Daily Buddhist Verses

last SG · 2005-05-29T17:49:29+00:00

Our normal way of relating people is to see ourself as separate from the others.To objectify beings as separate you and make them an object of attachment is...

cycle SG

This story is about Emperor Alexandra the Great who was travelling towards India on his Favorite horse Busiphalus. His triumphant march was such a splendid and glorious pageant that everyone rushed to catch a glimpse of it. But by the side of the road along which the entourage marched, a person clad in yellow slept unperturbed by it. The emperor's attention was turned to this one man who was not at all worried about his march. The emperor rode to him. When he came near, that person calmly got up and sat down crossed-legged.

The emperor asked, "Do you know who am I?"
The robed persson replied, "No, I don't know you."
"I am Emperor Alexander the Great," said the emperor.
The robed person said, "All right, what about it?"
"I possess all the land from Macedonia to India." said the emperor.
"So?" the robed person replied.
"I am the lord of nine great rivers in the land from Macedonia to India, and all the fields, orchards and houses on this vast area of land belong to me."
The robed person said, "Emperor, may I ask a question or two?"
The emperor replied, "Yes. Go on."
"Emperor, do you get hungry sometimes?" the robed person asked gently.
The emperor answered, "Yes."
"When you are hungry, do you eat all the produce of the flieds, orchards, and lands you own?" he questioned.
"No, I eat only a little food." the emperor replied.
"Emperor, do you feel thirsty sometimes?" the robed person continued.
"Certainly." the emperor replied.
"Do you drink the water in all the rivers you own when you are thirsty?" the robed person prodded.
"No, I only drink a little to quench my thirst."
"Do you feel sleepy at times?"
The emperor answered, "Yes, of course."
"when you are sleepy, do you sleep on all the lands from Macedonia to India?" the robed person queried.
The emperor replied, "No, of course not."
"Emperor, then what on earth is the meaning of all the material gains you have acquired?" the robed one finally asked.

The robed person who taught Emperor Alexander the Great about the difference between material wealth and spiritual wealth was a Venerable Buddhist monk. What lasts is spiritual wealth.

The last days of the mighty Emperor Alexander the Great was brought on by a tiny mosquito. He eventually succumbed to malaria.

~ Extract from an article by Ven. Weragoda Sarada Nayaka Maha Thero, in Vaidurya vol. 42

cycle SG

We become unhappy because our wants are unrealistic. It clashes with the reality of the world. Many of us are victims of negative concepts which are against the reality of life. We have this idea that bad things can happen to others but not to ourselves. That's why I say that we create voluntary suffering through our unrealistic approach to life.

~ Ven. B. Dhammaratana, Founder of Buddhist Library,Singapore

cycle SG

The world doesn't cause your problems. It's your reaction to the world, the bad reaction that causes suffering. We can't control other people's actions, only our own. So choose to be happy, and never allow anyone to take our happiness away from us.

Happiness means peace of mind and joy in the mind. In the deep sense, it is a mental energy developed through meditation and kindness which empowers you.

~ Ajahn Brahm

cycle SG

Why is our mind not subdued? It's because our mind is always under the control of emotions and mental afflictions. Therefore we need to rely on mindfulness and vigilance to prevent negative emotions from arising. The main practice is to remember the faults of self-cherishing. We must remember that it is the cause of all ours and others' unhappiness. Then we should remember the benefits of cherishing other sentient beings.

~ Geshe Lhundrup Rigsel

cycle SG

Liberation can only be gained by practice, never by mere discussion.

~ Master teacher of meditation S.N. Goenka

theta SG

The Buddha said, "So, Subhuti, all the bodhisattva Mahasattvas should give rise to a pure and clear intention in this spirit. When they give rise to this intention, they should not rely on forms, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile objects, or objects of mind. They should give rise to an intention with their minds not dwelling anywhere.'

~ Diamond Sutra

theta SG

"Subhuti, if a bodhisattva does not rely on any concept when practicing generosity, then the happiness that results from that virtuous act is as great as space. It cannot be measured. Subhuti, the bodhisattvas should let their minds dwell in the teachings I have just given."

~ Diamond Sutra

winnie^_^ SG

thanks all for the quotes! Smile

cycle SG

Two monks were watching a flag flapping in the wind. One said to the other, "The flag is moving."
The other replied, "The wind is moving."
Hui-neng overheard this. He said, "Not the flag, not the wind; mind is moving."

~ A zen koan

theta SG

Lord Buddha continued:

"Subhuti, if someone gives treasures equal to the number of sands on the shores of the Ganges river, and if another, having realized the egolessness of all things, thereby understands selflessness, the latter would be more blessed than the one who practiced external charity. Why? Because great disciples do not see blessings and merit as a private possession, as something to be gained."

Subhuti inquired of the lord Buddha, "What do you mean 'great disciples do not see blessings and merit as a private possession'?"

The Buddha replied:

"Because those blessings and merit have never been sought after by those great disciples, they do not see them as private possessions, but they see them as the common possession of all beings."

~ Diamond Sutra

cycle SG

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen. Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor's cup full, and then kept on pouring.

The professor watched the overflow until he could not restrain himself. "It is overfull. No more will go in."

"Like a cup," Nan-in said, "you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"

~ Muju, Shaseki-shu

An Eternal Now SG

The total amount of happiness
That exists in the world has come from
Wanting to make others happy.
The total amount of suffering
That exists in the world has come from
Wanting to make yourself happy.

What need is there for many words?
The children of the world
Work for their own sake;
The able Buddhas do their labor
For the sake of others
Come and see the difference.

~ Shantideva (The Bodhicaryavatara)

An Eternal Now SG

Full sutra: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn12/sn12.012.than.html

"But who, Venerable One, is it that feels?"
"This question is not proper," said the Exalted One.
I do not teach that there is one who feels.
If, however, the question is put thus:
'Conditioned through what does feeling arise?' then the answer will be 'Through sense impressions as a condition feeling [arises]; with feeling as a condition, craving [arises]."

--SN II 13

cycle SG

Buddhism emphasizes cultivation or correcting our thoughts and behaviour. It is to correct everything that arises from our body, mouth and mind, the three karmas of erroneous behavior, speech and thoughts. To correct the three karmas, we start from the mind as the Zen school teaches, " cultivation should start from the root". What is the root? The mind. If our mind is proper then our thought, speech and behavior will likewise be proper.

~Ven. master Chin Kung, Buddhism: The Wisdom of Compassion and Awakening

cycle SG

If any individual is compassionate and altruistic, wherever that person moves, he or she will immediately makes friends.

~ Dalai Lama, The Art of Living

theta SG

"Subhûti, when a bodhisattva wants to confer benefit on all sentient beings, she should practice charity like this. I teach that all notions are not notions. I also teach that all sentient beings are not sentient beings.

Subhûti, my words are true they are authentic, and they explain things they way they are. My words are not deceptions, and they are not erroneous.

Subhûti, the dharma that I have attained, as a teaching, has neither truth nor falsity. Subhûti, if a bodhisattva practices charity while abiding in [notions of] the teaching, it is like a person in the dark who cannot see anything. If a bodhisattva practices charity while not abiding in [notions of] the teaching, it is like a person with eyes wide open in the sunlight, seeing all kinds of forms.

Subhûti, if, in a future time there are good sons and good daughters who are able to memorize this scripture and recite it, then I will, with my buddha-wisdom, be fully aware of these people, seeing each one of them, as each one attains countless, limitless merit."

~ Diamond Sutra

cycle SG

There were five monks on the road heading to somewhere. They decided to take a rest inside a temple when a heavy storm came. The temple had a few statues of deities and ghosts placed by the village officials for praying.

Four monks said, " It's so terribly cold tonight , let's set a fire and cook some food by burning the wooden statues."

The last monk said, "These statues are for praying, we cannot touch them!"
He insisted his stance strongly.

Inside the temple were some man-eating ghosts and they started to discuss among themselves in the middle of the night, "Let's eat this guy. He's the only one here that is afraid of us; the other four are vicious, cannot touch."

The last monk overheard the ghosts' conversations, he jumped up and shouted to his four companions, " Why aren't the statues use for cooking?"
Then he took the statues and set up a fire. Seeing this, all the ghosts ran away.

~ A parable from sutra, zha bi yu jing.

theta SG

"However, Subhuti, if you think that the Buddha realizes the highest, most fulfilled, and awakened mind and does not need to have all the marks, you are mistaken. Subhuti, do not think in that way. Do not think that when one gives rise to the highest, most fulfilled, and 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 highest, most fulfilled, and awakened mind does not contend that all objects of mind are nonexistent and cut off from life. That is not what I say."

~ The Diamond Sutra

An Eternal Now SG

ALL EXISTENCE IS SPIRITUAL

THERE was an officer among the retinue of Simha who had heard of the discourses of the Blessed One, and there was some doubt left in his heart. This man came to the Blessed One and said: "It is said, O Lord, that the samana Gotama denies the existence of the soul. Do they who say so speak the truth, or do they bear false witness against the Blessed One

And the Blessed One said: "There is a way in which those who say so are speaking truly of me; on the other hand, there is a way in which those who say so do not speak truly of me. The Tathagata teaches that there is no self. He who says that the soul is his self and that the self is the thinker of our thoughts and the actor of our deeds, teaches a wrong doctrine which leads to confusion and darkness. On the other hand, the Tathagata teaches that there is mind. He who understands by soul mind, and says that mind exists, teaches the truth which leads to clearness and enlightenment."

The officer said: "Does, then, the Tathagata maintain that two things exist? that which we perceive with our senses and that which is mental?"

Said the Blessed One: "I say to thee, thy mind is spiritual, but neither is the sense-perceived void of spirituality. The bodhi is eternal and it dominates all existence as the good law guiding all beings in their search for truth. It changes brute nature into mind, and there is no being that cannot be transformed into a vessel of truth."

cycle SG

Do Objects Exist?

Since, as we have established, when any phenomenon is sought through analysis, it cannot be found, you may be wondering whether these phenomena exist at all. However, we know from direct experience that people and things cause pleasure and pain, and that they can help and harm. Therefore phenomena certainly do exist; the question is how. They do not exist in their own right, but only have an existence dependent upon many factors, including a consciousness that conceptualizes them.

Once they exist but do not exist on their own, they neccessarily exist in dependence upon conceptualization. However, when phenomena appear to us, they do not appear as if they exist this way. Rather they seem to be established in their own right, from the object's side, without depending upon a conceptualizing consciousness.

When training to develop wisdom, you are seeking through analysis to find the inherent existence of whatever object you are considering - yourself, another person,your body, your mind, or anything else. You are analysing not the mere appearance but the inherent nature of the object. Thus it is not that you come to understand that the object does not exist; rather you find that its inherent existence is unfounded. Analysis does not contradict the mere existence of the object. Phenomena do indeed exist, but not in the way we think they do.

What is left after analysis is a dependently existent phenomenon. When, for example, you examine your own body, its inherent existence is negated, but what is left is a body dependent on four limbs, a trunk, and a head.

~ Dalai Lama, How to Practise

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