Should Buddhist strive for a successful life ?

• An Eternal Now

  7 Apr 08, 13:24

  Originally posted by Bodhi hut:

  AEN.

   

  我说的是观心。。而修心。。。

  你说的觉是对的。。但�是 觉=佛

  觉�以说开悟。。。�到佛的境界，�些开悟。。。

  但我们还是�些修�我们的�想，修��习，在多多观心。。那�有正确的人生观，�有能力帮助需�的人。。。

  阿弥陀佛。。

  

  

   

   

  Buddha is 'awareness', it is the primordial awakeness present in everybody, it is our Buddha Nature.

  http://www.humanbliss.com.sg/blissful_articledetails.asp?articleNo=116

  ä½› 是“ 觉” çš„ æ„� æ€�

  佛 是 觉 的 � �， 自 觉， 觉 他， 到 了 至 高 无 上 的 觉 悟， 就 � 佛 了。 因 为 我 们 一 切 众 生， 都 是 愚 痴� 迷 惑� 烦 �� 痛 苦 的， 唯 有 学 佛， � 能 离 开 痛 苦 烦 �， 得 到 真 正 的 快 �。

  � 圣 开 法 师

  http://hi.baidu.com/dhzt/blog/item/f5367c09405980af2fddd42c.html

  我们�讲这个「佛�字，译�中国的�文，就是一个「觉�字，觉是觉悟的��，我们无论�人处世，�时�地，都���觉悟，��觉照。�使我们心里有了觉， 就会有光明，有了光明，看到什么东西都是清清楚楚，明明白白；�使我们的心中是黑暗的，一生所�，糊里糊涂，那么这就�愚疑。佛教就是�教我们人类，乃至 於六�轮回众生，都�有觉悟，�有智慧。

   

  "For as long as you direct your search to the forms around you,
  you will not attain your goal even after aeon upon aeon;
  whereas, by contemplating your inner awareness,
  you can achieve Buddhahood in a single flash. . ."
  
  ~Dhyana Paramita Sutra

   

   

   

  6.As for this sparkling awareness which is called "mind,"

  Even though one says that it exists, it does not actually exist.

  (On the other hand) as a source, it is the origin of the diversity of all the bliss of Nirvana and all of the sorrow of Samsara.

  And as for its being something desirable, it is cherished alike in the Eleven Vehicles.

  With respect to its having a name, the various names that are applied to it are inconceivable (in their numbers).

  Some call it "the nature of the mind" or "mind itself."

  Some Tirthikas call it by the name Atman or "the Self."

  The Sravakas call it the doctrine of Anatman or "the absence of a self."

  The Chittamatrins call it by the name Chitta or "the Mind."

  Some call it the Prajnaparamita or "the Perfection of Wisdom."

  Some call it the name Tathagatagarbha or "the embryo of Buddhahood."

  Some call it by the name Mahamudra or "the Great Symbol."

  Some call it by the name "the Unique Sphere."

  Some call it by the name Dharmadhatu or "the dimension of Reality."

  Some call it by the name Alaya or "the basis of everything."

  And some simply call it by the name "ordinary awareness."

  ~ Guru Padmasambhava, "Self-Liberation through Seeing with Naked Awareness", http://awakeningtoreality.blogspot.com/2007/03/self-liberation-through-seeing-with.html

   

  There's a saying... 放下屠刀立地�佛, does that really mean one attain Buddhahood immediately? Actually it means that one's original awareness becomes revealed for even a tiny instant.... suddenly one awakens and drops the knife, and in that moment he "achieved" revealing his Buddha Nature/awakeness. Our Buddha-Nature is already self-perfected, it is already complete, but only temporarily obscured like the sun covered by the clouds. The sun is always there, but it becomes obscured due to our ignorance. In the moment of awareness the ignorant clouds dissipates and the sun reveals itself once again.

  As for "Xiu Xin", my Master said:

  http://www.humanbliss.com.sg/blissful_articledetails.asp?articleNo=277

  ▲请师父上人开示，如何将佛法è¿�用在生活中？ 师父上人答： 我们学佛最è¦�紧的是断习气，把ä¸�好的行为修好。比如说，你平常喜欢胡æ€�乱想，学佛以å�Žï¼Œå°±ä¸�è¦�胡æ€�乱想；如果平时有说人是é�žï¼Œå¼ å®¶é•¿ã€�æ�Žå®¶çŸ­çš„习气，现在 å°±ä¸�è¦�说了；å�ˆå¦‚过去喜欢骂人，现在学佛就ä¸�骂人……慢慢地，生活就改å�˜äº†ï¼Œä½ ä¹Ÿä¼šå�‘现，别人对你的æ€�度也改å�˜äº†ï¼Œæ‰€ä»¥å­¦ä½›ä¿®è¡Œå¹¶æ²¡æœ‰ç¦»å¼€ç”Ÿæ´»å•Šï¼�我们è¦� 知é�“，修行就在生活中修，如果离开了生活，还谈什么修行呢？修行修行，就是修我们的行为，行为ä¸�好è¦�修好。因为我们的行为是由身体去å�šçš„，所以‘修行ä¸�如 修身’，我们身体所å�šçš„行为，是因为有心，就是心中生起了ä¸�好的念头，æ‰�å�šå��事，所以说‘修身ä¸�如修心’；但是如果心里生起了ä¸�好的念头å†�修，是很麻烦 çš„ï¼�ä¸�如ä¸�生起æ�¥ï¼Œä¹Ÿå°±å…�修了，所以说‘修心ä¸�如无生’。å�ªè¦�在日常生活中，常常ä¿�æŒ�无生，也就没有什么行å�¯ä¿®äº†ã€‚ 许多人常误以为修行就是在佛堂诵ç»�拜佛，但事实上，一个人如果å��ä¹ æ°”ä¸�改，诵å†�多的ç»�也ä¸�会æˆ�佛。师父上人苦å�£å©†å¿ƒï¼Œå°±æ˜¯è¦�宣扬学佛的 正确观念，教大家在生活中常常ä¿�æŒ�觉照，å��观自çœ�，将佛法è�½å®žåœ¨ä¸ºäººå¤„世å�Šè‡ªå¿ƒçš„ä¿®æŒ�中，如此æ‰�能真正得到佛法的利益。虽然å�ªæ˜¯çŸ­çŸ­æ•°è¯­ï¼Œå­¦ä½›çš„真义尽在 其中，世人若能真实体会，å�³èƒ½å�—益无穷。

  人乘弟�

• An Eternal Now

  7 Apr 08, 13:31

  Excerpts from http://www.jenchen.org.sg/cultivat.htm

  How should we cultivate as we learn Buddhism?

  Non-origination and non-cessation

  Cultivation is the most important practice for a Buddhist. We need to cultivate our conduct. Having resolved to learn from the Buddha, we ought to follow the Buddha’s methods of cultivation and practice. Our each and every action is manifested physically, but these physical actions are initiated by our mind. Hence, "Cultivating our moral conduct is better than cultivating our actions. Cultivating our mind is better than cultivating our moral conduct. Maintaining non-origination of the mind is better than cultivating it." Cultivation means examining our conduct and eradicating conduct which are undesirable, for example, those that inflict suffering on ourselves or on others. When our conduct is moral and ethical, then our actions are naturally beneficial to ourselves and others. Thus, cultivating our moral conduct is better than cultivating our actions. Unethical or immoral actions, originate from an impure mind. Once these undesirable actions arecommitted, it is too late for cultivation. Thus, it is better to cultivate the mind. To cultivate the mind after the arising of impure thoughts is also too late. Thus, cultivating the mind is still not the ultimate, it is better to spontaneously cease the arising of such thoughts all together. Since there is no arising, then there is no cessation. The verse "Non-origination and non-cessation" as described in the Heart Sutra is really a simple matter! We need to understand that learning and practising Buddhism should be as simple as possible. Indeed, it is so simple that we may find it unbelievable. Yet, it is also so simple that we may not be able to do it. We learn Buddhism to overcome our disbelief and reinforce our faith so that we have the capability to put it into practice. Thus, the saying "Faith is the origin of all paths to enlightenment." Let me use a very simple method to illustrate. When a thought originates in our mind, it is "birth" or "origination". When the thought fades away it no longer exists, therefore it is "dead" or it has "ceased." Every moment of the day, the mind is perpetually engaged in a continuous process of "origination" and "cessation", or "birth" and "death" of thoughts. Unknowingly, one moment it arises, and the next it ceases. Now we need to know when these thoughts are arising and ceasing. "To know" here means "awareness". Let me use my hand to illustrate so that you may understand right away. I raise my hand now, and so my hand is "up". When I put my hand down then it is "down". Our mind constantly behaves in the same manner; one moment it gives birth to a thought ( hand is up), and the next moment the thought is dead, it passes away (hand is down). This continuous process of birth and death is called sentient beings. This process of birth and death brings forth boundless sufferings. Sentient being is boundless and therefore suffering is also boundless. When we learn and practise Buddhism it means we are striving to liberate the inner sentient being in us from these sufferings. Now, I neither raise nor put my hand down. When the mind does not give birth, there is no death. This is no-birth and no-death, or non-origination and non-cessation. The Buddhas exist in this world for the sake of liberating sentient beings from this process of birth and death. In this way we all know that non-origination and non-cessation refers to our mind and hence maintaining the mind as such is the proper way to cultivate. We should begin to cultivate from here. From cultivation, we acquire liberation, unfold our wisdom and widely follow the practices of all Bodhisattvas through aeons of countless births. In this way, we keep alive our hope of attaining the Supreme Enlightenment or Buddhahood. This is indeed so simple! Yet, so simple that you may not know, you may not believe and you doubt if you can actually do it. Whatever we are doing, be it walking, standing, sitting or sleeping, we only need to cultivate in this manner and maintain an unmoving keenness of our awareness. You may think that this is so simple and feel that you know all these very well. But, human beings are indeed intelligent and it is not easy for others to fool them. Yet, in a whole life time they are constantly deceived by themselves without ever knowing. In this world we speak of "nip in the bud" to eradicate a problem. Thus, to catch a thief, arrest his leader. In Buddhism, to cultivate our actions, first cultivate our mind. When we have our mind in control, we follow up by keeping it still. We know that "our mind is not moving", see that "our mind is not moving". The "know" and "see" mentioned here refer to our awareness. It is in this way that we maintain our awareness. I hope we all will practise and cultivate following this method. I have described the essence of the Dharma using simplest words, and when we practise as such we are with Buddha. At every moment, irrespective of our activities, be with Buddha. Jen Chen Buddhism advocates cultivating and being with Buddha amid all our activities, including walking, standing, sitting and sleeping.

  How to purify the human mind?

  Observe the mind to purify it

  We are all human beings and we all have a mind. We are frequently ‘deceived’ by our minds. For an entire lifetime we are ‘deceived’ and ‘misled’ by our minds without ever realizing it! If the mind is good, then of course, it is all very well. Such a mind creates a good person; one can ascend to the heavens or one can perform a lot of virtuous deeds. What happens if the mind is evil and becomes defiled? It can drag us to become animals, ghosts and deities, or descend to hell. This is because our mind is not pure, and therefore the world becomes a sea of suffering. This suffering world of ours is called the "Saha World". It means having to endure and is also called the "World of enduring sufferings". If we all purify our minds, then the world becomes a heaven. Everybody is very happy and there is no suffering. In learning and practising Buddhism, the most important thing is to purify our minds. When we can purify our minds, then naturally there will be happiness in our world. To do that we have to observe the non-arising of the mind. This is called ‘contemplation of the mind’. When the mind is polluted, then we cleanse it with the dew of the Buddha. And when our minds have been purified, then they are the same as those of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. In this way, we will progress very quickly in our cultivation. Observing the mind is very simple. It is like watching out for the mouse. Everybody dislike mice because they steal our food or they damage our clothings. An idiom describes this sentiment with the phrase, ‘When the mouse crosses the street everybody goes after it.’ Obviously mice are not welcomed and they have to be dealt with. One method of dealing with it, is the cat. At the sight of a mouse, the cat puts his paws firmly on the ground and fixes its steely eyes on the mouse. On seeing the cat, the mouse trembles with fear, not daring to make even the slightest movement. Treat your mind as if it were a mouse and your awareness as the cat. At every moment observe your mind, in the same way as the cat watching the mouse. The mouse wants to live and hardly has time to think of its own safety, let alone of stealing food. If we can observe our minds, then we will hardly have time enough to treasure our wisdom life, let alone think of committing evil deeds. Therefore when we are learning and practising Buddhism, we need to learn to "contemplate the mind". In this way, we will very quickly be able to avoid all evils and do all that are good. "Avoid all evils; do all that are good; purify one’s mind. These are the teachings of all Buddhas". Besides avoiding all evils and doing all that are good, we need to purify our thoughts. When our thoughts have been purified, then the mind is pure. The purpose of learning and practising Buddhism is to purify the human mind. If the minds of everyone in the family is pure, then our home is pure; if the minds of everyone in this society is pure, then our society is pure; if the minds of everyone in the country is pure, then our land is pure; if the entire human race in the world is pure, then our world is as happy as the Western Pure Land. Our mind is like the stealthy mouse, ever watchful of a chance to creep out to commit evil deeds, and we are not even aware of that. I hope all of us will keep a cat to watch our minds, so that we can become Buddha quickly.

• An Eternal Now

  7 Apr 08, 14:16

  Originally posted by rokkie:

  Aen 好象说的是，

  身是��树，心是明净�。

  时时勤拂拭，莫使惹尘埃

  When you use a dharma to treat the mind, it is so. During the process of practicing prior to enlightenment that's how we are practicing.

  But after awakening, its somewhat different. We realise that Buddha Nature is already complete and ever present, it is not hindered in any way by anything. Hence there is no need to "找 一 个 法 � 修 �".

  an article by my dharma teacher many years back --

  http://www.humanbliss.com.sg/blissful_articledetails.asp?articleNo=429

  当 下 � 是， 何 � 生 死

  ä¿® 法 哪 有 动 é�™ã€� å¿™ é—­ 之 分 呢？ 最 è¿‘ å›  为 丈 夫 è¦� 从 事 å�¦ 一 ç§� 事 业， 本 å·² å¿™ 碌 çš„ 生 æ´» å°± æ›´ 加 å¿™ 碌 了。 夜 æ·± 人 é�™ 时， æš— æš— æ€� é‡� 自 å·± å¹´ å·² å�Š 百， 还 有 多 å°‘ å²� 月 与 ç²¾ 力 继 ç»­ 冲 刺， å�¦ é—¯ 一 番 事 业？ 倘 è‹¥ æ‹’ ç»� 与 ä»– é…� å�ˆï¼Œ å°± 会 使 ä»– é™· 于 å­¤ ç«‹ æ—  æ�´ 之 境， 对 我 å�� 感， 唯 有 应 å…�。 å�¯ 是 内 心 想 çš„ å�´ 是 å�¦ 一 æ�¡ ä¿® è¡Œ 路， 人 生 苦 短， æ—  常 瞬 æ�¯ 间， è‹¥ ä¸� 把 æ�¡ 今 生 ç²¾ è¿› ä¿® 行， 护 æŒ� æ­£ 法， å­¦ è�© è�¨ã€� è¡Œ è�© è�¨ é�“， æ­¤ 生 ä¸� 是 白 过 了？ æ¯� 念 至 此， 心 如 刀 割， ä¸� ç¦� æ„Ÿ å�¹ 自 å·± ç¦� è–„ æ…§ 浅， 在 å—Ÿ å�¹ 声 中， ä¸� 知 ä¸� 觉 ç�¡ ç�€ã€‚ 次 æ—¥ 醒 æ�¥ï¼Œ å�ˆ å†� æ€� ç´¢ 如 何 在 å¿™ 碌 çš„ 生 æ´» 中 两 者 å�‡ 能 å…¼ 顾。 忽 有 一 日， 刹 é‚£ 间， ç�µ å…‰ 一 闪， ä¿® 法 哪 有 动 é�™ï¼Œ å¿™ é—² 之 分 呢？ è¿™ ç§� 分 别 å…¨ 是 妄 心 作 怪 也。 自 性 本 体， 空 然 æ—  一 物， å…¶ 性 本 æ�¥ 寂 é�™ æ—  为， ä¸� 生 ä¸� ç�­ï¼Œ ä¸� 增 ä¸� å‡�， ä¸� 净 ä¸� 垢， 犹 如 虚 空； 虚 空 之 中 æ—  论 有 多 å°‘ 飞 禽 在 飞 ç¿” å�µ 闹， 并 ä¸� å¹² 扰 到 虚 空 çš„ å®� é�™ å’Œ è¾½ 阔， 虚 空 ä»� 是 寂 寂 体 自 在。 ä¿® æŒ� 大 法 也 是 如 æ­¤ å•Šï¼�“ è�© è�¨ 禅， 动 中 ä¿®”， 本 æ—  动 é�™ 之 分， 动 æ—¶ 本 体 觉 ç…§ 自 在， é�™ æ—¶ 本 体 也 是 觉 ç…§ 自 在。 å¿™ æ—¶ 本 体 æ—  有 增 å‡�ã€� 生 ç�­ã€� 净 垢 / é—² 时， 本 体 也 是 æ—  有 增 å‡�ã€� 生 ç�­ã€� 净 垢。 本 体 自 性 å…· 足 一 切 功 德， 在 圣 ä¸� 增， 在 凡 ä¸� å‡�（ ä¸� 生 ä¸� ç�­ 之 本 æ�¥ é�¢ 目）， 人 人 本 å…· 且 从 未 离 开， 还 需 找 什 么？“ ä½› 性 å…· 足， è¿· æ‚Ÿ 一 念 之 é—´”， 从 æ­¤ 之 å�Žï¼Œ 我 å�ª è¦� 如 是 ä¿� æŒ�ï¼› 动 é�™ å¿™ é—² 之 间， ä¸� èµ· 分 别， 自 然 觉 ç…§ å…‰ 明， 何 事 ä¸� 能 办 呢？ 一 èµ· 分 别， 妄 心 å�³ 生， 失 觉 å…¥ è¿· 然 å�Ž å†� 找 一 个 法 æ�¥ ä¿® æŒ�， 期 望 æ�¢ å¤� 本 体 çš„ 清 净 æ—  染ã€� 寂 é�™ å…‰ 明 çš„ é�¢ 目， 岂 ä¸� 是 多 æ­¤ 一 举 å�—？ è‹¥ 能 æŒ� 觉 ä¸� 失， 一 切 缘 生 缘 ç�­ çš„ 事 相， å�ª è¦� éš� 缘 éš� 力 处 ç�†ï¼Œ ä¸� 攀 ä¸� 拒， ä¸� å�– ä¸� èˆ�， ä¸� å�³ ä¸� 离， 一 切 自 然， 何 有 忙？ 何 有 闲？ 一 切 心 念 ä¸� 生， 觉 ç…§ 观 自 在， å�ˆ 何 é¡» 法 æ�¥ 调？ 当 下 å�³ 是， 生 æ­» å�³ 了。

  醒 群

• Herzog_Zwei

  7 Apr 08, 15:29

  Said simply, Buddhist should simply strive to get a life.

• Bodhi hut

  7 Apr 08, 16:05

  Herzog_Zwei

   

  Totally agreed..just to add on..not only buddhist..actually everyone should regards to what religion you are..thats the basic of surviving in this life..time wait for no one...

• Isis

  7 Apr 08, 16:59

  i agreed.

   

  Get a life. Be happy.

• Herzog_Zwei

  7 Apr 08, 19:07

  Originally posted by Isis:

  i agreed.

   

  Get a life. Be happy.

  
  Getting a life doesn't mean you have to be happy. Just know that you have done your best.

• Isis

  7 Apr 08, 20:29

  Originally posted by Herzog_Zwei:

  
  Getting a life doesn't mean you have to be happy. Just know that you have done your best.

  
  Hi Herzog_Zwei....

  The meaning of life does not have to be defined, nor debated and is always opened to vast interpretation~~~

  isis