Buddhism does not advocate that people should forsake their desires completely; it advises people to follow the middle path. We shouldn't allow our desires to become rampant, but we also have to live with the fact that we do have desires. Therefore, we have to use our wisdom to guide us so that we only follow positive desires and not the negative ones.
~ Ven. Fazhao
The Buddha did not encourage householders to detach themselves from everything at once. Although He pointed out how attachments can create dissappointments. He knew that the life of those whose minds are still defiled, can become very miserable or dull without attachments. This does not mean the Buddha encouraged attachments. He was saying that while we allow ourselves to be attached at a lower stage of our spiritual development, we must discard them at the later stages.
~ Ven. Dr K Dhammananda, The purpose of Life
Religious knowlegde is important to maintain a healthy mental attitude to face unfavourable worldly conditions. When changes and separation take place, we must adjust our way of life. It is meaningless to say Buddhism prohibits people from having craving and attachment. Emotional attachments to property, people or ideas carry no formal punishment tags. All that Buddhism does is to explain the repercussions that occur when one becomes a slave to craving and attachment. This is just like a parent advising a child not to play with fire.
~ Ven. Dr k Dhammananda, The Purpose of Life
If only man can understand that life is short and that death is inevitable, he can solve many problems pertaining to life. In his resistance to death, man has achieved some prolongation of life which may equated to a child playing by the seaside, working desperately to build up his sandcastle before the next wave breaks over it.
~ Ven. Dr k Dhammananda
Evil-doers are not wicked by nature.
They do evil because they are ignorant.
~The Buddha
Bodhicitta is like empty space, all its wonderful, virtuous qualities are boundless.
Avatamsaka Sutra
"Now this, monks, is the noble truth of suffering: birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering; union with what is displeasing is suffering; seperation from what is pleasing is suffering… in brief, the five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering.”
~ The Buddha
SN 56:11
One instant is eternity;
eternity is the now.
When you see through this one instant
you see through the one who sees.
~ Wu Men
Everybody is a VIP. Is it 'Very Important People'? No. It's ' Very Impermanent People'.
~ Bhikkhu Buddha Dhatu
When you have breathe your last breath, all your Bank Accounts have to be closed; only your Account of meritorious deeds will follow you through your rebirth.
~ Bhikkhu Buddha Dhatu
Slavery
The Buddha saw that all beings were slaves of lust and greed, and that moved him to great pity. Living beings serve their lust and greed even at the risk of their lives. They go out in search of the things their lust or greed urges them, and risk their lives to get them. They have to work daily for all their lives to satisfy their lust and greed, and after death, and in the next existence, too, they remain slaves of the same master, craving (tanha). There is no period of rest for them.
In this world a slave may remain a slave only during his lifetime, but a slave of lust has an unending term of servitude till the time of salvation when he becomes an arahant and thus ends his wandering through samsara.
— Discourse on the Hemavata Sutta
By Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw
Listening to the Dhamma
To attain realization of the Dhamma while listening to a sermon, one must have a settled mind, for it is only through concentrated attention with a settled mind that one can attain samadhi, (concentration), and only samadhi can still the mind for insight. If the mind wanders during the sermon over domestic, economic, and other secular affairs, samadhi will not be attained. If anxiety sets in, it is all for the worse. If distraction and anxiety crop up, the essence of the Dhamma will slip, and as samadhi is lacking, there will be no insight, and if one cannot attain insight for vipassana, how can one attain realization of the Dhamma? Concentrated attention while listening to a sermon is, therefore, an important factor.
The listener must listen carefully, with full mental involvement, and the words of the Dhamma must be adhered to in practice. If one attends to a sermon in this way, one's mind will be calm and absorbed in the sermon; one will be free from interference, and thus attain purity of mind.
— Discourse on the Hemavata Sutta
By Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw
The Deities' Dissatisfaction
Do not have the impression that if one becomes a celestial being owing to one's good deeds, one gets to a place where every wish is fulfilled and one does not need to have any more wishes; that is, one would be satisfied to the full. No being is ever satisfied with what has been given, and will always ask for more. To get more, further efforts have to be made, and suffering ensues from these efforts.
— Discourse on the Hemavata Sutta
By Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw
Wisdom comes through recognition of ignorance.
Man is not a fallen angel,
but an arising animal.
~ Ven. Dr k Sri Dhammananda
Anyone who can controls his own appetite, will be able to deal with greed.
~ Bhikkhu Buddha Dhatu
Only compassion in line with the Precepts, is true compasssion.
~ Ven. Guang Qing
Questioner: What is the best way to freedom?
Vishrant: Like the wind gently blowing through the trees , life gently carries on , the wind does not worry about where its been or where its going , it just keeps going , following the path of least resistance , what it can't go through , it goes around , no problem , just what is , life is just happening , let go , go with the flow , follow the path of least resistance . When there is no resistance life is beautiful . Accept everything.
If, because of your education, knowledge or whatever other attributes, you become conceited and lose your humility to confer with others or to accommodate their opinions, then there is no emptiness in your mind. As a result of this, there is a limit to your progress.
~ Master Shen Kai
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Once a man went to a Zen Master and asked him to teach what he doesn't know. Whenever the master begins to speak on a subject, he would immediately say, Oh! I know it already. The Master kept quite for a while. The man became impatient and pestered him. The Master asked him to fetch a cup filled with water and a jug full of water. He placed it before the man and started pouring water in the cup. The cup started overflowing. Seeing this, the exasperated man shouted at the Master saying, don't you see when the cup if full it can't take anymore? The Master gave a smile and said, that's your mind. Go. Empty it and come back. Only then it can take new thing.
Because I'm Here... An old monk was sweeping the yard in a monastery under the scorching sun. Another monk passed by and asked him, "How old are you? The old monk replied, "I'm seventy-seven." "You are so old! Why are you still working so hard here?" "Well, because I'm here." "But why are you working under the scorching sun?" "Because the sun is there."; [Act without worrying about the results, and strive for excellence without dwelling on it. If we put all of our hearts into what we do without complaining, we can become one with the "Way."
There is an analogy of the three kinds of pots - the stained pot, the upturned pot and the leaky pot. In the pot stained with poison, whatever food you put in is inedible. Similarly, if one listens to teachings[ Dhamma] with attachment or hatred there is no benefit. Secondly, like the upturned pot that has no space to contain anything; if one listen with a wondering mind, nothing is learnt. Thirdly, if one listens to teachings without reflection, one retains nothing, just like a leaky pot. These are the three faults you have to abandon.
~ Kangyur Khensur Lobsang Thubten Rinpoche
The old man & the scorpion - One morning after he finished his meditation, the old men opened his eyes and saw a scorpion floating helplessly in the river. As the scorpion was washed closer to the tree, the old man stretched himself out again on the root that branched out into the river and reached out to rescue the scorpion. As soon as he touched it, the scorpion stung him. Instinctively, the old man withdraw his hand. A minute later, he regained his balance, he stretched out again on the roots to save the scorpion. This time the scorpio stung him so badly with its poisonous sting that his hand become swollen and bloody and his face contorted in pain. At that moment, a passerby saw the old man stretched out on the roots struggling with the scorpion and shouted: " Hey stupid old man, what wrong with you? Only a fool would risk his life for the sake of an ugly evil creature. Don't you know you would kill yourself trying to save the ungrateful creatures?." The old man turned his head. Looking into the stranger's eyes he said calmly, " My friend, just because it is the scorpion's nature to sting, that does not change my nature to save it."
" They who speak much are blamed. They who speak little are blamed. They who are silent are also blamed. In this world, there is no one who is not blamed."
A Letter to a Dying Man
Bassui wrote the following letter to one of his disciples who was about to die:
"The essence of your mind is not born, so it will never die. It is not an existance, which is perishable. It is not an emptiness, which is a mere void. It has neither color nor form. It enjoys no pleasures and suffers no pains.
"I know you are very ill. Like a good Zen student, you are facing that sickness squarely. You may not know exactly who is suffering, but question yourself: What is the essence of this mind? Think only of this. You will need no more. Covet nothing. Your end which is endless is as a snowflake dissolving in the pure air."
Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others. He who envies others does not obtain a peace of mind.