Newsletter... 12-03-2002

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The Urban Dharma Newsletter... December 3, 2002

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In This Issue:

1. UrbanDharma.org Stats for November
2. PuertoRico.com Discussion Forum > Philosophy > Buddhist Wisdom!

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1. UrbanDharma.org Stats for November, 2002

Vistors= 6,996 Page Views= 19,206

2. PuertoRico.com Discussion Forum > Philosophy > Buddhist Wisdom!

*http://www.puertorico.com/forums/showthread.php3?threadid=8741&pagenumber=1

(My intention was to find articles and essays on Buddhist Wisdom for this issue. As I was doing my online search I ran across this forum on Buddhist Wisdom at PuertoRico.com... The Forum was started March 17, 2002... It's a bit long, but worth the time it takes to read... Ecuajey started this forum and continues to post... It is Ecuajey's gift to all of us... The gift of Dharma... Thank You Ecuajey!)

Ecuajey

Better

than if there were thousands

of meaningless verses is

one

meaningful

verse

that on hearing

brings peace.

And better than chanting hundreds

of meaningless verses is

one Dhamma-saying

that on hearing

brings peace.

-Dhammapada, 8, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

The impulse "I want" and the impulse "I'll have"--lose them! That is where most people get stuck--without those, you can use your eyes to guide you through this suffering state.

-Sutta Nipata

Ecuajey

Mindfulness is the miracle by which we master and restore ourselves. Consider, for example: a magician who cuts his body into many parts and places each part in a different region--hands in the south, arms in the east, legs in the north, and then by some miraculous power lets forth a cry which reassembles whole every part of his body. Mindfulness is like that--it is the miracle which can call back in a flash our dispersed mind and restore it to wholeness so that we can live each minute of life.

-Thich Nhat Hanh, "Miracle of Mindfulness"

Ecuajey

My favorite one.

Do not go after the past,

Nor lose yourself in the future.

For the past no longer exists,

And the future is not yet here.

By looking deeply at things just as they are,

In this moment, here and now,

The seeker lives calmly and freely.

You should be attentive today,

For waiting until tomorrow is too late.

Death can come and take us by surprise--

How can we gainsay it?

The one who knows

How to live attentively

Night and day

Is the one who knows

The best way to be independent.

-Bhaddekaratta Sutra

Ecuajey

So don't be in a hurry and try to push or rush your practice. Do your meditation gently and gradually step by step. In regard to peacefulness, if you become peaceful, then accept it; if you don't become peaceful, then accept that also. That's the nature of the mind. We must find our our own practice and persistently keep at it.

-Ajahn Chah, "Bodhinyana"

Ecuajey

Those who attain perfect wisdom are forever inspired by the conviction that the infinitely varied forms of this world, in all their relativity, far from being a hindrance and a dangerous distraction to the spiritual path, are really a healing medicine. Why? Because by the very fact that they are interdependent on each other and therefore have no separate self, they express the mystery and the energy of all-embracing love. Not just the illumined wise ones but every single being in the interconnected world is a dweller in the boundless infinity of love.

-Prajnaparmita

Ecuajey

Seeing error where there is none,

& no error where there is,

beings adopting wrong views

go to a bad destination.

But knowing error as error,

and non-error as non-,

beings adopting right views

go to a good

destination.

-Dhammapada, 22, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can smile and blossom like a flower, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace.

-Thich Nhat Hanh, "Being Peace"

Ecuajey

Happy is he who lives contented in solitude, is well-versed in the Doctrine and who has realized it. Happy is he who lives in this world free from ill-will, and is benevolent towards all beings. Happy is he who lives in this world free from passion, has overcome sensual enjoyment, and who has attained mastership over the conceit of "I am." This indeed is the highest happiness.

-Udana 2.1

Ecuajey

It's not good,

the doing of the deed

that, once it's done,

you regret,

whose result you reap crying,

your face in tears.

It's good,

the doing of the deed,

that, once it's done,

you don't regret,

whose result you reap gratified,

happy at heart.

-Dhammapada, 5, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

The one who beholds that which has become as become

Passes beyond that becoming

And is released from craving for sensation.

In that which really is, he understands becoming.

Free from longing for birth or death,

He finds the true meaning of the end of becoming.

-Itivuttaka Sutta

Ecuajey

You could, for a hundred years,

live in a forest

tending a fire,

pay a single moment's homage

to one person,

self-cultivated.

Better than a hundred years of sacrifices

would that act of homage be.

-Dhammapada, 8, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Eddier1

And So Ecuajay?

quote:

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally posted by Ecuajey

You could, for a hundred years,

live in a forest

tending a fire,

pay a single moment's homage

to one person,

self-cultivated.

Better than a hundred years of sacrifices

would that act of homage be.

-Dhammapada, 8, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ecuajay;

So you are a Buddist, who pours out the thoughts of the Buddha, without waiting for anyone to reply. That Mister is quite rude of you, because this is a discussion forum in Philosophy, and not a soap box of religionist indoctrination.

Have a Good day,

EddieR

Ecuajey

Eddier1

quote:

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally posted by Eddier1

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Those who want to reply, may do so. Those who wish not to, will be able to read this thread with words of wisdom. Whether they agree with them or not, or interpret them a different way then I would, could be the beginning of a friendly discussion. I do acknowledge this is a forum for discussion, and if people want to discuss about Buddhism or any other topic of my interest, they can. I already laid the groundwork for discussion on the interpretation of these short Buddhist words of wisdom so that all may enjoy. I don't think that is rude. If you think so, that is your opinion, in which I respect, as long as it doesn't start trouble between us. That is not my intention nor the reason why I am in this forum. Take care.

Lorelei

that reminds me of another verse

quote:

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally posted by Ecuajey

Better

than if there were thousands

of meaningless verses is

one

meaningful

verse

that on hearing

brings peace.

And better than chanting hundreds

of meaningless verses is

one Dhamma-saying

that on hearing

brings peace.

-Dhammapada, 8, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

It reminds me of one from the Bible:

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains but have not love, I am nothing." 1 Corinthians 13:1,2

Lorelei

Re: My favorite one.

quote:

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally posted by Ecuajey

Do not go after the past,

Nor lose yourself in the future.

For the past no longer exists,

And the future is not yet here.

By looking deeply at things just as they are,

In this moment, here and now,

The seeker lives calmly and freely.

You should be attentive today,

For waiting until tomorrow is too late.

Death can come and take us by surprise--

How can we gainsay it?

The one who knows

How to live attentively

Night and day

Is the one who knows

The best way to be independent.

-Bhaddekaratta Sutra

------------------------------------------------------------------------

And there is the essence of zen, isn't it?

It also reminds me of another famous quote, yes from the Bible:

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air: they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you. O you of little faith? So do not worry, syaing, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" Matthew 6:25-34.

There are some commonalities in the two belief systems, aren't there?

Ecuajey

Lorelei

Thank you for participating in the thread.

Now, my favorite quote, in which you elaborated with a quote from the Bible, isn't necessarily the essence of Zen Buddhism. Buddhism has many different "schools" or sections, just as Christianity does. You are right though, to strive for the present to enjoy things now and make things possible for the future, is very important in helping humanity with its sufferings and finding peace in ones life. That is something very important in Buddhism, and pretty much all the great religions.

Also, Christianity and Buddhism are very similar. There is debate whether a person can be Buddhist and a Christian at the same time, but you can pretty much see that both religions strive for the salvation of human beings. They finds compassion and beauty in human beings, as well as acknowledging that we have our down sides and room for improvements. They also acknowledge that we need to help each other and ourselves to truly find salvation.

__________________

"Baile" - Samuel Lind

Ecuajey

Due to having faith one relies on the practices,

Due to having wisdom one truly knows.

Of these two wisdom is the chief,

Faith is the prerequisite.

-Nagarjuna, "Precious Garland 5"

Ecuajey

This is what I say: Your mind is spiritual and so too is the sense-perceived world. The spirit is timeless and it dominates all existence as the great law guiding all beings in their search for truth. It changes crude nature into mind, and there is no being that can't be transformed into a vessel of truth.

-Brahmajala Sutra

Ecuajey

When a lute is played, there is no previous store of playing that it comes from. When the music stops, it does not go anywhere else. It came into existence by way of the structure of the lute and the playing of the performer. When the playing ceases, the music goes out of existence.

In the same way all the components of being, both material and nonmaterial, come into existence, play their part, and pass away.

That which we call a person is the bringing together of components and their actions with each other. It is impossible to find a permanent self there. And yet there is a paradox. For there is a path to follow and there is walking to be done, and yet there is no walker. There are actions but there is no actor. The air moves but there is no wind. The idea of a specific self is a mistake. Existence is clarity and emptiness.

-Visuddhi Magga

Ecuajey

They're easy to do--

things of no good

& no use to yourself.

What's truly useful & good

is truly harder than hard to do.

-Dhammapada, 7, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

Like a fish

pulled from its home in the water

& thrown on land:

this mind flips & flaps about

to escape Mara's sway.

Hard to hold down,

nimble,

alighting wherever it likes:

the mind.

Its taming is good.

The mind well-tamed brings ease.

-Dhammapada, 3, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

Listen to the sound of water. Listen to the water running through chasms and rocks. It is the minor streams that make a loud noise; the great waters flow silently.

The hollow resounds and the full is still. Foolishness is like a half-filled pot; the wise man is a lake full of water.

-Sutta Nipata

Ecuajey

The Buddha said to Ananda: "Truly, Ananda, it's not easy to teach the way of freedom to others. In teaching freedom to others, the best way is to first establish five things and then teach. What are the five? When you teach others, you must think:

'I will teach in a gradual and sensitive way.

I will speak with the goal in mind.

I will speak with gentleness.

I will not speak in order to gain anything.

I will not speak with a view to harming anyone.'

"If you establish these five things, your teaching will be well received."

-Anguttara Nikaya

Ecuajey

Whose minds are well-developed

in the factors of self-awakening,

who delight in non-clinging,

relinquishing grasping--

resplendent,

their effluents ended:

they, in the world,

are Unbound.

-Dhammapada, 6, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

If a person does evil,

he shouldn't do it again & again,

shouldn't develop a penchant for it.

To accumulate evil

brings pain.

If a person makes merit,

he should do it again & again,

should develop a penchant for it.

To accumulate merit

brings ease.

-Dhammapada, 9, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

Better to conquer yourself

than others.

When you've trained yourself,

living in constant self-control,

neither a deva nor gandhabba,

nor a Mara banded with Brahmas,

could turn that triumph

back into defeat.

-Dhammapada, 8, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

There is, O monks, a realm, where there is neither earth, nor water, nor fire, nor wind, neither the sphere of boundless consciousness, nor the sphere of nothingness, nor the sphere of neither-perception-nor-non-perception, neither this world nor the next world, nor both together, nor moon and sun. This, O monks, I call neither a going, nor a coming, nor a standing, nor dying, nor being born. It is without a foothold, without a beginning, without a foundation. This indeed is the end of suffering.

-Udana 8.1

Ecuajey

Even the evil

meet with good fortune

as long as their evil

has yet to mature.

But when it's matured

that's when they meet

with evil.

Even the good

meet with bad fortune

as long as their good

has yet to mature.

But when it's matured

that's when they meet

with good fortune.

-Dhammapada, 9, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

"In your seeing," he said, "there should be only the seeing. In your hearing, nothing but the hearing; in your smelling, tasting, and touching, nothing but smelling, tasting, and touching; in your thinking, nothing but the thought."

-Khuddaka Nikaya

Ecuajey

Don't be heedless of evil

('It won't come to me').

A water jar fills;

even with water

falling in drops.

With evil--even if

bit

habitually--

the fool fills himself full.

-Dhammapada, 9, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

A rare rebirth

Blinded this world --

how few here see clearly!

Just as birds who've escaped

from a net are

few, few

are the people

who make it to heaven.

Dhammapada 174

Ecuajey

The non-doing of any evil,

the performance of what's skillful,

the cleansing of one's own mind:

this is the teaching

of the Awakened

Dhammapada 183

Ecuajey

If there's no wound on the hand,

that hand can hold poison.

Poison won't penetrate

where there's no wound.

There's no evil

for those who don't do it.

-Dhammapada, 9, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

I like to walk alone on country paths, rice plants and wild grasses on both sides, putting each foot down on the earth in mindfulness, knowing that I walk on the wondrous earth. In such moments, existence is a miraculous and mysterious reality.

People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child--our own two eyes. All is a miracle.

-Thich Nhat Hanh, "Miracle of Mindfulness"

Ecuajey

Of all the ways you can think of, none has a sixteenth part of the value of loving-kindness. Loving-kindness is a freedom of the heart which takes in all the ways. It is luminous, shining, blazing forth.

Just as the stars have not a sixteenth part of the moon's brilliance, which absorbs them all in its shining light, so loving-kindness absorbs all the other ways with its lustrous splendor.

Just as when the rainy season ends and the sun rises up into the clear and cloudless sky, banishing all the dark in its radiant light, and just as at the end of a black night the morning star shines out in glory, so none of the ways you can use to further your spiritualy progress has a sixteenth part of the value of loving-kindness. For it absorbs them all, its luminosity shining forth.

-Itivuttaka Sutta

Ecuajey

Guard against anger

erupting in body;

in body, be restrained.

Having abandoned bodily misconduct,

live conducting yourself well

in body.

Guard against anger

erupting in speech;

in speech, be restrained.

Having abandoned verbal misconduct,

live conducting yourself well

in speech.

-Dhammapada, 17, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

Hostilities aren't stilled

through hostility,

regardless.

Hostilities are stilled

through non-hostility:

this, an unending truth.

-Dhammapada, 1, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

"Monks, if people speak badly of me or badly of the teaching or of our order of monks, you should not because of their ill will hold any thoughts of enmity toward them or any spite, nor even be at all worried. For if you are angry or displeased with them it will hurt you more than them. Indeed, if you were to feel angry or displeased, would you then be able to know what is well intended and what is badly intended from others?"

"No, we would not be able to know this."

"So, if others speak ill of me or the teaching or the order, you should with goodwill unravel the untruth of what they have said and make it all clear to them, saying, 'For this reason, that is false; for this reason, that is untrue; these things are not within us."

-Digha Nikaya

Ecuajey

A blessing: the arising of Awakened Ones.

A blessing: the teaching of true Dhamma.

A blessing: the concord of the Sangha.

The austerity of those in concord

is a blessing.

-Dhammapada, 14, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

__________________

"Baile" - Samuel Lind

Ecuajey

They, the enlightened, intent on jhana,

delighting in stilling

& renunciation,

self-awakened & mindful:

even the devas

view them with envy.

-Dhammapada, 14, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

fetters of non-liberation

Where there is great hatred, are the fetters of hell.

Where there is great avarice, are the fetters of the tortured spirits.

Where there is great ignorance, are the fetters of the beasts.

Where there is great lust, are the fetters of man.

Where there is great envy, are the fetters of the demigods.

Where there is great pride, are the fetters of the gods.

These are the six fetters of non-liberation.

-Hundred Thousand Songs, Selections for Milarepa

Ecuajey

Calmed in body,

calmed in speech,

well-centered & calm,

having disgorged the baits of the world,

a monk is called

thoroughly

calmed.

-Dhammapada, 25, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

"Great Teacher," said Upashiva, "when one is free from attachment and craving, when everything is let go and one depends on emptiness, will one be permanently in that state?"

"When you are free from craving for sense pleasures and when you are aware of emptiness, you are free in a supreme way and that will not change. It is like a flame struck by a gust of wind. In a flash the flame has gone out. Similarly, the person is suddenly free and no more words can be said. When all the ways of being a self are let go and when all phenomena are seen to be empty, then all the ways of describing this have also vanished."

-Sutta Nipata

Ecuajey

To all of you gathered here

I say: Good fortune.

Dig up craving

--as when seeking medicinal roots, wild grass--

by the root.

Don't let Mara cut you down

--as a raging river, a reed--

over & over again.

-Dhammapada, 24, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

Guard against anger

erupting in mind;

in mind, be restrained.

Having abandoned mental misconduct,

live conducting yourself well

in mind.

Those restrained in body

--the enlightened--

restrained in speech & in mind

--enlightened--

are the ones whose restraint is secure.

-Dhammpada, 17, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

There are three ways of seeing life. In one people stick fast. In another they go to excess. In the third they see correctly.

In the first way, people take pleasure in all the things of life--in possessions and happenings, in families and continuation. When a teaching is proclaimed that advises nonattachment and going beyond the dictates of the self, their heart does not leap up and they are not drawn to it. In the second way, people are afflicted by hatred of life. Just as attached to life, they nonetheless revile it and make a bad thing of it to excess.

In the third way, people see life as it is--forever being and ceasing to be. They accept it willingly but are not attached and do not despair. It is they who begin to know the unconditioned.

-Itivuttaka Sutta

Ecuajey

Monks, there are these three roots of evil. What three?

Lust is a root of evil, hate is a root of evil, delusion is a root of evil. These are the three roots of evil.

-Itivuttaka
__________________

"Baile" - Samuel Lind

Ecuajey

"In every direction," said the Buddha, "above, below, around, and within, you see things you know and recognize. Put them down. Do not let consciousness dwell on the products of existence and things that come and go, for there is no rest of relief there. When you understand that by taking the objects of the world for granted as total reality, you are tied to the world, then this understanding will release you from your dependence on objects and will stop your craving and your desire for constant becoming. Then you can let go your hold and engage with things as they are, instead."

-Sutta Nipata

Ecuajey

Here the first things

for a discerning monk

are guarding the senses,

contentment,

restraint in line with the Patimokkha.

He should associate with admirable friends,

living purely, untiring,

hospitable by habit,

skilled in his conduct.

Gaining a manifold joy,

he will put an end

to suffering & stress.

-Dhammapada, 25, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

Gone to the beyond of becoming,

you let go of in front,

let go of behind,

let go of between.

With a heart everywhere let go,

you don't come again to birth

& aging.

-Dhammapada, 24, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

"How, dear sir, did you cross the flood?"

"By not halting friend, and by not straining I crossed the flood."

"But how is it, dear sir, that by not halting and by not straining you crossed the flood?"

"When I came to a standstill, friend, then I sank; but when I struggled, then I got swept away. It is in this way, friend, that by not halting and by not straining I crossed the flood."

-Buddha, "The Connected Discourses of the Buddha"

Ecuajey

All that we are is the result of our thoughts; it is founded on our thoughts and made up of our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world. If you speak or act with a harmful thought, trouble will follow you as the wheel follows the ox that draws the cart.

All that we are is the result of our thoughts; it is founded on our thoughts and made up of our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world. If you speak or act with a harmonious thought, happiness will follow you as your own shadow, never leaving you.

-Dhammapada

Ecuajey

Considering the harm others do to you

As created by your former deeds, do not anger.

Act such that further suffering will not be created

And your own faults will disappear.

-Nagarjuna, "Precious Garland"

Ecuajey

Greed is an imperfection that defiles the mind; hate is an imperfection that defiles the mind; delusion is an imperfection that defiles the mind.

-Buddha, "The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha"

Ecuajey

Cut through five,

let go of five,

& develop five about all.

A monk gone past five attachments

is said to have crossed the flood.

Practice jhana, monk,

and don't be heedless.

Don't take your mind roaming

in sensual strands.

Don't swallow--heedless--

the ball of iron aflame.

Don't burn & complain: 'This is pain.'

-Dhammpada, 25, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

He who treads the Path in earnest

Sees not the mistakes of the world;

If we find fault with others

We ourselves are also in the wrong.

-The Sutra of Hui Neng

Ecuajey

Just as material things are made of dust, so too are our perceptions and thoughts mere dust. Just as it takes only a moment to wipe the dust from the surface of a mirror, so it takes only a moment to become enlightened, the moment all defiled intentions are cleared from our consciousness, we will see ourselves in the mirror of perfect truth.

-Master Hsing Yun, "Describing the Indescribable"

Ecuajey

"When you practice generosity, Subhuti, you should not rely on any object to be the cause of your generosity. You should not rely on words, for they are merely labels. If you practice generosity without relying on causes or labels, you cannot conceive of the happiness. Subhuti, do you think that the space in the east can be measured?"

"No, Honored One."

"Can the space in the west, the north, or the south, or up above or down below be measured?"

"No, Honored One."

"In the same way, Subhuti, if you do not rely on any concept when practicing generosity, the happiness that results is as immeasurable as space."

-Diamond Sutra

Ecuajey

One whose beyond or

not-beyond or

beyond-&-not-beyond

can't be found;

unshackled, carefree:

he's what I call

a brahmin.

Sitting silent, dustless,

absorbed in jhana,

his task done, effluents gone,

ultimate goal attained:

he's what I call

a brahmin.

-Dhammapada, 26, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

There are, bhikkhus, two successive Dhamma-teachings of the Tathagata, the Arahant, the Fully Enlightened One. What are the two? 'See evil as evil'--this is the first Dhamma-teaching. 'Having seen evil as evil, be rid of it, be detached from it, be freed from it'--this is the second Dhamma-teaching.

-Itivuttaka

Ecuajey

Just as fog is dispelled by the strength of the sun

and is dispelled no other way,

preconception is cleared by the strength of realization.

There's no other way of clearing preconceptions.

Experience them as baseless dreams.

Experience them as ephemeral bubbles.

Experience them as insubstantial rainbows.

Experience them as indivisible space.

-Milarepa, "Drinking the Mountain Stream"

Ecuajey

The purpose of studying Buddhism is not to study Buddhism, but to study ourselves.

-Shunryu Suzuki, "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind"

Ecuajey

"Don't go by gossip and rumor, nor by what's told you by others, nor by what you hear said, nor even by the authority of your traditional teachings. Don't go by reasoning, nor by inferring one thing from another, nor by argument about methods, nor from liking an opinion, nor from awe of the teacher and thinking he must be deferred to.

"Instead, Kalamas, when you know from within yourselves that certain teachings are not good, that when put into practice they lead to loss and suffering, you must then trust yourselves and reject them."

-Anguttara Nikaya

Ecuajey

If we single-pointedly practice great compassion, then, with little effort, we will be able to gain all other virtues.

-Geshe Namgyal Wangchen, "Awakening the Mind"

Ecuajey

...The body in which one can see the truth will die out, like a fan palm, without any future. But that which is the truth, that which is existence itself, is there although it is deep and infinitely hard to understand. Like the great ocean, one cannot fathom it.

-Digha Nikaya

Ecuajey

Develop the mind of equilibrium. You will always be getting praise and blame, but do not let either affect the poise of the mind: follow the calmness, the absence of pride.

-Sutta Nipata

Ecuajey

Half the spiritual life consists in remembering what we are up against and where we are going.

-Ayya Khema, "When the Iron Eagle Flies"

Ecuajey

'I have sons, I have wealth'--

the fool torments himself.

When even he himself

doesn't belong to himself,

how then sons?

How wealth?

A fool with a sense of his foolishness

is--at least to that extent--wise.

But a fool who thinks himself wise

really deserves to be called

a fool.

-Dhammapada, 5, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

The pleasure and joy that arise in dependence on the eye: this is the gratification in the eye. That the eye is impermanent, suffering, and subject to change: this is the danger in the eye. The removal and abandonment of desire and lust from the eye: this is the escape from the eye.

-Buddha, "The Connected Discourses of the Buddha"

Ecuajey

You should be an island to yourself, a refuge to yourself, not dependent on any other but taking refuge in the truth and none other than the truth. And how do you become an island and a refuge to yourself?

In this way. You see and contemplate your body as composed of all the forces of the universe. Ardently and mindfully you steer your body-self by restraining your discontent with the world about you. In the same way, observe and contemplate your feelings and use that same ardent restraint and self-possession against enslavement by greed or desire. By seeing attachment to your body and feelings as blocking the truth, you dwell in self-possession and ardent liberation from those ties.

This is how you live as an island to yourself and a refuge to yourself. Whoever dwells in this contemplation, islanded by the truth and taking refuge in the truth--that one will come out of the darkness and into the light.

-Digha Nikaya

Ecuajey

The defining characteristic of guarding alertness

In brief is only this:

To examine again and again

The condition of my body and mind.

Therefore I shall put this way of life into actual practice,

For what can be achieved by merely talking about it?

Will a sick man be benefited <