closing down all the monasteries.
The excesses of cultural revolution put an end to whatever hopes
the followers of Buddhism had about its revival.
Today Buddhism in China is a relic of the past,
an ancient monument that has been ravaged and vandalized by the clash of classes and ideological notions.
It is really difficult to say how long it would take for the cycle of Dhamma to regain its supremacy and whether it would ever happen at all
Buddhism entered China a few centuries after the passing away of the Buddha,
at a time when Confucianism and Taoism were the predominant religions in a country
that was as a big as a continent and rivaled India in historical antiquity and cultural pluralism.
In the early phases of its entry, Buddhism did not find many adherents in China.
But by the 2nd Century AD, aided to some extent by the simplicity of its approach and some similarities with Taoism,
it managed to gain a firm foothold and acquired a sizeable following.
The arrival of many new Buddhist scholars from the Indian subcontinent and central Asia,
like An Shih-Kao, a Parthinian monk, and Lokakshema, a Kushana monk from Central Asia
gave an impetus to the new religion that had many attractive features
besides an inbuilt organizational approach to the study and pursuit of religion.
During the same period many Buddhist texts were translated from Pali and Sanskrit into Chinese.
The collapse of Han dynasty around 220 AD, was followed by a period of confusion
which continued to trouble Chinese society for the next 350 years.
During this period Confucianism and Taoism gradually yielded place to Buddhism.
The new Mongolian rulers of China from the Northern Wei dynasty and some rulers in the south like Emperor Wu found in Buddhism a great opportunity to demolish the old order and establish a new one.
As a result by 6th Century AD,
China was teaming with millions of Buddhist monks and thousands of monasteries.
During this turbulent period in China,
two major developments took place in Buddhism.
One group
consisting mostly of the sophisticated gentry dwelled on the philosophical and mystical aspects of Buddhism,
while the other group
dominated by rural folk followed Buddhism in their own superstitious and simple ways
imparting to it in the process a peculiar Chinese Character.
During this period many Buddhist scholars came to China from the east
and worked selflessly to make Buddhism a mass religion.
Notable among them were scholars like
Dharmaraksha (3rd Century AD)
Kumarajiva (4th Century AD),
who got a number of Buddhist texts translated into Chinese.
By this time China produced its own eminent Buddhist scholars with extraordinary vision like
Seng-Chao, Tao-Sheng and Fa-hsien
who also contributed richly to the growth of Buddhism China through their translations.
Between the 6th Century AD and 10th Century AD China was ruled by Sui and T'ang dynasties
who were also patrons of Buddhism.
During this period Buddhism reached its glorious heights in China.
At the same time the process of degeneration also began.
Many Buddhist monasteries turned to serious business and indulged in farming, trade
and money lending for their own benefit neglecting the spiritual side of their responsibilities.
Strangely, in a very uncharacteristic way, the Buddhist monasteries cultivated the farm lands,
ran mills and oil presses using slave labor and low ranking monks
and hoarded vast amounts of precious stones and metals.
They also indulged in pawn brokering and money lending.
Many new schools of Buddhism also emerged in China during this period.
Each school derived its authority from some ancient Buddhist text or doctrine.
Some of these schools spread to countries like Korea and Japan
and contributed to the emergence of Buddhism as the predominant religion.
The fall of Buddhism began during the reign of a Chinese Emperor Wu-Tsung (841-847).
Probably noticing the greed that characterized many monasteries,
he ordered for the general destruction of all Buddhist establishments
and return of all Buddhist monks and nuns to lay life.
This shook the foundations of Buddhism though it did not destroy it.
Emperor Wu dismantled the greedy monasteries probably to fill his own coffers, but not Buddhism.
However his actions definitely reversed the fortunes of Buddhism in China
and sowed the seeds of its decline .
From 11th Century onwards,
China witnessed the reemergence of Confucianism
and revival of people's interest in their traditional religions.
By their own excesses and neglect of their primary duties,
the Buddhist monasteries became the contributory factors to the declining popularity of Buddhism.
During the same period the Buddhism faced tremendous challenges
from the increasing popularity of Brahmanism and the aggressive policies of the Islamic rulers
of the Indian subcontinent.
These new developments in the land of the Buddha
had a direct impact on the fortunes of Buddhism in China
since for a very long period the monks from the subcontinent provided
a recurring source of inspiration and information to their brethren in China.
This decline contributed greatly to the slackening of standards in the recruitment of monks
and the emergence of some decadent schools of Buddhism.
These schools deviated from the original rules prescribed by the Buddha
for monastic discipline among the brethren
and emphasized the need for exploring the lighter side of life in the practice of Buddhism
instead of sorrow and suffering.
One prominent example was the emergence of Pu-Tai, or the Laughing Buddha.
He was but a decadent version of the exalted and highly revered Maitreyi Buddha.
The Yuan dynasty that came to power in 1280 adopted Lamaism as their state religion.
It was the Tibetan version of Buddhism which gained ascendance in the mountainous country
following the emergence of Vajrayana Buddhism in eastern India.
During this period some secret schools of Buddhism also emerged in China.
They believed in the future advent of Maitreya and the emergence of new world order.
These schools practiced martial arts like Kungfu
and sometimes indulged in the petty politics of the local warlords.
Although Buddhism lost most of its dynamism and vibrancy by the 20th century,
it continued to flourish in China till the advent of the Communism.
As is well known, the emergence of communism sounded the death knell of Buddhism.
The Communist government of China did succeed officially
in putting an end to the practice of religion by abolishing all forms of public worship
and closing down all the monasteries.
The excesses of cultural revolution put an end to whatever hopes
the followers of Buddhism had about its revival.
Today Buddhism in China is a relic of the past,
an ancient monument that has been ravaged and vandalized by the clash of classes and ideological notions.
It is really difficult to say how long it would take for the cycle of Dhamma to regain its supremacy and whether it would ever happen at all
Without You, Buddha
Without you, Buddha,where would I be? Without you, Buddha,what would I be? Without you, Buddha,how would I be? You, Buddha,have made me everythingand yet make me appreciatenothing but empty. You, Buddha,have given me reasonsfor living, for practicing,for learning, for sharing. You, Buddha,wherever you are,I shall try to be. You, Buddha,wherever you are,there I will be.~ Desmond Chiong
Buddhist air:
everyone deserves to breathe
a clean air.
every Buddhist
that enters a Buddhist temple
whether it is a physical temple
or a e-temple
deserves
ro breathe a clean Buddhist air.
once it a while an ill wind might blow.
once in a while an air that smells might permeate.
once in a while the air may smell stale.
as Buddhists
we all believe in
THIS TOO
SHALL PASS,
the Law of Impermanance.
as Buddhists
we all believe
there is no one person causing it
but
Karma.
as Buddhists
we all believe
we are not totally helpless
but can influence our future Karma.
as Buddhists
we excercise
mindfully
what we do
what we speak
what we think
to clear
and clean the air
so the Future Karma
smells well
like
IT IS.
palms together
deep bows,
des/boo-ngoh
a clean air.
every Buddhist
that enters a Buddhist temple
whether it is a physical temple
or a e-temple
deserves
ro breathe a clean Buddhist air.
once it a while an ill wind might blow.
once in a while an air that smells might permeate.
once in a while the air may smell stale.
as Buddhists
we all believe in
THIS TOO
SHALL PASS,
the Law of Impermanance.
as Buddhists
we all believe
there is no one person causing it
but
Karma.
as Buddhists
we all believe
we are not totally helpless
but can influence our future Karma.
as Buddhists
we excercise
mindfully
what we do
what we speak
what we think
to clear
and clean the air
so the Future Karma
smells well
like
IT IS.
palms together
deep bows,
des/boo-ngoh
Good Buddhism
Buddhism is good for - personality disorder - change of bad habits - emotional anxiety problems - Minor depression - self therapy Palms together Deep bows. Des boo ngoh
Aim High
I’m off to not one but two medical appointments today. As
inconvenient at that seems, it felt like an utter impossibility a
few days ago. That was when I received two very confusing
insurance letters that appeared to be imitating Seinfeld’s
soup nazi by declaring “No doctors for you!”
I wasted no time, and promptly felt fear. Isn’t amazing how
diabolically efficient our brainstems can be when it comes to
those ancient drives to fight, flee or faint?
Now, I know you are far too wise to ask, “gosh Lama Jigme,
did you really feel fear?” Yes, I know you are far too
insightful to ask that because I have frequently written that
who we are is NOT determined by what we feel, BUT rather
by what we do with what we feel.
And of course that begs the question, “O.K. tough guy, what
did you do?” I’ll tell you what I did… but first I’ll tell you what
I did NOT do. I did NOT pour my time and energy:
into getting rid of the sensation of fear
into getting rid of the fearful circumstances
into increasing feelings of peace
or manifesting the ideal situation.
Many years ago, during the early days of my Buddhist
training, I was the Manifestation Kid. I squandered huge
amounts of time and energy with that foolishness. Luckily
my patient teachers persisted in reminding me that if I
simply Aimed High, that if I simply performed Buddha’s
highest mental yogas after choosing the highest motivations
then all the manifold details would work themselves out in
the most wonderful way.
How? How could we do that? Easy! Simply embrace:
the power of Love
and the wisdom of Letting-go.
“Blah, blah, blah; Lama Jigme! Those are nice words, but
how could I apply them?” you might ask.
Easy! First take away everyone’s fear using the mental
yoga on page 17 of “Quick Path to Happy Peace.” Then
explore the non-graspable nature of both fear as well as the
compassion that seeks to save other’s from it’s sufferings
by using the “Essential Meditation” found on page 10.
Have some fun with it. First evaluate the strength of your
fear on a scale of 0 to 10. Then perform 6 repetitions of
“Essential Taking” followed by 6 repetitions of “Essential
Meditation.” Then repeat the process:
#1 evaluate,
#2 take everyone’s painful fear and
#3 let go.
Perform the three step process again and again. Until your
fear finally evaluates as a zero. How many minuets could that take:
30, 20, 10?
Then share it’s opposite experience, peace, with everyone
else. Again you’ll begin by evaluating how much peace you
feel on a scale of 0 to 10. Then I recommend that you use
the mental yoga found on page 25. After 6 repetitions of that
go back to page 10 and perform 6 more repetitions of
“Essential Meditation.” And in a similar manner as before,
repeat the three step cycle of:
#1 evaluate,
#2 give everyone the peace you desire and
#3 let go.
That is exactly what I did, and it all worked out even better
then I could have imagined. What are some of the reasons
it could work for you too?
Your success with these three powerful yogas hinges on
your comfort and skill at mentally and silently reciting the
Mani-mantra “Om Mani Padme Hum.” That is why
“Mastering the Mani” is so important, that is why I’ve made
this course available as an audio CD, and that is why I’m
offering it for a reduced donation; but just for this month only.
So get yours at
http://www.lamajigme.com/Mastering-The-Mani.html
Om Mani Padme Hum,
Lama Jigme Gyatso
Tibetan-Buddhist: Monk, Teacher, Healer and Tantrika
inconvenient at that seems, it felt like an utter impossibility a
few days ago. That was when I received two very confusing
insurance letters that appeared to be imitating Seinfeld’s
soup nazi by declaring “No doctors for you!”
I wasted no time, and promptly felt fear. Isn’t amazing how
diabolically efficient our brainstems can be when it comes to
those ancient drives to fight, flee or faint?
Now, I know you are far too wise to ask, “gosh Lama Jigme,
did you really feel fear?” Yes, I know you are far too
insightful to ask that because I have frequently written that
who we are is NOT determined by what we feel, BUT rather
by what we do with what we feel.
And of course that begs the question, “O.K. tough guy, what
did you do?” I’ll tell you what I did… but first I’ll tell you what
I did NOT do. I did NOT pour my time and energy:
into getting rid of the sensation of fear
into getting rid of the fearful circumstances
into increasing feelings of peace
or manifesting the ideal situation.
Many years ago, during the early days of my Buddhist
training, I was the Manifestation Kid. I squandered huge
amounts of time and energy with that foolishness. Luckily
my patient teachers persisted in reminding me that if I
simply Aimed High, that if I simply performed Buddha’s
highest mental yogas after choosing the highest motivations
then all the manifold details would work themselves out in
the most wonderful way.
How? How could we do that? Easy! Simply embrace:
the power of Love
and the wisdom of Letting-go.
“Blah, blah, blah; Lama Jigme! Those are nice words, but
how could I apply them?” you might ask.
Easy! First take away everyone’s fear using the mental
yoga on page 17 of “Quick Path to Happy Peace.” Then
explore the non-graspable nature of both fear as well as the
compassion that seeks to save other’s from it’s sufferings
by using the “Essential Meditation” found on page 10.
Have some fun with it. First evaluate the strength of your
fear on a scale of 0 to 10. Then perform 6 repetitions of
“Essential Taking” followed by 6 repetitions of “Essential
Meditation.” Then repeat the process:
#1 evaluate,
#2 take everyone’s painful fear and
#3 let go.
Perform the three step process again and again. Until your
fear finally evaluates as a zero. How many minuets could that take:
30, 20, 10?
Then share it’s opposite experience, peace, with everyone
else. Again you’ll begin by evaluating how much peace you
feel on a scale of 0 to 10. Then I recommend that you use
the mental yoga found on page 25. After 6 repetitions of that
go back to page 10 and perform 6 more repetitions of
“Essential Meditation.” And in a similar manner as before,
repeat the three step cycle of:
#1 evaluate,
#2 give everyone the peace you desire and
#3 let go.
That is exactly what I did, and it all worked out even better
then I could have imagined. What are some of the reasons
it could work for you too?
Your success with these three powerful yogas hinges on
your comfort and skill at mentally and silently reciting the
Mani-mantra “Om Mani Padme Hum.” That is why
“Mastering the Mani” is so important, that is why I’ve made
this course available as an audio CD, and that is why I’m
offering it for a reduced donation; but just for this month only.
So get yours at
http://www.lamajigme.com/Mastering-The-Mani.html
Om Mani Padme Hum,
Lama Jigme Gyatso
Tibetan-Buddhist: Monk, Teacher, Healer and Tantrika
Bodhidharma
These are some excerpts from The Zen Teachings of Bodhidharma, translated by Red Pine (North Point Press, 1987).
I highly recommend the book.
First some background.
Bodhidharma was born in Kanchi in the Southern Indian kingdom of Pallava around year 440.
At the instruction of Prajnatara he travelled to China by ship and arrived around 475. He is associated with the Shaolin temple, and is honored as the founder of kung fu. He is also credited with bringing tea to China.
He is said to have cut off his eyelids to stay awake in meditiation, and so is usually depicted with bulging eyes.
He is also credited with bringing Zen to China, even though he had few disciples in his lifetime.
If you attain anything at all, it's conditional, it's karmic.
It results in retribution. It turns the Wheel.
As long as you're subject to birth and death,
you'll never attain enlightenment.
To attain enlightenment you have to see your nature.
Unless you see your nature
all this talk about cause and effect is nonsense.
Buddhas don't practice nonsense.
To say he attains anything at all is to slander a buddha.
What could he possibly attain?
Even focusing on a mind,
a power,
an understanding,
or a view is impossible for a buddha.
A buddha isn't one sided.
The nature of his [MIND] mind is basically empty, [des....inserted]
neither pure nor impure. He's free of practice and realization.
He's free of cause and effect.
The [MIND ] mind's capacity is limitless, [des....inserted]
and its manifestations are inexhaustible.
Seeing forms with your eyes, hearing sounds with your ears, smelling odors with your nose, tasting flavors with your tongue, every movement or state is all your [BRAIN] mind. [des....inserted]
At every moment, where language can't go,
that's your [MIND] mind. [des....inserted]
Whoever knows that the [MIND] mind is a fiction and devoid of anything real knows that his own [MIND] mind neither exists nor doesn't exist. [des....inserted]
Mortals keep creating the [BRAIN] mind, claiming [MIND mind] it exists. [des....inserted]
And arhats keep negating the [BRAIN] mind, [des....inserted]
claiming it doesn't exist.
But bodhisattvas and buddhas neither create nor negate the [MIND] mind. [des....inserted]
This is what's meant by the [MIND] mind [des....inserted]
that neither exists nor doesn't exist...
I highly recommend the book.
First some background.
Bodhidharma was born in Kanchi in the Southern Indian kingdom of Pallava around year 440.
At the instruction of Prajnatara he travelled to China by ship and arrived around 475. He is associated with the Shaolin temple, and is honored as the founder of kung fu. He is also credited with bringing tea to China.
He is said to have cut off his eyelids to stay awake in meditiation, and so is usually depicted with bulging eyes.
He is also credited with bringing Zen to China, even though he had few disciples in his lifetime.
If you attain anything at all, it's conditional, it's karmic.
It results in retribution. It turns the Wheel.
As long as you're subject to birth and death,
you'll never attain enlightenment.
To attain enlightenment you have to see your nature.
Unless you see your nature
all this talk about cause and effect is nonsense.
Buddhas don't practice nonsense.
To say he attains anything at all is to slander a buddha.
What could he possibly attain?
Even focusing on a mind,
a power,
an understanding,
or a view is impossible for a buddha.
A buddha isn't one sided.
The nature of his [MIND] mind is basically empty, [des....inserted]
neither pure nor impure. He's free of practice and realization.
He's free of cause and effect.
The [MIND ] mind's capacity is limitless, [des....inserted]
and its manifestations are inexhaustible.
Seeing forms with your eyes, hearing sounds with your ears, smelling odors with your nose, tasting flavors with your tongue, every movement or state is all your [BRAIN] mind. [des....inserted]
At every moment, where language can't go,
that's your [MIND] mind. [des....inserted]
Whoever knows that the [MIND] mind is a fiction and devoid of anything real knows that his own [MIND] mind neither exists nor doesn't exist. [des....inserted]
Mortals keep creating the [BRAIN] mind, claiming [MIND mind] it exists. [des....inserted]
And arhats keep negating the [BRAIN] mind, [des....inserted]
claiming it doesn't exist.
But bodhisattvas and buddhas neither create nor negate the [MIND] mind. [des....inserted]
This is what's meant by the [MIND] mind [des....inserted]
that neither exists nor doesn't exist...
What is Chan Buddhism?
Buddhism was born in Nepal about 2500 years ago.
It spread to India some 400 years later, and 1500 years ago, it appeared in China.
Chan Buddhism is said to have originated at Shaolin Temple,
and its spiritual founder was an Indian prince named Bodhidharma,
or as he was known to the Chinese, Da Mo.
It is characterized by a rejection of much of the protocol associated with other sects of Buddhism
and is oriented around the practice of meditation.
In Chan, the Temple is everywhere, and one can pray anywhere, meditate in any position,
and it emphasizes the idea of personal awakening and understanding.
Chan is the spiritual parent of Japanese Zen Buddhism.What does "Amituofo" or "Amitabha" mean?Amituofo means a multitude of things,
depending on how it is used.
It can be a greeting, a salutation, a blessing, or it can mean "please" or "I'm sorry."
Literally, it is the name of a Buddha, the "Amita" Buddha
("fo" being the Chinese word for Buddha).
It is pronounced "Ah-mee-twoh-foh".
"Amituofo" is the Chinese translation of the Sanskrit "Amitabha".Why do we say "Amituofo" 3 times at the beginning and end of every class?The first is to pay respect to Buddha, "Fo".The second is for dharma, "Fa" the way or the philosophy.The third is for sangha "Seng", the master,
which could mean devotion to another monk,
or it could even be respect for one's self.
It spread to India some 400 years later, and 1500 years ago, it appeared in China.
Chan Buddhism is said to have originated at Shaolin Temple,
and its spiritual founder was an Indian prince named Bodhidharma,
or as he was known to the Chinese, Da Mo.
It is characterized by a rejection of much of the protocol associated with other sects of Buddhism
and is oriented around the practice of meditation.
In Chan, the Temple is everywhere, and one can pray anywhere, meditate in any position,
and it emphasizes the idea of personal awakening and understanding.
Chan is the spiritual parent of Japanese Zen Buddhism.What does "Amituofo" or "Amitabha" mean?Amituofo means a multitude of things,
depending on how it is used.
It can be a greeting, a salutation, a blessing, or it can mean "please" or "I'm sorry."
Literally, it is the name of a Buddha, the "Amita" Buddha
("fo" being the Chinese word for Buddha).
It is pronounced "Ah-mee-twoh-foh".
"Amituofo" is the Chinese translation of the Sanskrit "Amitabha".Why do we say "Amituofo" 3 times at the beginning and end of every class?The first is to pay respect to Buddha, "Fo".The second is for dharma, "Fa" the way or the philosophy.The third is for sangha "Seng", the master,
which could mean devotion to another monk,
or it could even be respect for one's self.
seeking Refuge:
when you seek Refuge in
Buddha Dharma Sangha
you don't as a rule
as permission
from
Buddha Dharma Sangha
if you can seek refuge.
if you seek
and on line Buddhist teacher
or a on line Buddhist temple
you do not as a rule
ask permission.
just like you seek refuge in
Buddha Dharma Sangha
you just bow down low
and
say to your self
i seek refuge in Buddha
i seek refuge in Dharma
i seek refuge in Snagha.
then
you keep the Precpts
as a Buddhist
and practice practice practice.
you do the same
with the on line Buddhist teacher
and
on line Buddhist Temple.
bow down low
and say to yourself
- i respectfully appoint you
as my Buddhist teacher
and i shall follow all the rules
as a respectable student;
- i respectfully choose this site
to be my on line Buddhist Temple
and
i shall behave and follow the unwritten rules
an di vow
to be a respectable member of the sangha
of this Temple.
then you be faithful
as member of the sangha
and stay within the rules and regulations
which are unwritten
and practice practice practice.
palms together
deep bows, des/boo-ngoh
Buddha Dharma Sangha
you don't as a rule
as permission
from
Buddha Dharma Sangha
if you can seek refuge.
if you seek
and on line Buddhist teacher
or a on line Buddhist temple
you do not as a rule
ask permission.
just like you seek refuge in
Buddha Dharma Sangha
you just bow down low
and
say to your self
i seek refuge in Buddha
i seek refuge in Dharma
i seek refuge in Snagha.
then
you keep the Precpts
as a Buddhist
and practice practice practice.
you do the same
with the on line Buddhist teacher
and
on line Buddhist Temple.
bow down low
and say to yourself
- i respectfully appoint you
as my Buddhist teacher
and i shall follow all the rules
as a respectable student;
- i respectfully choose this site
to be my on line Buddhist Temple
and
i shall behave and follow the unwritten rules
an di vow
to be a respectable member of the sangha
of this Temple.
then you be faithful
as member of the sangha
and stay within the rules and regulations
which are unwritten
and practice practice practice.
palms together
deep bows, des/boo-ngoh
Filsafat Budha
Joy and anger, sorrow and happiness, worries and regrets, indecisionand fears, come upon us by turns, with everchanging moods, like musicfrom the hollows, or like mushrooms from damp.Day and night they alternate within us, but we cannot tell whence theyspring.Alas! Alas! Could we for a moment lay our finger upon their very Cause?Chuang Tzu
Things: Disturbing ThoughtsThere are no disturbing things;just disturbing thoughts about things.Courage to face the disturbing in usgives us courage to face the so-called disturbing out there.~shian
Rigpa Glimpse of the DayThe preliminary training of meditation practice and purification ripens and opens the student’s heart and mind to the direct understanding of the truth. Then, in the powerful moment of introduction, the master can direct his realization of the nature of mind—what we call the master’s “wisdom mind”—into the mind of the now authentically receptive student. The master is doing nothing less than introducing the student to what the Buddha actually is, awakening the student to the living presence of enlightenment within. In that experience, the Buddha, the nature of mind, and the master’s wisdom mind are all fused into, and revealed as, one. The student then recognizes, in a blaze of gratitude, beyond any shadow of doubt, that there is not, has never been, and could not ever be any separation: between student and master, between the master’s wisdom mind and the nature of the student’s mind.
One Who IdlesOne who idles from day to day is a consumer of life.One who is active and useful is a creator of life.~ Master Cheng Yen
Things: Disturbing ThoughtsThere are no disturbing things;just disturbing thoughts about things.Courage to face the disturbing in usgives us courage to face the so-called disturbing out there.~shian
Rigpa Glimpse of the DayThe preliminary training of meditation practice and purification ripens and opens the student’s heart and mind to the direct understanding of the truth. Then, in the powerful moment of introduction, the master can direct his realization of the nature of mind—what we call the master’s “wisdom mind”—into the mind of the now authentically receptive student. The master is doing nothing less than introducing the student to what the Buddha actually is, awakening the student to the living presence of enlightenment within. In that experience, the Buddha, the nature of mind, and the master’s wisdom mind are all fused into, and revealed as, one. The student then recognizes, in a blaze of gratitude, beyond any shadow of doubt, that there is not, has never been, and could not ever be any separation: between student and master, between the master’s wisdom mind and the nature of the student’s mind.
One Who IdlesOne who idles from day to day is a consumer of life.One who is active and useful is a creator of life.~ Master Cheng Yen
Look back & change
Look back See if you have changed. If you have Thank yourself For having stayed. If you have not You have not practiced Though you know You know more now. Palms together Deep bows. Des boo ngoh
Rabu, 12 Maret 2008
proud Buddhists
Buddhists
can be rightfully proud
for only they
know the ultimate Truth.
but the Truth is
those who were already very proud
even before they became Buddhists
can become Buddhists
and after having studied and known
more of Buddhism
can become overly proud
and then
hide their false pride behind
having known
the Buddhism
from the books
which is a far cry from
what Buddhism
really is
or what i call
AS IT IS.
you can see them a lot
almost everywhere
where Buddhism is discussed.
they can be very intrusive,
abrasive,
callous,
know no boundary,
and think they know all
when in fact
what they know is Buddhism
in print
not in spirit.
they can get very offensive
when their short coming is pointed out to them.
thence they go into defensive mode
showing off
more of the Buddhism
the way they know it.
Buddhism
in it's great compassion
keep these people
under It's protection
and
off them a safe refuge.
we as Buddhists
should feel compassionate
and offer them Karuna love
knowing fully well
they need more effort
to know the true Buddhism,
Buddhism
AS IT IS
with no attachment
to words.
palms together
deep bows,
des/boo-ngoh
can be rightfully proud
for only they
know the ultimate Truth.
but the Truth is
those who were already very proud
even before they became Buddhists
can become Buddhists
and after having studied and known
more of Buddhism
can become overly proud
and then
hide their false pride behind
having known
the Buddhism
from the books
which is a far cry from
what Buddhism
really is
or what i call
AS IT IS.
you can see them a lot
almost everywhere
where Buddhism is discussed.
they can be very intrusive,
abrasive,
callous,
know no boundary,
and think they know all
when in fact
what they know is Buddhism
in print
not in spirit.
they can get very offensive
when their short coming is pointed out to them.
thence they go into defensive mode
showing off
more of the Buddhism
the way they know it.
Buddhism
in it's great compassion
keep these people
under It's protection
and
off them a safe refuge.
we as Buddhists
should feel compassionate
and offer them Karuna love
knowing fully well
they need more effort
to know the true Buddhism,
Buddhism
AS IT IS
with no attachment
to words.
palms together
deep bows,
des/boo-ngoh
is it easy????
is it easy
to have kept
this BWG sangha going
for seven years come next month.
it is
and it is not.
it is
because of all the help and support of the members
particularly Doret.
it is
because
it is done by non-self
for no-body
and has been done
this way
with non-doing.
it is
because it is not done for the benfit of Self
but for all beings.
it is
because
it is part of the practice.
it is because of
all the love and compassion
from so many members
that have shown
they care
and they love BWG
in the right way.
it is not
because
BWG has to kept clean
without blemish
all the time.
it is not
because
from time to time
an ill wind might blow.
it is not
because
Buddhism as a rule has a lot of
proud and stubborn people
in it
and their challenge
has to met and dealth with
appropriately.
it is not
because
we are still all
on the Path
and have not quite reached the other shore yet
but some seem to think
one foot of them
is already on the other shore.
while we are still on the Path
we still are stucjk with duality
and thue
it is easy
and it is not easy.
Happy Seventh Birthday
to BWG next month.
Thanks to all.
YOUhave made this
possible.
palms together
deep bows
des/boo-ngoh
to have kept
this BWG sangha going
for seven years come next month.
it is
and it is not.
it is
because of all the help and support of the members
particularly Doret.
it is
because
it is done by non-self
for no-body
and has been done
this way
with non-doing.
it is
because it is not done for the benfit of Self
but for all beings.
it is
because
it is part of the practice.
it is because of
all the love and compassion
from so many members
that have shown
they care
and they love BWG
in the right way.
it is not
because
BWG has to kept clean
without blemish
all the time.
it is not
because
from time to time
an ill wind might blow.
it is not
because
Buddhism as a rule has a lot of
proud and stubborn people
in it
and their challenge
has to met and dealth with
appropriately.
it is not
because
we are still all
on the Path
and have not quite reached the other shore yet
but some seem to think
one foot of them
is already on the other shore.
while we are still on the Path
we still are stucjk with duality
and thue
it is easy
and it is not easy.
Happy Seventh Birthday
to BWG next month.
Thanks to all.
YOUhave made this
possible.
palms together
deep bows
des/boo-ngoh
"Empat Kesempatan untuk Ketekunan" Setetes Dhamma Sebongkah Berlian
Para bhikkhu, untuk empat hal ini, ketekunan harusditerapkan. Apakah yang empat itu?Engkau harus menghentikan perilaku buruk dalamtindakan dan mengembangkan perilaku bajik dalamtindakan. Janganlah lengah dalam hal itu.Engkau harus menghentikan perilaku buruk dalam ucapandan mengembangkan perilaku bajik dalam ucapan.Janganlah lengah dalam hal itu.Engkau harus menghentikan perilaku buruk dalam pikirandan mengembangkan perilaku bajik dalam pikiran.Janganlah lengah dalam hal itu.Engkau harus menghentikan pandangan salah danmengembangkan pandangan benar. Janganlah lengah dalamhal itu.Jika seorang bhikkhu telah menghentikan perilaku buruklewat tindakan, ucapan dan pikiran, dan telahmengembangkan perilaku bajik dalam tindakan, ucapandan pikiran; jika dia telah meninggalkan pandangansalah dan mengembangkan pandangan benar, dia tidakperlu takut akan kematian di kehidupan mendatang.Empat Kesempatan untuk Ketekunan(IV, 116)Angguttara Nikaya
(Tipitaka) kepentingan Kisah Bhikkhu Dhammika
Dhammika tinggal di Savatthi bersama istrinya. Suatu hari, ia berkatakepada istrinya yang sedang hamil bahwa ia berkeinginan untuk menjadiseorang bhikkhu. Istrinya memohon kepadanya untuk menunggu sampaikelahiran anak mereka. Ketika anak tersebut lahir, ia kembali memintakepada istrinya untuk memperbolehkannya pergi. Sekali lagi istrinyamemohon kepadanya untuk menunggu sampai anak tersebut dapat berjalan.Kemudian Dhammika berkata kepada dirinya sendiri, "Tidak ada gunanyabagiku meminta persetujuan dari istriku untuk menjadi bhikkhu, sayaharus berjuang untuk kebebasanku sendiri!" Setelah membuat keputusanteguh, ia meninggalkan rumahnya untuk menjadi seorang bhikkhu. SangBuddha memberikan objek meditasi kepadanya, dan ia mempraktekkanmeditasi dengan sungguh-sungguh dan rajin, tak lama kemudian iamenjadi seorang arahat.Beberapa tahun setelah itu, beliau menengok rumahnya dengan maksuduntuk mengajarkan Dhamma kepada istri dan anaknya. Anaknya menjadibhikkhu dan kemudian mencapai tingkat kesucian arahat. Sang istrikemudian berkata, "Sekarang suami dan anakku telah meninggalkan rumah,saya lebih baik pergi juga." Dengan dasar pertimbangan kata-katatersebut, ia juga meninggalkan rumah dan menjadi bhikkhuni, danakhirnya mencapai tingkat kesucian arahat juga.Dalam pertemuan para bhikkhu, Sang Buddha mengatakan bagaimanaDhammika menjadi seorang bhikkhu dan mencapai tingkat kesucian arahat,bagaimana Dhammika berupaya membuat anak dan istrinya menjadi arahatjuga. Kepada mereka Sang Buddha bersabda, "Para bhikkhu, orangbijaksana tidak menginginkan kekayaan dan kemakmuran yang diperolehdengan cara tidak benar. Apakah hal itu dilakukan demi dirinya sendiriatau demi orang lain. Ia hanya bekerja untuk tujuan membebaskandirinya dari roda tumimbal lahir (samsara) dengan cara memahami Dhammadan hidup sesuai dengan Dhamma."Kemudian Sang Buddha membabarkan syair 84 berikut ini:Seseorang yang arif tidak berbuat jahat demi kepentingannya sendiriataupun orang lain,demikian pula ia tidak menginginkan anak, kekayaan, pangkat ataukeberhasilan dengan cara yang tidak benar.Orang seperti itulah yang sebenarnya luhur, bijaksana, dan berbudi.
For the right reason.
Ketika paham, baru diam
Ketika malam, baru kelam
Dunia sirna, baru lebur
Tiada tara, tapi ada
Hilang kata, bukan tanpa makna
Tiada suara, bukan bisu
Sekedar memahami akan seisi
Lalu meletakkan pada porsinya
Tidak bereaksi, bukan tak memahami
Sekedar mengamati dan menilai dengan jernih
Bereaksi pada porsinya dan pada saatnya
Pada saat yang tepat dan berdaya guna
Tuk kebaikan yang abadi...
The right time and the right move
For the right reason.
Ketika malam, baru kelam
Dunia sirna, baru lebur
Tiada tara, tapi ada
Hilang kata, bukan tanpa makna
Tiada suara, bukan bisu
Sekedar memahami akan seisi
Lalu meletakkan pada porsinya
Tidak bereaksi, bukan tak memahami
Sekedar mengamati dan menilai dengan jernih
Bereaksi pada porsinya dan pada saatnya
Pada saat yang tepat dan berdaya guna
Tuk kebaikan yang abadi...
The right time and the right move
For the right reason.
Buddhists' Love
Buddhists can't afford To hate a person. A Buddhist can only love A person Whether the person is At a higher or a lower level Than the Buddhist Or at the same level. Buddhists' love Is pervasive & can be Infectious. Palms together Deep bows. Des boo ngoh
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