Am i wrong to do this?
-
I was waiting for my egg-thosai to be served, took out my wallet and paid the prata-man. All of sudden, a old man aged 50-70 with breath of ciggarette asked for a dollar from me. I decline it and was being some sort of cursed. Am i wrong to not give the dollar? It is not a huge sum, will definitely part it. Whats your say, is it right to give?
All of sudden i have a urge to get him down by calling the food-court management. But didnt do it, somehow or rather manage to curb it.
My question is: Is it wrong not to give? Why do i have those sudden feelings, it just come out without me thinking..So instinctive.
I am really troubled nowadays, on normal time, i care for living things and somehow able to admire the nature and wont kill a snail or will let the beetle which flew in my house go. However, some might call this devilish, i get heart up easily when i am humped by dog or my dog tugged the leash, i will whack his butt or do something nasty to him, i will even at time hit my mum but not at full strenght, somehow manage to curb it and only do it for sake of doing. I just cannot stop myself, my actions arrived before my mind. After doing it, i felt guilty and that feeling subside. I know its wrong most of the time. -
hit the dog.. ok lar...
hit ur mum? -
You have difficulties containing your rage. Yet after that, you always feel remorseful, resolve never to repeat your mistakes, only to find that you cannot control your impulsive rage that next time you are provoked... It is a downward spiral and you fell troubled by this.Originally posted by cheskiz:I am really troubled nowadays, on normal time, i care for living things and somehow able to admire the nature and wont kill a snail or will let the beetle which flew in my house go. However, some might call this devilish, i get heart up easily when i am humped by dog or my dog tugged the leash, i will whack his butt or do something nasty to him, i will even at time hit my mum but not at full strenght, somehow manage to curb it and only do it for sake of doing. I just cannot stop myself, my actions arrived before my mind. After doing it, i felt guilty and that feeling subside. I know its wrong most of the time.
You probably need some mindfulness and loving kindness meditations. -
anger management.
gib him is harm him. -
I wouldn't mind giving a dollar if someone needs it. When we are willing to give, gradually we will let go of our self-centered attachment and greed for money.. that means if people took away your money, you will not feel heart ache. Generosity is one of the six or ten paramitas (virtues) that Buddhists and Bodhisattvas must cultivate, along with great compassion for others. I believe there has been a few threads in this forum recently on that. When you have compassion for others, giving is no problem for us in order to alleviate their sufferings/needs.
Therefore generosity is a very important virtue. One must also not give for the sake of return or 'good karma', but one must give selflessly without attachment to the notions of giving (see Diamond Sutra). Only in this way does giving reap true merits.
As Thusness said before,
Let me also share this story from the book 'A New Earth' by Eckhart Tolle,Originally posted by Thusness:I do agree with what you said to certain extend and the analogy given in my previous post about exams is not a good one. A selfish person needs not be greedy and vice versa.
Nevertheless I think including the unwillingness factor when attempting to have a more complete picture of greed is still crucial. An example will be the unwillingness to cut loss when a person in equity market is experiencing a drastic sharp dropped on the share prices. This to me is a manifestation of greed. Thus the Dharma therapy towards greed is generosity -- an opposite countering quality by practicing the willingness to share and give.
On the other hand, ‘selfishness’ to me is more of placing one’s interest ahead of others and the ‘unwillingness to part’ due to selfishness is an expression of that factor.
Lastly I do agree that both have the same root – craving and clinging.
Nice Chat!THE LOST RING
When I was seeing people as a counselor and spiritual teacher, I would
visit a woman twice a week whose body was riddled with cancer. She was a
schoolteacher in her midforties and had been given no more than a few months to live by her doctors. Sometimes a few words were spoken during
those visits, but mostly we would sit together in silence, and as we did, she
had her first glimpses of the stillness within herself that she never knew
existed during her busy life as a schoolteacher.
One day, however, I arrived to find her in a state of great distress and
anger. “What happened” I asked. Her diamond ring, of great monetary as
well as sentimental value, had disappeared, and she said she was sure it had
been stolen by the woman who came to look after her for a few hours every
day. She said she didnÂ’t understand how anybody could be so callous and
heartless as to do this to her. She asked me whether she should confront the
woman or whether it would be better to call the police immediately. I said I
couldnÂ’t tell her what to do, but asked her to find out how important a rig or
anything else was at this point in her life. “You don’t understand,” she said.
“This was my grandmother’s ring. I used to wear it every day until I got ill
and my hands became too swollen. ItÂ’s more than just a ring to me. How can
I not b upset?”
The quickness of her response and the anger and defensiveness in her
voice were indications that she had not yet become present enough to look
within and to disentangle her reaction from the event and observe them both.
Her anger and defensiveness were signs that the ego was still speaking
through her. I said, “I am going to ask you a few questions, but instead of
answering them now, see if you can find the answers within you. I will pause
briefly after each question. When an answer comes, it may not necessarily
come in the form of words.” She said she was ready to listen. I asked: “Do
you realize that you will have to let go of the ring at some point, perhaps
quite soon? How much more time do you need before you will be ready to let
go of it? Will you become less when you let go of it? Has who you are
become diminished by the loss?” There were a few minutes of silence after
the last question.
When she started speaking again, there was a smile on her face, and
she seemed at peace. “The last question made me realize something
important. First I went to my mind for an answer and my mind said, ‘Yes, f
course you have been diminished.Â’ Then I asked myself the question again,
‘Has who I am become diminished?’ This time I tried to feel rather than
think the answer. And suddenly I could feel my I Amness.
I have never felt
that before. If I can feel the I Am so strongly, then who I am hasnÂ’t been
diminished at all. I can still feel it now, something peaceful but very alive.”
“That is the joy of Being,” I said. “You can only feel it when you get
out of your head. Being must be felt. It canÂ’t be thought. The ego doesnÂ’t
know about it because thought is what it consists of. The ring was really in
your head as a thought that you confused with the sense of I Am. You
thought the I Am or a part of it was in the ring.
“Whatever the ego seeks and gets attached to are substitutes for the
Being that it cannot feel. You can value and care for things, but whenever
you get attached to them, you will know itÂ’s the ego. And you are never
really attached to a thing but to a thought that has ‘I,’ ‘me,’ or ‘mine’ in it.
Whenever you completely accept a loss, you go beyond ego, and who you
are, the I Am which is consciousness itself, emerges.”
She said, “Now I understand something Jesus said that never made
much sense to me before: ‘If someone takes your shirt, let him have your
coat as well.’”
“That’s right,” I said. “It doesn’t mean you should never lock your
door. All it means is that sometimes letting things go is an act of far greater
power than defending or hanging on.”
In the last few weeks of her life as her body became weaker, she
became more and more radiant, as if light were shining through her. She
gave many of her possessions away, some to the woman she thought had
stolen the ring, and with each thing she gave away, her joy deepened. When
her mother called me to let me know she had passed away, she also
mentioned that after her death they found her ring in the medicine cabinet in
the bathroom. Did the woman return the ring, or had it been there all the
time? Nobody will ever know. One thing we do know: Life will give you
whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness.
How do you now this is the experience you need? Because this is the
experience you are having at this moment.
Is it wrong then to be proud of oneÂ’s possessions or to feel resentful
toward people to have more than you? Not at all. That sense of pride, of
needing to stand out, the apparent enhancement of one’s self through “more
than” and diminishment through “less than” is neither right nor wrong – it is
the ego. The ego isnÂ’t wrong; itÂ’s just unconscious. When you observe the
ego in yourself, you are beginning to go beyond it. DonÂ’t take the ego too
seriously. When you detect egoic behavior in yourself, smile. At times you
may even laugh. How could humanity have been taken in by this for so long?
Above all, know that the ego isnÂ’t personal. It isnÂ’t who you are. If you
consider the ego to be your personal problem, thatÂ’s just more ego. -
Next, anger. First of all it is very commendable that you have care even for little insects... real compassion starts when we are able to be compassionate even for the small animals.
Anger needs a lot of patience and forgiveness, and also understanding.What are the benefits of learning and practising Buddhism?
It also needs a lot of awareness. You said your actions arrived before your mind. This is due to the lack of awareness. Actually being repentant is a kind of awareness, and is excellent and praiseworthy. Lots of people commit wrongdoings and they continue to be unrepentant, and do not even know when they committed many evil or unwholesome deeds. So this is a beginning, if you are aware of your mistakes, then gradually you will be able to correct and conduct yourself accordingly.
The benefit of learning and practising Buddhism is described in the sutras as: Parting from suffering and gaining happiness". This kind of happiness can only be gotten if we are able to be liberated.
To think that liberation is to be reborn in the Western Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha after a person has died is neither correct nor incorrect. Actually, while people are alive they need to be liberated at every moment. Only then can they also be liberated when they die.
It is very simple to cultivate the method of liberation. For example, if someone scolds you, your respond by saying, "Thank you". This way, you are liberated. But if someone scolds you and you respond with wide glaring eyes and scold him in retaliation, then that is not being liberated. At this moment, you should surpass it, and be positive and understanding, thinking, "When someone scolds me, I'll see him as my parent who scolds me only out of concern for me." Alternatively, viewing him as a child making a nuisance of himself, you ignore the remarks. If you don't know about having a positive perspective to surpass the situation, and you take him to be your enemy, then a fight would erupt. Everyday, no matter what situations we encounter, if we could always maintain a positive outlook and transcend them, then we would be able to be liberated."
~ Awakening the Sleeping Mind, Venerable Master Shen KaiWhat is the wisdom of the Buddha? How can we unfold our Buddha-wisdom?
When we become angry, we must practice patience. Just now we discussed about the paramita (virtue) of generosity. Patience is another paramita that a Buddhist practitioner, a Bodhisattva, must perfect in their lives.
In order for our Buddha-wisdom to unfold, we need pure awareness; to awaken ourselves, and also to awaken others. One is Buddha when one's pure awareness, enlightened and cultivation of the Bodhisattva Way have reached a rounded perfection. But pure awareness is no simple matter. There is advanced awareness (i.e. knowing the consequence before the event), retrospective awareness (i.e. knowing the consequence after the event) and unawareness (i.e. being ignorant of the event and the consequence). Advanced awareness refers to knowing ahead of time, before the action is committed, whether suffering or happiness will result.
Thus, the saying goes: "Bodhisattvas are wary of causes, sentient beings are wary of consequences" For any situation, a Bodhisattva knows whether the cause is a virtuous or a wicked one. Knowing this cause, he makes the necessary amendments within this cause itself. He does not wait until he is suffering the bitter consequences and is full of complaints, and only then make the changes. that would be too late.
Sentient beings are wary of the consequences rather than the causes. Before an incident, some people like to behave like heroes and taunt others, "Who do you think you are? You think you're great? What do you want?!" Then, they pull out knives and murder people, or beat them up, or quarrel with people... until the law catches up with them and throws them into prison. Oh! They will wail their laments then! Why didn't you know better right from the start? If you had known in advance, and you didn't behave as such, then wouldn't everything be fine?
~ Awakening the Sleeping Mind, Venerable Master Shen KaiDealing with Anger
Therefore we can see patience is a very important virtue and we must practice in everyday life situations and also when dealing with people. There is however, one kind of patience called transcendental patience in the sutras. If we can remain awareness then we will begin to see that all phenomena simply self-liberates and is empty. In this we will not be affected by our situations, we do not give rise to mental attachment, we do not give rise to sentient thoughts. Even if negative emotions were to arise at first, they are too seen to be self-liberating and empty. This is effortless patience, because there is 'nothing' to be patient about. Originally already empty, the problems and situations is self-created. 'Ren wu ke ren' means this, not what we think. Completely empty! If we practise this way we will notice that our reactivity to people and situation will reduce very quickly and soon disappear. Reactivity is simple our sentient thoughts and contractions, attachment. The moment there is seeing, there is liberation. Sentient thoughts and contractions pass and leave no trace. Nothing leaves any trace.
I lose my temper easily, how shall I cultivate?
How Shall I Cultivate
You need to cultivate endurance. But, when you have reached the stage where you cannot endure anymore, your temper will still explode. Thus, the need to achieve the endurance of non-endurance. The power of endurance is the greatest in this world. For example, an object may be indestructible when soaked in water or burned with fire, but it can be crushed on impact. However, Sarira or relics can never be crushed. One who cultivates the non-origination of the mind, and the endurance of non-endurance, will upon death produces Sarira. Thus, the capacity of endurance is indeed great!
I get angry over trivial matters, what should I do?
Get angry over trivial matters
Very simple. Just do not be angry. If you are not able to do that, prepare yourself a mirror. Whenever you become angry, have a look at yourself in the mirror. When you see your angry face, you will probably cool down. In this way, you are less likely to be angry again in future.
If the anger is suppressed and though it has been endured the anger still exists, what shall I do when it is beyond endurance?
What to do if the anger is beyond endurance
When it is beyond endurance, the best thing to do is to let it explode. After the explosion, then you will understand that you need to endure.
My taiwanese teacher would talk about his encounter with my Master, and one of his disciple had much ignorance going on in his mind at his moment... and was scolding my Master for a very long time. My taiwanese teacher was standing at one side looking at them, my Master looked attentive and respectful while the disciple continued his scolding. After a while, the disciple left. My taiwanese teacher asked what is that person scolding you for? My Master simply replied innocently "I don't know!" and continued doing his own work completely unaffected.
So this is an example of 'transcendental patience'. -
A conversation 2+ years ago on IRC:
Awareness without analysis
[17:14] sigh im like all set up for practising the virtue called patience
[17:15] patience for what?
[17:15] everything
[17:16] like dun wan to pracitse also cannot
[17:17] zen, wots the 'ren' tht beginners can do?
[17:18] observe
[17:18] ?
[17:19] what for u wanna observe?
[17:19] i was taught to observe, aware but not analysis
[17:20] this way one can be more happy and patient
[17:21] that because u analaysis
[17:21] human have 2 kinds of attachment
[17:22] one is pleasure
[17:22] the other one is more stupid is displeasure
[17:22] why does observation and awareness without analysis bring about joy and patience?
[17:22] Thusness: because this way we realise things truely are, mind will be more calm
Reply with Quote
[17:23] In buddhism, what are 'things'?
[17:23] nama
[17:24] or any form of phenomenon existence?
[17:24] temporary phenomen
[17:24] nothing lasting. but ever changing
[17:26] Thusness: that question of urs leads to the teaching of no soul and self
[17:26] indeed.
[17:27] All exhitbit these characteristics and must be thoroughly understood.
[17:27] when we say 'success', how do we view 'success'?
[17:27] same thing as perceptions
[17:27] when we say 'fear', how do we view 'fear'?
[17:28] arising and falling nothing permanent and everlasting
[17:28] all are ever unsatisfactory
[17:28] all 'things' whenever mental or forms are but the appearance of cause, conditions and changes from moment to moment without a 'self'.
[17:29] well said
[17:29] from the tick of a thought moment to the entire political and economics of a country, nothing doesn't exhitbit this truth.
[17:30] so true but for satisfying this untame mind who loves reading newspaper and forums
[17:30] sink deep into the deepest level of our own mind so that we may enter into the stream.
[17:31] the arisnig of this moment is subtle. Not to over look it. Let's be mindful.
[17:31] just one good question on such experience
[17:31] * SkirtyGa| has quit IRC (Ping timeout for SkirtyGa|[cm156.omega21.maxonline.com.sg]�)
[17:31] after meditating for long hrs
[17:32] i have experience of not sensing anything
[17:32] what is the object of meditation in such subtle thoughts
[17:32] so what if things dont exist inherently, things still happen
[17:32] breathe no longer exist
[17:32] * SkirtyGa| has joined #buddhism
[17:32] * ZeN`n1th sets mode: +v SkirtyGa|
[17:32] u are able to type such comments i believe u meditate often as well
[17:32] frankly there is no purpose, meaning whatsoever. It is the 'self' that needs these.
[17:33] oic
[17:33] to know, we have to see things in obviousness and nakeness and enter into the world that is untouched by thoughts.
[17:34] nub: its not say it do not exist. its in a temp stage. say it does not exist is wrong
[17:34] all reasoning will dissolve in light of Pure Awareness.
[17:35] in real subtle stage of thoughts, i do not understand if i am still aware a not. for object of observing no longer seems around anymore
[17:35] in taht stage we observe what
[17:35] nothing. Stay in that stillness.
[17:36] in that stillness, it is entire. First enters the world of wordlessness
[17:36] sense everything without naming, labeling and thinking.
[17:37] * Ah^pek is now known as hUnGrY^pe
[17:37] * hUnGrY^pe is now known as hUnGrYpeK
[17:37] before entering into pure sensing wihtout an object of observation.
[17:37] when there is still a trace of a 'self', we will not be used to it.
[17:37] do buddhists use vulgar lang??? im really angry
[17:37] raspberry: there are some not so adv one still do
[17:37] * Looking up raspberry user info...
[17:38] raspberry: even monks commits mistake more so common buddhist.
[17:38] the 'self' must live in either beliefs, thoughts, names, labelling. Otherewise there is no room for it to even exist.
[17:38] nice chat.
[17:38] those who want to use vulgar lang shldnt even come here
[17:38] * Thusness returns to silence -
Karaniya Metta Sutta
Universal Loving Kindness
This must be done to gain the State of Peace.
One must be able, upright and straightforward;
Pleasant in Speech, mild and not proud.
Easily contented and easily supportable;
Not caught up in too many "duties" and frugal in one's wants.
Calm in mind, discriminative and courteous;
Not closely attached to households.
Avoiding any mean deeds blameworthy by the wise.
Thinking always thus: "May all beings be happy and safe,
May they all have tranquil minds.
Whatsoever pulsates with the breath of life -
the frail or strong, without exception -
the long, the large, the medium-sized, the short, the thin or fat.
Those visible, and those invisible, those living far away or nearby;
Beings who are already born and those yet unborn.
May they all be happy!
May no-one deceive another, nor despise him in anyway anywhere.
Let no-one wish another ill, owing to anger or provocation.
Just as a mother would protect her son - her only son - with her life -
even so let him cultivate this boundless love to all living beings.
Radiating with a full heart loving thoughts of kindness towards all the world,
free from anger, malice or anxiety - above, below and in all directions.
And while standing, walking, sitting or reclining - still free from drowsiness -
let him maintain this state of mindfulness - termed the "Highest Living"
And living free from mere views, being virtuous, perfect in insight,
free from the lust of sexual desire,
never again shall he be entangled in the round of rebirth.
------------
Hate is never overcome by hate
By love alone it is quelled.
This is a truth of ancient date.
Today still unexcelled.
Avoidance of evil,
Performance of good deeds,
Purification of one's thoughts.
This is the teaching of the Buddhas.
May all beings be happy hearted! -
It is good to give.Originally posted by cheskiz:I was waiting for my egg-thosai to be served, took out my wallet and paid the prata-man. All of sudden, a old man aged 50-70 with breath of ciggarette asked for a dollar from me. I decline it and was being some sort of cursed. Am i wrong to not give the dollar? It is not a huge sum, will definitely part it. Whats your say, is it right to give?
All of sudden i have a urge to get him down by calling the food-court management. But didnt do it, somehow or rather manage to curb it.
My question is: Is it wrong not to give? Why do i have those sudden feelings, it just come out without me thinking..So instinctive.
I am really troubled nowadays, on normal time, i care for living things and somehow able to admire the nature and wont kill a snail or will let the beetle which flew in my house go. However, some might call this devilish, i get heart up easily when i am humped by dog or my dog tugged the leash, i will whack his butt or do something nasty to him, i will even at time hit my mum but not at full strenght, somehow manage to curb it and only do it for sake of doing. I just cannot stop myself, my actions arrived before my mind. After doing it, i felt guilty and that feeling subside. I know its wrong most of the time.
As there is joy in giving.
Pls don't hit your mom when you are angry. You are creating bad karma. -
i am very much guilty of this act myself. in fact, too easily and frequently.
but i do not wish to encourage it.
i will like to express my opinion that it is, socially, wrong to give in this case.
when we do good (or what it seems to be superfically), we overlook the implications that will arise from it. -
Well, i am 15 year old and i think i sort of kinda fearless since last year when i kinda gone thru some puberty.Originally posted by mhcampboy:hit the dog.. ok lar...
hit ur mum?
In the past, i fear heights and ghost but its no longer true..Conquered a few rope obstacle courses now, but somehow this fearless have made me gone beyond the limits.
Karma?? well, are we contradicting ourself when we say give not for the sake of accumulating good karma?? why be so focus on karma when you wanna do things excluding the factor, accumulating karma. Just some of my small thoughts, i do not have much wisdom so please correct me if i am wrong on saying the karma thingy, how to get away from willingly when u cannot see through karma -
Thank you for the article, Enternal, i am enlightened by it but i do not know how much it can help me to be frank.
Endurance can give me awareness but i think edurance and awareness alone can bring me to a whole new higher level. This is just a small thought of mine.
When one scold you and return with a thank you, I used to do that, edure humiliation is something hard, but you will discover you will still hate that someone.
But i understand the whole big picture when i subsitute kindness into the thank you.
Thanks alot, so far so good, can hold onto my emotions and realise it is just a matter of wan or dont wan. -
Because karma applies. Unwholesome deeds leads to bad karma, wholesome deeds leads to good karma. Therefore one should avoid evil, and do good. And more importantly -- purify one's mind. (as explained earlier, by doing good and avoiding evil but not purifying the mind, developing wisdom for liberation, one is merely accumulating some karma for a good rebirth... but not freedom from birth and death)Originally posted by cheskiz:Karma?? well, are we contradicting ourself when we say give not for the sake of accumulating good karma?? why be so focus on karma when you wanna do things excluding the factor, accumulating karma. Just some of my small thoughts, i do not have much wisdom so please correct me if i am wrong on saying the karma thingy, how to get away from willingly when u cannot see through karma
It is not exactly 'wrong' to think of benefits when doing good, but the fruits of such action will not bear much and is tainted by our self centered attachment and notions of giving. If you practice 'formless generosity/giving', it will reap much fruits just like a single seed can become a tree that results in lots of fruits. And it will also be true merits. If one gives in such a way, and then one day you meet a saint, an Arhat, a Bodhisattva, and you practise 'formless giving', then the merits accumulated will be beyond imagination! One example is the old lady who was a beggar and merely gave some water with much joy to Mogallana, a liberated Arhat, and the resulting karmic ripening was 91 kalpas (if I am not wrong) of being a Deva in heaven:
Offering from a Poor Old Women
In Savatthi, there was a poor woman who had neither relatives nor home. Once she was seriously ill and lay in the open air. Sometimes when servants of a rich family happened to pour beside her the water used for rinsing rice, she would use a piece of tile to collect the dirty water for drinking.
Maha Kassapa felt pity for her and paid a visit to her. The old lady was surprised to see Maha Kassapa and said, "I am in extreme poverty, no one else in this country is poorer than me. Isn't there any person in this world giving offerings to the monks? Why do you come to see me? You should instead try to save me from poverty."
Maha Kassapa replied, "No one in this world is more dignified and benevolent than the Buddha or His disciples. I am here to save you in poverty. I have thought of helping you to meet your material needs, but material goods can only save you for the time being and you will become poorer in the future. It would be better if you offer anything to me so that you can accumulate merits for your future life and be reborn in a wealthy family or in the heavenly realms."
But the old woman could not find anything to offer to him and she cried sadly: "I have neither food nor clothes to offer to you."
"One who has the will to give alms is not a poor man, one who has a sense of shamefulness is the follower of the Buddha. You possess these two rare treasures in the world, hence you are not poor at all. Those rich people who do not give alms and are shameless are the most ignorant and poorest men."
The old woman was in great joy upon hearing the teachings of Maha Kassapa and she cherished much hopes for the future. She offered Maha Kassapa the water used for rinsing rice. Maha Kassapa drank it before her and her heart was filled with happiness.
Not long after that, this old woman passed away and entered the deva realm. Due to the merits of offering water to Maha Kassapa, she became a beautiful deva. Once, she recalled her good karma and the kindness of Maha Kassapa, hence she descended from the heavens and spread flowers on Maha Kassapa.
Regarding what is real merits:http://www.jenchen.org.sg/understa.htm
BTW, in Buddhism, we must cultivate 'fu' and 'hui'. Means cultivate blessings (non-leaking blessings, an example would be practising generosity, it is very wide.. but non-leaking only is when you practise without being tainted and attached) and wisdom. If you practise blessings alone then you will merely gain some 'ren tian fu', 'human and deva blessings', you will still transmigrate within the 6 realms of samsara.
What are merits?
Real merits
Merits are consequences of the non-orignation and non-cessation of the mind. During the Tang Dynasty in ancient China, Emperor Liang Wu-Ti asked the patriarch Bodhidharma, "Venerable One, I have built many monasteries for the well being of the Sangha and I have also performed many virtuous deeds. What merits have I accumulated? Bodhidharma answered, "You have no merits." Why is that so? It is because when Emperor Liang Wu-Ti performed those acts of giving, he was attached to them. Thus, even though he had performed many virtuous deeds, because he had not cultivated the purity of his mind, he did not attain "non-origination and non-cessation". Therefore, his actions can only be considered as cultivation of blessings, not merits. Without liberation there are no merits. On the other hand, when there is liberation, all virtuous deeds will reap merits.
If you practice both blessings and wisdom, you will leap out of samsara and have many people honour you, give you alms (if you are a monk), as well as have the good conditions to spread the dharma to the masses. -
It is not that endurance can give you awareness.Originally posted by cheskiz:Thank you for the article, Enternal, i am enlightened by it but i do not know how much it can help me to be frank.
Endurance can give me awareness but i think edurance and awareness alone can bring me to a whole new higher level. This is just a small thought of mine.
When one scold you and return with a thank you, I used to do that, edure humiliation is something hard, but you will discover you will still hate that someone.
But i understand the whole big picture when i subsitute kindness into the thank you.
Thanks alot, so far so good, can hold onto my emotions and realise it is just a matter of wan or dont wan.
Awareness can see all the arising thoughts in your mind, it can sense all conditions in our moment of experience. It can also see with clarity what sort of thoughts arise moment to moment, and when your awareness is sharp enough you will then be able to stop right there and not continue following up your thoughts.
But it also requires wisdom, otherwise we will very easily lose ourselves in the stream of sentient thoughts again.
The higher level of practice is when you see the thought and then right at the instance the thought self-liberates. Poof. There is nothing to endure, because our thoughts and reactions are seen through, are empty. Your mind is simply empty like vast space, whatever happens or whatever things that happen 'out there' just happens by itself and there is no 'you' that is affected, because you are just like vast space. Even if people want to throw things at you, or even if a thought arises, it will not land anywhere. Instantaneously gone. We can try to practice like that, if we can then such things will be very simple for us.
Even if we are unable to maintain such a state or we do not have much wisdom then we have to be constantly aware, and practice patience. Or endurance. Most importantly endure not giving rise to further sentient thoughts.
Loving kindness is also a very important practice. If we can try to practice this then we will gradually be able to let loose our anger more easily. -
As you can see, awareness is very important in practice. You mentioned "I just cannot stop myself, my actions arrived before my mind." More precisely, your actions arrived before your awareness.
That is why, our behaviors and reactions comes out unconsciously, and we are just swept away by the external conditions, our mind is not 'centered'. This is again due to lack of awareness.
More on 'Awareness', by my local dharma teacher:
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I want to help/ there is joy in giving but if i have don't have the skills, i can't give much back to the society. Occassionally, i will feel irritation and tired.. thus becoming less giving. Having these irriation and tiredness are karmic.. it really affects my well-being. To avoid creating further more bad karma, i just limit myself as i do not want to feel irritation and commit actions that i have no control over with.
Therefore, i should concentrate on practising hard to overcome my obstacle. -
erm...theorically no, but morally yes(wrong). its ur right not to give $1 to the old man, but wad is $1 to u?? might mean a small meal for him.
its not wrong to hit ur dog if it misbehaves.
its WRONG to hit ur mum unless u're referring to jokingly manner. -
Great..Originally posted by cheskiz:Well, i am 15 year old and i think i sort of kinda fearless since last year when i kinda gone thru some puberty.
In the past, i fear heights and ghost but its no longer true..Conquered a few rope obstacle courses now, but somehow this fearless have made me gone beyond the limits.
To think 2 years ago when I was 15 I'm like the youngest here..
Good to see young ppl interested in Buddhism. Hope to see more around!
Being fearless is good, but it must come with mindulness/awareness and wisdom. -
I will not give long discourses. A lot of what I am going to say is common sense!
First and foremost, helping people in need is a virtue. Why we hesitate? Because we think that person is not genuinely in need. It is not how much we have or don't have. Generosity has to be cultivated. It is not a human trait. A person may have a lot yet unwilling to give. On the other hand, a person may have little and yet willing to give that little!
How we treat another human and animals? The newspapers are full of reports on how foreign maids are mistreated by even well-educated and supposedly 'civilised' people who hold senior jobs! Why then such behaviour? This time it is human trait! It is in human to treat less kindly another of different race, faith, social status, and so forth. You are not my kind or type or to my liking - therefore, just wack! -
Not to my liking can don't wack. Just scold lor.Originally posted by TheGoodEarth:I will not give long discourses. A lot of what I am going to say is common sense!
First and foremost, helping people in need is a virtue. Why we hesitate? Because we think that person is not genuinely in need. It is not how much we have or don't have. Generosity has to be cultivated. It is not a human trait. A person may have a lot yet unwilling to give. On the other hand, a person may have little and yet willing to give that little!
How we treat another human and animals? The newspapers are full of reports on how foreign maids are mistreated by even well-educated and supposedly 'civilised' people who hold senior jobs! Why then such behaviour? This time it is human trait! It is in human to treat less kindly another of different race, faith, social status, and so forth. You are not my kind or type or to my liking - therefore, just wack!
It depends on your perception and ur perception see it as so. -
Well, i am more interested in therevada and vajarayana buhddism and abit of protection magic, i am not into those chinese buhddism though i am a 100% blooded chinese.
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Well, scolding dont always work, people always have this misconception to have an animal to respect you, show him love and care. Well, firstly, they dont belong to the same realm as you and u need to make them fear you before you become the alpha.Originally posted by Isis:Not to my liking can don't wack. Just scold lor.
It depends on your perception and ur perception see it as so. -
well, i agree that endurance might not have awareness, what i am trying to say is i can endure but that wont solve anything cause i can take vengance into account for the later part. Endure can sometime means accumulate for the volcano to explode. What i mean is this, it take more than endure and awareness to really resolve aggression and etc.
I dont know how true is it in account to buhddism but this is my person experience, you endure someone's action and when one day u cannot stand the extreme of his, bad things happen.
Well, what are sentient thoughts anyway, but sentient thoughts can be arise from of great wisdom.
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What exactly do you understand by 'Chinese Buddhism'? (cos most unfortunately, people always related chinese buddhism to some chinese folk traditions and they are completely off)Originally posted by cheskiz:Well, i am more interested in therevada and vajarayana buhddism and abit of protection magic, i am not into those chinese buhddism though i am a 100% blooded chinese.
All traditions are much more similar than they are different. Which means the essential teachings are all the same throughout. And they all teach in Chinese too.. and English.
And oh.. some people also have some conceptions of Theravada (especially thai buddhism) and Vajrayana as somehow being related to magic and supernatural, which is untrue. Pure/Original Theravada does not allow such practices but it is a Hindu/Brahmanistic culture that has become embedded among Thais and religious circles. The pure dharma practitioners of Theravada in Thailand also do not practice such things, especially the good traditions like the forest traditions in Thailand.
All traditions discourage the practice of supernatural powers over the development of wisdom, and any powers are only side effects of one's true spiritual cultivation's development of precepts, samadhi and wisdom.. and any other powers prior to enlightenment and has come by other means should be disregarded. -
Originally posted by cheskiz:
When you are aware and liberated, and not just on the level of endurance, you will be able to liberate all those conditionings altogether and not accumulate them. If you payed attention to my previous posts you will see how...
well, i agree that endurance might not have awareness, what i am trying to say is i can endure but that wont solve anything cause i can take vengance into account for the later part. Endure can sometime means accumulate for the volcano to explode. What i mean is this, it take more than endure and awareness to really resolve aggression and etc.
Anyway, from A New Earth, Eckhart Tolle:
REACTIVITY AND GRIEVANCES
Whereas resentment is often the emotion that goes with complaining, it may also be accompanied by a stronger emotion such as anger or some other form of upset. In this way, it becomes more highly charged energetically. Complaining then turns into reactivity, another of the ego's ways of strengthening itself. There are many people who are always waiting for the next thing to react against, to feel annoyed or disturbed about – and it never takes long before they find it. “This is an outrage,” they say. “How dare you..” “ I resent this.” They are addicted to upset and anger as others are to a drug. Through reacting against this or that they assert and strengthen their feeling of self.
A longstanding resentment is called a grievance. To carry a grievance is to be in a permanent state of “against,” and that is why grievances constitute a significant part of many people's ego. Collective grievances can survive for centuries in the psyche of a nation or tribe and fuel a neverending cycle of violence.
A grievance is a strong negative emotion connected to an event in the sometimes distant past that is being kept alive by compulsive thinking, by retelling the story in the head or out loud of “what someone did to me” or “ what someone did to us.” A grievance will also contaminate other areas of your life. For example, while you think about and feel your grievance, its negative emotional energy can distort your perception of an event that is happening in the present or influence the way in which you speak or behave to ward someone in the present. One strong grievance is enough to contaminate large areas of your life and keep you in the grip of the ego.
It requires honesty to see whether you still harbor grievances, whether there is someone in your life you have not completely forgiven, an “enemy.” If you do, become aware of the grievance both on the level of thought as well as emotion, that is to say, be aware of the thoughts that keep it alive, and feel the emotion that is the body's response to those thoughts. Don't try to let go of the grievance. Trying to let go, to forgive, does not work. Forgiveness happens naturally when you see that it has no purpose other than to strengthen a false sense of self, to keep the ego in place. The seeing is freeing. Jesus' teaching to “Forgive your enemies” is essentially about the undoing of one of the main egoic structures in the human mind.
The past has no power to stop you from being present now. Only your grievance about the past can do that. And what is a grievance? The baggage of old thought and emotion.I dont know how true is it in account to buhddism but this is my person experience, you endure someone's action and when one day u cannot stand the extreme of his, bad things happen.
Therefore I said about transcendental endurance. Not only must you endure, you must liberate your thoughts and rise above endurance altogether. As I also posted above. Be free from needing to endure at all AND also be free from needing to react negatively!
Our Buddha Nature can be likened to total emptiness that is also fullness -- just as vast space encompasses all and rejects none, and attaches to none. Our Buddha Nature is also pure awareness that is ever-present like a shining sun but mostly missed due to the clouds of our ego and sentient thoughts.. it is that which is seeing, hearing, feeling, awaring.
As I posted previously,
Dealing with Anger
I lose my temper easily, how shall I cultivate?
How Shall I Cultivate
You need to cultivate endurance. But, when you have reached the stage where you cannot endure anymore, your temper will still explode. Thus, the need to achieve the endurance of non-endurance. The power of endurance is the greatest in this world. For example, an object may be indestructible when soaked in water or burned with fire, but it can be crushed on impact. However, Sarira or relics can never be crushed. One who cultivates the non-origination of the mind, and the endurance of non-endurance, will upon death produces Sarira. Thus, the capacity of endurance is indeed great!
I get angry over trivial matters, what should I do?
Get angry over trivial matters
Very simple. Just do not be angry. If you are not able to do that, prepare yourself a mirror. Whenever you become angry, have a look at yourself in the mirror. When you see your angry face, you will probably cool down. In this way, you are less likely to be angry again in future.
If the anger is suppressed and though it has been endured the anger still exists, what shall I do when it is beyond endurance?
What to do if the anger is beyond endurance
When it is beyond endurance, the best thing to do is to let it explode. After the explosion, then you will understand that you need to endure.Well, what are sentient thoughts anyway, but sentient thoughts can be arise from of great wisdom.
Thoughts that arise of prajna are not sentient thoughts, and sentient thought means unenlightened, unliberated, attached, sentient being's thought.