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

If Phenomena Are Empty, Can They Funtion?

Whenever we think about objects, do we mistakenly believe that they exist in their own right? No. We can conceive of phenomena in three different ways. Let us consider a tree; there is no denying that it appears to inherently exist, but:

1. We could conceive of the tree as existing inherently, in its own right.
2. We could conceive of the three as lacking inherent existence.
3. We could conceive of the tree without thinking that it inherently exist or not.

Only the first of those is wrong.The other two modes of apprehension are right, even if the mode of appearance is mistaken in the second and the third, in that the tree appears as if inherently existent.

If objects do not inherently exist, does this mean that they cannot function? Jumping to the conclusion that because the true nature of objects is emptiness, they are therefore incapable of performing functions such as causing pain or pleasure, or helping or harming, is the worst sort of misunderstanding, a nihilistic view. As the Indian scholar-yogi Nagarjuna says in his Precious Garland, a nihilist will certainly have a bad transmigration upon rebirth, whereas a person who believes, albeit wrongly, in inherent existence goes on to a good transmigration.

Allow me to explain. You need a belief in the consequences of actions to choose virtue in your life and discard nonvirtue. For the time being, the subtle view of the emptiness of inherent existence might be too difficult for you to understand without falling into the trap of nihilism, where you are unable to understand that phenomena arise in dependence of causes and conditions ( dependent-arising). For the sake of your spiritual progress it would be better for now to set aside trying to penetrate emptiness. Even if you mistakenly believe the phenomena inherently exist, you can still develope an understanding of dependent-arising and apply it in pracrice. This is why even Buddha, on occasion, taught that living beings and other phenomena inherently exist. Such teachings are the thought of Buddha's scriptures, but they are not his own final thought. For specific purposes, he sometimes spoke in nonfinal ways.

~ Dalai Lama, How to Practise

An Eternal Now SG

http://www.peterussell.com/Odds/Khyentse.php

Dzogchen Practice in Everyday Life
His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

The everyday practice of dzogchen is simply to develop a complete carefree acceptance, an openness to all situations without limit. We should realize openness as the playground of our emotions and relate to people without artificiality, manipulation or strategy. We should experience everything totally, never withdrawing into ourselves as a marmot hides in its hole. This practice releases tremendous energy which is usually constricted by the process of maintaining fixed reference points. Referentiality is the process by which we retreat from the direct experience of everyday life.

Being present in the moment may initially trigger fear. But by welcoming the sensation of fear with complete openness, we cut through the barriers created by habitual emotional patterns.

When we engage in the practice of discovering space, we should develop the feeling of opening ourselves out completely to the entire universe. We should open ourselves with absolute simplicity and nakedness of mind. This is the powerful and ordinary practice of dropping the mask of self-protection.

We shouldn't make a division in our meditation between perception and field of perception. We shouldn't become like a cat watching a mouse. We should realize that the purpose of meditation is not to go "deeply into ourselves" or withdraw from the world. Practice should be free and non-conceptual, unconstrained by introspection and concentration.

Vast un-originated self-luminous wisdom space is the ground of being - the beginning and the end of confusion. The presence of awareness in the primordial state has no bias toward enlightenment or non-enlightenment. This ground of being which is known as pure original mind is the source from which all phenomena arise. It is known as the great mother, as the womb of potentiality in which all things arise and dissolve in natural self-perfectedness and absolute spontaneity.

All aspects of phenomena are completely clear and lucid. The whole universe is open and unobstructed - everything is mutually interpenetrating.

Seeing all things as naked, clear and free from obscurations, there is nothing to attain or realize. The nature of phenomena appears naturally and is naturally present in time-transcending awareness. Everything is naturally perfect just as it is. All phenomena appear in their uniqueness as part of the continually changing pattern. These patterns are vibrant with meaning and significance at every moment; yet there is not significance to attach to such meanings beyond the moment in which they present themselves.

This is the dance of the five elements in which matter is a symbol of energy and energy a symbol of emptiness. We are a symbol of our own enlightenment. With no effort or practice whatsoever, liberation or enlightenment is already here.

The everyday practice of dzogchen is just everyday life itself. Since the undeveloped state does not exist, there is no need to behave in any special way or attempt to attain anything above and beyond what you actually are. There should be no feeling of striving to reach some "amazing goal" or "advanced state". To strive for such a state is a neurosis which only conditions us and serves to obstruct the free flow of Mind. We should also avoid thinking of ourselves as worthless personswe are naturally free and unconditioned. We are intrinsically enlightened and lack nothing.

When engaging in meditation practice, we should feel it to be as natural as eating, breathing and defecating. It should not become a specialized or formal event, bloated with seriousness and solemnity. We should realize that meditation transcends effort, practice, aims, goals and the duality of liberation and non-liberation. Meditation is always ideal; there is no need to correct anything. Since everything that arises is simply the play of mind as such, there is no unsatisfactory meditation and no need to judge thoughts as good or bad.

Therefore we should simply sit. Simply stay in your own place, in your own condition just as it is. Forgetting self conscious feelings, we do not have to think "I am meditating". Our practice should be without effort, without strain, without attempts to control or force and without trying to become "peaceful". If we find that we are disturbing ourselves in any of these ways, we stop meditating and simply rest or relax for a while. Then we resume our meditation. If we have "interesting experiences" either during or after meditation, we should avoid making anything special of them. To spend time thinking about experiences is simply a distraction and an attempt to become unnatural. These experiences are simply signs of practice and should be regarded as transient events. We should not attempt to re-experience them because to do so only serves to distort the natural spontaneity of mind.

All phenomena are completely new and fresh, absolutely unique and entirely free from all concepts of past, present future. They are experienced in timelessness. The continual stream of new discovery, revelation and inspiration which arises at every moment is the manifestation of our clarity. We should learn to see everyday as mandalathe luminous fringes of experience which radiate spontaneously from the empty nature of our being. The aspects of our mandala are the day-to-day objects of our life experience moving in the dance or play of the universe. By this symbolism the inner teacher reveals the profound and ultimate significance of being. Therefore we should be natural and spontaneous, accepting and learning from everything. This enables us to see the ironic and amusing side of events that usually irritate us.

In meditation we can see through the illusion of past, present and futureour experience becomes the continuity of now-ness. The past is only an unreliable memory held in the present. The future is only a projection of our present conceptions. The present itself vanishes as we try to grasp it. So why bother with attempting to establish an illusion of solid ground?

We should free ourselves from our past memories and preconceptions of meditation. Each moment of meditation is completely unique and full of potentiality. In such moments, we will be incapable of judging our meditation in terms of past experience, dry theory or hollow rhetoric.

Simply plunging directly into meditation in the moment now, with our whole being, free from hesitation, boredom or excitement, is enlightenment.

cycle SG

Long ago there was a vast stretch of forest by a seaside. Five hundreds monkeys were living in the forest.

One day the sea gathered a huge wall of waves measuring a few hundreds meters high, like a snow mountain moving towards the sea coast. The monkeys saw this and started to talk among themselves.

"Let's leap over to that mountain, it must be fun, isn't it?"

One of the monkey immediately jumped but instead headed straight into the sea and drowned.

All the monkeys waited in vain for his return, and thought that he must be having such a great time in the " Fun Mountain" that he had refused to come back. Without hesitation, they jumped into the waves. All were drowned.

~ A parable from sutra, Zha Bi Yu Jing

winnie^_^ SG

wat does this mean?

cycle SG

The monkeys thought that the snow mountain was real in existence, not knowing the truth that it was the waves of the ocean. When the first monkey didn't return, it confirmed their beliefs that it must be a mountain full of funs, not knowing the truth that he had actually drowned. Thus, eager to grap this great opportunity, all of them jumped over to the "mountain" , not knowing that they were leaping into the waves to their death.

If we are always chasing after the delusions of fame, wealth and enjoyments, and never look into how a ingnorant consciousness see the existence of phenomena, then we will end up like the monkeys: jumping into the sea of samsara.

(May the moderators kindly correct me if I'm wrong. Tks! Smile )

winnie^_^ SG

oic, thanks.

cycle SG

The natural world is full of all kinds of sounds and rhythms. There are melodious tunes as well as annoying sounds. Inappropriate words are often the source of afflictions which is why in Buddhism we are asked to "speak less and recite the Buddha's name more". Do not lie, do not speak negatively, do not say hurtful words, do not speak threatening words. When interacting with others, "right speech" is spiritual practice. To praise others is a kind of generosity.

~ Ven. Shi Fazhao

cycle SG

According to a sutra, in the previous life of the Buddha, he was scolded by 500 'scolding experts' who followed him and scolded him wherever he went. The Buddha did not have the slightest anger, only compassionate observation. His patience ia an important quality in attaining Buddhahood.

Ven. Shi Fazhao

theta SG

"Subhûti, if each of the sands in the Ganges river contained its own Ganges river, would not the number of sands contained in all those Ganges rivers be great?"

Subhûti said, "Extremely great, World Honored One. If the number of even the Ganges rivers were countless, how much more so its grains of sand?"

"Subhûti, now I am going to tell you a truth. If a good son or good daughter filled three thousand galaxies with the seven jewels equal to the number of grains of sand in all those Ganges rivers and gave them away charitably, would his or her merit not be great?"

"Extremely great, World Honored One."

The Buddha said to Subhûti: "If a good son or good daughter is able to memorize four lines of verse from this sûtra and teach them to others, his or her merit will be far greater."

~ Diamond Sutra, Chapter 11

An Eternal Now SG

I have a self… I have no self… It is precisely by means of self that I perceive self… It is precisely by means of self that I perceive not-self… It is precisely by means of not-self that I perceive self… or… This very self of mine the knower that is sensitive here & there to the ripening of good & bad actions is the self of mine that is constant, everlasting, eternal, not subject to change, and will endure as long as eternity. This is called a thicket of views, a wilderness of views, a contortion of views, a writhing of views, a fetter of views. Bound by a fetter of views, the uninstructed run-of-the-mill person is not freed from birth, aging, & death, from sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair. He is not freed, I tell you, from suffering & stress. MN2

An Eternal Now SG

33. "Therefore, ânanda, be islands unto yourselves, refuges unto yourselves, seeking no external refuge; with the Dhamma as your island, the Dhamma as your refuge, seeking no other refuge.

"And how, ânanda, is a bhikkhu an island unto himself, a refuge unto himself, seeking no external refuge; with the Dhamma as his island, the Dhamma as his refuge, seeking no other refuge?

34. "When he dwells contemplating the body in the body, earnestly, clearly comprehending, and mindfully, after having overcome desire and sorrow in regard to the world; when he dwells contemplating feelings in feelings, the mind in the mind, and mental objects in mental objects, earnestly, clearly comprehending, and mindfully, after having overcome desire and sorrow in regard to the world, then, truly, he is an island unto himself, a refuge unto himself, seeking no external refuge; having the Dhamma as his island, the Dhamma as his refuge, seeking no other refuge.

35. "Those bhikkhus of mine, ânanda, who now or after I am gone, abide as an island unto themselves, as a refuge unto themselves, seeking no other refuge; having the Dhamma as their island and refuge, seeking no other refuge: it is they who will become the highest, [n20] if they have the desire to learn."

~ Mahaparinibbana Sutta

theta SG

Then Subhuti addressed the Buddha, saying: "World Honored One, what should we call this scripture, and how should we practice it?"

The Buddha said to Subhuti: "This scripture is called the Diamond of Transcendent Wisdom. You should practice it according to this name. And why? That which the Buddha calls 'transcendent wisdom' is not transcendent wisdom. Subhuti, what does this mean? Does the tathagata have a teaching to explain?"

Subhuti said to the Buddha, "World Honored One, the Tathagata has no teaching to explain."

"Subhuti, what do you think? Are not the tiniest particles contained in the worlds of three thousand galaxies great in number?"

Subhuti said, "Extremely great in number, World Honored One."

"Subhuti, the Tathagata teaches that tiny particles are not tiny particles. Therefore they are called tiny particles. The Tathagata teaches that worlds are not worlds. Therefore they are called worlds."

"Subhuti, what do you think? Can the Tathagata be discerned by means of his thirty-two bodily characteristics? "

"No, he cannot, World Honored One. One cannot discern a Tathagata by means of his thirty-two bodily characteristics. And why not? Because the thirty-two bodily characteristics that are taught by the Tathagata are in fact not characteristics. Therefore they are called the thirty-two characteristics. "

"Subhuti, if a good son or good daughter dedicates lifetimes as numerous as the sands in the Ganges river to charitable acts, and there were another person who memorized as much as a four-line verse of this scripture and taught it to others, the merit of the latter person would be by far greater."

~ Diamond Sutra, Chapter 13, "Naming of the Sutra"

cycle SG

Buddhism practice is not merely study, it is a way of living, a way to benefit all and sundry, human or non-human. It is a way of taking responsibility for our actions.

~ Ven. Varavamso

cycle SG

The kadampa Masters said," always check your speech when you are in public; check your mind when you are alone."

~ Ven. Geshe Thubten Chonyi

cycle SG

Ethics won't be pure without mindfulness. When we hear or read texts on ethics, we are often impressed by what they say. But if we don't keep mindfulness, we will easily pollute our ethics.

~ Ven. Geshe Thubten Chonyi

An Eternal Now SG

"The whiteness of a shell can hardly be defined either as one with or as distinct from the shell. The same is true of the goldenness of gold. The musicality of the sound of pipes can hardly be defined either as one with or as distinct from the sound of the pipes. The fragrance of incense can hardly be defined as either one with or as distinct from incense. The pungency of pepper can hardly be defined either as one with or as distinct from pepper. The softness of silk can hardly be defined either as one with or as distinct from silk. The cream in milk can hardly be defined either as one with or as distinct from milk. The impermanence of all actions, the misery of all contaminated states, and the selflessness of all phenomena can hardly be defined either as one with or as different from actions, contaminated states, and phenomena. The restlessness and impurity of craving can hardly be defined either as one with or as distinct from craving; the same is true of hatred and folly. In the same way, ultimate truth cannot be defined either as one with or as different from practices.

-- Samdhinirmocana Sutra

cycle SG

According to the perspective of Mahayana Buddhism, the Bodhisattva vow starts with ordinary people - people like us. When these people make such a vow, they are called a Bodhisattva with the initial aspiration to attain Buddhahood. Now, when they are reborn, some of them forget the vows made in their past lives, but the karmic force is so strong that they will continue to help others, and even suffer on behalf of all sentient beings in this life - such as sacrificing themselves in calamities.

~Zen Master Sheng Yan

cycle SG

When we talk about health, we refer to the body, environment and the mind. If our mind is healthy and not in a worrisome state, even if the body is ill or the environment is dirty and unhygienic, we can still be considered healthy. Chinese have a saying, "tong ku" or Pain and Suffering. Actually, pain does not necessarily bring about feelings of suffering and bitterness. For instance, a person can be very, very ill but mentally healthy. That is, he is still balanced and will not allow the disease to influence the quality of his life. But if a person is mentally -unbalanced and unhappy, even with a healthy body, one's mind will create problems for onself and create problems for others around one.

~ Zen master Sheng Yan

cycle SG

The mind is the Buddha, and the Buddha is the mind.
If we can see the Buddha, we can see our minds.

~ A Zen saying

cycle SG

A religion of high standard believes that heaven and hell is the karmic results after one's death, however, one should still carry out one's duties and responsibilities when one is alive as a human. To accomplish well the roles of a human being is of more importance. With a good and proper character, one is not far from being Buddha. Then there will be no worries of going to heaven or hell anymore.

~ Zen master Sheng Yan, Ting Ning

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