Daily Buddhist Verses

• An Eternal Now

  1 Dec 12, 23:34

  by Huifeng » Tue Nov 20, 2012 11:59 am

  SittingSilent wrote:As a student of psychology (I am nearly done completely my bachelor's degree a university here in the United States) I have often encountered the explanation that it is the brain and the "mind" that give rise the the phenomenon known as consciousness and sense of self. However, as a student of Buddhism I am learning that the self doesn't exist, something which I am willing to accept, but then the same text, magazine article, etc. then goes on to discuss the mind in three or four sentences later leaving me dramatically confused. Can someone please clarify for me what the self is, what the mind is, as well as their respective differences? Also, since there is no self, what collects karma from existence to existence? If there is no self or identity or soul on which karma can have its effects, how can any sort of effect of karma happen?
  
  Thanks and may all of you be closer to enlightenment!
  
  Ethan

  
  
  In short:
  
  "self" = "atman" / "pudgala" / "purisa" / etc.
  --> permanent, blissful, autonomous entity, totally unaffected by any conditioned phenomena
  
  "mind" = "citta" / "manas" / "vijnana" / etc.
  --> stream of momentarily arising and ceasing states of consciousness, thus not an entity, each of which is conditioned by sense organ, sense object and preceding mental states
  
  Neither are material.
  
  That's a brief overview, lot's of things to nit pick at, but otherwise it'll require a 1000 page monograph to make everyone happy.
  
  You'll need to study up on "dependent origination" (pratitya-samutpada) to get into any depth to answer your questions.
  
  ~~ Huifeng
• An Eternal Now

  4 Dec 12, 16:46

  
  It doesn't really matter what other people say or do. It's your thoughts, words, and deeds that are important for your development.
  
  I suggest reading a few verses from the Suttanip�ta, the Dhammapada, the Therag�th�, or the Therīg�th� every day to inspire and orient the mind. Then engage in a regular meditation practice for 20-30 years. That's probably a pretty decent start. ~ Geoff

• Metta with Mindfulness

  8 Dec 12, 20:11

   

  Preventing War

  The most important practice for preventing war is to stay in touch with what is refreshing, healing, and joyful inside us and around us. If we practice walking mindfully, being in touch with the Earth, the air, the trees, and ourselves, we can heal ourselves, and our entire society will also be healed. If the whole nation would practice watering seeds of joy and peace and not just seeds of anger and violence, the elements of war in all of us will be transformed.

  
  

  We must prepare ourselves, whether we have one minute, ten years, or one thousand years. If we don't have time, there is no use in discussing peace, because you cannot practice peace without time. If you have one minute, please use that minute to breathe in and out calmly and plant the seeds of peace and understanding in yourself. If you have ten years, please use the ten years to prevent the next war. If you have one thousand years, please use the time to prevent the destruction of our planet.

  . . .

  
  

  Just by your way of looking at things and doing things, you influence others. Approach everyone with love and patience, and try to water the positive seeds in them. We have to help each other, being skillful, kind, and understanding. Blaming and arguing never help.

  . . .

  
  

  In the practice of mindfulness, we nurture the ability to see deeply into the nature of things and people, and the fruit is insight, understanding, and love.

  
  

  —Thich Nhat Hanh, 1991

  
  

   

• Metta with Mindfulness

  10 Dec 12, 18:59

  Letting Go of Fixation and attachments 

  Letting go of fixation is effectively a process of learning to be free, because every time we let go of something, we become free of it. Whatever we fixate upon limits us because fixation makes us dependent upon something other than ourselves. Each time we let go of something, we experience another level of freedom.

  
  

  - Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche, "Letting Go of Spiritual Experience"

   

  
  

• Metta with Mindfulness

  10 Dec 12, 19:06

  “Most of our troubles are due to our passionate desire for and attachment to things that we misapprehend as enduring entities.” ~Dalai Lama

  
  

• An Eternal Now

  18 Dec 12, 16:13

  Ven Hui Lu:
  
  大悟之人ä¸�è§�法。他没有任何东西，因为法法本空，法法ä¸�相到。也ä¸�è§�身。为什么？四大本空，五阴本æ�¥å°±æ²¡æœ‰“我”。所以，什么å�«å�šç…§è§�五蕴皆空？色å�³æ˜¯ç©ºï¼Œå�—想行识å�³æ˜¯ç©ºã€‚为什么讲色å�³æ˜¯ç©ºï¼Ÿè‰²å�³æ˜¯ç©ºï¼Œç©ºå°±æ˜¯ä½›æ€§ï¼Œè‰²å°±æ˜¯ä½›æ€§çš„展现。所以，真正的悟é�“的人，他的心性æµ�露在一切缘起法里é�¢ï¼Œå�³äºŽç”Ÿç�­ï¼Œå�³å¾—ä¸�生ä¸�ç�­çš„无为法，也没有所谓有为跟无为，刹那å�³è§�æ°¸æ�’，永æ�’就是刹那，平等ä¸�二。 因此我们è¦�了解：ä¸�è§�法，也ä¸�è§�身。身，地水ç�«é£Žæ‰€æž„æˆ�的，四大本æ�¥å°±ç©ºï¼Œäº”è•´——色å�—想行识，本æ�¥å°±æ˜¯ä¸�å�¯å¾—。一切法，智者了知一切法，本æ�¥å°±æ— æˆ‘。这无我里é�¢ï¼Œå½“下就是佛性。所以，佛法讲å�¦å®šçš„时候，凡所有相，皆是å�‡ç›¸ã€‚讲肯定的时候，尘尘都是真心，æ¯�一个颗粒微尘都是真心的影现，一切法全部都是真。当他破除无明烦æ�¼ã€�破除执ç�€ã€�破除分别的时候，完全都是真心展现的，尘尘尽是真，没有一法ä¸�是真心，这个是站在肯定的角度。站在å�¦å®šçš„角度，是凡所有相ä¸�å�¯å¾—。站在本体界的角度，凡所有相，都是本体界的展现，都是清净心的影现，没有一法ä¸�是真实。
  
  My translation:
  
  Those who are greatly realized do not view/conceive of dharmas. They do not have anything at all, because every dharma is fundamentally empty, every dharma is disjointed. They also do not conceive of a body. Why is this so? The four great elements are also fundamentally empty, the five aggregates have always been without a 'self'. Therefore, what does it mean to illuminate/see that the five aggregates are empty? Form is emptiness, feelings, perception, volition and consciousness are also empty. Why do we say that form is emptiness? Form is emptiness, emptiness is buddha-nature, form is the display of buddha-nature. Therefore, for those who are truly realized, [it is seen that] his nature of mind is outpouring within all dependently arisen dharmas, and within the arising and ceasing [dharmas], one attains that not-born and not-ceasing unconditioned dharma, and there is no such thing as [that dichotomy of] 'conditioned' or 'unconditioned'. One sees within a split instant, eternity, and eternity IS this split instant, they are equal without duality.
  
  Therefore we should understand: not conceiving of dharmas, not conceiving of body. Body is composed of [the four great elements of] cohesion (water), solidity or inertia (earth), expansion or vibration (air) and heat or energy content (fire). These four great elements are fundamentally empty, the five aggregates - form/matter, feelings, perception, volition and consciousness, are originally ungraspable/unobtainable. Every single dharma, the wise knows that every single dharma, has originally been without a self. And in this very immediate moment of no-self, that itself is Buddha-nature. Therefore, when the Buddhadharma talks about deconstruction, all appearances are illusory false appearances. When talking from the standpoint of affirmation, every single dust [phenomena] is the True Mind, every single bit of micro-dust is the appearance/display of True Mind, every single dharma is entirely True/Real. When it has removed all our ignorance and suffering, broken apart our attachments, removed our discriminations, everything in its completeness is the display of True Mind, every dust turns out to be True/Real, there is not a single dharma that is not True Mind, this is speaking from the standpoint of affirmation. Standing from the point of deconstruction, all appearances are ungraspable/unobtainable. Standing from the point of the world of fundamental body, every appearances is the display of that dharmadhatu, it is the pure mind's appearance/manifestation, there is not a single dharma that is not true/real.
  
  ..............
  
  所以我们修行就是�开悟，�悟到一切法本空，归无所得，当下销归自性，了无所得。本�无生，何其有�？生�是对世间讲的，当下就是�生��。而�是生�里�有一个�生��。我们修行人看�典�常误会，以为生�法里�有一个�生��的本性，错啦�而是生�法当下就是无自性，是这样在体悟本性无生的。�讲生�当下缘起�性空�无自性，所以说它是�生�是��。�好好地去�悟。
  
  My translation:
  
  Therefore the purpose of cultivation is to attain enlightenment, to realize that every dharma is fundamentally empty, returning to no-attainment/ungraspability, returning to the nature of self in its immediacy, realizing that there is nothing to attain/grasp. Originally there is no birth, how could there be a cessation? Birth and cessation are spoken to worldly beings, [in actuality] in this immediate moment there is already no birth and no cessation. It is not the case that within birth and death, there is something that is unborn and undying. We practitioners that read the sutras are often mistaken about this, thinking that inside the birth and cessation of dharmas there is an unborn and undying basic nature, that is wrong! Actually it is the case that with regards to arising and ceasing dharmas, in that immediate moment, there has never been a self-nature, and through this one realizes the basic nature that is not-born. We are saying that the birth and ceasing's immediate moment is dependently originated, empty in nature, without self-nature, therefore they are without birth, without cessation. We should very well go and ponder and realize this point.

• Metta with Mindfulness

  21 Dec 12, 01:52

  Any long-held habit is difficult to let  go of, and we have been holding on to a self longer than anything else. The thought of letting go generally creates fear and insecurity. It is like banging your head with hammer for aeons, then being afraid to stop because you cannot image what relief would be like. Habits create that kind of fear.

   

  Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche

• Metta with Mindfulness

  21 Dec 12, 01:57

  When we begin to confront attachment, it is like having open the door and search through our dark messy closet because there is something in there stinks. We don't want to face it, even if we don't know what that something is. So we keep putting it off, but that rotting 'thing' stays with us - we can't really dismiss it.

   

  Dizgar Kongtrul Rinpoche

• Metta with Mindfulness

  22 Dec 12, 21:47

   

  The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness

  of the interdependence of all these living beings, which are all part

  of one another, and all involved in one another.

  
  

  Thomas Merton

  
  

  
  

  
  

   

• Metta with Mindfulness

  25 Dec 12, 23:37

  All that we are looking for in life - all the happiness, contentment, and peace of mind - is right here in the present moment. Our own awareness is itself fundamentally pure and good. The only problem is that we get so caught up in the ups and downs of life that we don't take the time to pause and notice what we already have.

  ~ Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

   

  "Compared to a state of mind that is occupied by nervous, restless thoughts, it is much better to be in focused, relaxed state of peaceful attention. The benefits of this can be seen immediately: the very moment mind is simply focused on one object, the waves of disturbing thoughts and emotions are absent. Spending a session meditating in this way is like taking a break. It becomes a time of peace and calm, of begins to stray away, when we are unable to keep object in mind, we get distracted, and the feeling of being at ease also disappears. The we remember the object of attention and continue as before, and the feeing of being at peace reoccurs."

  -Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche on Shamatha Meditation

   

  "The basic nature of our mind is essentially good. The Buddha taught that all beings are buddhas covered by momentary obscurations; when those obscurations are removed, they are real buddhas. The true identity of every sentient being, not just human beings, is a state of unconditioned suchness. This is the basic nature as it is, pure and perfect. We have an inherent capacity to care for others and to understand; it is not a product of education or upbringing. To practise the dharma means simply to develop and nurture these intrinsic qualities. That is our task, our responsibility."

  - Chokyi Nyuma Rinpoche

• An Eternal Now

  9 Jan 13, 18:57

  Anything not about non-duality, no-self has nothing to do with enlightenment and liberation.
  
  ~ Thusness (2007)
  
  January 2005
  
  [22:19] <^john^> Zennith, the experience of Thusness is not what that is described by them.
  [22:20] <^john^> It is nothing close if u believe me.
  [22:20] <^john^> how is one able to understand. :)
  [22:21] <^john^> I just written something today.
  [22:21] <ZeN`n1th> icic
  [22:21] <ZeN`n1th> har?
  [22:21] <ZeN`n1th> written wat
  [22:21] <^john^> my meditation. :P
  [22:22] <ZeN`n1th> oh icic.. wat is it about?
  [22:22] <^john^> 03.01.2005
  [22:22] <^john^> How could anyone understand?
  [22:22] <^john^> The crying, the sound, the noise is buddha.
  [22:22] <^john^> It is all the experience of Thusness.
  [22:22] <^john^> To know the true meaning of this
  [22:22] <^john^> Hold not even the slightest trace of 'I'.
  [22:22] <^john^> In the most natural state of ILessNess,
  [22:22] <^john^> All Is.
  [22:22] <^john^> Even if one said the same statement,
  [22:22] <^john^> the depth of experience differs.
  [22:22] <^john^> The is no point convincing anyone.
  [22:22] <^john^> Can anyone understand?
  [22:22] <^john^> Any form of rejection
  [22:22] <^john^> Any sort of division
  [22:22] <^john^> Is to reject buddhahood.
  [22:22] <^john^> If there is a slightest sense of a subject, an experiencer
  [22:22] <^john^> we miss the point.
  [22:22] <^john^> Natural Awareness is subjectless
  [22:22] <^john^> The vividness and clarity
  [22:22] <^john^> Feel, taste, see and hear with totality
  [22:22] <^john^> There is always no 'I'.
  [22:22] <^john^> Thank you Buddha, You truly know.
  [22:23] <^john^> :)
  [22:23] <^john^> It is difficult to understand the subtlety.
  [22:23] <ZeN`n1th> icic... v nice
  [22:25] <^john^> 02/1/2005
  [22:25] <^john^> Without 'self' oneness is immediately attained.
  [22:25] <^john^> There is only and always this Isness. Subject has always been the Object of observation.
  [22:25] <^john^> This is true samadhi without entering trance.
  [22:25] <^john^> Completely understanding this truth. It is the true way towards liberation.
  [22:25] <^john^> Every sound, sensation, arising of consciousness is so clear, real and vivid.
  [22:25] <^john^> Every moment is samadhi.
  [22:25] <^john^> The tip of the fingers in contact with the keyboard, mysteriously created the
  [22:25] <^john^> contact consciousness, what is it? Feel the entirety of beingness and realness.
  [22:25] <^john^> There is no subject...just Isness.
  [22:25] <^john^> No thought, there really is no thought and no 'self'. Only Pure Awareness.
  [22:25] <^john^> :)
  [22:26] <^john^> Zennith, it is meaningless to tok about anything. Just practice hard.
  [22:27] <ZeN`n1th> icic...
  [22:27] <^john^> The depth of emptiness cannot be measured.
  
  ..............
  
  [23:46] <^john^> Buddhism is nothing but replacing the 'Self' in Hinduism with Condition Arising.
  [23:46] <^john^> Keep the clarity, the presence, the luminosity and eliminate The ultimate 'Self', the controller, the supreme.
  [23:46] <^john^> Still u must taste, sense, eat, hear and see Pure Awareness in every authentication.
  [23:46] <^john^> And every authentication is Bliss.
  [23:46] <^john^> one of my meditation diary
  
  ~ Thusness (2005)

• Metta with Mindfulness

  13 Jan 13, 16:05

  ‎"Please remember; where we are now is not perfect. Why is it not perfect? Because no matter how much happiness we have things are going to change. No matter how perfect things seem they change,
  
  I love my boyfriend or girlfriend so much and they are so beautiful, until they want to break up; Change. I have a family member who is very important to me and makes me very happy, but then they die; Change. I really love to drink wine and have a lot of fun doing it, until I developed a liver problem and can’t drink anymore; Change.
  
  Whenever we appreciate only the happiness of this lifetime it will always change. So that means what ever we have now is not perfect.
  
  So what we need then is something that can really make us free from that suffering of change. Buddha said this very nicely. So now we need something to mediate, something to apply & something to realize, to realize freedom from that suffering.”
  
  Phakchok Rinpoche
• An Eternal Now

  20 Jan 13, 15:05

  The Four Thoughts
  
  
  Loppon Namdrol/Malcolm:
  
  The basic problem with the four thoughts is that they are presented in very meideval language and people become expert in artificial contemplations that do not reach their heart.
  
  You are going to die, sooner rather than later.
  Your friends and family are leaving you right now, not at some later time.
  Right now you could be practicing dharma, but you are wasting your time with worldly foolishness [jobs, families, car payments]
  There is no happiness, anywhere. Don't delude yourself that there is.
  All your present happiness and suffering is a result of karma. If you do not want to suffer in future, practice Dharma.
  
  We all know the above are true, and we all make tons of excuses for not doing anything about it.
  
  If you are not in tears from practicing the above, your contemplation is not working into your heart.
  
  N

• Metta with Mindfulness

  20 Jan 13, 19:07

  "People tend to plan their dharma practice, and especially like to dream of making a long retreat. We plan how the retreat hut should look, its shape and where it should be positioned; we plan the time to start our retreat, maybe one, two or three years from now. It is very easy to make such plans, but it is more difficult for these plans to become reality. Therefore it is more realistic to engage in Dharma practice today, right this moment, not tomorrow or next year. Practice now in whatever situation is at hand. Otherwise, your life can easily run out while planning to practice later. Do not make long-term plans."
  

  ~Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche

• Metta with Mindfulness

  22 Jan 13, 22:32

  守��业，�佛一�
  
  无论在家出家修行，若能守��业，则�佛一�。
  
  “å�£ä¸š” 是修行最难克æœ�的业力；
  ... “å�£ä¸š” 是修行è¯�é�“的最大阻力；
  “å�£ä¸š” 是修行最大致命æ�€ä¼¤åŠ›ï¼›
  “å�£ä¸š” 是堕入æ�¶é�“的主è¦�业力；
  “å�£ä¸š” 是往生西方的最大抗力；
  “å�£ä¸š” 令é�“场ä¸�得清净，是é�žä¸�æ–­ï¼›
  “å�£ä¸š” 令僧团ä¸�å¾—å’Œå�ˆï¼Œæ³•é�“ä¸�å…´ï¼›
  “å�£ä¸š” 令众生退失é�“心，断人善根；
  
  �业之罪，甚�无比。
  
  我们修行，若ä¸�æ–­ “妄语ã€�æ�¶å�£ã€�两舌ã€�绮语” å››ç§�å�£ä¸šï¼Œ
  å�¯èƒ½åœ¨æ�¶é�“å�— “苦å�£æ— é‡�”，出脱ç»�对无期。
  
  故我们修行，为人处事，当�谨言慎�，
  方能�堕入��轮回�苦，得���。
  
  〜 网络转载

• Metta with Mindfulness

  22 Jan 13, 22:39

  好人从我们自己�起
  
  ��去评断任何人，
  因为你对他�甚了解�
  �使你认为你跟他很熟，
  那也�表示你真正懂他�
  ...
  好的人也有�的一�，
  �的人也有好的一�，
  世上没有�对的好人，
  也没有�对的�人。

• An Eternal Now

  27 Jan 13, 01:53

  The notion of paths and stages, a part of relative truth and so on, are taught only from the perspective of the completely deluded perception of sentient beings.
  
  There is nothing even slightly correct about relative truth, so why should the practices of Vajray�na (indeed all paths) also not be entirely faulty? They are like illusory men taking a journey on an illusory path to an illusory city. It seems many things are happening, but in reality nothing at all is happening.
  
  Harbibhadra comments that the entire path from start to finish is an illusion. There is nothing that we can hang on a peg of "not completely faulty". Relative truth is completely faulty in every way, even though it may appear valid to ordinary beings, in the perception of a Buddha, it is completely faulty in every way.
  
  When we begin to think that there is a real person who is practicing a real path that results a real liberation, at that point we are completely deluded.
  
  ~ Loppon Namdrol/Malcolm

• An Eternal Now

  28 Jan 13, 18:38

  
  Dependent-arising refers to the fact that all impermanent phenomena—whether physical, mental, or otherwise—come into existence dependent upon certain causes and conditions. Whatever arises dependent upon certain causes and conditions is not operating exclusively under its own power.
  
  ~ Dalai Lama
  

• Metta with Mindfulness

  28 Jan 13, 21:12

  轻�自然
  敬爱的岩��师：
  您好� 请教一个动中禅问题：当我跺脚时，你说一点注�力都��用，有时我就一点都�注�那个碰触，�是觉得那个脚跟地�的碰触把我从�维中拉回到当下了，当下我就轻�感觉眼�的实景，耳朵�到的跺脚声，还有一些周围嘈�的声音，整个人是完全处于当下的，就是好�一点都没留�那个脚上的碰触，这样是正确的�？还是我在当下�微留�一点点那个脚跟地�的碰触？谢谢指点。
  ...
  答：
  一点留�也��，�是轻�且自然地去�就�以了。
  如果有了留�（实际上时注�力），就�能完全�到轻�自然。
  如果无法�到轻�自然，那直观的心（觉性）就无法生起。
  
  
  当脚和地�碰触�生时，
  觉性会自然知�。
  �需�任何�识。
  
  如果我们在镜���放一件物�，
  镜�会自然（倒映出�）知�。
  
  当根尘有接触时，
  如�一�镜�，
  觉性也是会自然地知�。
  
  一点也�需�注�力，
  并且是轻�自然�毫�费力地知�。
  
  �以说，觉性和注�力一点关系也没有。

• Metta with Mindfulness

  3 Feb 13, 19:23

  We need to encourage an understanding that inner peace comes from relying on human values like, love, compassion, tolerance and honesty, and that peace in the world relies on individuals finding inner peace.

  His Holiness the Dalai Lama

• sinweiy

  13 Feb 13, 09:56

  As the expression goes, ignorance (a.k.a. not knowing) no doubt might be the overall condition of beings, but it is also through 'Not wanting to know' that Springs All Knowing of Buddha(s).

  知è§�立知è§�to set Knowing on top of knowing，å�³æ— æ˜Žæœ¬ is the root cause of not knowing；知è§�无知è§� Knowing without knowing，斯å�³æ¶…槃 is the cause of Nirvana，无æ¼�真净 without overflow is true pureness。’

  Not knowing and enlightenment complement each other. -- Shurangama Sutra

   

  "Our mind is primordially in the state of Rigpa (Knowing Awareness). Whatever state of mind we go through, whether it is a very heavy experience of ignorance or a very outrageous emotion of anger, we have never moved from the state of rigpa." -- Ponlop Rinpoche

   

  /\

• sinweiy

  13 Feb 13, 11:01

  If you are depressed you are living in the past.
  If you are anxious you are living in the future.
  If you are at peace you are living in the present.---Lao Tzu

  /\
• sinweiy

  15 Feb 13, 09:01

  How to Purify Karma

  The Ārya-karm�varaṇaviśuddhi-sūtra states:
  

  Seeing the impure universe as a pure buddhafield and seeing the element of sentient beings as the element of buddhas purifies the obscuration of action.

  /\
• sinweiy

  19 Feb 13, 16:47

  六祖慧能曰：“无常者，å�³ä½›æ€§ä¹Ÿï¼›æœ‰å¸¸è€…，å�³ä¸€åˆ‡å–„æ�¶è¯¸æ³•åˆ†åˆ«å¿ƒä¹Ÿã€‚”

  /\

• 2009novice

  23 Feb 13, 23:53

  [The Buddha:]

  Over and over, the seeds all get planted;

  Over and over, the rain-god sprinkles rain.

  Over and over, the farmer farms the field;

  Over and over, the food grows in the realm.

  Over and over, beggars do their begging;

  Over and over, the givers give out gifts.

  Over and over, the giver who has given;

  Over and over, goes to a better place.

  Over and over, he tires and he struggles;

  Over and over, the fool goes to the womb.

  Over and over, he's born and he dies;

  Over and over, they bear him to his grave.

  But one who's wisdom is wide as the earth Is not born over and over,

  For he's gained the path Of not becoming over again.

  
  

  Udaya Sutta: Breaking the Cycle