é™æ€è¯ Readings For Silent Reflection
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Why do Buddhists bow to statues of the Buddha?
Buddhists bow to statues of the Buddha not to pray to or worship them but to pay their respects to the Dharma that the statues represent. Dharma is the law of nature, and Buddhism is a way of life. What the Buddha taught is not just the law of nature but how we should live by it. As a matter of fact, one of the principles in a discourse by the Buddha called the Three Reliances states that a Buddhist practitioner should rely on the Dharma and not on a person. The term “worship” is seldom used if not at all in Buddhism because it may cause confusion with its generic meaning by other faiths. Worship is a total submission to a master or a creator and Buddha is not a master nor a creator. He is just a supreme and most respectable teacher, one who is fully enlightened.
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The higher the rank I attain, the more humbly I behave.
The greater my power, the less I exercise it.
The richer my wealth, the more I give away.
Thus I avoid envy, spite and misery -
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Always recite "Nanmo Amituofo" _/|\_
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The Buddha taught us that after birth comes death. This is normal, so why fear death so much? At most, we only die. Whatever will be, will be. If we go bankrupt, we just go bankrupt. So what? We just accept whatever happens, and let things be. Worst comes to worst, we only die. If we accept death, then all kinds of problems become insignificant. But if we fear death, then whatever happens becomes a big problem.
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