Control

A sick person should not adhere too closely to the thought of controlling the mind. but this does not mean that the control of the mind is not necessary. Too much stress on control is putting too much importance on the virtues, but to neglect control is being foolish. the bodhisattva way is free from the two extremes, it is the Middle path.

-Vimilakirti-nirdesa Sutra

Precepts

Precepts are the causal basis that correctly leads to emancipation, from which in turn, concentration and insight are born. Be aware, therefore, that the precepts are the abode of supreme peace and merit.

Fa-in-do-iau-ching

Misconceptions

from the Mahaparinirvana Sutra

Misconception                                                                Truth

Life is suffering.                                                             Life is happiness.

Everything changes.                                                       Buddha-nature is unchanging.

The self is non-existent.                                                The Dharma is eternal.

Buddha-nature is defiled.                                               Buddha-nature is pure.

Life is an illusion.                                                           Enlightenment is true.

Ignorance prevents Enlightenment.                               Ignorance equals Enlightenment.

Slander and Praise

For the mind that does not reside at peace,

Men’s praises have no meaning.

For the mind that resides in peace,

Men’s slanders have no meaning.

-Thera-gatha 159-60

Bliss

Whoever gets rid of anger within and transcends the suffering of both existence and non-existence will be freed from fear and anxiety and attain boundless bliss.

-Vinaya-pitakam Cula-vagga

Shame and Self-reproach

Shame means not committing further evil oneself. Self-reproach means not leading others to commit evil. Shame is focused inward.  Self-reproach is expressed outward. Shame means to feel humility toward others. Self-reproach means to feel humility towards heaven. to be without shame and self-reproach is not to be human; it is to be a beast. These are the two means by which sentient beings can be saved.

-Samannaphada Sutra

Shame

There is a difference between a shame full or remorse from a repentance full of guilt. The latter is little more than self-pity and fears eventual punishment for the sinner. The former empathizes with the suffering of others and resolves not to perpetuate suffering for the sake of others.

The latter is self-serving while the former is self-less.

-Rev. Tatsugichi

Thinking

Humans start of not thinking, just being.

                A baby says: “This taste’s good!”

Then we start thinking.

                A child says: “I want more candy.”

Then we start not-thinking and acting hastily.

                A boy says: “More candy!”

To recover, we return to thinking by noticing our habits.

                A man says: “Do I really need candy?”

To reach Enlightenment we return to not-thinking.

                A sage says: “It is what it is.”

Snake in a Garden

The cause of suffering is the thirst for love.

There are two kinds of love.

Good love is what bodhisattvas seek.

Evil love is what common people year for.

The thirst for love is like a snake

hidden in a flowerbed.

-Mahaparinirvana-sutra

The Verse of One Good Night

Do not follow the past nor wait for the future.

The past has passed by and the future is yet to come.

Solely look to the present.

Knowing again and again that it cannot be ousted nor can it be moved.

Try hard today.

Tomorrow, who knows the course of llife?

The army of death does not wait.

Thus working hard without relief day and night is

One Good Night.

This, a holy sage proclaimed.

-Majjhima-nikaya Mahakaccana-bhaddekaratta

Rudra the Thief

Rudra the thief, being close to starvation, saw in the distance a monk under a tree holding a begging bowl, and thought, “There is surely food in that begging bowl. I will kill the monk and take it.” The monk read the thief’s mind and thought, “If I do not give him food, he will surely kill me. If that happens he will have committed a most serious crime.” He therefore immediately gave him the food and the monk taught the Dharma, and Rudra attained Enlightenment.

-Purnamukhavadana-satika

A thousand lights

The happiness of giving is never extinguished, just as hundreds of thousands of people light their torches from one torch, and yet that torch remains the same.

>Ssu-shih-erh-chang-ching

Spitting in the wind

Even when there are people who slander, we guard them with compassion. Even when they harm us, we still treat them with kindness. The element of benefit is with us; the element of harm is with the others. An evil person harming a holy person is like spitting in the air, or throwing trash to the wind. It does not dirty the other but rather dirties oneself.

>Ssu-shih-erh-chang-ching

Tao

The Tao is going with the flow, to be the flow.

Don’t fight against the current,

Follow the path of least resistance.

But it is not passive.

If you are passive and don’t move,

You will sink to the bottom and drown

Or end up damming the water behind.

Or if you are passive and apathetic,

The current make carry you into jagged rocks

Or you may get hit by branches floating in the stream.

So pay attention.

Consciousness

There is no independent, separate consciousness.
Consciousness arises out of conditions.
Without conditions, there is no consciousness.
Eye & visual forms = visual consciousness.
Ear & sounds = auditory consciousness.
Nose & odors = olfactory consciousness.
Tongue & tastes = gustatory consciousness.
Body & tangible objects = tactile consciousness.
Mind & ideas/thoughts = mental consciousness.

There is no Thinker behind the Thought.
Thought itself is the Thinker.
If you remove the Thought,
there is no Thinker.

Consciousness depends on matter, sensation, perception, and mental formation (samskara) and can not exist independently of them.

"I" and "Ego" are just names.

No I

There is no I.
There is only Amida.

There can be no justification for Ego.
Not justice, logic, goodness, correctness.
It is all a delusion to justify the Ego.
Which does not exist.

So how to be?
Don't think. Just be.
Compassionate. Always.

Trail of Thought

One thought-moment conditions the next thought-moment.
My last thought-moment in this life,
conditions my first thought-moment
in the next life.

Dukkha

Understanding dukkha (trans. 'suffering') one has no fears or anxieties. He cannot be upset by changes or calamities because he sees things the way they really are.

Going to the Pure Land

"If you want to go to the Pure Land,
then purify your mind.
When your mind is pure,
then whatever you see will be pure,
and wherever you go
you will find the buddha realm."

-Vimalakirtinirdesa Sutra