é™æ€è¯ Readings For Silent Reflection
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How can we work to overcome attachment? Only by realizing its impermanent nature; this realization slowly releases us from its grip. We come to glimpse what the masters say the true attitude to change can be: as if we were the sky looking at the clouds passing by, or as free as mercury. When mercury is dropped on the ground, its very nature is to remain intact; it never mixes with the dust.
As we try to follow the masters’ advice and are slowly released from attachment, a great compassion is released in us. The clouds of grasping part and disperse, and the sun of our true compassionate heart shines out.
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What is born will die,
What has been gathered will be dispersed,
What has been accumulated will be exhausted,
What has been built up will collapse,
And what has been high will be brought low.
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Venerable Mahakotthita once asked Venerable Sariputta:
Friend, what is the difference between a dead body and a Bhikkhu, who has attained the state of cessation of perception and feeling?
Venerable Sariputta then answered:
Friend, in a dead body all bodily activity is stilled, and has all ceased.
All verbal activity is stilled, and has all ceased.
all mental activity is stilled, and has all ceased.
The metabolic life activity is exhausted. The heat has dissipated, and the mental abilities have all broken up, and been destroyed.
In the Bhikkhu, who has attained to the cessation of perception and feeling,
All bodily activity and breathing is stilled, and has all ceased;
All verbal activity and all thinking is stilled, and has all ceased;
All mental activity and all sensing is stilled, and has completely ceased;
But the metabolic life activity is not exhausted. The heat has not dissipated.
Furthermost: The mental abilities have then become exceptionally clear ... !
Friend, this is the difference between a dead body and a Bhikkhu, who has attained to the meditative state of cessation of perception and feeling. -
Always recite "Nanmo Amituofo" _/|\_
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Alms In Buddhism,
In Buddhism, alms or almsgiving is the respect given by a lay Buddhist to a Buddhist monk, nun, spiritually-developed person or other sentient being. It is not charity as presumed by Western interpreters.
It is closer to a symbolic connection to the spiritual realm and to show humbleness and respect in the presence of the secular society. The act of alms giving assists in connecting the human to the monk or nun and what he/she represents. As the Buddha has stated:
Householders & the homeless or charity [monastics]
in mutual dependence
both reach the true Dhamma....
— Itivuttaka 4.7
Offering Alms to Monks
The first Buddhist monks did not build monasteries. Instead, they were homeless mendicants who begged for all their food. Their only possessions were their robe and begging bowl.
Today, in many predominately Theravada countries like Thailand, monks still rely on receiving alms for most of their food. The monks leave the monasteries early in the morning. They walk single file, oldest first, carrying their alms bowls in front of them. Laypeople wait for them, sometimes kneeling, and place food, flowers or incense sticks in the bowls.
The monks do not speak, even to say thank you. The giving of alms is not thought of as charity. The giving and receiving of alms creates a spiritual connection between the monastic and lay communities. Laypeople have a responsibility to support the monks physically, and the monks have a responsibility to support the community spiritually.
This is often perceived as giving the laypeople the opportunity to make merit (PÄ�li: puñña). Money cannot be accepted by a Theravadan Buddhist monk or nun in lieu of or in addition to food, as the Patimokkha training rules make it an offence worth forfeiture and confession
In Buddhism, both "almsgiving" and, more generally, "giving" are called "d�na" (P�li). Such giving is one of the three elements of the path of practice as formulated by the Buddha for laypeople. This path of practice for laypeople is: d�na, sīla, bh�van�.
The paradox in Buddhism is that the more a person gives – and the more one gives without seeking something in return – the wealthier (in the broadest sense of the word) one will become.[citation needed] By giving one destroys those acquisitive impulses that ultimately lead to further suffering. Generosity is also expressed towards other sentient beings as both a cause for merit and to aid the receiver of the gift.
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“O Four Heavenly Kings! To killers, Earth Store Bodhisattva says that short life spans will be the retribution. To robbers, he says that poverty and acute suffering will be the retribution. To those who indulge in improper sex, he says that rebirth as pigeons or as mandarin drakes or ducks will be the retribution. To those who use harsh speech, he says that quarrelling families will be the retribution.
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The Buddha told Empty Space Treasury Bodhisattva, “Listen attentively, listen attentively. I shall enumerate them and describe them to you. Good men or women in the future may see images of Earth Store Bodhisattva and hear this Sutra or read or recite it. They may use incense, flowers, food and drink, clothing, and gems to give gifts and make offerings to him. They may praise, behold, and bow to him. Such beings will benefit in twenty-eight ways:
First, they will be protected by gods and dragons.
Second, their good roots will increase daily.
Third, they will amass supreme causes pertaining to sagehood.
Fourth, they will not retreat from Bodhi.
Fifth, their clothing and food will be abundant.
Sixth, they will never succumb to epidemics.
Seventh, they will escape calamities involving fire and water.
Eighth, they will never be threatened by thieves.
Ninth, they will be respected by all who see them.
Tenth, they will be aided by ghosts and spirits.
Eleventh, women who want to, can be reborn as men.
Twelfth, women who want to, can be reborn as daughters of national leaders and officials.
Thirteenth, they will have upright appearances.
Fourteenth, they will often be born in the heavens.
Fifteenth, they may be emperors or national leaders.
Sixteenth, they will have the wisdom to know past lives.
Seventeenth, they will obtain whatever they seek.
Eighteenth, their families will be happy.
Nineteenth, they will never undergo any disasters.
Twentieth, they will leave the bad karmic paths forever.
Twenty-first, they will always reach their destination.
Twenty-second, their dreams will be peaceful and happy.
Twenty-third, their deceased relatives will leave suffering behind.
Twenty-fourth, they will enjoy blessings earned in previous lives.
Twenty-fifth, they will be praised by sages.
Twenty-sixth, they will be intelligent and have keen faculties.
Twenty-seventh, they will be magnanimous and empathetic.
Twenty-eighth, they will ultimately realize Buddhahood. -
Today let us simply abandon the myriad entanglements, turn the light around and reflect back.
Buddha-remembrance is the most important thing in life. There’s not much to say. Just be concerned with purifying your mindfulness of buddha.
Elder Master Zhu Hong -
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Real meditation is to have no vexation and fantasy in daily life, with the ability to always focus on our own acts and thoughts so that our minds stay still in one state.
People usually see meditation as Zen, but in fact the goal of Zen is to cultivate a pure, sincere and tranquil mind. Zen, tranquility and sincerity cannot be separated from one another.
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Real meditation is to have no vexation and fantasy in daily life, with the ability to always focus on our own acts and thoughts so that our minds stay still in one state. -
