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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,

or

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,

or

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

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.

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

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

by

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

Merely by reading the medical texts?

-Santideva, "Bodhicaryavatara"

Ecuajey

Enlightenment--that magnificent escape from anguish and ignorance--never happens by accident. It results from the brave and sometimes lonely battle of one person against his own weaknesses.

-Bhikkhu Nyanasobhano, "Landscapes of Wonder"

Ecuajey

The charity which unstores wealth leads to returns of well-stored fruit. Giving away our food we get more strength, giving away our clothes we get more beauty.

-Fo-Sho-Hing-Tsan-King

Ecuajey

Generosity begins with our recognition of our debt to others.

-Master Hsing Yun, "Describing the Indescribable"

Ecuajey

All those of compassion should encourage their minds to think: "Every living being, whether born from the womb or born in any other way, whether they have perception or none, we should bring toward the boundless freedom of liberation. And when this vast and immeasurable number of beings has been liberated, we must not believe that any being has been liberated!" Why is this? It is because no compassionate person who is truly compassionate holds to the idea of a self, a being, or a separate individual.

-Diamond Sutra

Ecuajey

If you hold yourself dear

then guard, guard yourself well.

The wise person would stay awake

nursing himself

in any of the three watches of the night,

the three stages of life.

First

he'd settle himself

in what is correct,

only then

teach others.

He wouldn't stain his name:

he is wise.

-Dhammapada, 12, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

A questioner asked the Buddha: "I would like to know about the state of peace, the state of solitude and of quiet detachment. How does a person become calm, independent, and not wanting to grasp at anything?"

"A person does this," replied the Buddha, "by eradicating the delusion of 'I am.' By being alert and attentive, he begins to let go of cravings as they arise. But whatever he begins to accomplish, he should beware of inner pride. He must avoid thinking of himself as better than another, or worse or equal, for that is all comparison and emphasizes the self.

"The person should look for peace within and not depend on it in any other place. For when a person is quiet within, the self cannot be found. There are no waves in the depths of the ocean, it is still and unbroken. It is the same with the peaceful person. He is still, without any longing to grasp. He has let go the foundations of self and no longer builds up pride and desire."

-Sutta Nipata

tiana

I will greet this day with love in my heart...

I will greet this day with love in my heart. For this is the greatest secret of success in all ventures. Muscle can split a shield and even destroy life but only the unseen power of love can open the hearts of men and until I master this art I remain no more than a peddler in the market place. I will make love my greatest weapon and none of whom I call can defend against its force. By Og Mandino...I enjoy reading Ecuajey...Looking forward for more. Thank you

Ecuajey

Thank you for your posting, tiana.

Your welcome for mine, and there will be more for all to enjoy.

__________________

"Baile" - Samuel Lind

Ecuajey

Desires achieved increase thirst like salt water.

-Milarepa, "Drinking the Mountain Stream"

Ecuajey

You should know that so far as Buddha-nature is concerned, there is no difference between an enlightened man and an ignorant one. What makes the difference is that one realizes it, while the other is ignorant of it.

-The Sutra of Hui Neng

Ecuajey

Having left behind

the human bond,

having made his way past

the divine,

from all bonds unshackled:

he's what I call

a brahmin.

Having left behind

delight & displeasure,

cooled, with no acquisitions--

a hero who has conquered

all the world,

every world:

he's what I call a brahmin.

-Dhammapada, 26, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

tiana

...and how will I do this?

I will greet this day with love in my heart...and how will I do this? Henceforth will I look on all things with love and I will be born again. I will love the sun for it warms my bones; yet I will love the rain for it cleanes my spirit. I will love the light for it shows me the way; yet I will love the darkness for it shows me the stars. I will welcome happiness for it enlarges my heart; yet I will endure sadness for it opens my soul. I will acknowledge rewards for they are my due; yet I will welcome obstacles for they are my challenge. Og Mandino

Ecuajey

Trivial thoughts, insignificant thoughts,

When followed they distract the mind.

Not understanding those thoughts

The roaming mind runs back and forth.

But by understanding those thoughts

One ardent and mindful restrains the mind.

An awakened one has overcome them completely

So they do not arise to distract the mind.

-Udana

Ecuajey

A head of gray hairs

Doesn't mean one's an elder.

Advanced in years,

One's called an old fool.

But one in whom there is

Truth, restraint,

Rectitude, gentleness,

Self-control--

He's called an elder,

His impurities disgorged,

Enlightened.

-Dhammpada, 19, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

Subhuti, do not think that when one gives rise to the highest, most fulfilled, awakened mind one needs to see all objects of mind as nonexistent, cut off from life. Please do not think in that way. One who gives rise to the awakened mind does not deny objects or say that they are nonexistent.

One who gives rise to the awakened mind should know that what is called a self or a person, a living being or a life span, is not so in essence but only in concept. The names self, person, living being, or life span are names only. Subhuti, you should know that all the things of the world are like this, and you should have confidence in their essence without names.

-Diamond Sutra

VictorManuel

Finger pointing at the moon

Buddhism seems to be like religion without the labels, a way of life for a monk or layperson. I think it is important to know the difference between the two. I once had the honor of practicing under a korean Buddhist. That void where people get lost is the space between layperson and monk. To a lay person nothingness is death, while to a monk, it simply is. So I would like to take this opportunity to encoourage the lay Buddhist community to become involved in human service and to contemplate the interbeingness of all things. Before eating an apple, look into it until you see the clouds, the rain and the sun, then find the earth and the laborers that plucked it for you. Look deep enough and one day you will see the Universe, but immediately important is to realize that we are all interconnected weather we realize it or not. This will alow you to love even your enemies. Look at trees as what they more significantly are; extentions of your lungs.

We cannot deny the love that binds us, when we imagine that we are denying it, this is when we suffer. It is because we intensify the illusion of seperation, of ego, and this leads to much thinking and much suffering.

Ecuajey

VictorManuel

Thanks for your beautiful comments!

Ecuajey

One who seeks delight in form seeks delight in suffering. One who seeks delight in suffering, I say, is not freed from suffering.

-Buddha, "The Connected Discourses of the Buddha"

Ecuajey

As a single slab of rock

Won't budge in the wind,

So the wise are not moved

By praise,

By blame.

Like a deep lake,

Clear, unruffled, & calm;

So the wise become clear,

Calm,

On hearing words of the Dhamma.

-Dhammapada, 6, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

As stars, a lamp, a fault of vision,

As dewdrops or a bubble,

A dream, a lightning flash, a cloud,

So one should see conditioned things.

-Diamond Sutra

tiana

Today I will be master of my emotions.

If I feel depressed I will sing. If I feel sad I will laugh. If I feel ill I will double my labor. If I feel fear I will plunge ahead. If I feel inferior I will wear new garments. If I feel poverty I will think of wealth to come. If I feel incompetent I will remember past success. If I feel insignificant I will remember my goals. If I become overconfident I will recall my failures. If I overindulge I will think of past hungers. If I feel complacency I will remember my competition. If I enjoy moments of greatness I will remember moments of shame. If I feel all-powerful I will try to stop the wind. If I attain great wealth I will remember one unfed mouth. If I become overly proud I will remember a moment of weakness.

If I feel my skill is unmatched I will look at the stars. Today I will be master of my emotions. Og Mandino

Ecuajey

Contrary to what some people might believe, there is nothing wrong with having pleasures and enjoyments. What is wrong is the confused way we grasp onto these pleasures, turning them from a source of happiness into a source of pain and dissatisfaction.

-Lama Thubten Yeshe, "Introduction to Tantra"

Ecuajey

Though in thought we range throughout the world,

We'll nowhere find a thing more dear than self.

So, since others hold the self so dear,

He who loves himself should injure none.

-Samyutta Nikaya

Ecuajey

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

Once, two very old brahmans, both 120 years old, came to see the Buddha. They sat down before him and said:

"We are brahmans, frail and old. We have not done anything noble or even particularly worthwhile. So now there is nothing to reduce our fear of death. Please show us a way to happiness."

The Buddha said: "Yes, brahmans, you are truly frail and old and now you are full of fear. This world is flooded with old age, sickness, and death. But if you can practice some insight into your deeds, some control over your words, and some contemplation of your thoughts, that will provide you with a refuge and a shelter.

"Your life is nearly over. No one is immune from old age and death. Remembering death and keeping it in your mind, practice performing good deeds that lead to happiness for others. One who perfoms good deeds and is thoughtful will become harmonious in body, speech, and mind. He will find that death is not to be feared but indeed brings happiness."

-Anguttara NIkaya

Ecuajey

When everything is clean-clear in your own mind,

nobody can create obstacles for you.

-Lama Thubten Yeshe, "The Bliss of Inner Fire"

Ecuajey

If you're respectful by habit,

Constantly honoring the worthy,

Four things increase:

Long life, beauty,

Happiness, strength.

-Dhammapada, 8, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

tiana

I will laugh at the world...

No living creature can laugh except man. Trees may bleed when they are wounded, and beasts in the field will cry in pain and hunger, yet only I have the gift of laughter. I will smile and my digestion will improve;I will chuckle and my burdens will be lightened. I will laugh and my life will be lenghtened for this is the great secret of long life and now is mine. I will laugh at the world. And most of all I will laugh at myself for man is most comical when he takes himself to seriously. Never will I fall into the trap of the mind. For though I be nature's greatest miracle am I not still a mere grain tossed about by the winds of time? Do I truly know whence I came or whither I am bound? Will my concern for this day not seem foolish ten years hence? Why should I permit the petty happenings of today to disturb me? What can take place before this sun sets which will not seem insignificant in the river of centuries? I will laugh at the world. And how can I laugh when confronted with man or deed which offends me so as to bring fourth my tears or my curses? For words I will train myself to say until they become a habit so strong that immediately they will appear in my mind whenever good humor threatens to depart from me. These words, passed down from the ancients, will carry me through every adversity and maintain my life in balance. These four words are: This too shall pass. Og Mandino

Ecuajey

This robe of freedom from cold

isn't matched by ordinary clothes.

This concentration free of hunger

is unequaled by ordinary meat and beer.

This draught at the stream of enlightenment

isn't matched by ordinary drink.

This satisfaction born within

isn't equaled by ordinary treasure.

-Milarepa, "Drinking the Mountain Stream"

Ecuajey

Subhuti asked: "Is it possible to find perfect wisdom through reflection or listening to statements or through signs or attributes, so that one can say 'This is it' or 'Here it is'?"

The Buddha answered: "No, Subhuti. Perfect wisdom can't be learned or distinguished or thought about or found through the senses. This is because nothing in this world can be finally explained, it can only be experienced, and thus all things are just as they are. Perfect wisdom can never be experienced apart from all things. To see the Suchness of things, which is their empty calm being, is to see them just as they are. It is in this way that perfect wisdom and the material world are not two, they are not divided. As a result of Suchness, of calm and empty being, perfect wisdom cannot be known about intellectually. Nor can the things of the world, for they are understood only through names and ideas. Where there is no learning or finding out, no concepts or conventional words, it is in that place one can say there is perfect wisdom."

-Ashtasahasrika

Ecuajey

Life's easy to live

for someone unscrupulous,

cunning as a crow,

corrupt, back-biting,

forward, & brash;

But for someone who's constantly

scrupulous, cautious,

observant, sincere,

pure in his livelihood,

clean in his pursuits,

it's hard.

-Dhammapada, 18, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

We are not compelled to meditate by some outside agent, by other people, or by God. Rather, just as we are responsible for our own suffering, so are we solely responsible for our own cure. We have created the situation in which we find ourselves, and it is up to us to create the circumstances for our release.

-Lama Thubten Yeshe, "Wisdom Energy"

Ecuajey

Just as a mother would protect with her life her own son, her only son, so one should cultivate an unbounded mind towards all beings,

and loving-kindness towards all the world. One should cultivate an unbounded mind, above and below and across, without obstruction, without enmity, without rivalry.

Standing, or going, or seated, or lying down, as long as one is free from drowsiness, one should practice this mindfulness. This, they say, is the holy state here.

-Sutta Nipata

Ecuajey

Those with initiative,

mindful,

clean in action,

acting with due consideration,

heedful, restrained,

living the Dharma:

their glory

grows.

Through initiative, heedfulness,

restraint, & self-control,

the wise would make

an island

no flood

can submerge.

-Dhammapada, 2, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

There is a sphere where there is neither earth nor water nor heat nor air, for it is beyond the field of matter; nor is it the sphere of infinite space, or consciousness, for it is beyond the field of mind. There is not the condition of nothingness, neither is there the state of this world or another world, nor sun nor moon. This is the uncreated.

This condition I call neither arising nor passing away, neither dying nor being born. It is without form and without change. It is the eternal, which never originates and never passes away. To find it is the end of sorrow.

-Udana Sutta

Ecuajey

Hunger: the foremost illness.

Fabrications: the foremost pain.

For one knowing this truth

As it actually is,

Unbinding

Is the foremost ease.

Freedom from illness: the foremost good fortune.

Contentment: the foremost wealth.

Trust: the foremost kinship.

Unbinding: the foremost ease.

-Dhammapada, 15, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

In whom there's no craving

--the sticky ensnarer--

to lead him anywherever at all;

awakened, his pasture endless,

pathless:

by what path will you lead him astray?

-Dhammapada, 14, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

Karma is not something complicated or philosophical. Karma means watching your body, watching your mouth, and watching your mind. Trying to keep these three doors as pure as possible is the practice of karma.

-Lama Thubten Yeshe, "The Bliss of Inner Fire"

Ecuajey

"I am not, I will not be.

I have not, I will not have."

That frightens all the childish

And extinguishes fear in the wise.

-Nagarjuna, "Precious Garland"

Ecuajey

And better than a hundred years

lived apathetic & unenergetic, is

one day

lived energetic & firm.

-Dhammapada, 8, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

Empty and calm and devoid of self

Is the nature of all things.

No individual being

In reality exists.

There is no end or beginning,

Nor any middle course.

All is an illusion,

As in a vision or a dream.

All beings in the world

Are beyond the realm of words.

Their ultimate nature, pure and true,

Is like the infinity of space.

-Prajnaparamita

Ecuajey

Some people live closely guarded lives, fearful of encountering someone or something that might shatter their insecure spiritual foundation. This attitude, however, is not the fault of religion but of their own limited understanding. True Dharma leads in exactly the opposite direction. It enables one to integrate all the many diverse experiences of life into a meaningful and coherent whole, thereby banishing fear and insecurity completely.

-Lama Thubten Yeshe, "Wisdom Energy"

Ecuajey

By amending our mistakes, we get wisdom.

By defending our faults, we betray an unsound mind.

-The Sutra of Hui Neng

Ecuajey

Abandoning false speech, he abstains from false speech; he speaks truth, adheres to truth, is trustworthy and reliable, one who is no deceiver of the world.

-Majjhima Nikaya

Ecuajey

From contact comes feeling. From feeling comes reaction. This is what keeps us in the cycle of birth and death. Our reactions to our feelings are our passport to rebirth.

-Ayya Khema, "Being Nobody, Going Nowhere"

Ecuajey

One sees pleasure as suffering

And sees pain as a dart.

One sees as impermanent the peaceful feeling

That is neither pleasant nor painful.

Such a bhikkhu who sees rightly

Is thereby well released.

Accomplished in knowledge, at peace,

That sage has overcome all bonds.

-Itivuttaka

Ecuajey

Ananda said: "Friendship with what is lovely, association with what is lovely, intimacy with what is lovely--that is half of the holy life."

The Buddha responded: "Don't say that, Ananda. It's the whole not the half of the holy life. One so blessed with what is lovely will develop a right way of being, a thinking that no longer grasps at what is untrue, an aim that is concerned and ready, a contemplation that is unattached and free. Association with what is lovely is the whole of the holy life."

-Samyutta Nikaya

Ecuajey

Don't strain. Don't force anything or make grand, exaggerated efforts. Meditation is not aggressive. There is no place or need for violent striving. Just let your effort be relaxed and steady.

-Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, "Mindfulness in Plain English"

Ecuajey

It's better to leave a misdeed

undone.

A misdeed burns you afterward.

Better that a good deed be done

that, after you've done it,

won't make you burn.

-Dhammapada, 22, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

What is this true meditation? It is to make everything: coughing, swallowing, waving the arms, motion, stillness, words, action, the evil and the good, prosperity and shame, gain and loss, right and wrong, into one single koan.

-Hakuin, "Zen Master Hakuin"

Ecuajey

I--like an elephant in battle,

enduring an arrow shot from a bow--

will endure a false accusation,

for the mass of people

have no principles.

The tamed is the one

they take into assemblies.

The tamed is the one

the king mounts.

The tamed who endures a false accusation

is, among human beings,

the best.

-Dhammapada, 23, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

Subhuti said: "If I understand correctly, one who wishes to reach perfect wisdom should study the way things are in the world and should practice the perfections fully and in depth but should not believe them to be ultimately real, nor should he make concepts and doctrines out of them."

The Buddha replied: "Just so, Subhuti. The one who contemplates existence in this way knows the nature of the conditioned and of the unconditioned and makes himself an expert in pointing out the truth to others, both with words and without words."

Subhuti asked: "But is this just for the wise and the intelligent?"

"No, indeed," replied the Buddha. "This is open to all, even to the dull witted and to those who can't pay attention. The door is open to anyone who wants to tread this path--but not to the person who is lazy and indifferent."

-Prajnaparamita

Ecuajey

See it as a bubble,

See it as a mirage;

One who regards the world this way

the King of Death doesn't see.

Come, look at this world

all decked out

like a royal chariot,

where fools plunge in,

while those who know

don't cling.

-Dhammapada 13, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

Subhuti asked: "Is perfect wisdom beyond thinking? Is it unimaginable and totally unique but nevertheless reaching the unreachable and attaining the unattainable?"

The Buddha replied: "Yes, Subhuti, it is exactly so. And why is perfect wisdom beyond thinking? It is because all its points of reference cannot be thought about but can be apprehended. One is the disappearance of the self-conscious person into pure presence. Another is the knowing of the essenceless essence of all things in the world. And another is luminous knowledge that knows without a knower. None of these points can sustain ordinary thought because they are not objects or subjects. They can't be imagined or touched or approached in any way by any ordinary mode of consciousness, therefore they are beyond thinking."

-Prajnaparamita

Ecuajey

With the proper understanding of transformation, whatever we do, twenty-four hours a day, can bring us closer to our goal of totality and self-fulfillment. All our actions--walking, eating, and even urinating!--can be brought into our spiritual path. Even our sleep, which is usually spent in the darkness of unconsciousness or in the chaos of dreams, can be turned into the clear-light experience of subtle, penetrating wisdom.

Wisdom Publications 2001

Ecuajey

When the ear hears, observe the mind. Does it get caught up and make a story out of the sound? Is it disturbed? You can know this, stay with it, be aware. At times you may want to escape from the sounds, but that is not the way out. You must escape through awareness.

-Ajahn Chah, "Still Forest Pool"

Ecuajey

Better

than if there were thousands

of meaningless words is

one

meaningful

word

that on hearing

brings peace.

-Dhammapada, 8, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

Fleeting is this world

Growth and decay its very nature

Things spring to being and again they cease

Happy the marvel of them and the peace.

-Nidana Vagga

tiana

On Talking

And then a scholar said, "Speak of Talking."

And he answered, saying:

You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts;

And when you can no longer dwell in the solitude of your heart you live in your lips, and sound is a diversion and a pastime.

And in much of your talking, thinking is half murdered.

For thought is a bird of space, that in a cage of words many indeed unfold its wings but cannot fly.

There are those among you who seek the talkative through fear of being alone.

The silence of aloneness reveals to their eyes their naked selves and they would escape.

And there are those who talk, and without knowledge or forethought reveal a truth which they themselves do not understand.

And there are those who have the truth within them, but they tell it not in words.

In the bosom of such as these the spirit dwells in rhythmic silence.

When you meet your friend on the roadside or in the market place, let the spirit in you move your lips and direct your tongue.

Let the voice within your voice speak to the ear of his ear;

For his soul will keep the truth of your heart as the taste of the wine is remembered

When the colour is forgotten and the vessel is no more.

by Kahlil Gibran

Ecuajey

Having enjoyed a sweet delicious taste,

And having sometimes tasted what is bitter,

Do not greedily enjoy the sweet taste,

Do not feel aversion toward the bitter.

When touched by pleasant contact, do not be enthralled,

Do not tremble when touched by pain.

Look evenly on both the pleasant and painful,

Not drawn or repelled by anything.

-Buddha, "The Connected Discourses of the Buddha"

tiana

On Pain

And a woman spoke, saying, "Tell us of Pain."

And he said:

Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.

Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain.

And could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life, your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy;

And you would accept the seasons of your heart, even as you have always accepted the seasons that pass over your fields.

And you would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief.

Much of your pain is self-chosen.

It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self.

Therefore trust the physician, and drink his remedy in silence and tranquillity:

For his hand, though heavy and hard, is guided by the tender hand of the Unseen,

And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips, has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter has moistened with His own sacred tears.

by Kahlil Gibran

Ecuajey

Few are the people

who reach the Far Shore.

These others

simply scurry along

this shore.

But those who practice Dhamma

in the line with the well-taught Dhamma,

will cross over the realm of Death

so hard to transcend.

-Dhammapada, 6, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

tiana

On Death

Then Almitra spoke, saying, "We would ask now of Death."

And he said:

You would know the secret of death.

But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?

The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.

If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.

For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.

In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;

And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.

Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.

Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour.

Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?

Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?

For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?

And what is to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?

Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.

And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.

And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.

by Kahlil Gibran

Ecuajey

Real peace will arise spontaneously

When your mind becomes free

Of attachments,

When you know that the objects of the world

Can never give you what you really want.

-Theragatha

Ecuajey

The king said: 'Nagasena, he who escapes reindividualization [rebirth], is it by reasoning that he escapes it?'

'Both by reasoning, your Majesty, and by wisdom, and by other good qualities.'

'But are not reasoning and wisdom surely much the same?'

'Certainly not. Reasoning is one thing, wisdom another. Sheep and goats, oxen and buffaloes, camels and asses have reasoning, but wisdom they have not.'

'Well put, Nagasena!'

-Milindapanha 32

Ecuajey

Cut down

The forest of desire,

Not the forest of trees.

From the forest of desire

Come danger & fear.

Having cut down this forest

& its underbrush, monks,

be deforested.

-Dhammapada, 20, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

A mother, even at the risk of her own life, protects her child, her only child. In the same way should you cultivate love without measure toward all beings. You should cultivate toward the whole world--above, below, around--a heart of love unstinted, unmixed with any sense of differing or opposing interests. You should maintain this mindfulness all the time you are awake. Such a state of heart is the best in the world.

-Majjhima Nikaya

Ecuajey

To probe deep into your roots:

The ignorance and confusion are you yourself.

The preconceptions which are yourself

Are envoys and agents sent by yourself.

-"Drinking the Mountain Stream: Songs of Tibet's Beloved Saint, Milarepa"

tiana

On Reason & Passion

And the priestess spoke again and said:

"Speak to us of Reason and Passion."

And he answered saying:

Your soul is oftentimes a battlefield, upon which your reason and your judgment wage war against passion and your appetite.

Would that I could be the peacemaker in your soul, that I might turn the discord and the rivalry of your elements into oneness and melody.

But how shall I, unless you yourselves be also the peacemakers, nay, the lovers of all your elements?

Your reason and your passion are the rudder and the sails of your seafaring soul.

If either your sails or our rudder be broken, you can but toss and drift, or else be held at a standstill in mid-seas.

For reason, ruling alone, is a force confining; and passion, unattended, is a flame that burns to its own destruction.

Therefore let your soul exalt your reason to the height of passion; that it may sing;

And let it direct your passion with reason, that your passion may live through its own daily resurrection, and like the phoenix rise above its own ashes.

I would have you consider your judgment and your appetite even as you would two loved guests in your house.

Surely you would not honour one guest above the other; for he who is more mindful of one loses the love and the faith of both.

Among the hills, when you sit in the cool shade of the white poplars, sharing the peace and serenity of distant fields and meadows - then let your heart say in silence, "God rests in reason."

And when the storm comes, and the mighty wind shakes the forest, and thunder and lightning proclaim the majesty of the sky, - then let your heart say in awe, "God moves in passion."

And since you are a breath In God's sphere, and a leaf in God's forest, you too should rest in reason and move in passion.

by Kahlil Gibran

Ecuajey

Every minute you perform hundreds of karmic actions, yet you are hardly conscious of any of them. In the stillness of meditation, however, you can listen to your mind, the source of all this activity. You learn to be aware of your actions to a far greater extent than ever before. This self-awareness leads to self-control, enabling you to master your karma rather than be mastered by it.

-Lama Thubten Yeshe, "In Wisdom Energy"

Ecuajey

You could, month by month,

at a cost of thousands,

conduct sacrifices

a hundred times

or

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.

Ecuajey

A name is imposed on what is thought to be a thing or a state and this divides it from other things and other states. But when you pursue what lies behind the name, you find a greater and greater subtlety that has no divisions. Atoms of dust are not really atoms of dust but are merely called that. In the same way, a world is not a world but is merely called that.

-Visuddhi Magga

Ecuajey

If we're looking for outer conditions to bring us contentment, we're looking in vain.

-Ayya Khema, "Be an Island"

Ecuajey

Tibetan lamas often say: "Not seeing is the perfect seeing." Strange words, perhaps, but they have a profound meaning. They describe the advanced meditator's experience of spacious, universal reality, the experience beyond dualism.

-Lama Thubten Yeshe, "Introduction to Tantra"

Ecuajey

When we say, "I take refuge in the Buddha," we should also understand that "The Buddha takes refuge in me," because without the second part the first part is not complete. The Buddha needs us for awakening, understanding, and love to be real things and not just concepts. They must be real things that have real effects on life. Whenever I say, "I take refuge in the Buddha," I hear "the Buddha takes refuge in me."

-Thich Nhat Hanh, "Being Peace"

Ecuajey

Everywhere, truly,

those of integrity

stand apart.

They, the good,

don't chatter in hopes

of favor or gains.

When touched

now by pleasure,

now pain,

the wise give no sign

of high

or low.

-Dhammapada, 6, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

Describing his awakening, the Buddha said: "Coming to be, coming to be! Ceasing to be, ceasing to be! At that thought, monks, there arose in me a vision of things not before called to mind. Knowledge arose--such is form, such is the coming to be of form, such is its passing away. Recognition arose--such is its coming to be, such is its passing away. And the state of abiding in the understanding of arising and passing away--that too arose."

-Samyutta Nikaya

Ecuajey

Our mind and our delusions are formless and colorless. However, our ignorance believing in true existence is harder than a rocky mountain. Our delusions are harder than steel.

-Lama Zopa Rinpoche, "The Door to Satisfaction"

Ecuajey

In the gloom and darkness of the night, when there is a sudden flash of light, a person will recognize objects; in the same way, the one with a flash of insight sees according to reality--"This is how sorrow works; this is how it arises; this is how it can come to an end; this is the path leading to that end."

-Anguttara Nikaya

Ecuajey

When someone asks you a question, answer him or her sincerely, and when you are not asked, do not force your teaching upon others.

-Jae Woong Kim, "Polishing the Diamond"

Ecuajey

An act of meditation is actually an act of faith--of faith in your spirit, in your own potential. Faith is the basis of meditation. Not of faith in something outside you--a metaphysical buddha, an unattainable ideal, or someone else's words. The faith is in yourself, in your own "buddha-nature." You too can be a buddha, an awakened being that lives and responds in a wise, creative, and compassionate way.

-Martine Batchelor, "Meditation for Life"

Ecuajey

In reply to the question, What is the best that people can possess, what brings them truest happiness, what is the sweetest of the sweet, and what is the pleasantest life to live? The Buddha answered:

"Trust is the best that people can possess; following the way brings happiness; truth is the sweetest of the sweet; and the practice of insight is the pleasantest way to live."

-Sutta Nipata

Ecuajey

Whenever you hear that someone else has been successful, rejoice. Always practice rejoicing for others--whether your friend or your enemy. If you cannot practice rejoicing, no matter how long you live, you will not be happy.

-Lama Zopa Rinpoche, "Transforming Problems Into Happiness"

Ecuajey

Therefore the practice is like a key, the key of meditation. If we have the right key in our hand, no matter how tightly the lock is closed, when we take the key and turn it the lock falls open. If we have no key we can't open the lock. We will never know what is in the trunk.

-Ajahn Chah, "Living Dharma"

Ecuajey

Different winds come from all directions. Some are clear, some carry dust, some are cold or hot, fierce gales or gentle breezes. In the same way sensations arise in the body--pleasant or unpleasant or neutral. When a meditator sees sensations as he does the winds, coming and going, clear or dust laden, fierce or gentle, he will fully understand them and be free from dependence on them. When he understands sensations perfectly, he will see beyond this conditioned world.

-Samyutta Nikaya

Ecuajey

Just like a blossom,

bright colored

but scentless:

a well-spoken word

is fruitless

when not carried out.

-Dhammapada, 4, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

Mindfulness is not just a word or a discourse by the Buddha, but a meaningful state of mind. It means we have to be here now, in this very moment, and we have to know what is happening internally and externally. It means being alert to our motives and learning to change unwholesome thoughts and emotions into wholesome ones. Mindfulness is a mental activity that in due course eliminates all suffering.

-Ayya Khema, "Be an Island"

R2D22002

These are beautiful!

Ecuayey, thanks for posting these beautiful inspirational thoughts or whatever you call it. You don't have to be a budhist to enjoy the peacefulness and at times wisdom in them. I love reading them.

__________________

Annie

Ecuajey

R2D22002

You're welcome, I'm glad you've enjoyed them. You're right, you don't need to be a Buddhist to appreciate these wisdoms. All you need is an open-mind and willing heart.

__________________

"Baile" - Samuel Lind

Ecuajey

Abandoning malicious speech, he abstains from malicious speech; he does not repeat elsewhere what he has heard here in order to divide (those people) from these, nor does he repeat to these people what he has heard elsewhere in order to divide (these people) from those; thus he is one who reunites those who are divided, a promoter of friendships, who enjoys concord, rejoices in concord, delights in concord, a speaker of words that promote concord.

-Majjhima Nikaya

Ecuajey

Whoever harasses

an innocent man,

a man pure, without blemish;

the evil comes right back to the fool

like fine dust

thrown against the wind.

-Dhammapada, 9, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

Eventually we will find (mostly in retrospect, of course) that we can be very grateful to those people who have made life most difficult for us.

-Ayya Khema, "When the Iron Eagle Flies"

Ecuajey

When one comes to the Essence of Being,

The shining Wisdom of Reality

Illumines all like the cloudless sky.

-Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa

Ecuajey

Irrigators guide the water.

Fletchers shape the arrow shaft.

Carpenters shape the wood.

The wise control themselves.

-Dhammapada, 6, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

Since the old days, it is said that "anger is the fire in one's mind that burns away all of one's virtuous deeds." Anger should be absolutely surrendered.

-Jae Woong Kim, "Polishing the Diamond"

Ecuajey

Conquer anger

with lack of anger;

bad, with good;

stinginess, with generosity;

a liar, with truth.

-Dhammapada, 17, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

It is in this way that we must train ourselves: by liberation of the self through love. We will develop love, we will practice it, we will make it both a way and a basis, take our stand upon it, store it up, and thoroughly set it going.

-Samyutta Nikaya

Ecuajey

And what, monks, is Right Thought? The thought of renunciation, the thought of non-ill-will, the thought of harmlessness. This, monks, is called Right Thought.

-Digha Nikaya

Ecuajey

You follow desire, and you are not satisfied.

Again you follow desire, and again you are not satisfied.

Again you try, and again you are not satisfied.

-Lama Zopa Rinpoche, "Transforming Problems Into Happiness"

Ecuajey

Live the Dhamma well.

Don't live it badly.

One who lives the Dhamma

sleeps with ease

in this world & the next.

-Dhammapada, 13, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

Attentiveness is the path to true life;

Indifference is the path to death.

The attentive do not die;

The indifferent are as if they are dead already.

-Dhammapada

Ecuajey

Having drunk the sweetness of solitude and also the sweetness of tranquility, one becomes free from fear and wrongdoing while drinking the sweetness of the joy of truth.

-Sutta Nipata

Ecuajey

A man long absent

comes home safe from afar.

His kin, his friends, his companions,

delight in his return.

In just the same way,

when you've done good

& gone from this world

to the world beyond,

your good deeds receive you--

as kin, someone dear

come home.

-Dhammapada, 16, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

Try to be reasonable in the way you grow, and don't ever think it is too late. It is never too late. Even if you are going to die tomorrow, keep yourself straight and clear and be a happy human being today. If you keep your situation happy day by day, you will eventually reach the greatest happiness of enlightenment.

-Lama Thubten Yeshe, The Bliss of Inner Fire

Ecuajey

Attentiveness is the path to true life;

Indifference is the path to death.

The attentive do not die;

The indifferent are as if they are dead already.

-Dhammapada

Ecuajey

No flower's scent

goes against the wind

not sandalwood,

jasmine,

tagara.

But the scent of the good

does go against the wind.

The person of integrity

wafts a scent

in every direction.

-Dhammapada, 4, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

If we have...presence of mind then whatever work we do will be the very tool which enables us to know right and wrong continually. There's plenty of time to meditate, we just don't fully understand the practice, that's all. While sleeping we breathe, eating we breathe, don't we? Why don't we have time to meditate? Wherever we are we breathe. If we think like this then our life has as much value as our breath, wherever we are we have time.

-Ajahn Chah, "Taste of Freedom"

Ecuajey

As a mother would risk her life

to protect her child, her only child,

even so should one cultivate a limitless heart

with regard to all beings.

With good will for the entire cosmos,

cultivate a limitless heart:

Above, below, & all around,

unobstructed, without hostility or hate.

Whether standing, walking,

sitting, or lying down,

as long as one is alert,

one should be resolved on this mindfulness.

This is called a sublime abiding

here & now.

-Sutta Nipata

Ecuajey

Develop a meditation that is like water. Doing this, you will find that the thoughts and impressions that possess you will flow away. Just as people wash away their body liquids, their sweat and spittle, pus and blood, and yet the water is not troubled or disgusted--so this water meditation will bring you peace.

-Majjhima Nikaya

Ecuajey

Not even if it rained gold coins

would we have our fill

of sensual pleasures.

'Stressful,

they give little enjoyment'--

knowing this, the wise one

finds no delight

even in heavenly sensual pleasures.

He is one who delights

in the ending of craving,

A disciple of the Rightly

Self-Awakened One.

-Dhammapada, 14, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

Flow with whatever may happen

and let your mind be free;

Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing.

This is the ultimate.

-Chuang Tsu

Ecuajey

If we divide into two camps--even into violent and the nonviolent--and stand in one camp while attacking the other, the world will never have peace. We will always blame and condemn those we feel are responsible for wars and social injustice, without recognizing the degree of violence within ourselves. We must work on ourselves and also with those we condemn if we want to have a real impact.

-Ayya Khema, "Be An Island"

Ecuajey

If the perfection of generosity

Were the alleviation of the world's poverty,

Then since beings are still starving now

In what manner did the previous Buddhas perfect it?

The perfection of generosity is said to be

The thought to give all beings everything,

Together with the fruit of such a thought.

Hence it is simply a state of mind.

-Santideva, "Bodhicaryavatara"

Ecuajey

Wisdom does not mean knowledge but experiential understanding. Wisdom helps you to change radically your habits and perceptions, as you discover the constantly changing, interconnected nature of the whole of existence.

-Martine Batchelor, "Meditation For Life"

boricuafrican

i sure hope you can remember all of these "wisdoms"...

we must all remember that wisdom in general is knowing what's wise in particular...

__________________

sincerely, boricuafrican

Ecuajey

Negligence produces a lot of dirt. As in a house, so in the mind, only a very little dirt collects in a day or two, but if it goes on for many years, it will grow into a vast heap of refuse.

-Commentary to Sutta Nipata

Ecuajey

Attention is living; inattention is dying.

The attentive never stop; the inattentive are dead already.

-Dhammapada 21, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

A questioner asked the Buddha:

"Life seems a tangle--

An inner tangle and an outer tangle.

This generation is hopelessly tangled up.

And so I ask the Buddha this question:

Who will succeed in disentangling this tangle?"

The Buddha replied:

"When a wise one, thoughtful and good,

Develops a greater consciousness,

He will understand the tangle.

As a truth follower, ardent and wise,

He will succeed in disentangling the tangle."

-Samyutta Nikaya

Ecuajey

Where is thought? It can never be seen or even apprehended. It is like a magical illusion, for with imagination it colors the world. Searching for thought, unable to see it, a person looks for its origin. And it seems to be that where there is an object thought arises. Thought does not arise without an object. Can thought look at thought? No. Just as the blade of a sword cannot cut itself, or a fingertip touch itself, so thought cannot see thought.

-Sikshasamuccaya

hbic

Nov 21st?

How can the last post on this be November 21st when it's only November 19?

boricuafrican

sometimes computers are too fast for their own good!!!...my computer is already in the year 2004!!!

__________________

sincerely, boricuafrican

tiana

hbic

All times are GMT.

Ecuajey

From striving comes wisdom;

from not, wisdom's end.

Knowing these two courses

--to development

decline--

conduct yourself

so that wisdom will grow.

-Dhammapada, 20, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ecuajey

The mind is something more radiant than anything else can be, but because counterfeits--passing defilements--come and obscure it, it loses its radiance, like the sun when obscured by clouds. Don't go thinking that the sun goes after the clouds. Instead, the clouds come drifting along and obscure the sun.

-Ajaan Mun, "Heart Released"

Ecuajey

The one whose mind knows the clarity of perfect wisdom is never afraid or even anxious. Why? Because when being at one with the living power of wisdom, the mother of all the buddhas, that person has the strength to remain in a state of undivided contemplation even while ceaselessly and skillfully engaging in compassionate action. The wise one is enabled to act because of concentration on a single prayer: "May all beings never leave the path of enlightenment, which is their own true nature and is empty of separate self-existence."

-Prajnaparamita

All the faults of our mind our selfishness, ignorance, anger, attachment, guilt, and other disturbing thoughts are temporary, not permanent and everlasting. And since the cause of our suffering our disturbing thoughts and obscurations is temporary, our suffering is also temporary.

-Lama Zopa Rinpoche, "Ultimate Healing:

Ecuajey

When a person has lived properly and acted generously, he grasps the way things are. He is not dependent on attachments; he is free from anger and aversions; what he does becomes perfect action.

The pureness of perfectly balanced action based on seeing the way things are--this is freedom and the ending of ignorance.

-Sutta Nipata

No matter how hard you pursue pleasure and success, there are times when you fail. No matter how fast you flee, there are times when pain catches up with you.

-Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, "Mindfulness In Plain English"

Ecuajey

If your mind becomes firm like a rock

And no longer shakes

In a world where everything is shaking,

Your mind will be your greatest friend

And suffering will not come your way.

-Theragatha

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