When winning is more important than peace,
I let go of winning, and embrace peace.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Under the Bodhi Tree
By rejecting asceticism and rigorous meditation, Siddhartha rejected self-power. By relying on the other-power of Amida and the Universe (sunjata) by touching the Earth (jinen), Enlightenment arose.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Ripples
In this vast, infinite universe,
I am but an insignificant speck.
But like a small stone
dropped into water,
A single act of kindness
can ripple out,
To touch an infinite number
of people.
Yet; it is not a cause
of my insignificant self;
But due to the nature of water
to ripple.
I am but an insignificant speck.
But like a small stone
dropped into water,
A single act of kindness
can ripple out,
To touch an infinite number
of people.
Yet; it is not a cause
of my insignificant self;
But due to the nature of water
to ripple.
Tariki (Other Power)
Other-Power means not just relying on the compassion of
Amida Buddha,
But on the compassion and life offered by
All Living Things.
Amida Buddha,
But on the compassion and life offered by
All Living Things.
Two Hands
Gratefulness and Joy
One is the cause of the other.
Gratefulness is the Lamp,
Joy is the Light.
Humility and Gratefulness
One enables the other.
Humility is the Handle,
That opens the door of Gratefulness.
Mindfulness and Gratefulness
One precedes the other.
Being Mindful provides room for Gratefulness.
Notice how miraculous life is!
One is the cause of the other.
Gratefulness is the Lamp,
Joy is the Light.
Humility and Gratefulness
One enables the other.
Humility is the Handle,
That opens the door of Gratefulness.
Mindfulness and Gratefulness
One precedes the other.
Being Mindful provides room for Gratefulness.
Notice how miraculous life is!
True Wisdom
We strive to follow the precepts,
Yet inevitably fall into foolishness.
But it is wiser to be a fool who knows he is a fool,
Then to be a fool who things he is wise.
Yet inevitably fall into foolishness.
But it is wiser to be a fool who knows he is a fool,
Then to be a fool who things he is wise.
Monday, September 23, 2013
Upaya (skillful means)
Upaya, skillful means, is giving a teaching that is perfectly suited to the needs of the listener. Sometimes, this requires tolerance of ignorant views, superstitions, or partial truths such as: relative understanding apart from absolute understanding, dualistic thinking apart from non-dualism, self-power apart from other-power. The story of the dying father and the mother who anointed her breast support this. Buddhism is not a dogma (when pointing to the moon, don't mistake the finger for the moon). Belief comes not from an outside view but from within, a personal confirmation must be developed.
Gift
Amida Buddha is the gift.
The Nembutsu is the hand that receives the gift.
(Nembutsu: "Namo Amida Butsu")
The Nembutsu is the hand that receives the gift.
(Nembutsu: "Namo Amida Butsu")
Friday, September 20, 2013
Amida
Amida is not a person, or a thing, spirit, god, or Buddha.
Amida is Light and Life.
Amida is Thusness and Emptiness.
The nembutsu is not a pledge, a mantra, symbol, or name.
The nembutsu is a promise.
It is potential, shinjin, Buddha-Nature, satori.
Amida is Light and Life.
Amida is Thusness and Emptiness.
The nembutsu is not a pledge, a mantra, symbol, or name.
The nembutsu is a promise.
It is potential, shinjin, Buddha-Nature, satori.
Sincerity
"It is impossible to know one's own sincerity, because on reflection, we see our hidden agendas and ulterior motives that complicate our feelings. Sincerity is a value that becomes visible to others through consistent action. It is not something we can claim as a virtue."
-Alfred Bloom
-Alfred Bloom
Nembutsu
The first time I uttered the words
Na-Man-Da-Bu
I said them out of trust
In Amida's Vow.
There can be no other cause.
Therefore,
Amida has already planted
shinjin within me
And my rebirth in the
Pure Land
Is assured.
Na-Man-Da-Bu
I said them out of trust
In Amida's Vow.
There can be no other cause.
Therefore,
Amida has already planted
shinjin within me
And my rebirth in the
Pure Land
Is assured.
Don't let my habit energy speak for me
I argue with logic
That's my trap
Blessed with a strong intellect
Cursed with an arrogant mind.
Even without words
My eyes give me away
Listen to the moment
And let life circle me.
Calm confidence can
be mistaken for aloofness.
Nothing bothers me!
That upsets people.
Act, don't re-act
And they will learn
That nothing they do
Can upset the balance.
That's my trap
Blessed with a strong intellect
Cursed with an arrogant mind.
Even without words
My eyes give me away
Listen to the moment
And let life circle me.
Calm confidence can
be mistaken for aloofness.
Nothing bothers me!
That upsets people.
Act, don't re-act
And they will learn
That nothing they do
Can upset the balance.
Fully Entrusting
If salvation by Amida Buddha is ensured,
Why follow the precepts?
Why meditate?
Why study the Dharma?
Why be concerned with suffering?
Because shinjin (deep trusting) comes from Amida,
But resides in my Mind.
It is unnecessary to convince Amida
My shinjin is True,
But it is necessary to convince myself.
I follow the precepts to exhaust self-power.
I meditate to exhaust self-power.
I study to exhaust self-power.
I suffer to exhaust self-power.
Having exhausted self-power,
I realize there is no other way for a foolish, defiled man
To experience nirvana
But to be born in the Pure Land
By the Power of Amida's Vow.
Fully entrusting Amida
Shedding the skin of self-power
Naked, my True Self is born
My Buddha Nature
Who's affinity for Amida is natural (jinen)
This boy is not my body, it is Amida's.
This mind is not my mind, it is Amida's.
This shinjin is not my shinjin, it is Amida's.
Why follow the precepts?
Why meditate?
Why study the Dharma?
Why be concerned with suffering?
Because shinjin (deep trusting) comes from Amida,
But resides in my Mind.
It is unnecessary to convince Amida
My shinjin is True,
But it is necessary to convince myself.
I follow the precepts to exhaust self-power.
I meditate to exhaust self-power.
I study to exhaust self-power.
I suffer to exhaust self-power.
Having exhausted self-power,
I realize there is no other way for a foolish, defiled man
To experience nirvana
But to be born in the Pure Land
By the Power of Amida's Vow.
Fully entrusting Amida
Shedding the skin of self-power
Naked, my True Self is born
My Buddha Nature
Who's affinity for Amida is natural (jinen)
This boy is not my body, it is Amida's.
This mind is not my mind, it is Amida's.
This shinjin is not my shinjin, it is Amida's.
Thursday, September 19, 2013
The Second Arrow
If one arrow strikes you, you will suffer.
But if a second arrow hits you in the same spot, you'll suffer one hundred times more.
An Enlightened person simply feels the original pain and lets it end there.
-Samyutta Nikaya V
But if a second arrow hits you in the same spot, you'll suffer one hundred times more.
An Enlightened person simply feels the original pain and lets it end there.
-Samyutta Nikaya V
Heart like a river
kshanti paramita (inclusiveness)
Paraphrased from "The Heart of Buddha's Teaching" by Thich Nhat Hanh
A handful of salt makes a small bowl of water undrinkable. But pour the same amount of salt into a river, and the water is still drinkable. Due to its size, the river can receive and transform. If your heart is too small, one unjust word or act will have the power to make you suffer. But if your heart is large, if you have understanding and compassion, you can receive and transform suffering.
Paraphrased from "The Heart of Buddha's Teaching" by Thich Nhat Hanh
A handful of salt makes a small bowl of water undrinkable. But pour the same amount of salt into a river, and the water is still drinkable. Due to its size, the river can receive and transform. If your heart is too small, one unjust word or act will have the power to make you suffer. But if your heart is large, if you have understanding and compassion, you can receive and transform suffering.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
The Bodhisattva Never-Despising
Paraphrased from "The Heart of Buddha's Teaching" by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Bodhisattva Never-Despising saw the potential Buddha in everyone, and would bow to every child and adult and would say, "I do not dare to underestimate you, you are a future Buddha."
When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. He does not need punishment; he needs help. That is the message of suffering. Receive it and return what he needs- relief.
The Bodhisattva Never-Despising saw the potential Buddha in everyone, and would bow to every child and adult and would say, "I do not dare to underestimate you, you are a future Buddha."
When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. He does not need punishment; he needs help. That is the message of suffering. Receive it and return what he needs- relief.
The Six Paramitas
1. dana paramita - giving
2. chila paramita - precepts
3. kshanti paramita - inclusiveness
4. virya paramita - dilligence
5. dhyana paramita - meditation
6. prjna paramita - wisdom
From "The Teaching of Buddha", BDK
2. chila paramita - precepts
3. kshanti paramita - inclusiveness
4. virya paramita - dilligence
5. dhyana paramita - meditation
6. prjna paramita - wisdom
From "The Teaching of Buddha", BDK
Three Bodies of the Buddha
1. Dharamkaya, the Dharma Body (teachings)
2. Sambhogakaya, the Body of Bliss (compassion and wisdom)
3. Nirmanakaya, the Living Body (physical form)
2. Sambhogakaya, the Body of Bliss (compassion and wisdom)
3. Nirmanakaya, the Living Body (physical form)
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Apranihita (wu-wei) Do-Nothing
Everything in nature has its purpose, its use.
When that purpose is fulfilled,
Everything is in harmony.
When it goes unfulfilled,
There is suffering.
Humans, too, have a purpose.
But due to our attachments,
We are unfulfilled.
We try to force Nature
To be pleasurable and permanent.
Better to "do nothing" (apraninita)
And like the clouds, we rain.
When that purpose is fulfilled,
Everything is in harmony.
When it goes unfulfilled,
There is suffering.
Humans, too, have a purpose.
But due to our attachments,
We are unfulfilled.
We try to force Nature
To be pleasurable and permanent.
Better to "do nothing" (apraninita)
And like the clouds, we rain.
Two Worlds
From "The Heart of Buddha's Teaching" by Thich Nhat Hanh
"Words and ideas are only useful if they are put into practice. When we stop discussing things and begin to realize the Dharma in our life, a moment comes when we realize that our life is the path, and we no longer rely merely on the forms of practice. Our action becomes "non-action", and our practice becomes "non-practice." We do not have to transcend the "world of dust" (saha) in order to go to some dust-free world (nirvana). Suffering and nirvana are one. If we throw away the dust, we have no nirvana."
"Words and ideas are only useful if they are put into practice. When we stop discussing things and begin to realize the Dharma in our life, a moment comes when we realize that our life is the path, and we no longer rely merely on the forms of practice. Our action becomes "non-action", and our practice becomes "non-practice." We do not have to transcend the "world of dust" (saha) in order to go to some dust-free world (nirvana). Suffering and nirvana are one. If we throw away the dust, we have no nirvana."
Monday, September 16, 2013
Animitta (labels)
When I declare a "self"
That infers that there are things
That are "not-self"
But there exists neither
"self" nor "not-self"
There is only Sunyata (emptiness)
And Tathata (thusness)
Discard the label (animatta)
To see things as they really are.
That infers that there are things
That are "not-self"
But there exists neither
"self" nor "not-self"
There is only Sunyata (emptiness)
And Tathata (thusness)
Discard the label (animatta)
To see things as they really are.
In Every Moment
Where is the Joy?
It is everywhere
In Every Moment.
Where is Amida?
He is everywhere
In Every Moment.
Where is the Pure Land?
It is everywhere
In Every Moment.
In This Breath.
It is everywhere
In Every Moment.
Where is Amida?
He is everywhere
In Every Moment.
Where is the Pure Land?
It is everywhere
In Every Moment.
In This Breath.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
The Other Four Noble Truths
Adapted from "The Heart of Buddha's Teaching" by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Four Noble Truths:
1. The Truth of suffering
2. The Truth of the cause of suffering.
3. The Truth of the cessation of suffering.
4. The Truth of the means of cessation of suffering.
The Other Four Noble Truths:
1. The Truth of Well-Being.
2. The Truth of the cause of Well-Being.
3. The Truth of the cultivation of Well-Being.
4. The Truth of the means of cultivation of Well-Being.
The Four Noble Truths:
1. The Truth of suffering
2. The Truth of the cause of suffering.
3. The Truth of the cessation of suffering.
4. The Truth of the means of cessation of suffering.
The Other Four Noble Truths:
1. The Truth of Well-Being.
2. The Truth of the cause of Well-Being.
3. The Truth of the cultivation of Well-Being.
4. The Truth of the means of cultivation of Well-Being.
Understanding
Adapted from "The Heart of Buddha's Teaching" by Thich Nhat Hanh
We may be motivated by the desire to make others happy.
But without understanding (prajna),
the more we do,
the more problems we create.
Unless our love is made of understanding,
it is not True Love.
Mindfulness makes our minds Buddha-Minds,
And makes our love Buddha-Love.
We may be motivated by the desire to make others happy.
But without understanding (prajna),
the more we do,
the more problems we create.
Unless our love is made of understanding,
it is not True Love.
Mindfulness makes our minds Buddha-Minds,
And makes our love Buddha-Love.
Conditioned/Unconditioned
Adapted from "The Heart of Buddha's Teaching" by Thich Nhat Hanh
When we form a Mental Formation
There is an object
(I am angry at something)
And there is a subject:
Our Mind.
Because mental formations
are created in our minds.
They become "us."
Subject and Object are One (InterBeing)
(When I hate someone,
I hate myself.
I hate the Universe.)
When we form a Mental Formation
There is an object
(I am angry at something)
And there is a subject:
Our Mind.
Because mental formations
are created in our minds.
They become "us."
Subject and Object are One (InterBeing)
(When I hate someone,
I hate myself.
I hate the Universe.)
The Empty Eightfold Path
Adapted from "The Heart of Buddha's Teaching" by Thich Nhat Hanh
Right View. All views are wrong.
Right Thought. All thoughts are wrong.
Right Speech. All speech is wrong.
Right Action. All actions are wrong.
Right Livelihood. All works are wrong.
Right Effort. All effort is wrong.
Right Mindfulness. All mindfulness is wrong.
Right Concentration. All concentration is wrong.
Right View is the absence of all views.
Right Thought is the absence of all thought.
Right Speech is the absence of all speech.
Right Action is the absence of all action.
Right Livelihood is the absence of all work.
Right Effort is the absence of all effort.
Right Mindfulness is the absence of all mindfulness.
Right Concentration is the absence of all concentration.
Practicing the Path is Doing, not Judging.
Living in the moment (dhamma)
Not in the dualistic mind.
Our learned behaviors are delusional.
It is better to do NOTHING
Then to rely on a delusion!
Don't TRY.
Just BE. Now.
Don't just let go,
LET BE.
Right View. All views are wrong.
Right Thought. All thoughts are wrong.
Right Speech. All speech is wrong.
Right Action. All actions are wrong.
Right Livelihood. All works are wrong.
Right Effort. All effort is wrong.
Right Mindfulness. All mindfulness is wrong.
Right Concentration. All concentration is wrong.
Right View is the absence of all views.
Right Thought is the absence of all thought.
Right Speech is the absence of all speech.
Right Action is the absence of all action.
Right Livelihood is the absence of all work.
Right Effort is the absence of all effort.
Right Mindfulness is the absence of all mindfulness.
Right Concentration is the absence of all concentration.
Practicing the Path is Doing, not Judging.
Living in the moment (dhamma)
Not in the dualistic mind.
Our learned behaviors are delusional.
It is better to do NOTHING
Then to rely on a delusion!
Don't TRY.
Just BE. Now.
Don't just let go,
LET BE.
Monday, September 9, 2013
Realizing Well Being
Recognizing joy is just as vital as
Recognizing suffering
Watering the seeds of joy is just as vital as
Starving the seeds of suffering
Being mindful of suffering,
We need also be mindful of job.
For joy is in the moment
Suffering is outside the moment.
Be mindful of suffering and its passing
And be mindful of joy in every moment.
Even within suffering, there is joy.
-Thich Nhat Hanh
Recognizing suffering
Watering the seeds of joy is just as vital as
Starving the seeds of suffering
Being mindful of suffering,
We need also be mindful of job.
For joy is in the moment
Suffering is outside the moment.
Be mindful of suffering and its passing
And be mindful of joy in every moment.
Even within suffering, there is joy.
-Thich Nhat Hanh
The Five Hindrances (nivarana)
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The Four Establishments of Mindfulness
1. The body in the body.
2. The feelings in the feelings.
3. The mind in the mind.
4. Objects in the mind.
2. The feelings in the feelings.
3. The mind in the mind.
4. Objects in the mind.
Moral Discipline
Monks still experience suffering from attachments. But being renunciants, they have fewer objects of attachment. Thus it is simpler to recognize them. It is the recognition that brings wisdom. Laymen with their busy, complex lives, have a much more difficult time being mindful of their attachments.
Morality for morality's sake, or for another goal: to be perceived as "good"; or to earn something like grace, is delusional. Morality gives one the opportunity to step back, and see attachments for what they are, and give rise to wisdom.
Morality for morality's sake, or for another goal: to be perceived as "good"; or to earn something like grace, is delusional. Morality gives one the opportunity to step back, and see attachments for what they are, and give rise to wisdom.
Friday, September 6, 2013
Free
Those who have freed themselves of greed, anger, and ignorance will not be the victims of their greed, anger, and ignorance.
-Kesaputilla Sutra
-Kesaputilla Sutra
Eliminate the Mind of Greed
It is through practicing the moral precepts that one keeps his mind in control; by way of the moral precepts, one develops the capacity in the discipline of meditation; and finally by way of meditation, one opens the ultimate insight.
No matter how much one has practiced meditation and cultivated insight, unless one is free from greed he will be bound to fall into the path of Maras and disturb others also. One who has not realized Enlightenment himself but speaks as if he had, and misleads others, is of this ilk. Therefore, to teach the practice of meditation, it is essential first to teach how to eliminate the mind of greed.
-Surangama Sutra
No matter how much one has practiced meditation and cultivated insight, unless one is free from greed he will be bound to fall into the path of Maras and disturb others also. One who has not realized Enlightenment himself but speaks as if he had, and misleads others, is of this ilk. Therefore, to teach the practice of meditation, it is essential first to teach how to eliminate the mind of greed.
-Surangama Sutra
Tri-siksa
The Noble Eightfold Path, The Three Pillars, and the Three Defilements.
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Emptiness: Sunyata
Because all things are interconnected, they are not really "empty", they are infinite.
As a rainbow is connected to sun and rain.
As the moon's reflection is connected to water and moon.
All things are devoid of independent self.
Thus they are empty.
Being composed of a combination
Of innumerable causes and conditions
All things are interconnected
Thus they are infinite.
The infinite combinations of elemets
Create infinite forms
Thus everything is thusness: tathata.
Tathata is Sunyata, Sunyata is Tathata.
As a rainbow is connected to sun and rain.
As the moon's reflection is connected to water and moon.
All things are devoid of independent self.
Thus they are empty.
Being composed of a combination
Of innumerable causes and conditions
All things are interconnected
Thus they are infinite.
The infinite combinations of elemets
Create infinite forms
Thus everything is thusness: tathata.
Tathata is Sunyata, Sunyata is Tathata.
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Consciousness
There is no independent, separate consciousness.
Consciousness arises out of conditions.
Without conditions, there is no consciousness.
Eye and visual forms = visual consciousness.
Ear and sounds = auditory consciousness.
Nose and odors = olfactory consciousness.
Tongue and tastes = gustatory consciousness.
Body and tangible objects = tactile consciousness.
Mind and 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" "self" and "ego" are just names.
-Waipola Rahula, "What the Buddha Taught"
Consciousness arises out of conditions.
Without conditions, there is no consciousness.
Eye and visual forms = visual consciousness.
Ear and sounds = auditory consciousness.
Nose and odors = olfactory consciousness.
Tongue and tastes = gustatory consciousness.
Body and tangible objects = tactile consciousness.
Mind and 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" "self" and "ego" are just names.
-Waipola Rahula, "What the Buddha Taught"
Just be
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.
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.
Monday, September 2, 2013
Dhammapada
(03) The ignorant person who knows that he is ignorant is still wise; the ignorant one who thinks that he is wise is indeed a fool.
(76) If one meets a person who points out his faults and scolds him, he should associate with such a wise person as though he were the revealer of great treasure.
(103) Better than conquering a thousand in battle is to conquer oneself.
(221) Discard anger, abandon pride, and leave fetters.
(76) If one meets a person who points out his faults and scolds him, he should associate with such a wise person as though he were the revealer of great treasure.
(103) Better than conquering a thousand in battle is to conquer oneself.
(221) Discard anger, abandon pride, and leave fetters.
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Seeds
Seeds will not grow when planted in the sky; planted in dirt and manure, they sprout forth vigorously. All defilements are seeds that rouse the mind that aspires to to attain Buddhahood.
-Vimalakirti Sutra
-Vimalakirti Sutra
Skillful Means
Skillful means without wisdom is bondage; skillful means with wisdom is liberation. Though the body may be in the world of delusion and diseased, if one gives tirelessly and abundantly, that is called skillful means. The body cannot be separated from the disease; if the disease and the body are seen as neither new or old, that is wisdom. Though the body ma be diseased, if one does not forsake the world and does not intend to enter nirvana, that is skillful means. A sick person should not adhere too closely to the though 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.
Vimalakirti Sutra
Vimalakirti Sutra
True Meditation
"Sariputra, sitting is not necessarily true meditation. When one is totally free from the notion of body and mind, this is true meditation. True meditation is the state in which the mind is quiet and unmoving while being engaged in various activities. True meditation is following the way of the sages while living a common ordinary life. Listen to various non-Buddhist doctrines yet not being confused and practicing the way to Enlightenment is true meditation. Attaining nirvana without severing defilement is true meditation. This is the kind of meditation that the World-Honored One acknowledges."
-Vimalakiri Sutra
-Vimalakiri Sutra
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