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#691

From: NamoAmituofo <zweiya@...>
Date: Tue Dec 8, 2009 6:38 pm
Subject: 09.12.09 : Most Endangered Most Forgotten | The Bird that Flew Too Far | The Great Bliss Prayer for Birth in Pureland

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Quote: Most Endangered Most Forgotten
	The most individually endangered animals are those deemed the least endangered by species - countless chickens, turkeys, fish, pigs, cows, sheep who are killed everyday. - Stonepeace: http://twitter.com/stonepeace
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Realisation: The Bird That Flew Too Far
	Dharma practice does not require faith in any god, while every god requires faith in Dharma practice. - Stonepeace
It is recorded in the Kevatta Sutta that a monk once wondered where the four great elements of earth (extension), water (cohesion), fire (heat) and wind (motion) cease without remainder? He then concentrated his mind such that he was able to approach the gods of the nearest heaven. Coming to the retinue of the Four Great (Heavenly) Kings, he asked, 'Friends, where do these four great elements... cease without remainder?' The retinue replied that they do not know the answer, that the Four Great Kings, who are higher and more sublime should. So, the monk approached the Four Great Kings to asked his question. To that, they replied that they do not know, that the gods of Tavatimsa, who are higher and more sublime should. This went on and on, as the monk next consulted gods of Tavatimsa, its king Sakka, the gods of Yama, the god Suyama, Santusita, the Nimmanarati gods, the god Sunimitta, the Paranimmitavasavatti gods, and the god Paranimmita Vasavatti, who then advised him to approach the gods of the retinue of Brahma.
When the monk reached the gods of the retinue of Brahma, he asked them the same question, to which they said that they too do not know the answer, but that 'there is Brahma, the Great (Maha) Brahma, the Conqueror, the Unconquered, the All-Seeing, All-Powerful, the Sovereign Lord, the Maker, Creator, Chief, Appointer and Ruler, Father of All That Have Been and Shall Be. He is higher and more sublime than we. He should know where the four great elements... cease without remainder.' When the monk asked where he was, Maha Brahma appeared, to whom the monk asked his question. Maha Brahma replied, 'I, monk, am Brahma, the Great Brahma, the Conqueror, the Unconquered, the All-Seeing, All-Powerful, the Sovereign Lord, the Maker, Creator, Chief, Appointer and Ruler, Father of All That Have Been and Shall Be.' The monk repeated his question, 'Friend, I didn't ask you if you were Brahma, the Great Brahma, the Conqueror, the Unconquered, the All-Seeing, All-Powerful, the Sovereign Lord, the Maker, Creator, Chief, Appointer and Ruler, Father of All That Have Been and Shall Be. I asked you where these four great elements... cease without remainder.' However, he received the same reply for the same question - for two more times!
After his third time, Maha Brahma took the monk by his arm aside and said, 'These gods of the retinue of Brahma believe, "There is nothing that the Great Brahma does not know. There is nothing that the Great Brahma does not see. There is nothing of which the Great Brahma is unaware. There is nothing that the Great Brahma has not realised." That is why I did not say in their presence that I, too, don't know where the four great elements... cease without remainder. So you have acted wrongly, acted incorrectly, in bypassing the Blessed One (Buddha) in search of an answer to this question elsewhere. Go right back to the Blessed One and, on arrival, ask him this question. However he answers it, you should take it to heart.' As such, the monk swiftly disappeared from the heaven to reappear before the Buddha to ask the same question. The Buddha replied that seafaring merchants once released a shore-sighting bird, which flew to various directions in search of land, the failure of which would lead it back onboard. In the same way, the monk's search for the truth brought him back to him. He commented that his question should be rephrased as so - 'Where do water, earth, fire, and wind have no footing? Where are long and short, coarse and fine, fair and foul, name (mind) and form (matter) brought to an end (transcended)? And the answer to that is - [enlightened] consciousness without feature, without end, luminous all around: Here water, earth, fire, and wind have no footing. Here long and short, coarse and fine, fair and foul, name and form are all brought to an end. With the cessation of [the activity of] consciousness each is here brought to an end [of suffering in Nirvana].'
This incident clearly exemplified how the Buddha's wisdom surpasses that of all gods. As such, one of his traditional titles is 'Teacher of humans and gods'. It also illustrates how Maha Brahma, despite being a god with great merits and certain virtues, had great pride, such that he wished to conceal his faults.(But he might have improved since.) Yet, despite his embarrassment, he came to acknowledge the Buddha's superiority. Often seen as the equivalent of the central diety of god-centric faiths, Maha Brahma was a god who came to mistaken and assert himself as an omniscient and omnipotent creator of the universe when he was reborn into an empty heaven with a very long life. He also saw himself as the heavenly father of humans when they manifested naturally via karmic rebirth, who possess an eternal heaven, to whom he invites them to enter for eternal life. However, neither that heaven nor his own life is everlasting due to the limits of their merits. The Buddha, being truly the highest and most sublime, could discern the existence of even higher heavenly planes, each of which lasts longer and has even more sublime beings. Yet, none of them offer refuge that is as safe and sound as the Buddha's teachings. Don't fly too far in search of liberation and rest. Come back to the Buddha! – Shen Shi'an:http://facebook.com/shenshian
How so-called almighty can a so-called creator be, if he cannot even convince all of his so-called creation not to doubt his so-called existence? - Stonepeace
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Excerpt: The Great Bliss Prayer for Birth in Pureland
	What greater bliss can there be, than to dwell in the land of bliss, that leads us to the ultimate bliss of liberation, that leads us to help others realise the same. - Stonepeace
Wherever one is born within cyclic existence [Samsara, of cycles of birth and death], whether it is a high or low birth, one must have weariness in thinking that one never departs [permanently] from suffering. One should therefore pray strongly for transference to the Pureland of Great [Ultimate] Bliss [where one can train to be the best Bodhisattva bound for Buddhahood]. It says in The Great Bliss Prayer to be Reborn in the Pureland of Amitabha:
'The suffering of the lower realms is unbearable. The happiness and bliss of gods and humans always become impermanent. May my mind have fear of this. From beginningless time till now, I have wandered in the Samsara for so long. May I have weariness for this [so as to renounce it for Pureland]. Even if I am born from one human birth to another human birth again and again, still the four great rivers of suffering of birth, aging, sickness and death are experienced in an uncountable way. In the negative time of degeneracy [Dharma-diminishing Age], there are so many obstacles. This happiness and bliss of gods and humans is like food that is mixed with poison, so may I not have desire for even one single hair of this.
'All relatives, food, wealth and suitable companions are impermanent, like magic and dreams. May I never have attachment for even one single hair of this [even as I treasure loved ones]. The land, water, country, mountains, houses and everything are like the land, water, country, mountains and houses existing in dreams. May I recognize that they have no [absolute] reality. From the inescapable trap of this ocean of existence, like a criminal escaping from prison, may I escape to the Pureland of Great Bliss without ever looking back.' 'Thus, just like that, by remembering the meaning, pray to accomplish transference.
A Cascading Waterfall of Nectar Thinley Norbu Get it at Awareness Place shops or Amazon \| More Excerpts

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#690

From: NamoAmituofo <buddhistnews@...>
Date: Wed Dec 2, 2009 6:06 pm
Subject: 03.12.09 : Ultimate Sacrifice | What is the Whole of the Holy Life? | The Emptiness of Money | Don't Die Too Rich!

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Quote: Ultimate Sacrifice
	Sacrifice of precious things without is not the ultimate sacrifice. Sacrifice of useless defilements within is the ultimate sacrifice. - Stonepeace: http://twitter.com/stonepeace
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Realisation: What is the Whole of the Holy Life?
	Mindfulness of Buddha is the practice of befriending the best spirirtual friend [and our own Buddha-nature]. - Stonepeace
In the Upaddha Sutta, Ananda uttered this to the Buddha, 'This is half of the holy life, Lord - admirable friendship [companionship, camaraderie (the spirit of friendly fellowship)].' The Buddha replied, 'Don't say that... Admirable friendship is actually the whole of the holy life. When a monk [or anyone else] has admirable people as friends... he can be expected to develop and pursue the Noble Eightfold Path [Right view, resolve, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration, which leads to liberation]… And through this line of reasoning, one may know how admirable friendship is actually the whole of the holy life. It is in dependence on me as an admirable friend that beings subject to birth, [aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair] have gained release...'
From the Dighajanu Sutta, more than associating with the good, spiritual friendship is also about learning to emulate their good qualities, to befriend the Dharma within.What is admirable friendship? It is when one spends time with householders (or their children), young or old, who are advanced in virtue. One engages them in discussions, and emulates those consummate in conviction, virtue, generosity, discernment, which leads to happiness and well-being in future lives. Such friendship includes monastics and lay people, regardless of seniority, age or gender, for goodness is not determined by such factors. Regular interaction with the wise and kind is indeed crucial and invaluable for self-checking and furthering Dharma understanding.
Being consummate in conviction is to be convinced of the Buddha’s perfect awakening to the truth, that his conduct, wisdom and skilful means to train us is supreme. Being consummate in virtue is to abstain from taking life, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and taking of intoxicants by observing thefive precepts at least. Being consummate in generosity is to rid miserliness, to be freely generous, delighting in being magnanimous, and responsive to needs. Being consummate in discernment is to be penetratingly discerning of the rise and fall of phenomena, which leads to liberation.But what about those without these qualities? Following the Buddha's example, we should strive to be consummate spiritual friends to those who lack them, so as to help them nurture the same. Just as the Buddha’s presence was invaluable as a model example for us to emulate, we too ought to be the best examples we can. – Shen Shi'an: http://facebook.com/shenshian
Spiritual friends are the embodiments of the Dharma, the personifications of truth and goodness. - Stonepeace
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Excerpt: The Emptiness of Money
	Craving physical wealth oils the rounds of Samsara. Accumulating spiritual wealth ends the rounds of Samsara. - Stonepeace
The basic difficulty, from a Buddhist perspective, is that we are trying to resolve a spiritual problem… by identifying with something outside of ourselves, which can never confer the sense of reality we crave. We work hard to acquire a big bank account and all the things that society teaches us will make us happy, and then we cannot understand why they do not make us happy, why they do not resolve our sense that something is lacking. Is the reason really that we don’t have enough yet?
I think Buddhism give us the best metaphor to understand money: shunyata, the ‘emptiness’ that characterizes all phenomena. Nagarjuna warns us not to grab this snake by the wrong end, because there is no such thing as shunyata. It is a shorthand way to describe the interdependence of things, how nothing self-exists, because everything is part of something else. If we misunderstand the concept and cling to shunyata, the cure becomes worse than the disease. Money – also nothing in itself, nothing more than a socially agreed-upon symbol – remains indispensable today. But woe to those who grab this snake by the tail. As the Heart Sutra teaches, all form is empty, apart from the forms it takes, forms that we become less and less able to truly appreciate.
Another way to make this point is to say that money is not a thing but a process. Perhaps it’s best understood as an energy that is not really mine or yours. Those who understand that it is an empty, socially constructed symbol can use it wisely and compassionately to reduce the world’s suffering. Those who use it to become more real end up being used by it, their alienated sense of self clutching a blank check – a promissory note that can never be cashed. - David Loy
In Face of Fear: Buddhist Wisdom for Challenging Times Edited by Barry Boyce and the editors of Shambhala Sun Get it at Awareness Place shops or Amazon \| More Excerpts

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#689

From: NamoAmituofo <buddhistnews@...>
Date: Wed Nov 25, 2009 5:28 pm
Subject: 26.11.09 : Magnanimity | When Teachers are Not Yet One with the Dharma | Efficacy of Buddha Mindfulness

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Quote: Magnanimity
	It is impossible for another to accept one's apology if one does not apologise, but it is always possible to forgive one for not apologising. - Stonepeace: http://twitter.com/stonepeace
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Realisation: When Teachers are Not Yet One with the Dharma
	Since many Dharma teachers have yet to embody the Dharma fully, why imagine that they can never let you down? - Stonepeace
The first guideline of the *Four Reliances* in Buddhism reminds us to ‘Rely on the message of the teacher, not on the personality’. An alternative translation says ‘Do not rely on the individual, but on the Dharma.’ While this might seem like common sense, it is indeed easy to unmindfully develop attachment to a teacher by the power of charisma, as expressed through the way one talks and acts. Often, looks are not even in the picture. When this happens, one unknowing comes to see that teacher as the embodiment of one’s spiritual refuge. That person becomes the one who resembles the Buddha the most (according to one’s limited imagination), the Dharma in the flesh, and the best member of the Sangha. This is not necessarily a bad thing – especially in the Vajrayana tradition, where one is supposed to see one’s teacher to personify the Triple Gem. However, guru devotion is not meant to become guru attachment.
Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche comments, ‘However, faith in one’s guru does not mean blind faith. It does not mean believing “My guru is perfect,” even though your guru is not perfect. It is not pretending that your guru’s defects are qualities. It is not rationalizing every foible of the guru into a superhumane virtue. After all, most gurus will have defects. You need to recognize them for what they are. You don’t have to pretend that your guru’s defects are qualities, because the object of your devotion is not the foibles, quirks, or defects of your guru, but the Dharma that your guru teaches you. You are not practicing the guru’s foibles. As long as the Dharma you receive is authentic and pure, then that guru is a fit object for your devotion [unless of course, the devotion feeds his/her delusions and harms others].’ It is clear that the Dharma is truly the central refuge in the Threefold Refuge of the Triple Gem.
Even if one takes the ‘fourth refuge' in the guru, the Dharma s/he teaches or represents is the essence of that worth taking refuge in. The Dharma is core for both teachers and students - that which they attempt to live up to. It is their ultimate reference point for truth and moral compass. As John Peacock put it, ‘It is the Dharma that is above all. If the Dharma is not the central issue, then we are perhaps looking at the cult of personality. A good teacher will always put the Dharma first.’ Indeed, one of the easiest ways to detect teachers of questionable integrity is by noting how loud their egos are in shouting for attention via various deeds, including the display of so-called special powers, much of which are sleight-of-hand tricks and mind games. They also never tire of devotees addressing them as their ‘supreme’ masters. Well, they have to be the ‘best’, and your ‘only way’ to ‘salvation’. If not, they would lose you as a potential follower! (See specially selected articles on Dharma teachers here.) –Shen Shi'an: http://facebook.com/shenshian
Since the Dharma is about nothing other than ultimate truth and goodness, the Dharma can never let anyone down. - Stonepeace
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Excerpt: The Efficacy of Buddha Mindfulness
	If we are truly mindful, we will realise that mindfulness of Buddha is the most skilful of means that the Buddha ever taught. - Stonepeace
A friend of mine was once bold enough to tell a well-known Tripitaka Master of the Pure Land Sect that, in his opinion, recitation of the sacred name [e.g. (Namo) Amituofo, Namo Guanshiyin Pusa] is a practice too mechanical to be spiritually effective. 'Mechanical!; echoed the Master, immensely surprised, 'How can that be?' Gazing at my friend as though wondering whether he were perhaps dealing with a lunatic, he continued, 'Cleaving to the sacred name results smoothly and easily in one-pointedness of the mind – the very state which is sought so arduously by meditators belonging to all the eight schools of Buddhism, to say nothing of Taoists, Hindus and others outside the Dharma. Attaining one-pointedness, you will, sooner or later according to your capacity, see the Buddha or Bodhisattva [who one is mindful of] standing before you – a living being, garments fluttering, breast rising and falling with the breath of life; or, if that is not what you look for, you will enter the non-dual state and discover that, here in this world of form, you have attained to the great Void. Then you will know tangible forms for what they are – bubbles, mirages, dreams. Just as you are not now deceived by those snowy mountains hanging in the sky, knowing them as you surely do for clouds, so will you recognise each object as no-thing, not unreal, but ever-changing, transient, devoid of own-being.'
'Good, Venerable, but what if I do behold the Buddha [or Bodhisattva] standing before me, garments fluttering in the breeze? Beautiful and satisfying as that might be, would it not be just another illusory appearance?' When the Tripitaka Master, overtaken by a gale of laughter, had recovered something of his gravity, he said pointedly: 'To certain people stuck like flies in the web of intellect, the experience should be especially edifying [uplifting]. Beholding your own thought-form [as a reflection of one's own Buddha-nature too] smiling down at your bewilderment, surely you would reflect: 'Since with my own mind I am able to create a beautiful form, is there a single thing mind does not create, including this sky, this hill, this sea?' No longer will you doubt what is said in the sutras about the nature of this world. Hurrying to your library, if you have one, you will turn to those sutras and at last perceive their wisdom, eyes no longer dimmed by opaque clouds of intellectual vapour. From that day on, you studies will be fruitful!'
My friend was impressed; but, not averse to learning a little more from this forthright monk, he said: 'Does Your Reverence imply that people who have been spared an education see more clearly than others?' He replied, 'They will see the Buddha [or Bodhisattva] as one who has manifested to reward their pious recitations. Rejoicing, they will henceforth recite with redoubled fervour and assuredly be reborn in Pure Land.' (See related article: *Is Pureland Formless or Mind-Only?*)
Bodhisattva of Compassion: The Mystical Tradition of Kuan Yin John Blofeld Get it at Awareness Place shops or Amazon \| More Excerpts

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Can You Believe What I Believe, If You Believe You Love Me? The Buddha Didn't Prophesise about JC How to Clean Potatoes Current Affairs: The Best Sacrifice According to the Buddha Two Ways to End Animal Sacrifice An Appeal to Drop the Appeal Who Deserves the Robes Comics: All that Glitters is Not Gold (The Eternal Smile) The Dirt in 'Wonderland' Music: Everything Will Flow Movie: Vexille: What Makes Us Human? A Tit for a Tat: Great Service Not Sure Now
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#688

From: NamoAmituofo <buddhistnews@...>
Date: Thu Nov 19, 2009 6:40 pm
Subject: 20.11.09 : Paradox of Rules | Perfect Problem of Being Perfectionist | Is the Dharma Difficult or Easy to Realise? | Buddhist Perspective of '2012'

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Quote: Paradox of Rules
	There are fixed rules, including the rule that some rules are not fixed. [The spirit of the precepts is more important than the letter of the precepts.] - Stonepeace: http://twitter.com/stonepeace
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Realisation: The Perfect Problem of Being Perfectionist
	No one is too imperfect to practise the Dharma, while we practise the Dharma to perfect ourselves - Stonepeace
Despite considerable study yet inadequate understanding of the Buddha's teachings, we might hesitate to truly put them into practice due to being perfectionistic. We might think that we are too 'bad' in thought, word and deed to practise the Dharma. However, we practise the Dharma precisely because we are not good or pure enough. It becomes a 'perfect problem' if we think we are too imperfect to practise the Dharma perfectly. The truth is, only the Buddhas have mastered perfect practice of the Dharma. Before becoming Buddhas, we all fall short from perfection to various extents. A Buddhist is not a Buddha (yet) - but is one who strives to become more and more like a Buddha, and the only way to do this is via practice of the Dharma.
There is a process needed, to get to where we want, from where we are. The bridge of Dharma practice that links here to Enlightenment needs to be crossed step by step.The path to Buddhahood does not consists of a single giant leap across a wide chasm. It is not a matter of having the confidence to leap or not, but being willing to start taking baby steps or not. Unless one is the manifestation of a fully enlightened Buddha, no one is 'good enough' to practise the Dharma perfectly instantly, which is why we need to practise it as constantly as we can. No matter how 'bad' we feel we are, what would really be bad would be to give up the aspiration to practise the Dharma to better ourselves. We just need to do our best in the moment.
Even if the outcome is not the absolute best, it is alright in the moment. The point is to keep trying harder. Just focus on doing the best, not focus on our best not being good enough, because it is always better than not trying at all. It is time to stop fretting about our imperfections and start perfecting our practice. The only true imperfection is not taking action to advance towards perfection. The more we just harp on our imperfections, the more we remain thoroughly imperfect. Perfectionists must lower expectations of quick breakthroughs though. Progress is possible only when we set the resolution to practise the Dharma and are disciplined enough to stick to it, while progress is always impossible if we do not even want to try. – Shen Shi'an:http://facebook.com/shenshian
If we are already perfect, there would be no need to practise the Dharma, but practice does make perfect. - Stonepeace
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Excerpt: Is the Dharma Difficult or Easy to Realise?
	Easy or difficult depends on whether one's method is right or not, whether one's effort is enough or not. - Stonepeace
Lingzhao (early ninth century C.E.) was the daughter of Layman Pang and helped to support the family financially by selling baskets. A part of the Pang family practice consisted of ongoing Dharma conversation and debate as evidenced by this exchange:
The Layman Pang was sitting in his thatched cottage one day. "Difficult, difficult, difficult," he suddenly exclaimed, "[like trying] to scatter ten measures of sesame seed all over a tree!" "Easy, easy, easy," returned Mrs. Pang, "just like touching your feet to the ground when you get out of bed." "Neither difficult nor easy," said Lingzhao, "On the hundred grass-tips, the Patriarchs' meaning."...
Her father starts by asserting that realizing one's original nature is as difficult as putting sesame seeds back on the plant from which they'd come. Her mother answers that it is easy to find one's way, it occurs as naturally as finding the ground beneath your feet when you awaken in your bed. Lingzhao corrects, integrates, and expands both statements, asserting that the way to realize the Buddhist path is not defined by either difficult or easy, but depends on the correct view. Lingzhao teaches her parents that since we are surrounded by true realization, our awakening is dependent on seeing wisdom on each tip of grass. It is neither difficult nor easy, we just need to maintain the effort to keep returning to practice, looking for the teaching fully manifest in every situation.
Related Articles: Is it Tough to be Mindful? \| Is it Easy to Swim? Is It Hard to be Moral? \| Is Enlightenment Difficult to Attain? Zen Women: Beyond Tea Ladies, Iron Maidens and Macho Masters (Grace Schireson) Get it at Awareness Place shops or Amazon \| More Excerpts

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#687

From: NamoAmituofo <buddhistnews@...>
Date: Thu Nov 12, 2009 6:08 pm
Subject: 15.11.09 : Weakness to Strength | Which Side Should You Support? | Three of Many Disadvantages of Anger | Importance of Inter-Religious Harmony

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Quote: Weakness to Strength
	The only one true weakness is to be complacent about our weaknesses. The only one true strength is to be diligent about transforming them to strengths. - Stonepeace: http://twitter.com/stonepeace
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Realisation: Which Side Should You Support?
	What great spiritual truth do you seek, when you are not truthful to yourself [and/or others] over the smallest worldly matters? - Stonepeace
When there is a conflict between two communities, both of which are part of a larger common community, the following tends to happen. Each side becomes defensive, for reasons right and/or wrong, consolidating information to validate their contrasting stances. These views are then presented to as many people as possible to garner support. Meanwhile, those unclear of the intricate rights and wrongs of the matter begin to form their own perspectives of the sub-issues involved, as based upon the official but almost always partial (to some extent) views from each side, peppered with dashes of personal pure speculation. The truth is, the whole truth is often found in fragments all over the place; seldom conveniently all in one place. It is hard to find anyone who is exclusively right or wrong. The last time Truth with a capital ‘T’ was available from a single source was when the perfectly enlightened Buddha walked the Earth, who embodied its totality in thought, speech and deed.
As the saying goes, ‘There are three sides to every story – yours, mine and the truth.’ And as Stonepeace put it, ‘As long as not fully enlightened, it is spiritually arrogant to assume one knows the complete truth of any matter.’ It is not at all far-fetched to say that most of the time, we fall short of realising the whole truth of even minor worldly matters, much more to say, major spiritual ones. Views presented, as long as from unenlightened ones, frequently entail some degree of prideful self-rationalisation for the sake of self-defense, even if it is embedded unmindfully. Fueled by delusion on one or both sides, many conflicts do arise out of clashing egos, including those which senselessly culminate in wars. With more to-and-fro-ing of opinions from both sides, plus the ones from the ground, the stakes and confusion increase. Even if there is some truth on one’s side, when there is resentment and loss of compassion, one has already lost spiritually – to that extent.
Official statements are often politically correct ones, not always wholly correct ones. The ones speaking the most loudly, with the harshest words are not always the bearers of the truth, just as the silent ones might not have ‘the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth’ either. Confounding as it is, the antagonistic might be voicing some truth too, just as the quieter ones might have good reasons to withhold some truth. What do we do when we face dilemmas as such, which make us uncertain of which side to support? Hear as many views as you can and meet all the key persons involved on both sides to personally investigate for the whole picture. It is foolish to take sides based on a few views. There might be a need to help reconcile differences instead! Ehipassiko – the Buddha would expect us to inquire deeply too – on all matters of great concern, including the Dharma and the Discipline he taught. Ultimately, it is the Buddha’s teachings and our personal wisdom on how they should be applied that we rely on; not any particular personalities or parties. May all strive to live up to them harmoniously! – Shen Shi'an: http://facebook.com/shenshian
The wise suspend judgment for more investigation when they cannot judge. The foolish rush to take sides when they lack grounds for fair judgment. - Stonepeace
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Excerpt: Three of Many Disadvantages of Anger
	Anger is not only seldom productive; it is often thoroughly destructive. - Stonepeace
In fact, Buddhism says that acting out of anger is never the skillful thing to do. You might think of certain exceptions. What about anger directed against social injustice? And isn't it necessary and therapeutic to express some anger? I can think of at least three answers to these objections. First, anger causes us to perceive its object in a distorted way. We turn the person we're mad at into an ogre. We become unable to see their good qualities, and we get pumped full of a blinding adrenaline that often causes our interactions to spiral out of control. Anger leads us to see things in a polarized, sharply dualistic way. We believe we're good; we believe our enemies are evil.
If you think that's a helpful way to look at conflict, just look at what it has done for the Israelis and Palestinians, Hutus and Tutsis, Armenians and Turks, etc., etc., etc. Of course, it's important to work against injustice, but we need to do so wisely, with clear eyes and a compassionate, understanding view of all sides. As Ghandi, Martin Luthur King, Jr., and the Dalai Lama have so ably demonstrated, a calm mind gets better results. These wise leaders were able to see that, just as our anger is a delusion arising out of our suffering, the anger of our 'enemies' is also an delusion, like a sickness in their minds. We should fight this delusion, not the people who suffer from it.
Second, though some therapists tout the benefits of expressing anger in a controlled way, such as punching a pillow, recent research in neuroscience contradicts that notion: if you punch a pillow, you're actually exercising your brain's neural pathways for aggression. Finally, our anger damages us as well as the object [or subject] of our wrath. It increases our heart rate, elevates our blood pressure, and has other serious health effects. As the saying goes, anger is an acid that corrodes the vessel that holds it. This seems stupidly obvious to me now, but when I was tromping the streets of Brooklyn, running my resentful little mental loops, I failed to realize that they had absolutely no effect on my wife [whom I was mad at]. I was just working myself into an increasingly agitated state - punching holes, in effect, in a wall only I could see. I was carrying around an entirely unhelpful burden, and I had to resolve to set it down.
The Best Buddhist Writing 2009 Edited by Melvin McLeod (Above: 'Of Course I'm Angry' by Gabriel Cohen) Get it at Awareness Place shops or Amazon \| More Excerpts

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#686

From: NamoAmituofo <buddhistnews@...>
Date: Wed Nov 4, 2009 5:25 pm
Subject: 05.11.09 : What Emptiness Is | How a Monk Failed a Temptation | The Two Dimensions of Reality | Happy Belated World Vegan Day

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Quote: What Emptiness Is?
	Emptiness in Buddhism is not nothingness. Emptiness is everythingness or anythingness. [Emptiness is of mind and matter being empty of permanence and substantiality, as they are constanty changing without fixed nature.] - Stonepeace: http://twitter.com/stonepeace
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Realisation: How a Monk Failed a Temptation
	The Buddha taught us how to become living Buddhas; not to mimic lifeless Buddha statues. - Stonepeace
[Erratum: The word 'unwise' in the first paragraph of last issue's article should be 'wise'] There was once an old woman, who supported a monk for more than twenty years. She had taken the trouble to build him a small hut, for his both his lodging and meditation. She even offered him food for his meals. One day, she decided to test him for what he's worth, so as to know the progress of his spiritual cultivation. This she did by getting a girl who desired much to make love to go forth and embrace him. The girl did as she was told. Caressing him, she asked him what he was going to do about it. To that, he poetically replied, 'An old tree grows on a cold rock in winter. Nowhere is there any warmth.' When the girl recalled his reply to the old woman, she angrily exclaimed, 'To think I fed that fellow for twenty years! He showed no consideration for your need, no disposition to explain your condition. He need not have responded to passion, but at least he could have showed some compassion.' With that, she went to his hut and torched it down.
This is truly a very powerful story that offers counterintuitive lessons on on many levels - so much so that it leaves many readers puzzled as to what it really means. For one, the actual teacher is the old woman, instead of the typical 'Zen master'. The tables are totally turned. Her self-devised test might seem incredibly crude and irreverent, yet it was totally relevant for the monk. In fact, it offered probably the biggest lesson that he had been missing during his twenty odd years of practice. A dramatically fiery wake-up call! His meditation had rendered him into an unfeelingly dispassionate person. If that was the goal of meditation, we might as well freeze up to become statues. Obviously, this is wrong. Even Buddha statues remind us of the need to nurture compassion while cultivating wisdom - by their gentle but definite smiling expressions. Indeed, what good is the deepest wisdom within oneself if it is never expressed with the deepest compassion for helping everyone else?
Meditation is not merely about becoming personally calm and composed. The Buddha even specifically taught about the need to cultivate loving-kindness via meditation.When we look inward too much, we become too detached to the suffering of the world out there. Was the old woman's reaction too drastic? Well, if she did not do what she did, the monk might end up wasting a few more decades meditating complacently in a skewed manner. The monk had displayed no hint of kindness; just giving a cryptic expression of apathy that probably didn't mean much to the girl. Instead of seizing the golden opportunity to inquire on what the girl yearned and to teach her how to not to be enslaved by her desires, he simply expressed disinterest... and perhaps with a tinge of stand-offish pride too? The old woman had wanted to help nuture a future Buddha; not maintain the life of a useless old tree! Her sole mistake was to had given rise to anger, that came with attachment to expectations. But maybe she was secretly a Zen master who manifested wrathful tough love! – Shen Shi'an:http://facebook.com/shenshian
We need more warmth of compassion; less heat of passion; less cold of dispassion. - Stonepeace
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Excerpt: The Two Dimensions of Reality
	Since every thing is interdependent upon one another, there is no one independent creator of everything. - Stonepeace
We come to the practice of meditation seeking relief from our suffering, and meditation can teach us how to transform our suffering and obtain basic relief. But the deepest kind of relief is the realization of nirvana. There are two dimensions to life, and we should be able to touch both. One is like a wave, and we call it the historical [relative] dimension. The other is like the water, and we call it the ultimate [absolute] dimension, or nirvana. We usually touch the wave, but when we discover how to touch the water, we receive the highest fruit that meditation can offer.
In the historical dimension, we have birth certificates and death certificates. The day your mother passes away, you suffer. If someone sits close to you and shows her concern, you feel some relief. You have her friendship, her support, her warm hand to hold. This is the world of waves. It is characterized by birth and death, ups and downs, being and nonbeing. A wave has a beginning and end, but we cannot ascribe these characteristics to water. In the world of water, there is no birth or death, no being or nonbeing, no beginning or end. When we touch the water, we touch reality in its ultimate dimension and are liberated from all these concepts.
The second century philosopher Nagarjuna asked, "Before something was born, did it exist or not?" Before the egg was born from a chicken, was it existent or nonexistent? If it were already there, how could it have been born? Since a baby is already in the womb of her mother, how can we say she is not yet born? Nagarjuna says that something already present cannot be born. To be born means from nothing you become something; from no one you become someone. But nothing can be born from nothing. A flower is born from soil, minerals, seeds, sunshine, rain, and many other things. Meditation reveals to us the no-birth of all things. Life is a continuation. Instead of singing "Happy Birthday," we can sing "Happy Continuation." Even the day of our mother's death is a day of continuation; she continues in many other forms.
Touching Peace: Practicing the Art of Mindful Living Thich Nhat Hanh Get it at Awareness Place shops or Amazon \| More Excerpts

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#685

From: NamoAmituofo <buddhistnews@...>
Date: Thu Oct 29, 2009 5:55 pm
Subject: 30.10.09 : Love All | Twin Criteria for Rejection & Acceptance | Broadening Our Mind Alleviates Pain | Where to Give Peace, Happiness and Dharma

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	How can one love all beings while one loves some beings' flesh at the same time? - Stonepeace: http://twitter.com/stonepeace
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Realisation: The Twin Criteria for Rejection & Acceptance
	If a 'truth' and goodness are not one, what good is that 'truth'? - Stonepeace
The very intelligent Kalamas once asked the Buddha (as paraphrased), 'As there are various teachers who come to expound their teachings, while reviling others’ teachings, how do we know which teachings are true or false?' The Buddha famously replied that one should not accept anything by (1) reported hearsay (or repeated hearing), (2) tradition (passed through many generations), (3) rumour (without investigation), (4) accordance with scriptures (without reflection), (5) supposition (or logical assumption), (6) inference (or philosophical reasoning), (7) consideration of appearances (or common sense), (8) agreement with preconceived notions (or preferences), (9) thinking it seems acceptable (due to authorities’ influence) or (10) respect for a teacher (without question). When something is seen as 'bad, blamable, censured by the unwise and harmful when undertaken', they should be abandoned. The above became known as the criterion for rejection.
Often neglected are the following teachings, where the Buddha got the Kalamas to agree that greed, hate and delusion (Three Poisons) are harmful, leading to evil such as killing, stealing, adultery and lying, which is 'bad, blamable, censured by the wise and harmful when undertaken'. Conversely, the criterion for acceptance is that of using the criterion for rejection to realise what is instead 'good, not blamable, praised by the wise and beneficial (to happiness) when undertaken'. The Kalamas also agreed that the absence of greed, hate and delusion is beneficial, not leading to evil such as killing, stealing, adultery and lying, which is 'good, not blamable, praised by the wise and beneficial when undertaken'. These teachings are easily forgotten when fellow Buddhists are satisfied with the criterion of rejection alone. Well, it is perhaps easier to reject known non-truths than to accept unknown truths! It takes effort to examine and question for the worth of any teaching.
When Buddhists rigidly abide by the criterion for rejection while not practising the criterion for acceptance, their Dharma understanding ironically becomes more dogmatic and narrow-minded – which is what the Kalama Sutta is actually against, as it teaches how to graciously accept even apparently 'non-Buddhist' teachings, as long as they are in line with the Dharma, in the spirit of eradicating greed, hate and delusion, while increasing generosity, loving-kindness and wisdom. The sutta is not wholly about the criterion for rejection, which might be wrongly clung to as the 'Ten Commandments' of 'Thou shalt nots...' These guidelines given by the Buddha are for skilful application with the criterion for acceptance. Though already powerful and universally practical, the sutta also teaches beyond the twin criteria. It also advocates the Four Sublime States of Mind (Immeasurables) and the Four Assurances (Solaces).It's time to revisit the sutta if you didn't know this! – Shen Shi'an:http://facebook.com/shenshian
We take true refuge in the Dharma when we align with truth and goodness, from which arises wisdom and compassion. - Stonepeace
Related Articles: Kalama Sutta: The Charter for Free Enquiry Dogmatic about the Kalama Sutta? The Spirit of Healthy Skepticism The Four Assurances Share Articles & Comments: comment@... \| More Realisations
Excerpt: How Broadening Our Mind Alleviates Pain
	To be fully enlightened is to have the broadest heart and mind possible, without losing sensitivity to the narrowest hearts and minds. - Stonepeace
Just as the Dalai Lama was about to continue, he suddenly had a brief coughing fit… Reaching into my pocket, I offered him a lozenge. "Thank you," he said, and as he put the lozenge into his mouth, he suddenly started to laugh: "Oh! So here you can see a very small example [of how one might look at problems in terms of potential benefits or outcomes] – right now I have this scratchy, sore throat, a small problem. That is negative. But if you investigate, you see, you can always find other angles. So, looking at another angle, a positive angle, this coughing just brought something good – a sweet from a friend! A moment of sharing. It isn’t all bad. It is a matter of reminding yourself that despite this problem, there are still positive things in life.
"So, we have been talking about how a narrow perspective can increase feelings of hopelessness and other negative emotions, and cause us greater suffering. If we have too much self-involvement, a kind of very narrow self-concern, this can limit us and cause problems, exaggerating our suffering. So, in the case of this sore throat, this is not really much of a problem – but if I focus too much on myself and keep thinking, 'Oh, what a problem this sore throat is, this cough is so annoying, why am I afflicted with this?' Then this just serves to exaggerate the situation, and then it becomes a problem.If your vision narrows so you focus your attention only on a problem or tragedy, you can even become completely overwhelmed by it, when in fact it is a surmountable problem.
"However, we can prevent this. Broadening our perspective acts as an antidote to that kind of narrow perspective, and there are various ways to do this. One way is by comparison, comparing of your own situation with those who are less fortunate than yourself. This can often make a difference, at least in helping cope with one’s personal problems. It puts things in a more realistic proportion. For example, if I am troubled by a sore throat and lots of annoying coughing, I can remember that at this moment there are so many people in the world experiencing problems that are so much more serious, so many people suffering, in real pain – and compared with that, this small problem is nothing. Another way is to take a more long-term view, realizing that yes, this may be a little annoying or inconvenient, but this is just temporary and will soon pass. And then… by remembering that problems and suffering are naturally bound to arise, looking from a different angle you'll realize that, after all, as long as I have this body." he said, slapping one arm with the opposite hand, "It is bound to have a certain number of sore throats. That’s the reality…"
The Art of Happiness in a Troubled World His Holiness the Dalai Lama & Howard Cutler Get it at Awareness Place shops or Amazon \| More Excerpts

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#684

From: NamoAmituofo <buddhistnews@...>
Date: Wed Oct 21, 2009 6:09 pm
Subject: 22.10.09 : Fuller Awareness | The Moon Cannot be Stolen | Legend of Princess Miao Shan (Guanyin Pusa)

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	As we are affected by our sub-consciousness, we should become as conscious as possible. Otherwise, our lives would be semi-conscious ones. - Stonepeace: http://twitter.com/stonepeace
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Realisation: The Moon Cannot Be Stolen
	The truly wise appear truly foolish to the truly foolish. - Stonepeace
Zen Master Ryokan lived a simple and frugal life - all by himself in a small hut at the foot of a mountain. One evening, a thief visited the hut only to discover there was nothing in it to steal. When Ryokan returned, he was 'caught' red-handed. Instead of being angry or alerting the authorities, Ryokan said, 'As you must have come a long way to visit me, you should not leave empty-handed. Please take my clothes as a gift.'Stunned and bewildered, the thief nevertheless took the clothes before sheepishly hurrying off. As Ryokan sat naked while watching the moon, he exclaimed, 'Poor fellow, I wish I could have given him the beautiful moon!'
Ryokan challenged the norm by being gracious even to the petty. Shouldn't he admonish him to change his ways? He probably saw no point in punishing him conventionally, but more worth in acknowledging his desperation with touching compassion. In an extended version of the story, he asked the thief to thank him before leaving. When he was caught later, Ryokan was asked to testify the theft, among others. Ryokan answered that he gave his robe to him, that he was even thanked for it. To that, the thief broke down in hot repentant tears. Criminals are often further hardened with punishment. Why not soften their hearts instead?
In Buddhism, the moon symbolises the bright and beautiful truth, that is often missed, shrouded by the passing dark clouds of our defilements. Yet, taken for granted, the moon is always there. The truly precious cannot be stolen. It cannot even be given, but only pointed to – for another to see. Even fellow Buddhists miss the moon of truth at times, when they become attached to the finger of words that point to the truth, mistaking the finger for the moon. The thief almost missed the precious truth too, that Ryokan was trying to impart – the truth that the virtues of contentment, generosity and kindness which saved him are priceless, that cannot be stolen - qualities that he should emulate. – Shen Shi'an: http://facebook.com/shenshian
To see the truth, one has to see beyond that which points to the truth. - Moonpointer.com
Related Article: The Intentional Thief Who Became an Accidental Teacher Share Articles & Comments: comment@... \| More Realisations
Excerpt: The Legend of Princess Miao Shan
	If living beings encounter weariness or peril, immeasurable suffering pressing them down. the power of the Perceiver of Sounds' wonderful wisdom can save them from the sufferings of the world. [via mindfulness of her] - Lotus Sutra
There once was a king who had three daughters. The youngest was named Miao Shan, meaning 'wonderful virtue.' At the moment of her birth, the earth shook, the sky rained down flowers, and a delicate scent filled the air around her. Many people said these signs indicated a most sacred incarnation. But the king and queen cared little about this - they were both greedy. The only thing they wanted was to acquire as much material wealth as possible, and they found it difficult to understand this little girl, who was pure of heart and focused exclusively on virtuous deeds. When Miao Shan grew up, her father expected her to marry. But she resisted his decision and said she would only be married if it would help her to free humanity from suffering. If this was not to be, her aim was to continue her spiritual practice and use it to help all sentient beings, both humans and animals. When the king learned that his daughter refused to marry, he was furious, and he tried to punish her by making her perform menial tasks. Her sisters and her mother had to persuade her to bow to her father's wishes, but in vain. Finally, the king threw up his hands and sent Miao Shan to live in a monastery. He ordered the nuns there to make his daughter perform only the most difficult and backbreaking tasks and to treat her so poorly that she would change her mind and submit to his will. The girl was forced to carry wood and water and build a garden in barren soil. Thanks to the devoted efforts of the young nun, the land turned into a paradise. Miao Shan lovingly tended all the plants so well that the garden became lush and even retained its splendor during winter. Apparently from nowhere, a spring emerged - very close to the kitchen. And the animals began to assist Miao Shan in carrying out her labors.
When the king heard about these miracles, he flew into a rage; he wanted to kill Miao Shan. He had told the nuns to force her to her knees, and in that they burn down the monastery, including all its occupants. But when Miao Shan saw that the building was on fire, she pierced her tongue with a hairpin - soon blood began to shoot from it. This summoned storm clouds, and it started to rain. The fire was extinguished, and the nuns were saved. The king refused to give up, and to get rid of his daughter once and for all he decided to have Miao Shan executed. But no weapon could kill her: she was protected by the celestial Jade Emperor [Sakra] himself, the ruler of a heaven. Sword after sword, arrow after arrow broke before they could touch her body. Then, suddenly, the air became very still, and a huge white tiger appeared. He grasped Miao Shan and then bounded away with a single giant leap. It was in this way that Miao Shan reached the intermediate words and met Yama, the ruler of the hell realms. He led her to their chambers, which were filled with the suffering cries of all beings. Miao Shan sent her deepest compassion to the crying ones. One by one they were liberated by her empathy, and the hells filled with light, music, and wonderful scents. Yama had to send Miao Shan away, as powers like hers had no place in the hells. As she was leaving, he gave her a peach of longevity as a gift. Miao Shan now flew through the air and reached the island of Putuo Shan, where she remained in deep meditation for many years. During this period she lived only on the dew of grasses and the scent of flowers. Then one day when she was deep in meditation for many years, she saw the image of her father in the last stages of severe illness. The doctors were helpless: her father could neither sleep nor eat - he would die.
Suddenly, a monk appeared at the king's court and promised to heal him. To achieve this, however, he would have to prepare a special medicine from the eyes and arms of a human who had experienced neither anger nor hatred. This type of being, the monk said, a bodhisattva who would joyously fulfill his request, lived on the island of Putuo Shan. The king sent a messenger, who soon found the bodhisattva. Miao Shan was happy to give her arms and eyes; they were prepared into medicine that instantly brought about the king's recovery. The king tried to thank the monk, but the monk told him that only the being who had selflessly given of its own body deserved the king's gratitude. Then he disappeared as suddenly as he had come. The king decided to travel with his wife to Putuo Shan to bring a wonderful gift to the mysterious, life-saving donor. When the king and queen found the cave where the bodhisattva dwelled, they discovered that this miraculous being was their daughter, Miao Shan. At the moment of recognition the air became filled with a delicate scent, and flowers rained down from the ceiling. The cave was bathed in brilliant light as Miao Shan transformed into her sacred manifestation with a thousand eyes and arms and then floated away. She had become the embodiment of the purest unconditional compassion [Guanyin Bodhisattva; Perceiver of Sounds]. Humbled and in gratitude, her parents began their own spiritual practice and meditation. They built a shrine in lace where they had reunited with their daughter. Today it is known as Fragrant Mountain.
Kuan Yin: Accessing the Power of the Divine Feminine Daniela Schenker Get it at Awareness Place shops or Amazon \| More Excerpts

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#683

From: NamoAmituofo <buddhistnews@...>
Date: Thu Oct 15, 2009 5:20 pm
Subject: 16.10.09 : Perfectly Imperfect | Is Ignorance Really Bliss? | How Death Realised Deathlessness | (500) Days of Summer

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Quote: Perfectly Imperfect
	This imperfect moment is the perfect moment to practise the Dharma, because if all is already perfect now, there would be no need to practise. - Stonepeace: http://twitter.com/stonepeace
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Realisation: Is Ignorance Really Bliss?
	Ignorance is only blissful… till your negative karma ripens. - Stonepeace
Recently, there is a video link (http://mercyforanimals.org/hatchery) in circulation, related to a news report (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/zeph/message/1294) on how 200 millions male chicks are yearly bred and killed at birth in the US alone – simply because they are seen as useless, since they will neither be profitably meaty fast enough, nor able to bear any eggs. That they are simply tossed alive into grinders is the usual practice of the cruel egg industry! All egg-bearing hens get killed for their meat when deemed unproductive too. Egg-eating is thus almost as morally culpable as chicken-eating - a matter of life and death. The point of the video is to highlight the seldom seen dark side behind animal produce. There is no happy ending for the helpless in the mechanised world of animal exploitation. But we can all lessen this madness by voting for kinder animal-free meals.
A friend wondered if there is any negative karma created by egg-eaters, who have no intentions to torture or kill any animal, who assume that eggs are just harmless by-products, when the truth is that many chick(en)s are sacrificed just for a few eggs. Since negative karma is created only via intentional action, those who ate eggs without knowledge of the harsh reality involved in their production should be free from the associated negative karma. Here is the pivoting point though - If you are an egg-eater, and now that you realise the bloodiness of the egg trade, then, from this very moment onwards, every egg purposely chosen for consumption does create some negative karma. Though it is not as intense as the karma from direct killing, it is karma from supporting killing by perpetuating demand. The greater the wilful neglect of these simple economics of greed, the greater the negative karma there is.
Does this mean that ignorance is bliss? It might be - but only for a short while. There are three kinds of ignorance – (1) circumstantial lack of knowledge (e.g. when a baby), (2) delusional interpretation of truth (e.g. when misled by others), and (3) intentional ignoring of truth, when it is stumbled upon, that others are harmed for one. While (1) and (2) are 'pardonable' when growing up, (3) surely creates negative karma. Note that even a baby ignorant about fire might be burnt when past karma ripens, as ignorance of truths (e.g. that fire hurts) and karma does not exempt one from natural karmic effects. One might think it is more compassionate to not share the truth about eggs, so as to prevent others from wilfully creating negative karma. However, to intentionally conceal the truth when the knowledge of it can save many lives creates negative karma too. If so, may all truths which spur the rise of compassion spread far and wide! – Shen Shi'an:http://facebook.com/shenshian
Whatever living beings there may be - feeble or strong, long, stout, or of medium size, short, small, large… may all beings be happy-minded… Just as a mother would protect her only child with her life even so let one cultivate a boundless love towards all beings. - The Buddha (Metta Sutta)
Related Articles: Plight of Chickens from Birth to Death 6 Reasons Why a Kinder Diet is Better The Old & Young Monks Who Killed & Saved Ants Share Articles & Comments: comment@... \| More Realisations
Excerpt: How Death Realised Deathlessness
	Whether a myth is true or not differs from whether it has truth or not. - Stonepeace
In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, where ornate visual representations of Buddhist insights were established or elaborated, this transformation in the understanding of death is symbolized by one of the fiercest deities of the Tibetan archetypical pantheon. There is a figure called Yamantaka, the death destroyer, who is said to be the form adopted by the bodhisattva of wisdom, Manjushri, to conquer Yama, the Lord of Death.Manjushri's idea was to assume a form more frightening than death itself, capable of scaring death into submission, of showing death its ultimate unreality. Rather than allowing death to put an end to being, Manjushri's aim was to expose the illusory nature of the fear of death… (Click http://tinyurl.com/yamayami for Yama’s picture and http://tinyurl.com/yamantaka for Yamantaka's)
The deity is certainly awesome. With nine leering, blue-black buffalo heads, each with three eyes, and with thirty-four arms, two fire-sprouting horns, a halo of flames arising from his burning hair, a headdress of skulls, and a perpetually erect phallus, Yamantaka is nothing if not a nightmare. Yet sprouting from his central head and rising toward the sky are two more heads: one a red, fanged demon face with diaphanous skin oozing blood; and the other the golden, shining, eternally youthful and handsome Manjushri, the bodhisattva of transcendent wisdom, an oasis of understanding in the midst of death's horror.
The story of Yamantaka is that Manjushri decided to tame death by assuming this intimidating form and simultaneously creating a huge mirror that magnified and reflected death’s horrible appearance back to him, using death’s own face to frighten and subdue him. This is consistent with the most basic Buddhist meditative approach: To stare something straight in the face is the best way to bring it under control…Manjushri trapped death 'in the endless terror of eventually having killed himself.' Manjushri caught death in the habit of imagining things to have an inherent and fixed reality, turned that thought habit back to him, and then used the resultant fear to bring him into submission. After paralyzing death in this way, the bodhisattva showed him the way out of his terror, revealing to the demon the transparency and interconnectedness of life, dissolving 'the absolute severance death is imagined to be.'
Going on Being: Life at the Crossroads of Buddhism and Psychotherapy Mark Epstein, M.D. Get it at Awareness Place shops or Amazon \| More Excerpts

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#682

From: NamoAmituofo <buddhistnews@...>
Date: Wed Oct 7, 2009 4:22 pm
Subject: 06.10.09 : Every Bit Counts | Old & Young Monks Who Killed & Saved Ants | Time for Mindful Self-Examination | Funny People

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	No good deed is insignificant, especially to the one who benefits from it. - Stonepeace: http://twitter.com/stonepeace
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Realisation: The Old & Young Monks Who Killed & Saved Ants
	Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought. If with an impure mind a person speaks or acts, suffering follows him like the wheel that follows the foot of the ox. - Dhammapada Verse 1
Opening and closing this article are the famous first two twin verses of the Dhammapada, which is a collection of sayings by the Buddha inspired by real events. Once, some monks sighted some dead insects, which they suspect to be trampled by the old and blind Cakkhupala during his walking meditation. Hearing this, the Buddha remarked that just as they didn't see him killing the insects, Cakkhupala did not either. Besides, as he was already an arahat, it was impossible for him to have the intention to kill. Thus, he did not create any negative karma. His blindness however, was the negative karmic result of having blinded someone in a past life. A woman had promised him then, when he was a physician, to become his servant, together with her children, if her eyes get completely cured. However, she lied that her eyes were getting worse when they became cured. Out of vengeance, he gave her another ointment, which really blinded her.
In a related story, the master of a young novice monk, who could see probable events in the future, saw that the latter was likely to pass away eight days later due to negative karma. Out of compassion, he sent him home for a break, to see his parents one last time. Unaware of his situation, the novice went off delightedly. On his journey, he noticed an ant nest with a stream nearby. Its level was rising due to rain upstream. Attempting to prevent the ants from drowning, he used soil to built an embankment around the nest and diverted the stream away. To great astonishment, eight days later, his master saw him returning cheerily to the monastery. Perplexed at how he escaped death, he realised that his act of saving the insects had amassed so much merits, that his life expectancy extended. As such, the novice lived to a ripe old age.
The two stories illustrate the central role of intention in the creation of karma, be it positive or negative. As the Buddha taught, 'It is intention [or volition; instead of just an action], monks, that I call kamma [karma], for having willed, one performs an action through body, speech and mind.' Just as the old monk's ill intention created great negative karma, the young monk's pure intention create immense merits [pure karma]. Though both did not create new negative karma, they had to suffer for their past negative karma. Despite this, both were able to make the best of their situations. We too should take our negative karma in our stride, to rise above our present situations. We are not limited by our karma; only by our lack of diligence to do better, to render our negative karma relatively powerless with overwhelming positive karma and wisdom. Karma is not cast in stone! – Shen Shi'an: http://facebook.com/shenshian
Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought. If with a pure mind a person speaks or acts, happiness follows him like his never-departing shadow. - Dhammapada Verse 2
Related Articles: Can Negative Karma be Diluted with Buddha Mindfulness? \| The Story of Dhammapada Verse 2 (How Buddha Mindfulness Leads to a Better Rebirth) Share Articles & Comments: comment@... \| More Realisation Articles
Excerpt: It's Time for Mindful Self-Examination
	Mindfulness is the root of all the methods that tame the mind. First it focuses the mind. Then it eases the mind. Finally it is the luminous nature, beyond thoughts. - Patrul Rinpoche
We should take a moment to reflect on our Dharma practice from when we began practicing up until now. Have our afflictive emotions decreased since that time? Are we less angry, less dramatic, and less extreme? Are we less worried about the behavior of others and more mindful about our own behavior? Has our self-attachment decreased? Are we experiencing more clarity and stability in the mind? Are we able to practice more?
If, after making this examination, we feel that we are progressing pretty well, then it would be good to keep at Dharma practice just the way we have been. If we examine ourselves and then think: "I haven't changed as much as I should have as a result of practicing this long," it would be good to evaluate and reflect on ways that we could change.
Tibetan Buddhists say "the mind is not hidden from us" - in other words, we are the only ones who can really see the qualities of the mind. It is the same idea we express in English when we say that no one knows us better than we know ourselves. We are with ourselves constantly, and only we have the ability to discern our true motivations. However, self-attachment and the ego are very seductive. It is very easy to be lured into thinking, based on our self-attachment, that "I'm doing really well. I'm a great practitioner." It is easy to not be objective in evaluating how our practice is going and what we are like as human beings. For example, it is difficult to reflect on situations as an outsider and consider how people perceive us. If we engaged in this mental exercise, we might start to have a different idea about who we are as compared to the person that we typically imagine ourselves to be.
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#681

From: NamoAmituofo <buddhistnews@...>
Date: Thu Oct 1, 2009 4:47 pm
Subject: 01.10.09 : True Integrity | How to Make Our Love Truer & Greater | Mindfulness is Lesson One | Inglourious Basterds

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Quote: True Integrity
	One who is agreeable to all on all matters will be disagreeable to some on some matters. - Stonepeace: http://twitter.com/stonepeace
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Realisation: How to Make Our Love Truer & Greater
	The best protection for one another is loving-kindness for one another. - Stonepeace
From 'A Heart Full of Peace', Joseph Goldstein shares a wonderful experience: '... there was an old gardener at the little monastery where I was staying. I saw him every day, but I had never really given him any thought at all. He was just somebody I noticed in passing. It was quite startling to realize how many such people there were around me, beings for whom I had completely neutral feelings. That in itself was an illuminating discovery. So every day for weeks, I began visualizing this old gardener in my meditation, repeating phrases like "May you be happy, may you be peaceful, may you be free from suffering." After a while, I began to feel warmth and caring for him, and every time we passed my heart just opened. This was a great turning point in my practice. I understood that how I feel about someone is up to me, and that feelings do not ultimately depend on the person, his or her behavior, or the situation. The gardener remained the same. He did not change what he was doing or how he related to me. But because of a turn in my own understanding and practice, my heart began to fill with genuine feelings of kindness and care.'
In loving-kindness meditation, before we radiate thoughts of loving-kindness (metta) to others, we first suffuse ourselves with loving-kindness for ourselves, till it gently overflows to others. Yes, we need to top up before spilling over! Though metta meditation is often mistaken as a mere feel-good self-help visualisation exercise, it is really not so. In its genuine practice, gentle but tangible (though difficult to measure) ripples or waves of heartfelt metta are generated and radiated in specific or all directions. As your metta pervades space through you, you become a source of living metta. Metta is not only meant to be felt by its practitioners, but experienced by its recipients too. The effects might be faint at first, but practice does make perfect – such that metta can even traverse across vast distances. There is a reason after all, that metta is ultimately known as an immeasurable and sublime quality, for benefiting one and all. The Buddha is of course the best example, who was able to stop an enraged and intoxicated elephant from stampeding towards him in its tracks. Metta thus has the ability to touch and sooth the savage 'beast' within us, and to awaken our inner goodness.
Goldstein's case above is an example of practising metta to first transform oneself. This is definitely beneficial, though the further practice leads to real transformation of others too. Of course, how open-hearted the other party is plays a part in his or her receptivity of metta too. When we truly allow metta to transform our thoughts to be loving ones, our speech and actions will become loving too, which helps us relate to others in more loving ways, which in turn helps others to easier relate to us in similarly in return. Metta is to be practised not just mentally, but physically too. A Dharma friend I was chatting with remarked that he never needed to send metta to anyone to improve their relationship. My reply was that it might mean his own metta was not strong enough, to be motivated to send metta to even any one specific person! The ones we care the least for, whom we might not hate, should be our subjects of metta too! The other possibility is that his metta was already so strong, that he radiates it readily most of the time to everyone in general! But as long as our metta is not perfect, we do need to practise, to make it truly boundless. – Shen Shi'an: http://facebook.com/shenshian
Compassion is the best defence against hate. Wisdom is the best defence against delusion. - Stonepeace
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Excerpt: Mindfulness is Lesson One
	If you are not even mindful of your suffering (by realising the First Noble Truth), how can you be mindful of the need to end it (by realising the Third Noble Truth)? - Stonepeace
There’s a story from medieval Japan in which a young man goes out to study with a sword master. The teacher has him bring meals and carry other things, but doesn't teach him anything about the sword. Eventually the student complains. The sword teacher says nothing. One day the student lies down to take a nap, and while he's sleeping, the teacher takes a broom and whacks him.Now this is feudal Japan, so this young man has to do whatever he signed up for, whether he likes it or not. The next day he's cooking soup, the teacher comes up from behind and hits him with a spoon. From then on, whether the student is asleep or awake, the teacher attacks him with an object every chance he gets. This drives the student nuts. He says to the teacher, 'This isn't what I signed up for.'
So the teacher keeps hitting the student, and this goes on for a long time, probably because the student is a good student and just can't quit. One day the student is making soup in a pot over a fire and the teacher comes up behind him with a big stick. Just as the teacher starts to strike, the student whips the lid off the pot and blocks it. This happens two or three times. The teacher tried to get the student in his sleep, but the student rolls over before he gets hit. Soon the teacher isn't able to hit him at all. And at that point the teacher says, 'Now it’s time to begin your formal sword training.'
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#680

From: NamoAmituofo <buddhistnews@...>
Date: Fri Sep 25, 2009 6:55 pm
Subject: 25.09.09 : Hopefulness & Hopelessness | When Best Friends Become Worst Colleagues | Waves of Loving-Kindness

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Quote: Hopelessness & Hopefulness
	Due to impending (re)death, we always hve little time. Due to impending (re)birth, we always have much time. - Stonepeace: http://twitter.com/stonepeace
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Realisation: When Best Friends Become Worst Colleagues
	Worldly friendship becomes true friendship when it transforms to be spiritual friendship - Stonepeace
A colleague (who is a friend) lamented to me of how difficult it is for her to work with another colleague, who is also a friend. Knowing that I experienced similar difficulties in the past, she asked for some advice. My advice was simple. She should keep work matters professional, while keeping friendship matters… well… friendly. Sounds easy, but how do you clearly separate the duo? And how do you tell the other party that the duo should not mix? A friend might expect some special treatment during work, while you might have no intention to offer any at all. And sometimes, a friend turns out to be a poor co-worker, while unable to receive constructive criticism – especially from a friend, who is the last person some expect ‘unforgiving’ criticism from. As expectations differ, unhappiness results. ‘After all I have done for her as a friend, how could she do this to me?’ This could well be uttered by both sides!
Friends do not always make better colleagues. The way one is as a friend usually differs from the way one is as a colleague. In fact, some friendships work precisely because both parties are not colleagues, which thus eliminates chances of work friction that could jeopardise friendship. What is the professional way of handling conflict at work with a friend, who might think it is you who are not only being a lousy friend, but are being unprofessional too? Ask a third party for a fair opinion – who can be a team member, or in the worst case, a superior. This seeking of a fresh outlook should be done without animosity though, and there should be no gloating if the result favours one. Otherwise, it would be a case of a sour work relationship which sours friendship. Do the proposed solutions sound idealistic?
What if the other party bears a grudge despite fair resolution of a work conflict? Well, you should simply continue being professional best you can, while being a good friend too – but prioritising work matters when working to avoid favourtism. But you should invite your friend to chat about any unhappiness later too, in a more casual manner – after work. Why after work, you might ask. This is in case your friend has yet to be able to differentiate your working relationship from friendship. But once there is maturity, a working relationship and friendship can mix well – and there can be positive results better than working with a ’stranger’. The truth is, for many colleagues who were once strangers, we do eventually befriend one another over time. You can literally ‘work’ towards greater friendship!- Shen Shi'an: http://moonpointer.com
Our real work is to befriend ourselves and others with the Dharma till we become Buddhas. - Stonepeace
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Excerpt: Waves of Loving-Kindness
	Why be grouchy when you can be neutral? Why be neutral when you can be friendly? - Stonepeace
The meditation center where I teach is in the hills of the West Virginia countryside. When we first opened our center, there was a man down the road who was very unfriendly. I encountered him regularly on the long walk I take every day. It is a quiet forest road with little traffic and I always wave at everyone who goes by. Whenever I saw this man, I would wave to him. He would just frown at me and look away. Even so, I would always wave and think kindly of him, sending him loving-friendliness (Metta). I was not disappointed by his attitude. I never gave up on him. Whenever I saw him, I waved just as I did with other people. After about a year, his behavior changed. He stopped frowning. I felt wonderful. The practice of loving-friendliness was bearing fruit.
After another year, when I passed him on my walk, something miraculous happened. He drove pass me and lifted one finger off the steering wheel. Again, I thought, "Oh, this is wonderful. Loving-friendliness is working." Another year passed. Day after day, when I took my walk, I would wave to him and wish him well. The third year, he lifted two fingers in my direction. Then the next year, he lifted all four fingers off the wheel. More time passed. One day I was walking down the road as he turned into his driveway. He took his hand off the steering wheel, stuck it out the window, and waved at me.
One day, not long after, I saw him parked on the side of the forest roads. He was sitting in the driver’s seat smoking a cigarette. I went over to him and started talking. First we chatted just about the weather and then, little by little, his story unfolded. It turns out that he had been in a terrible accident. A tree had fallen on his truck. Almost every bone in his body was broken. He has been in a coma. When I first started seeing him on the road, he was only beginning to recover. He did not refrain from waving because he was a mean person. He did not wave because he could not move all his fingers. Had I given up on him, I would never have known how good this man is.
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#679

From: NamoAmituofo <buddhistnews@...>
Date: Wed Sep 9, 2009 4:32 pm
Subject: 10.09.09 : Foolish or Wise? | Are You a Moth Entranced by the Fire? | The Guru Within You

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Quote: Foolish or Wise?
	If others are often more foolish or wise than you think, are you often more foolish or wise than you think? - Stonepeace: http://twitter.com/stonepeace
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Realisation: Are You a Moth Entranced by the Fire?
	Too much of a good thing is a bad thing because too much is too much. - Stonepeace
From the Adhipataka Sutta, it was recorded that during one night, when the Buddha was seated out in the open, there were oil lamps burning in the otherwise total darkness. Unfortunately, there were many flying insects flying around them, some of which fell into the lamps, thereby encountering their downfall and doom. Seeing the deeper significance of this sight taken for granted, the Buddha uttered this - 'Rushing up but then too far, they miss the point; only causing ever newer bonds to grow. So obsessed are some by what is seen and heard, they fly just like these moths - straight into the flames.'
This is an excellent example of the Buddha's skilful means in using current situations as golden opportunities for sharing the Dharma. The insects' seemingly 'irresistible' lure by the flames can be seen as a metaphor for sentient beings' dangerous attraction to pleasures of the senses, which, when driven to the extreme by attachment, can lead to pain and even death. Seeking a false refuge, security is totally lost instead. This is not to say that sense pleasures should be totally abstained from, but that they should not be overly indulged in - just as humans know that oil lamps are useful, but should be mindfully kept a safe distance from.
Lamps are also used as offerings to represent spreading of the light of wisdom, which dispels the darkness of ignorance. The plight of the insects also warn of how the Dharma should be approached with care. The light of the Dharma, like lamps, are to merely serve as guides in the dark; not to be clung to. For instance, attachment to views, even if they are right ones, creates spiritual bondage, while the truth, when properly realised and applied, sets us free from all attachments. Rushing headlong towards the truth without mindfulness and calmness could be likened to rashly taking too much medicine, which would render it as poison instead. Even the cure for suffering can cause suffering if taken in the wrong dosage! - Shen Shi'an:http://twitter.com/shenshian
Fools rush towards the Dharma, only to consider the Dharma foolish. - Stonepeace
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Excerpt: The Guru Within You
	If there are no inner gurus, outer gurus would not be needed to awaken them - Stonepeace
Question: You said something… about an 'inner guide.' Could you explain that? Answer: The nature of the mind is our Buddha-nature. It is our inherent wisdom and compassion. It is always there. It's kind of frozen over, buried under all our vast mountains of confusion, but it's there. We have to learn how to uncover it. If you consider it like a kind of vast underground watershed, on the top it looks like a desert. We’re pretty dry – there’s not much wisdom and not much compassion. But if we start digging down, after a while the ground begins to get damp and you can feel the moisture. We realise we are beginning to gain access to deeper levels. We keep digging deeper and deeper until finally we begin to reach this fountain of innate wisdom, our innate compassion and understanding. But even before we completely access it, we can get intimations of it. That guru is the real guru. Any genuine outer guru is simply trying to direct us towards this genuine inner guru.
The inner guide is always within us. It's who we really are. It's our true nature. It's vast and knowing. We've just covered it up with our clouds of confusion, but it's not coming from the outside. We can think of it as if we are getting blessings from the outside coming into us to open us up, but actually what is happening is that our own clouds of unknowing part and we can see the deep blue sky which is always there. It's not that we have to acquire anything or that anyone gives us anything. It's a matter of uncovering our original richness.
When the mind is still and centred, when the confusion has died down a bit, there is space and silence which enable our inner wisdom to find its voice. And at that moment we know. It's at a very profound level. It might not even be verbal. There is just this timeless knowing. We know what is appropriate and what has to be done, from moment to moment. It has nothing to do with intellect, it has nothing to do with analysis.It's just a knowing, in that moment, which comes from a very profound source within us which is always there but which is normally cut off from us. It is who we really are. So what we're saying is that genuine practice leads us back to our primal wisdom.
Reflections on a Mountain Lake: Teachings on Practical Buddhism Ani Tenzin Palmo Get it at Awareness Place shops or Amazon \| More Excerpt Articles

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#678

From: NamoAmituofo <buddhistnews@...>
Date: Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:26 pm
Subject: 03.09.09 : Buddhahood is Possible | Time Traveller's Wife | How to Bust Bogus Monastics | Transforming the Past in the Present

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Quote: Buddhahood is Possible
	Even if Buddhahood is impossible, it is still the worthiest goal to work towards - to be as perfect in compassion and wisdom as possible. Since Buddhahood is possible, it is the worthiest goal to work towards - to be perfect in compassion and wisdom. - Stonepeace: http://twitter.com/stonepeace
The TDE Collection

Realisation: How to Bust Bogus Monastics
	If Buddhists do not uphold the integrity of Buddhism, who will? - Stonepeace
What if you see bogus monastics on the streets of Singapore asking for money – pretending they need funds for food, building projects and such? If there is only one single thing you should do, it is to call the cops at 999, to request the police to come in plain clothes. Why? Well, I called the cops to arrest two bogus ‘monks’ standing outside Waterloo Street’s Guanyintang temple with begging bowls. But they had informers, who alerted them of the approach of obviously uniformed cops – some 100 metres away. (It was comical to see them pull up their robes and flee though.) It’s easy - just describe the location to the cops. You don’t have to stay around or watch what happens if you don’t have time. There’s no need to make any statement too.
Please note though, that in countries such as Japan, it is a custom for monastics to stand stationary, to do chanting for blessing the public, and to receive money in their bowls. But such is not the case in countries like Singapore and Malaysia at all. In the past, the bogus monks in Singapore were stationary, which made them easier to apprehend. Nowadays, mobile ‘nuns’ are more popularly used instead – which makes immediate reports to the cops even more crucial. The general direction the bogus monastics are walking to should be informed too. If one wishes to track them, one must be very careful. Tracking bogus monastics might be dangerous, though there is no recorded case of intimidation yet.
Protect the integrity of real monastics by exposing the fake. Previously, a syndicate of 30 fake monks were caught. Some were foreigners forced to be fake monks as their passports were withheld by syndicate leaders, when they were promised work earlier. Free these conned ‘workers’ by handing them over to the law! Mere scaring them away does not do much if they simply go elsewhere. Having ever scared three away, not once did I detect any remorse while they fled. The syndicates might force them to continue their ‘jobs’ despite their fear. Scaring them away might only urge them to increase their vigilance, making them harder to track. They might be abused when they turn in empty bowls too? Arresting them in any case is for their own good – especially if they are perfectly willing ongoing partners in crime. [... continues athttp://moonpointer.com/new/2009/09/bust-the-bogus: How to identify fake monastics? Share your experiences too.]
When Dharma rituals are twisted, the Dharma represented is twisted. - Stonepeace
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Excerpt: Transforming the Past in the Present
	The only way to change the past is in the present. The only way to shape the future is in the present. - Stonepeace
A participant at one of our meditation retreats was an American who fought in the Vietnam War. This former soldier suffered a lot. One day during the war, he found out that many of his friends had been killed by guerillas. He was overcome by tremendous anger and wanted to avenge his friends, so he put explosives in some sandwiches and left them at the entrance to a village. Some children found these tasty-looking sandwiches, and they ate them. These children writhed and screamed in pain, and finally died, right before their parents’ eyes. The young man went back to America, but that day continued to haunt him. He was unable to find peace, and he could not stand being in a room with children. This went on for years.
When I met this man during the retreat, I told him that transformation was possible. ‘You killed five children, that’s a reality.’ I said to him. ‘Each of these children is ‘crying’ right now in every cell of your body. I know that. That’s why you have no peace. So you must continue to look more deeply. Children are dying right now, as we speak, because of war. They are dying for lack of food and medicine at this very moment, and you can do something to help these children. Why do you remain immobilized, dwelling on your guilt and pain? You are intelligent. You know that every day forty thousand children die of malnutrition. You can do something. You can save a child, two children, five children, every day. You must find the will to live a new way. You have to make a fresh start.’
He made the decision to devote his life to helping children, and the moment he decided to live a new way, the wound in him began to heal. Beginning anew is a wonderful practice. We can practice beginning anew. We can always start over. With the help of deep looking, we can illuminate the present and gain a better understanding of the past. The past is within our reach, and we can transform it through meditation [and action].
You Are Here: Discovering the Magic of the Present Moment Thich Nhat Hanh Get it at Awareness Place shops or Amazon \| More Excerpt Articles

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#677

From: NamoAmituofo <buddhistnews@...>
Date: Thu Aug 27, 2009 4:48 pm
Subject: 28.08.09 : Everyone's Strength | When the Truth is Not Enough | Rebuttal of Arguments Against Identitylessness

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Quote: Everyone's Strengths
	One has one’s weaknesses while everyone has everyone’s strengths. - Stonepeace: http://twitter.com/stonepeace
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Realisation: When the Truth is Not Enough
	Truth used skilfully is a cure. Truth used unskilfully is a poison. - Stonepeace
There is a quiz game show on TV, that is seemingly the most difficult to play, because almost anything can be asked ‘randomly’. This popular game is ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’, which tests general knowledge. Now, some of the ‘remainder’ unasked questions are used in another game, that is seemingly much easier to play, yet paradoxically more difficult for most. This game is ‘The Moment of Truth’, which asks personal questions instead, in a somewhat ‘Truth or Dare’ way. Because all you are expected to answer is ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to questions whose answers you definitely know, it’s called ‘the simplest game on Earth’. With truthfulness determined by a lie-detector, gutsy honesty is all you need to win.
This seems like a game that tests one’s integrity in observation of the Fourth Precept, which guards against lying – though aspects of Right Speech include speaking in a timely manner too, while some contestants’ relations get hurt live by ‘brutal’ honesty.The moment of truth should also be a moment of compassion and wisdom! If not, it’s simply a wrong moment for truth. In this sense, there are many wrong moments in the game, despite mostly ‘right’ answers – because the answering of many questions is motivated by greed to win big money. Another problem is that many issues in question warrant elaborations beyond black or white yes or no answers, without which there is bound to be misunderstanding from miscommunication. How then, should questions be tackled?
As the Buddha taught in the Pañha Sutta (paraphrased): There are four ways of answering questions. [1] Some should be answered categorically [straightforwardly with a yes or no, this or that…] [2] Some should be answered with an analytical (qualified) answer [(re)defining the terms as needed.] [3] Some should be ‘answered’ with counter-questions. [4] Some should be put aside. One who knows which question is which, and how to answer in line with the Dharma would be skilful in handling any difficult or profound query. This is because he is prudent and proficient in knowing what is worthwhile and what is not, able to reject the worthless while accepting the worthy. - Shen Shi'an: http://twitter.com/shenshian
Questioning the questionable leads to 'truer truth'. - Stonepeace
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Excerpt: Rebuttal of Arguments Against Identitylessness
	As there is self only conventionally, there is no self ultimately. - Stonepeace
(70) One might [mistakenly] say that in the absence of a [ultimate; substantial and thus unchanging] self, there would be no proper relationship between an action and its result. If the agent vanishes upon having performed an action, who will [experience] this result? (71) Since we [one who believes self exists, and one who does not] both agree that an action and its fruition have different bases, and that the [conventional] self [in the moment] who performs the action does not function at the time [of its fruition], is it not pointless to dispute this issue?
(72) It is not possible that the very possessor of the cause can be seen to be ‘endowed with the effect [at the same time].’ Rather, agent and experiencer are designated depending on their oneness of continuum [of consciousness. E.g. Yesterday’s conventional self has passed, and today’s dependently originated conventional self has newly arisen, but are of the same continuum of change, without an ultimate self.] (73) The past or future mind is not the ‘I,’ for it is not found. Moreover, the present mind is not the self; [for if it were,] upon its passing, the self, too, would not exist. (74) When the trunk of a banana tree is cut into pieces, there is nothing left over. Just so, the ‘I’ is not [found to be] really existent, when sought after analytically.
(75) You might ask [mistakenly]: If no sentient being is found, towards whom would one feel compassion? For practical purposes [one feels compassion for conventionally existing beings] who are imputed by acknowledged delusion [e.g. of clinging to the illusion of self]. (76) You may ask [mistakenly]: If there is no sentient being, whose is the goal? We grant that such desire [for liberation, etc.] is indeed delusive [as it arises from clinging to the illusion of self]. Still, in order to eradicate suffering, effective delusion, whose result [is understanding of the ultimate truth e.g. of non-self] is not prevented. (77) Grasping onto the ‘I’ which is a cause of suffering, is strengthened due to delusion about the self. You may think that you cannot rid of it, [but for this,] meditation on selflessness is ideal.
Transcendent Wisdom (Exposition on Wisdom Section of Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life) H.H. the Dalai Lama, translated, edited and annotated by B. Alan Wallace Get it at Awareness Place shops or Amazon \| More Excerpt Articles

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#676

From: NamoAmituofo <buddhistnews@...>
Date: Thu Aug 20, 2009 7:33 pm
Subject: 21.08.09 : Not Different | Courage & Compassion to Share the Dharma | Democracy with Freedom, Compassion & Wisdom

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Quote: Not Different
	The mind, the Buddha and sentient beings - these three are not different [because they have Buddha-nature]. - The Buddha (Avatamsaka Sutra)
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Realisation: Courage & Compassion to Share the Dharma
	That worth living for is also that worth dying for. - Stonepeace
The Punnovada Sutta tells of an inspiring dialogue (as paraphrased below) between the (B)uddha and Venerable (P)unna, where Punna asks for permission to leave for Sunaparanta to share the Dharma: B: If they (who tend to be fierce and rough) abuse and threaten you, what will you think? P: These people are truly excellent, as they did not give me a blow with a fist. B: If they give you a blow with a fist, what will you think? P: These people are truly excellent, as they did not give me a blow with a clod. B: If they give you a blow with a clod, what will you think? P: These people are truly excellent, as they did not give me a blow with a stick. B: If they give you a blow with a stick, what will you think? P: These people are truly excellent, as they did not give me a blow with a knife. B: If they give you a blow with a knife, what will you think? P: These people are truly excellent, as they did not take my life with a knife. B: If they do take your life with a knife, what will you think? P: With disgust for this body, some seek an assailant, but I would have one without search. B: Excellent! Having such self-control and peacefulness, you will be able to live there.
Punna, who was the Buddha's disciple foremost in ability to expound the Dharma, then set forth for Sunaparanta for retreat during the rainy season, where he managed to urge 500 laymen and 500 laywomen to learn and practise the Dharma, before he realised Arahatship. May we master his excellent qualities below!
(1) Fearless compassion and missionary zeal to share the Dharma despite difficulties. (2) Unrelenting gratefulness for his blessings, even when facing suffering. (3) Great courage to face whatever his karma presents without resentment. (4) Strong confidence in the Dharma and its value. (5) Great wisdom and skilfulness in sharing the Dharma with purity of intention. (6) Realisation of the potential and goodness even in those who are often blamed. - Shen Shi'an
The truly wise are as sure of their motivations as their consequences. - Stonepeace
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Excerpt: Democracy with Freedom, Compassion & Wisdom
	The only ‘restrictions’ that lead to greater freedom are the [moral] precepts. - Stonepeace
A democratic system based on freedom [and on compassion and concern for the well-being of all those within its scope] is, in my view, the only system that can bring us our collective happiness without risking a serious abuse of power. Here I am talking about functioning democracies, not one-party democracies or one-leader-forever democracies or democracies where the country is in a state of chaos. A real democracy creates checks and balances within the government, so that if a leader is found to have bad motivation or be incompetent, the system can counter the problem. It makes the government aware that its task is to serve the people, not the other way round, and to act responsibly in the process.
A democracy has the added advantage of being able to hold public debates in which everyone is free to express his or her opinion. As a result, people are better informed and are free from manipulation or coercion by the government. The Buddha attached great significance to freedom and emphasized the importance of free choice and responsibility. The Buddha repeatedly stressed the importance of discipline; he believed that only through discipline can we free ourselves from negative thoughts and emotions. In other words, discipline [and wisdom] is the key to making the right decisions.
The Leader’s Way: The Art of Making the Right Decisions in Our Careers, Our Companies, and the World at Large (His Holiness the Dalai Lama & Laurens Van Den Muyzenberg) Get it at Awareness Place shops\| More Excerpt Articles

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#675

From: NamoAmituofo <buddhistnews@...>
Date: Thu Aug 13, 2009 5:39 pm
Subject: 14.08.09 : Close the Gap | Have You Taken True & Total Refuge Yet? | Can Nature Rely on Your Buddha-nature?

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Quote: Close the Gap
	[If] you feel that there is some gap between yourself and the Dharma, then you [should] strive to make that gap smaller, to bring yourself nearer and nearer to the Dharma. - H.H. the 17th Karmapa
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Realisation: Have You Taken True & Total Refuge Yet?
	Those who need not constantly take the Threefold Refuge must have become the Threefold Refuge themselves. - Stonepeace
While witnessing hundreds receiving the Threefold Refuge, I reflected on its true meaning. We take refuge when we recognise the Triple Gem to embody the ideal (Buddha/hood) to strive for, the path that leads to it (Dharma) and the community of realised spiritual teachers and friends that guides us there (Sangha). Yet, as long as we are not fully enlightened on the nature of the Triple Gem, all we have is partial refuge. Thus, in many devotional practices, verses for taking refuge are chanted on a daily basis. Indeed, taking refuge is not a one-time event but a continual and lifelong process. As long as we have yet to know or become the Triple Gem fully per se, our refuge is yet to be complete.
Regular refuge-taking reminds us to align ourselves with the Triple Gem till we realise Buddhahood. In this sense, doing so not only marks the beginning of the path towards perfection, it is every part of this path. I used to wonder why it is taught that those who take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha will not be reborn as hell-beings, hungry ghosts and animals. This is logical since if we really take refuge, our efforts to align with the Triple Gem will not create any causes for lower rebirths. It will instead create the opposite karma that propels us to purer rebirths conducive for liberation. Refuge-taking is thus no ceremony that frees us of unfortunate future lives magically or instantly!
I see kids fidgeting in the ceremony, not chanting… much less understanding what others are chanting. If they do not know what it is all about, perhaps what created is a semi-sincere and semi-distracted affinity with the Triple Gem. Better than nothing! In sharp contrast, when I took refuge many years ago, I was so focused, perhaps overly so, that everything else blacked out in contrast. There was just me alone, expressing my commitment to the Buddhadharma, with disregard to worldly distractions. As I concentrated too hard, the world ‘spun’ a bit and I felt a little faint. Though the event was rendered overwhelmingly serious, it helped me to register it well! - Shen Shi'an
Taking the precepts does not demand or ensure faultlessness. It merely expresses commitment to be as faultless as possible. - Stonepeace
Related Article: One of the Happiest Days of My Life Share Articles & Comments: comment@... \| More Realisation Articles
Excerpt: Can Nature Rely on Your Buddha-nature?
	Your harmony is when your Buddha-nature makes peace with nature. World harmony is when our Buddha-nature makes peace with nature. - Stonepeace
One day during meditation, I was contemplating global warming… With some anguish, I asked Nature this question: “Nature, do you think we can rely on you?” I asked the question because I know Nature is “intelligent”, she knows how to react, sometimes violently, to re-establish balance. And I heard the answer in the form of another question: “Can I rely on you?” The question was being put back to me: can Nature rely on humans? And after long, deep [mindful] breathing, I said “Yes, you can mostly rely on me.” And then I heard Nature’s answer, “Yes, you can also mostly rely on me.” That was a very deep conversation I had with Nature…
If we continue abusing the Earth this way, there is no doubt that our civilization will be destroyed. This turnaround takes enlightenment, awakening. The Buddha attained individual awakening. Now we need a collective enlightenment to stop this course of destruction. Civilization is going to end if we continue to drown in the competition for power, fame, sex and profit. – Thich Nhat Hanh
About this book: Never before have so many teachers from all Buddhist traditions – Zen, Vajrayana, Theravada, Vipassana; from the West and the East – come together to offer a collective response to a matter of utmost urgency. This watershed volume is both a clarion call to action and a bright beacon of hope.
A Buddhist Response to the Climate Emergency (Edited by John Stanley, David R. Loy & Gyurme Dorje) Get it at Awareness Place shops or Amazon \| More Excerpt Articles

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#674

From: NamoAmituofo <buddhistnews@...>
Date: Thu Aug 6, 2009 7:32 pm
Subject: 07.08.09 : Fastest Way | How to Easier Stomach a Pinch of Salt | No Point Being Dejected & Glum

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Quote: Fastest Way
	The fastest way to dissolve tension is to radiate loving-kindness. Even for great long-time enemies, it is still the fastest way. - Stonepeace
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Realisation: How to Easier Stomach a Pinch of Salt
	Since the workings of Karma are dynamic, so is your destiny dynamic. - Stonepeace
In the Lonaphala Sutta (Salt Crystal Discourse), the Buddha explained why it is erroneously fatalistic to assume that one who creates certain karma (intentional action) will surely experience it in a mirrored as-it-is way. For example, 'sowing' a seed in wet cement will never not bear another similar seed, much less any fruit. Such a person would be unable to end suffering due to delusion. However, if one believes that whoever creates karma will only reap its appropriate experienceable results, liberation would be possible, due to being on the right track of understanding. For example, sowing a seed on fertile soil bears new fruits. It is thus important to know which deeds are crucial in furthering the spiritual path and which are worthless.
Thus, there are cases when a small evil deed results in a terrible rebirth for one, while the results of the same deed might be experienced in this life itself by another, and only for a short while. This is so when the first is undeveloped in body and mind (lacking mindfulness of both), unrealised in virtue (goodness) and wisdom (truth), making one self-limited and small-hearted, dwelling in suffering. The latter is however developed in the above, making one unrestricted and large-hearted, dwelling within the boundless states of loving-kindness, compassion, rejoice and/or equanimity. This is why the Buddha encouraged expanding one's heart and mind with practice of these Four Immeasurables - because vast present goodness can limit past evils.
The Buddha next elaborates on the above. If a salt crystal is dropped into a little water in a cup, it would become unfit to drink. However, if it is dropped into a big river, its waters would not become unbearably salty due to its great mass. As such, the results of one's deeds are 'flavoured' by one's present state of mind. We choose whatever salty (negative) or sweet (positive) karma to drop and dilute in the dynamically changing river of life, while how deep and spiritually quenching it is depends on how well we develop ourselves in the wisdom of large-heartedness. As wholesome and unwholesome karma mix in this river we drink of, its 'cocktails' never taste like their individual ingredients alone! - Shen Shi'an
Mindfulness of [Amitabha] Buddha averts a hellish rebirth by diluting one's heavy but limited negative karma in his immeasurable ocean of merits, that he shares out of pure compassion. - Stonepeace
Related Article: Can Evil Karma be Diluted with Buddha Mindfulness? Share Articles & Comments: comment@... \| More Realisation Articles
Excerpt: No Point in Being Dejected & Glum
	The cause of happiness is rare, And many are the seeds of suffering! But if I have no pain, I’ll never long for freedom; Therefore my mind, be steadfast! - Shantideva
So come what may, I’ll not upset My cheerful happiness of mind. Dejection never brings me what I want; My virtue will be warped and marred by it.
If there’s a remedy when trouble strikes, What reason is there for dejection? And if there is no help for it, What use is there in being glum?
Comments: ... What irritates us in the first place is that our wishes are not fulfilled. But remaining upset does nothing to help fulfill those wishes. So we neither fulfill our wishes nor regain our cheerfulness! This disconcerted state, from which anger can grow, is most dangerous. We should try never to let our happy frame of mind be disturbed. Whether we are suffering at present or have suffered in the past, there’s no reason to be unhappy. If we can remedy it, why be unhappy? And if we cannot, what use is there in being depressed about it? That just adds more unhappiness and does no good at all…
For the Benefit of All Beings: A Commentary on the Way of the Bodhisattva (His Holiness the Dalai Lama) Get it at Awareness Place shops or Amazon \| More Excerpt Articles

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#673

From: NamoAmituofo <buddhistnews@...>
Date: Thu Jul 30, 2009 5:30 pm
Subject: 30.07.09 : Perfect Humanity | Is Fengshui Part of Dharma Practice? | How to Listen to a Dharma Talk

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Quote: Perfect Humanity
	When [one's] humanity is realised [perfectly], Buddhahood is realised [perfectly]. – Master Taixu

Realisation: Is Fengshui Part of Dharma Practice?
	Unless skilfully connected to a Dharma cause, the low arts will remain low. - Stonepeace
Newbie Buddhists often wonder if fengshui or geomancy has any connections with Buddhism. Well, along with astrology and such, the Buddha did see such practices as low arts, since they do not lead to enlightenment, while he did not outright say they are totally invalid or useless. Well, there is some connection between the elements and our lives, since our lives are interconnected with our environment. However, when these connections are spelled out as mystical rules to be followed blindly without reflection or enquiry, it becomes a pseudo-religion of superstition instead.
Let's look at very basic 'geomancy' to see how it can make sense. If you open an eatery next to a stinking public toilet, it's obvious that the stench will mask any tempting aromas from your shop. This would clearly be a case of 'bad fengshui', as we can tell with common sense! If a so-called fengshui master, instead of proposing moving or doing something with the stench, proposes some other bizarre remedy instead, that even he can't explain the rationale of, would you follow his advice? At what point is advice sensible and what point nonsensical? You decide!
There are logical concepts of geomancy which subtly marry geology and psychology, but there are many aspects accepted dogmatically too. Why not actively enquire on their rationale before accepting them? If not, you might be taken for a ride that parts you with your money. Buddhism advocates changing of the mind before changing the environment. When the mind changes, the environment can too - even if it is just your perception of it. It is due to having sufficient good karma that a place with good fengshui can be found. Even so, its goodness can be destroyed by creation of bad karma! - Shen Shi'an
As your mind is your immediate environment, when your mind changes, the world changes. - Stonepeace
Related Article: Why Cross His Palm with Silver? Share Articles & Comments: comment@... \| More Realisation Articles
Excerpt: How to Listen to a Dharma Talk
	Listening to the Dharma with your entire being, can transform your entire being. -– Stonepeace
The teachings of the Buddha are called the Dharma. If you attend a retreat at a practice center, or if you go to a sitting group or class in your neighbourhood that is led by a lay teacher, you will have the opportunity to hear a Dharma talk. Arrive early for the talk so that you may have enough time to find a seat and establish yourself in a peaceful state of mind. Listen to the talks with an open mind and a receptive heart.
If you listen only with your intellect, comparing and judging what is said to what you already think you know or what you have heard others say, you may miss the chance to truly receive the message that is transmitted. The Dharma is like rain. Let it penetrate deeply into your consciousness, watering the seeds of wisdom and compassion that are already there. Absorb the talk openly, like the Earth receiving a refreshing spring rain. The talk might just be the condition our tree needs to flower and bear the fruits of understanding and love.
Out of respect for the teachings and the teacher, you are asked to sit on a chair or a cushion during the teachings and not to lie down. If you feel tired during the talk, mindfully shift your position and practice deep breathing and gentle massage for one or two minutes to bring fresh oxygen to your brain and the areas of fatigue in your body. Refrain from talking or making disturbing noises during the Dharma talk. If it is absolutely necessary to leave during the talk, please do so with a minimum of disturbance to others.
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#672

From: NamoAmituofo <buddhistnews@...>
Date: Fri Jul 24, 2009 6:19 pm
Subject: 25.07.09 : Eclipse | Don't Mix Up | Buddha'a Silent Answer? | Of Truth, Character, Teachers & Students

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Quote: Don't Mix Up
	Assess a religion on the basis of its teachings. The deeds of its followers are a different matter; whether good or bad, they belong to individuals and not the teachings. Don't mix up the two. – H.H. the 17th Karmapa

Realisation: What Was Behind the Buddha'a Silent Answer?
	Whether there is self or not, it is attachment to self that perpetuates suffering. - Stonepeace
As recorded in the Ananda Sutta, a wanderer called Vacchagotta once asked the Buddha if there is a self, to which the Buddha remained silent. Next, he asked if there is no self, to which the Buddha also remained silent. Upon his departure, the Buddha's attendant disciple Ananda asked why didn't he answer either questions. The Buddha replied that if he were to say there is a self, that would conform to eternalism, which is the mistaken view that there is an eternal unchanging soul. If he were to say there is no self, that would conform to annihilationism, which is the mistaken view that with death is the annihilation of consciousness. And if he were to say there is a self, that would not be aligned with the realisation that all phenomena (mind and matter) are not-self. And if he were to say there is no self, the bewildered Vacchagotta would have become more bewildered as to whether the self he used to have does not exist now.
Eternalism proposes that there is a part of our being that does not change from life to life. This the Buddha clearly did not endorse, as he had analysed our being into the five aggregates (form, feeling, perception, mental formations and consciousnesses) in the Anattalakkhana Sutta - all of which are fluxing and dissatisfactory, thus unsuited to be a substantial self. Annihilationism proposes that there is no part of our being (aggregates) that remains from life to life. This the Buddha also did not endorse, because the aggregates do exist - in terms of change. That is to say, though our forms, feelings, perceptions, mental formations and consciousnesses are not fixed from one moment to another, they exist in the moment. In this sense, there is ultimately no fixed self (Anatta) to speak of, while conventionally speaking, there is a self that we need to relate to practically; albeit not cling to, since it changes.
The Buddha taught a subtle 'Middle Way' truth between the erroneous extremes of eternalism and annihilationism, as based upon the truth of impermanence (Anicca).Though we have body and mind (conventional self), we have no fixed body and mind; we are ultimately not-self. As such, the questions of whether there is a self or not could not be answered simplistically. Perhaps the Buddha didn't explain the above to Vacchagotta because he was too attached to wanting yes or no answers despite the complexity of the truth. As such, even if the Buddha elaborated on the meaning of his silence to him, it wouldn't be useful - which is why silence became the best answer - for him to contemplate its intention. Vacchagotta was probably not sharp enough to discern and reconcile differences between the relative truth of a conventional self and the absolute truth of ultimate non-self. Are you like Vacchagotta too? - Shen Shi'an
Right speech includes appropriate silence; not just appropriate words. - Stonepeace
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Excerpt: Of Truth, Character, Teachers & Students
	Judge knowledge by how effective it is, not by how difficult it is to acquire. -– H.H. the 17th Karmapa
~ Force of Truth: To walk the path of truth is difficult. It can even be a bit risky in the beginning. But stick to it and others will gradually realize what is true and you will win their trust. Honesty gives power to your deeds. With dishonesty you may deceive others for a while, but in the end they will lose faith in you and your actions will be ineffective.
~ Steady Character: Everything is impermanent, and is therefore natural for each of us to change. Nonetheless, be more or less consistent in your viewpoint and behavior. Otherwise, no one will trust you and your endeavors will be all the more difficult to accomplish. Try not to be like a feather in the wind!
~ Teacher-Student Relationship: The teacher-student relationship depends on two factors. First, how genuinely a teacher guides the student toward a life purpose that matches the student's temperament and intelligence. Second, how genuinely the student follows advice that is advantageous for the future. Lavish gifts and displays of deference are not the point.
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#671

From: NamoAmituofo <buddhistnews@...>
Date: Thu Jul 16, 2009 6:39 pm
Subject: 16.07.09 : Not in Vain | How the Buddha Chooses What to Say | Proof of the Validity of Rebirth

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Quote: Not in Vain
	Make the day not in vain, a little or a lot. However much the day passes, that's how much less is life. Your last day approaches. This isn't your time to be heedless. - Srimanda (Theragatha)
18-20 July: Special Offer - Attending Prof Campbell's Talk Just Got Much Easier!

Realisation: How the Buddha Chooses What to Say
	Mindful speech arises from hearing what you say [in your mind], before you say it. - Stonepeace
The virtue of Right Speech is an aspect of the Noble Eightfold Path, that leads to Nirvana. In the Abhaya Sutta, the Buddha lays the criteria to a Prince, upon which he himself decides what to say and when to say it, as based upon 6 possible situations.(1) If there is something that the Buddha knows to be untrue, unbeneficial (e.g. not connected to the goal of ending suffering; the attainment of True Happiness) and unpleasing, he would of course, not say it. E.g. One should never say fire is cold, since it is false, possibly harmful and displeasing to those who know otherwise. (2) If there is something that the Buddha knows to be true, unbeneficial and displeasing, he does not say it. E.g. One should not harp on someone's mistake if that person has already repented, as it could hurt and enrage that person.
(3) If there is something that the Buddha knows to be true, beneficial but is displeasing, he would wait for an appropriate time to say it. E.g. An angry man might need to know a difficult truth because it would benefit him, but since he might lose his temper upon hearing it due to his current mood, it is better to first let him calm down, till he is more receptive. (4) If there is something that the Buddha knows to be untrue, unbeneficial but pleasing, he would not say it. E.g. Flattering someone with lies that delude that person for one's selfish benefits is clearly unwholesome. (5) If there is something that the Buddha knows to be true, unbeneficial but pleasing, he would not say it. E.g. A random fact about the stars is not worth sharing if it is unpractical in furthering the spiritual path, even if the listener is an avid stargazer.
(6) If there is something that the Buddha knows to be true, beneficial and pleasing, he would wait for an appropriate time to say it - for its maximum effect, out of compassion for the listener. This dialogue in the sutta itself exemplified practice of Right Speech, which, according to the Cunda Kammaraputta Sutta, is to avoid false (lying), divisive (equivocal), abusive (harsh) and useless (idle) speech (gossip), while practising true, harmonious, kind and useful speech. In a related teaching in the Suta Sutta, when a minister voiced his view that one who speaks of what one experienced is always blameless, the Buddha replied that that which decreases unskilful mental qualities (e.g. attachment, aversion and delusion) while increasing skilful qualities (e.g. generosity, loving-kindness and wisdom) should be shared. - Shen Shi'an
That not worth saying again is seldom worth saying even once. - Stonepeace
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Excerpt: Proof of the Validity of Rebirth
	A life without a past or future life is much more unbelievable than a chain of past and future lives linked to this one. - Stonepeace
During his closing comments, Alan Wallace illustrates the need for provability of emergent phenomena by citing the example of reincarnation. "Of all religions, the Buddhist view is the only one that can be tested, since it involves a coming back into the world, unlike the Christian or Islamic views where the soul goes away into a hell or heaven, never to come back.
"Not so fast!" immediately interjects Eric Lander. Reincarnation seems to be the magic word that opens the doors of dissent in the conference. Barbed wires appear where there are bridges, and the room stands sharply divided. All scientists voice their denial strongly, while Wallance and [Mattheiu] Ricard try to argue the case for reincarnation, pleading for a lowering of "cultural resistance" to it.
"I remember a neuroscientist who once told me that he would believe in reincarnation if a yogi [meditator] would direct his consciousness to a particular place a leave a letter giving the details of where he will appear," says Alan. "And I told him that this has already happened 17 times, in the lineage of the Karmapas of Tibet, who leave detailed instructions about where and when they will be reborn!"
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#670

From: NamoAmituofo <buddhistnews@...>
Date: Thu Jul 9, 2009 7:09 pm
Subject: 10.07.09 : Still Awareness | The China Study | What is You, Yours or Your 'Self'? | The Buddha's Skilful Use of Supernormal Powers

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Quote: Still Yet Aware
	Stillness with awareness is right, but stillness without mindfulness is wrong. - Master Yongjia
The China Study - 18, 19, 20 July 2009

Realisation: What is You, Yours or Your 'Self'?
	The fundamental delusion is the hardest to dispel – your sense of 'self'. – Stonepeace
The Anattalakkhana Sutta (the Discourse on the Characteristic of Non-self) was the second sermon delivered by the Buddha after his enlightenment, after which, all of his five first disciples attained liberation. Though briefer than his first serrmon (Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta), which outlined the structure of all his later teachings, it contains the 'heart' of the Dharma (truth; path to truth) that leads to self-liberation (Arahantship), just as the Heart Sutra, which is somewhat similar in nature contains the heart of the Dharma that leads to total liberation (Buddhahood). In this sutta, he analyses the constituents of our being (body and mind) to be the five aggregates, thereafter proving each aspect to be impermanent (Anicca), subject to dissatisfaction (Dukkha) and therefore inapt to be identified as 'self' (thus Anatta).
The Buddha starts by stating that our first (physical) aggregate of form (body) is not self, because if it was, we our'selves' would be able to ensure that it does not lead to any dis-ease, while being able to will it in any manner we wish. E.g. we would never be sick and could even sprout wings if we want. Conversely, precisely because form is not self, it does lead to dis-ease and none can will it to be the ideal way one wishes instantly. Likewise, our mental aspects (other four aggregates) of feeling (of pain, pleasure and 'neither pain nor pleasure'), perception (from predispositions), mental formation (volitions or intentions) and consciousness are not self, because they too lead to dis-ease, while not being fully changeable at will.
The Buddha next asked the monks if each of the aggregates is permanent (constant) or impermanent (changing). Realising that they are impermanent, he asked if that impermanent is dissatisfactory or satisfactory. Realising that they are dissatisfactory, he asked if that which is impermanent and dissatisfactory is fit to be regarded as 'mine', 'I' or 'self'. To that, they replied 'No'. The Buddha concludes that none of the aggregates in the past, present or future, gross or subtle, internal or external, common or sublime, near or far should be regarded as 'self', while one who realises this fully will be disenchanted and not cling to them, thus attaining liberation from the cycle of birth and death. Thus were the Three Marks of Existence (Three Universal Characteristics: Anicca, Dukkha, Anatta) first taught. - Shen Shi'an
Perfect non-self wisdom leads to perfect selfless compassion. - Stonepeace
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Excerpt: The Buddha's Skilful Use of Supernormal Powers
	To the wise, the Dharma is the true miracle. To the foolish, magic tricks are enough. Transformation of the foolish into the wise is the true miracle. - Stonepeace
A rich merchant in Rajagriha had a beautiful begging bowl made of the finest sandalwood and attached it to the top of a very tall pole in the square in front of his shop. He let it be known that any mendicant, no matter what order he belonged to, who possessed the power to levitate and take the superb bowl could keep it. A number of attempts had been made to get the bowl either by supernormal power or by persuading the merchant that the suitable recipient had arrived. A number of monks of the Buddha's order, with Maudgalyayana at the head, passed by the spot one day. There was a crowd present, and the monks thought it would redound the glory of the Sangha if one of their number were to levitate and take the bowl. Maudgalyayana, for whom this would have been a trifling manifestation of power, declined to make a show of his abilities. But one of the other minks, Pindola-Bharadvaja, rose in the air and remained there for along time, so that he could be seen by everybody. Then he took the bowl and came down.
When the Buddha heard of this, he chastised the monks, saying that such displays would not in the long run bring people to see the truth of the Dharma. He made it a rule that Sangha members should not exhibit their supernormal powers. But then matters came to a head in Shravasti in a major confrontation between the Buddha and the leaders of the other sects. With royalty and nobles and large numbers of the general populace in attendance, the Buddha defeated others in debte. Then, when some of the other teachers began to show miracles, the Buddha once again performed the twin miracle of emanating fire and water from his body at the same time. Then he caused an immense jeweled platform to appear in the air and taught the Dharma to the crowd while pacing back and forth upon it. After his resounding defeat of the rival teachers, the Buddha rose to the Heaven of the Thirty-three to teach the Dharma to his mother, who had been reborn there as a goddess.
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#669

From: NamoAmituofo <buddhistnews@...>
Date: Fri Jul 3, 2009 9:42 am
Subject: 03.07.09: Feeding on Violence | MJ: Who is It? | The Very Assuring Four Assurances | One Confronting Ten Thousand

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How can there be peace on Earth
as long as humans feed
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A Tit for a Tat:

(30) A Fishing Buddhist?
(29) Who's Who?
(28) Pain of Vanity
(27) Are You Eating Impure Meat?
(26) We are Abnormal
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Realisation: The Very Assuring Four Assurances�

No one�truly believes that doing evil will beget any good,
especially if evil is done to one by others for their own 'good'. - Stonepeace

The Kalama Sutta is best known for the Buddha's very sound list of criteria for rejection or acceptance of any spiritual teachings, including his own. Among other remarkable sets of teachings found in this sutta is�its last section, which is often overlooked. Here, the Buddha clearly illustrates the great wisdom of cultivating a pure mind free of enmity and ill will, which wins�one the Four Assurances (Solaces) within this very life.��

The First Assurance won is based�on the truth that if there is an afterlife, in which good and evil done in the present life bears consequences,�one would be bound for�a fortunate rebirth. The Second Assurance won is based on the truth that if there is no afterlife,�thus not having good and evil done in the present life bearing consequences later, one would still live happily in this life,�due to�current freedom from enmity and ill will.�

The Third Assurance won is based on the truth that�if suffering does follow the doers of evil,�and since�one does not�have any�ill intentions towards any,�one would�not be afflicted with suffering. The Fourth Assurance won is based on the truth that if suffering does not�follow the doers of evil, one is doubly assured�- since�one�does no evil anyway. The Four Assurances also�show how even lack of belief in karma or rebirth should not deter�purification of�one's mind!�- Shen Shi'an (Twitter: http://twitter.com/shenshian)

Joke: Don't believe in rebirth? Well, maybe next life!

Related Articles: The Paradox of Fairness�| Four Assurances from Not Being Evil
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Excerpt: One Confronting Ten Thousand

Even if you have 84,000 stray thoughts, they can only attack you one at a time.
Even if you have 84,000 stray thoughts, they can be subdued by mindfulness of Buddha. - Stonepeace

What is commonly known as practice means simply to accord with whatever state of mind you�re in, so as to purify and relinquish the deluded thoughts and traces of your habit tendencies. Exerting your effort here is called practice. If within a single moment deluded thinking suddenly ceases, you will thoroughly perceive your own mind and realize it is vast and open, bright and luminous, intrinsically perfect and complete. This state, being originally pure, devoid of a single thing, is called enlightenment. Apart from this mind, there is no such thing as cultivation or enlightenment. The essence of your mind is like a mirror and all the traces of deluded thoughts and clinging to conditions are defiling dust of the mind. Your conception of appearances or characteristics or forms is this dust, and your emotional consciousness is the defilement. If all the deluded thoughts melt away, the intrinsic essence will reveal itself of�its own accord. It�s like when the defilements is polished away, the mirror regains its clarity. It is the same with Dharma.

However, our habits, defilements, and self-clinging accumulated throughout aeons and have become solid and deep-rooted. Fortunately, having the guidance of a good spiritual friend is a causing condition�that can influence our being, thus resulting in augmenting our internal prajna [wisdom for liberation]. Having realized that prajna [which is] is inherent in us, we will be able to arouse the Bodhi-mind [Bodhicitta] and steer our direction toward the aspiration of relinquishing the cyclic existence of birth and death. This is the path�of uprooting the roots of birth and death accumulated through�aeons all at once in a subtle matter. If you are not someone with great strength and ability, brave enough to shoulder such a burden and to cut through directly to this matter without the slightest hesitation, then this task will be extremely difficult. An ancient one has said, "This matter is like one person confronting ten thousand enemies." These are not false words. - From the Discourse Record of Master Hanshan Deqing

Shattering the Great Doubt: The Chan Practice of Huatou�(Chan Master Sheng Yen)
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#668

From: NamoAmituofo <buddhistnews@...>
Date: Fri Jun 26, 2009 5:55 am
Subject: 26.06.09: Dependent Origination | Land of the Lost | We are Shot & Short of Time! | Make Kindness & Awareness Your Religion

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Neither from itself nor from another,
Nor from both,
Nor without a cause,
Does anything whatever, anywhere arise.

-�Nagarjuna

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Realisation: We are Shot�& Short of Time!

There are no good answers if there are no good questions. - Stonepeace

In the�Culamalunkya Sutta, a monk was so preoccupied with�metaphysical (and thus spiritually unpractical) questions, that he 'threatened' to�disrobe, should the Buddha refuse to answer them.�Here�are the�paraphrased questions: 'Is the world eternal or not? Is the world finite or not? Is the soul [sic] and body the same or different? Does the Buddha exist, not exist, both exist and not exist, or neither exist nor not exist after death?' To that, the Buddha got him to recognise that neither did he urge him to lead the holy life for answers to such questions, nor did the monk asked for the answers as a condition�to live the holy life.

He remarked that one who refuses to live the holy life without�the answers�are likened to a man shot�by�a poisoned arrow. Despite having a�doctor available, he demands that the arrow be removed only after knowing the clan, name, family, size, complexion and address of the shooter... plus the kind of bow, string and shaft used! Surely, he would die before�finding all the answers to such pointless questions - due to having an unskilful focus and little time. Attachment to�speculative views digresses from the holy life, while one is still stuck in suffering. Since we too are shot by the arrow of existential suffering, it is urgent to prioritise!

The pragmatic Buddha was only concerned with showing the path to liberation. That undeclared is not essential for enlightenment; not because he didn't know the answers, which the unenlightened would find hard to understand, while enlightenment will lead to their natural knowledge. (The skilful Buddha did answer�similar questions�to quell the curiosity of some, without which they would not listen to his actual teachings!) What�the Buddha�declared instead�are the Four Noble Truths of suffering, its causes, its end and the path to�its end. To�this, the monk was satisfied and delighted, thereafter resuming the holy life.�- Shen Shi'an

There are no right answers�for those attached to�wrong questions being right.�- Stonepeace

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Excerpt: Make Kindness & Awareness Your Religion

With awareness, there is compassion. With compassion, there is wisdom. - Stonepeace

Situation: Your cousin has bipolar disorder. You do not feel comfortable inviting him to family functions�becasue of his unpredictable behavior. You feel bad about it, but you also want to protect your family.

Wisdom: Make kindness your religion, and it will spread to others. Kindness breeds kindness. First, be compassionate�with yourself for feeling this way. When you are experiencing difficult emotions, hold them gently. Then you are likely to do acts of kindness towards others. Mindfully cultivate compassion and understanding for yourself so that through kindness you can add happiness, not pain, to the lives of others.

Situation: You began smoking because it is cool. Now, it is just an unhealthy habit. When you smoke in public or outside your office, people look at you in a disgusted way, like you are doing something dirty. You don't like how you feel when you smoke.

Wisdom: Smoking is unhealthy for the person who smokes, as well as for family members, friends, and anyone else around�who is exposed to secondhand smoke. It is also costly to society as a whole. The more you cultivate awareness of your mind and body in the present moment, the more you will be aware of the contradictions inherent in your smoking addiction. The reasons to stop smoking will become so obvious that you will realize you must quit.��

863�Buddhist Ways to Conquer Life's Little�Challenges�(Barbara Ann Kipfer)
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#667

From: NamoAmituofo <buddhistnews@...>
Date: Thu Jun 18, 2009 8:37 am
Subject: 18.06.09: Scratching | Terminator | Shoot Ourselves with Extra Arrows? | What is Our True Self & Nature?

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There is pleasure when a sore is scratched
But to be without sores is more pleasurable still.
Just so, there are pleasures in worldly desires.
But to be without desires is more pleasurable still.

-�Nagarjuna

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Realisation: Why Shoot Ourselves with�Extra Arrows?

Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional. - Buddhist saying

In the Sallatha Sutta, the Buddha�taught that�though the spiritually untrained and trained experience pleasant, painful and neutral feelings, their responses differ. When the first is touched by physical pain,�one tends to worry, grieve, lament�and even become distraught. It is as if�one suffers from two feelings (physical and mental pain),�as if shot by another (mental) arrow after being shot by a physical one. One develops the tendency to resent the pain, while seeking sense pleasures to quell it, due to not knowing other means�to escape. When the tendency to attach to pleasant feelings set in, one is unmindful that they rise and fall, of�the perils of not knowing how to transcend them. Neutral feelings�then nurture the tendency of ignorance, while aversion to pain and�attachment to pleasure fetter one to the cycle of rebirth.

When the spiritually trained�is touched by inevitable physical pain,�one does not worry, grieve, lament or�become distraught. Being shot by only one arrow, while not shooting oneself with another, there is only the physical�feeling experienced, with no�painful mental feeling added.�As one does not develop the tendency to resist�the pain, one does not seek sense pleasures to quell it, because one�is aware of�the true�means to escape. Since�the tendency to attach to pleasant feelings does not set in, one is mindful that they rise and fall,�of the�perils of not knowing how to transcend them. Neutral feelings then do not�nurture the tendency of ignorance, while aversion to pain and�attachment to pleasure do not fetter one to�rebirth.

The Buddha himself was the best example of how the above can be done.�In the Sakalika Sutta, the Buddha was lying down to nurse his foot pierced by a stone sliver. Despite the physical pains being excuciating, he was unperturbed and endured them mindfully. Hundreds of gods gathered to pay homage,�many of whom praised�his most excellently developed mind. One even exclaimed�that�to think the Buddha could ever be truly harmed was being blind. Indeed!�Here's a reverse example...�A�girl who visited�a dentist to�remove�an aching�tooth returned with multiple cuts in her mouth. Due to her imagined and aggravated anguish over the little pain that she would feel before extraction, she had�'shot' herself with many needless 'arrows' by fidgetting in fear, while sharp surgical instruments were in her mouth!�- Shen Shi'an

If suffering is not optional, spirituality�would be. - Stonepeace

Related Articles: One Hell of a Splinter! | Problem is Not the Splinter�|
�� 'The Secret' of the Law of Resistance
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Excerpt: What is Our True Self & Nature?

Our true self is no�self and�our true nature is Buddha-nature. - Stonepeace

What is our true nature if it is not this body [because it changes]? There are many words we can use to describe what our true nature is. The simplest word in Buddhism for that is Buddha-nature. The�definition of Buddha-nature is that we are already enlightened. We are perfect as we are. When we realize this, we are�perfect. When�we do not realize this, we [our Buddha-nature]�are also perfect. Our true essence goes beyond birth and death.�It can never get sick. It can never get old. It is beyond all conditions. It is like the sky. This is not a theory. This is the truth that can only be realized in the realm of enlightened consciousness. This�consciousness is surprisingly accessible to each of us.

When that awakening happens, there is no longer any desire to become someone other than who�we are. Every previous idea of who we are vanishes and along with it the pain, guilt, and pride associated with our body. In Buddhism, this is called 'no self'. This is the only true awakening. Everything else is a spiritual bypass. This awakening is what we should be aiming for from the very beginning of being on the path. It will rescue us from falling into unnecesary spiritual traps.

When we are openhearted and ready to drop our previous perceptions of self, then spiritual awakening can happen at any moment. There is a beautiful analogy. Imagine a dark cave that hasn't been illuminated for a million years. Then one day someone brings a candle into the cave. Instantaneously the darkness of a million years vanishes. Like that, when your true nature is realized there is no longer this 'I' searching for anything else. The awakening has nothing to do with whether we have been meditating for a long time or not. It has nothing to do with meeting impressive teachers or gurus. It is simply dependent on whether or not we are open to it.��

No Self No Problem�(Anam Thubten)
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kmsYM: 21/6: 3GEMS Tour of Wat Ananda Temple
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#666

From: NamoAmituofo <buddhistnews@...>
Date: Wed Jun 10, 2009 10:39 am
Subject: 11.06.09: Real Enemy | Blood: The Last Vampire | Do You Practise What You Preach? | Meaning of True Renunciation

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Although you may spend your life killing,
You will not exhaust all your foes.
But if you quell your own anger,
your real enemy will be slain.

-�Nagarjuna

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Realisation: Do You Practise What You Preach?

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We categorise oursevles to see where�we are, and how�we can grow. - Stonepeace

In the Sikkha Sutta, the Buddha spoke of four kinds of persons -�(1) those who practise�the Dharma for their own benefit (e.g.�observe the five precepts of not: killing, stealing, having sexual misconduct, lying�and taking intoxicants, while not encouraging others to), (2) those who practise not for their own benefit but for others' (e.g. not observe the�precepts, while�encouraging others to), (3) those who practise for neither one nor others' benefit (e.g. neither observing the�precepts nor�encouraging others to) and (4) those who practise for both their own and others' benefit (e.g.�observe the precepts while encouraging others to).�

According to the Hita Sutta, one who is endowed with the five qualities of being consummate in virtue, (meditative) concentration, (wise) discernment, liberation (release), and knowledge�& vision (Dharma theory�& realisation)�of�liberation (4) practises to benefit oneself and others.�Of course, one would exemplify compassion too, in sharing the Dharma. With such qualities, the Raga-vinaya Sutta describes such a person to be in the process of subduing passion (attachment), aversion and�delusion�within oneself while encouraging others without to do the same. Every one�of us�would surely fall into one of the�four categories.

In short, (1) some practise; (2) some preach; (3) some neither practise nor preach; and (4) some practise what they preach (best not in preachy ways)! The best inspiration would be the Buddha, who fully embodied the perfect Dharma he practised and preached. There is simply no better way to encourage�others to practise and preach the Dharma�than to personally do�both well to benefit them!�It is natural to fall into the (3) 'neither practise nor preach' category at first, before 'upgrading' to the�(1) practise-only or (2) preach-only categories. When one truly benefits from the Dharma personally, one is likelier to further upgrade, to (4) preach while�one practises. So long as not a Buddha yet, it takes effort to�upgrade and maintain one's grade! � Shen Shi�an

Learn more of what you practise; Practise more of what you learn.�
Practise more of what you preach; Preach�more of what you practise.�- Stonepeace

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Excerpt: The Meaning of True Renunciation

Without pure renunciation there is no way to pacify
the yearning for the joys and fruits of Samsara's ocean;
since craving for existence chains us thoroughly,
first search for true renunciation.�

Now this expression 'true renunciation' emphasizes the specific type of renunciation sought here. Even animals turn themselves away from obvious painful experiences and are repulsed by such suffering. That is not true renunciation. Likewise, meditators who yearn for birth in the form and formless realms may spurn attraction to pleasurable and joyful sensations - the second level of suffering, the suffering of change - in favor of neutraility. However, that's not true renunciation. The renunciation we are talking about here is a thought that turns away from even the third level of suffering, the suffering of pervasive conditioning. Here, you need to have a deep-rooted recognition of our pervasive conditioning as a form of suffering, and also the recognition that the root of this conditioning is fundamental ignorance. So, true renunciation is a state of mind that genuinely and deeply aspires to freedom from bondage to ignorance. This state of mind is founded on a reasoned understanding and also impelled by wisdom.

People sometimes misundersand renunciation as being fed up with life. When they struggle for success in the world and fail, running into all sorts of problems, they become discouraged and, out of desperation, say they are renouncing everything. That's not the kind of renunciation we are talking about. That is defeatism. True renunciation�is grounded in deep understanding of the nature of suffering and cyclic existence. In fact, the mantra of Buddha Shakyamuni, 'Om muni muni mahamuniye svaha', invokes, 'the Able One, the Great Able One.' An enlightened being has great ability and a high degree of confidence in being able to accomplish a goal. This is not a naive confidence or a naive faith but one grounded in understanding and knowledge. Thus, true Buddhist renunciation is not that of a dejected person who feels powerless and sighs, 'I'm so�tired! Poor me!'�

The Middle Way: Faith Grounded in Reason�(The Dalai Lama)
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#665

From: NamoAmituofo <buddhistnews@...>
Date: Fri Jun 5, 2009 1:55 am
Subject: 05.06.09 : Rise & Fall | Ghosts of Girlfriends | How a Apprentice Taught His Master Mindfulness | The Amazing Sticky Hair Monster

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Realisation: How a Apprentice Taught His Master Mindfulness

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Looking after oneself, one looks after others.
Looking after others, one looks after oneself. - Sedaka Sutta

In the Sedaka Sutta, the Buddha shared a very apt analogy on the importance�of self-responsibility in practising mindfulness. In this teaching, he spoke of an apprentice acrobat and his master, who instructed him to climb up a bamboo pole to stand on his shoulders. The master suggested, 'Now you watch after me, and I'll watch after you. Thus, protecting one another, watching after one another, we'll show off our skill, receive our reward, and come down safely from the bamboo pole.' To that, the apprentice surprisingly replied, 'But that won't do at all, master. You watch after yourself, and I'll watch after myself, and thus with each of us protecting ourselves, watching after ourselves, we'll show off our skill, receive our reward, and come down safely from the bamboo pole.'

The Buddha remarked that mindfulness is likewise practised with the personal intention to watch after oneself before watching others. Yet when one watches after oneself well, one will watch after others well too. This is done by diligently developing mindfulness. Conversely after, when one watches after others, one watches after oneself too. This is done by practising patient harmlessness with loving empathy. Though we might collectively affect one another, we are ultimately responsible for our own physical and spiritual well-being. Even when we have a good teacher who advises us perfectly, the onus is on us to practise mindfulness well. The subject of first priority to be mindful of is ourselves, instead of others.

Relating to the acrobats� act, if we cannot even watch ourselves well, there is no point in watching others, because not watching ourselves well can harm others too. Both ourselves and others around us are directly affected by our mindfulness or the lack of it! The safety of the acrobatic duo thus laid in their individual self-mindfulness, that spills over to mindfulness of the other. If everyone is likewise mindful, there will be peace and harmony for all. Like a balancing act, momentary lapses of mindfulness via careless distraction can lead to dangerous slips. Though it might not always be a matter of physical life�and death, it can spell the end of the spiritual life in the moment - till we become sufficiently�mindful again! � Shen Shi�an

Mindfulness of oneself cultivates wisdom.
Mindfulness of others cultivates compassion. - Stonepeace

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Excerpt: The Amazing Sticky Hair Monster

http://thedailyenlightenment.com/pics/698.jpg

Good bedtime stories awaken children from the slumber of delusion.�- Stonepeace

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon when the boat carrying Prince Hector came into harbour. Before the young prince left the vessel, the captain warned, "Your Highness, while you have been away training to be a warrior, an evil monster called Sticky Hair has come to live in the forest, so I advise you not to take that route to the palace. Instead, go the long way home around the mountains." "Thank you for your advice," replied Hector, "but I'll be fine. I want to get home before sunset. And I have my weapons if I need them." "After all", he thought, "I'm a trained warrior. I'm not afraid of a silly old monster." And�he strode boldly on, into the woods.

He reached a clearing in the forest and there stood the most gigantic, ugly creature he had ever seen. The monster was as big as a house and completely covered in matted hair... "Grrrrr!" roared Sticky Hair, "What do you think you are doing in my woods, little man? You look like a tasty morsel and I'm going to eat you!" "Pah! I'm not frightened of you, you horrible old monster," replied Hector... Swift as the wind, he leapt forward and thrust his sword. To his surprise, it just stuck... So he left his sword there, quickly rolled out of the way, got to his feet and grabbed his bow. Ptwang! Ptwang! Ptwang! He shot arrow after arrow, but like the sword, each one became tangled in his sticky hair...�"Ha, ha, ha!" boomed Sticky Hair...

"My weapons may be useless, but I'm young and strong and I'll fight with my fists," Hector cried, as he ran and leapt on the monster - and got firmly stuck!.. "Why are you not frightened of me, little man? I could gobble you up in a snap and a crack!" Sticky Hair threatened fiercely... Hector realized that he could use his brains to outwit the creature, instead of his weapons. So he shouted, "My skin is coated in poison, so if you eat me, you'll die I dare you to eat me!" "Well, fearless little man, you've convinced me... and I don't want to die, so I suppose I'll have to let you go," the monster said. Not only had Hector outwitted the monster and saved his own life... he had also learned an important lesson: that the most powerful defence had been inside him all along - his intelligence! Not his strength or weapons!

Hector said, "I'm very grateful to you, Sticky Hair - not just for releasing me, but for teaching me that I don't have to fight to be brave, strong and clever. Would you like to know my secret?... Although the monster had never been defeated, he had been always frightened of people. In fact, he had only attacked people to stop them from attacking him... The more Sticky Hair learned to use his brains, the less he felt the need to harm others. Using his intelligence brought him great happiness and gradually, he was transformed from a scary, lonely monster into a friendly forest giant. Hector let all the locals know that the "monster" had completely changed. And they became his trusted friends, bringing him food and living with him in peace. And Sticky Hair repaid their kindness by protecting them.

Buddha at Bedtime:�Tales of Love�& Wisdom for You to Read with Your Child to Enchant, Enlighten�& Inspire�
(Dharmachari Nagaraja)
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#664

From: NamoAmituofo <buddhistnews@...>
Date: Wed May 27, 2009 10:11 am
Subject: 28.05.09 : Straightforward Mind | When the Buddha Was Insulted | Mindfulness of Breathing Can Dissolve Anger

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* The true and pure�mind of compassion, wisdom�
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Realisation: What Happened�When the Buddha�Was Insulted?

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Just as the truth is unchanged by�delusion, the truthful�are unmoved by the deluded.�- Stonepeace

From the Akkoso Sutta is an incident that illustrates the great wit and wisdom of the Buddha. One day, Akkosaka (the 'Insulter') heard that someone from his religion had converted to be a Buddhist monk. Enraged, he stomped off to curse the Enlightened One with harsh words in person. After letting off his steam, the Buddha had a calm conversation with him (as abridged) - 'Do friends come to you as guests?'�'Yes.'�'Do you serve them delicacies?' 'Yes, sometimes I do.' 'If they don't accept them, to whom do they belong?' 'They would be mine.' 'Likewise, that with which you have insulted me,�I do not�accept -�it is�all yours. Whoever returns insult to one who insults is said to be sharing company with that person, which I�do not.'

Hearing this, Akkosaka assumed�he was displeased, to which�the Buddha�replied, 'Where is anger from one free of anger, who has his mind tamed and equanimous, who is liberated with right understanding, who is�tranquil? One worsens matters�by flaring up at�another who flared up. Whoever doesn't flare up at�another doubly wins a battle difficult to win, benefitting�oneself and the�another.�Understanding�another's anger,�one mindfully maintains�one's peace. When one does so to�heal the illness of anger for both, those who think one is a fool do not know the Dharma.' Hearing this, Akkosaka remarked at the magnificence of the Buddha's teaching, and�ordained as a monk�to learn from him,�thereafer attaining Nirvana (as�an Arahant)!

The Buddha didn't have to 'suffer fools',�as one�feels insulted only when�insults are taken personally. What happens within you matters more than what happens to you. If Akkosaka saw the Buddha to be insulting him and flared up in 'return', he would truly be a fool who failed to appreciate the Dharma presented�to�him.�Despite the Buddha's kindly composure, he�was mistaken to be angry, which reminds us of how�one overtaken by the�demon of anger�tends to demonise�others! Though it might not be advisable for us to�use the same�skilful means of the Buddha�for�every angry person we encounter, we can try to share this story. Those ready to accept�the delicacy that is the Dharma will�treasure it�when it is served for them! - Shen Shi'an

Only fools suffer fools, because there is simply no need to.�- Stonepeace

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Excerpt: How Mindfulness�of Breathing Can Dissolve Anger

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�Since the flames of anger arise within,�they must be extinguished within.�- Stonepeace

The Buddha taught that the fire of anger can burn up everything we have done to bring happiness to ourselves and others. There is not one of us who has not sown seeds of anger in one's heart, and if those seeds are watered, they will grow rapidly and choke us and those around us. When we are angry, we should come back to ourselves by means of our conscious breathing. We should not look at or listen to the one we feel is making us angry and causing us to suffer. The other person may have said or done something unskilful or unmindful. But his unskilful words or actions arise from his own suffering. He may just be seeking some relief, hoping to survive. The excessive suffering of one person will often overflow to others. A person who is suffering needs our help, not our anger. We come to see this when we examine our anger through our breathing.

The Buddha says that anger makes us look ugly. If we are able to breathe [mindfully] when we are angry and recognise the ugliness anger brings with it, that recognition acts as a bell of mindfulness. We breathe and smile mindfully in order to bring some evenness back into our hearts, at the same time relaxing the nervous system and the tense muscles of the face. We must keep on with our conscious breathing as we practise walking meditation in the open air, looking deeply at what has happened. Mindfulness and conscious breathing are sources of energy and can calm the storm of anger, which itself is also a source of energy. If we keep practising mindfulness in order to take care of our anger with the affection of a mother when she takes a small child in her arms, then not only shall we calm the storm but we shall also be able to find out where our anger really comes from. Our practice, carefully executed, will thus be able to transform the seeds of anger in us.

The Blooming of a Lotus: Guided Meditation for Achieving the Miracle of Mindfulness (Thich Nhat Hanh)
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#663

From: NamoAmituofo <buddhistnews@...>
Date: Wed May 20, 2009 8:51 am
Subject: 20.05.09 : In Accord | Buddhist Ghost Story | Use & Share the Raft of Dharma Without Attachmentthe

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Realisation: A Buddhist Ghost Story

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�We are haunted by our inner demons more than any outer ones.�- Stonepeace

When the wife of a man, who was very attached to him became very sick, she threatened him on her deathbed, 'If you�ever�remarry,�I will haunt you!'�So serious was she that she got him to swear he would never remarry. Also because she sounded so serious, the man promised. For some months after his bereavement, he struggled to avoid other women, though he still fell in love. On�his engagement�night, his ex-wife's ghost appeared to torment him, blaming him for failing to keep his word. To his shock, she would repeat everything he said to his fianc�e, suggesting that she was watching him all the time. This would happen night after night.

Scared out of his wits, he begged a�Zen master for help. Making sure that the ghost could not hear, the master whispered�his secret tip into his ear. It was the solution to vanquish the ghost. As usual, the ghost returned that very night. Mustering his guts, the man gave an ultimatum, 'Since there is nothing I can hide,�do answer a question. If you answer correctly, I will never remarry for life!'�The ghost nodded. He then dipped his hand into a bag and grabbed a fistful of beans, 'How many beans there are in my hand?' At the very moment, the ghost disappeared for good. Even the man did not understand how his question worked - till he asked the master!

Well, how was the ghost 'magically' banished?�The ghost�was really a manifestation of�the man's�own mind - which was why 'she'�knew everything�that he knew! He was haunted by his own guilt, which became more apparent every night,�while being fretful of his wife's 'curse'. It was only the 'ghost' of his guilty conscience at work. Just as he�could never�know how many beans there were in his hand (without counting), his conscience could not tell! The conscience only knows the wrong from the right - not matters like how many beans there are in a hand! There is then some truth to it, that those with clear consciences fear no ghosts! - Shen Shi'an

Your conscience knows what is right�and wrong, but do you know your conscience?�- Stonepeace

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Excerpt: Use & Share the Raft of Dharma Without Attachment

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�If the Dharma is the vehicle to liberation, diligence is the means to steer it.�- Stonepeace

"Bhikshus [monks], I have told you many times the importance of knowing when it is time to let go of a raft and not hold on to it unnecessarily. When a mountain stream overflows and becomes a torrent of floodwater carrying debris, a man or woman who wants to get across might think, 'What is the safest way to cross this floodwater?' Assessing the situation, she may decide to gather branches and grasses, construct a raft, and use it to cross to the other side. But, after arriving on the other side, she thinks, 'I spent a lot of time and energy building this raft. It is a prized possession, and I will carry it with me as I continue my journey.' If she puts it on her shoulders or head and carries it with her on land, bhikshus, do you think that would be intelligent?" The bhikshus replied, "No, World-Honoured One."

The Buddha said, "How could she have acted more wisely? She could have thought, 'This raft helped me across the water safely. Now I will leave it at the water's edge for someone else to use in the same way.' Wouldn't that be a more intelligent thing to do?" The bhikshus replied, "Yes, World-Honoured One." The Buddha taught, "I have given this teaching on the raft many times to remind you how necessary it is to let go of all the true teachings [after use], not to mention teachings that are not true."

Thundering Silence: Sutra on Knowing the Better Way to Catch a Snake (Thich Nhat Hanh)
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#662

From: NamoAmituofo <buddhistnews@...>
Date: Fri May 15, 2009 8:13 am
Subject: 15.05.09 : Truth Never Sleeps | Wolverine Nature | Palace that Became an Inn for All | How Things Don't Exist From Their Own Side

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Truth never sleeps, even if you're�asleep.

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Realisation: The Palace that Became an Inn for All

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�All that you cannot leave behind is all that you should share now.�- Stonepeace

A respected monk arrived at the gates of a King's�grand palace. Due to his great fame, none of the guards�dared to halt him as he entered the hall where the King was seated on his throne. The following conversation ensued.�

King: Dear�Venerable�Sir, how may I assist you?
Monk: I would like somewhere to spend the night in this inn.
King: You have mistaken! This is no inn - it's my palace!
Monk: Who�owned this place before you?
King: My late father.
Monk: And who�ruled it before him?
King: My grandfather, who is also deceased.
Monk: If this is where people come to live only for a while before leaving, why is it not an inn?
King: I am so sorry! This is indeed an inn. Your stay is most welcome!

The monk had wanted to remind the King of the irrefutable truth of transience, of all things material and even mental, of the fleeting nature of his life,�wealth and�status - despite�wielding great power.�Similar to the King, wherever we live, be it�a big house or a small apartment, is like a hotel. Even the most valuable material things within are but items in a hotel, temporally 'loaned' to us for use. As much as we might wish to live in�this hotel�forever, we can never - unless�we realise the path to transcend�the cycle of life and death. Even this body that we have, which we think is ours to rule over is�a hotel�which we live in, for usually less than�a hundred more years! If so, may we use 'our' body wisely and share 'our' posessions kindly!�- Shen Shi'an

Even your karma is not yours to have, but to change and transcend.�- Stonepeace

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Excerpt: How Things Don't Exist From Their Own Side

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If everything existed independently, there would be no interdependent interaction of anything.�- Stonepeace

The masters use many example to show how things do not exist from their own side. One of the most effective examples is of the coiled rope being perceived as a snake when certain circumstances arise, such as seeing it at dusk by a roadside. From the coiled rope's own side there is nothing at all that is a snake as�it comes completely from the side of the person... But even if it were a snake, likewise there would be nothing at all from its side that is a snake; even then it comes completely from the side of the consciousness perceiving it.

There is nothing from the snake's side that is inherently 'snake'; and nothing from the rope's side that is inherently 'rope.'... Surely, then, we can label anything on anything and it will be valid. There must be something from the snake's side that determines it is a snake as opposed to a rope... However, the mind perceiving the rope as a snake and the mind perceiving the rope as a rope are two different minds, and quite simply the first is wrong and the second is correct...

The gap through which the argument falls is the tiny but crucial one of inherent existence. There is nothing from either the rope's side 'by way of its own nature' or from the snake's side 'by way of its own nature' that makes either inherently a snake, and in that sense a consciousness that perceives an inherent�snake as an inherent snake is just as mistaken as a consciousness that perceives an inherent rope as an inherent snake.

Emptiness (The Foundation of Buddhist Thought Vol.5) Geshe Tashi Tsering
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[PKS] 27/11: Voices of Harmony: Sound of a Thousand Years
[HCC] Feb-Jun 2009 Marriage Preparation/Enrichment Programmes�& More
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