é™æ€è¯ Readings For Silent Reflection
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Reincarnation is a chain of dreams. Practicing Buddhism is to be awake from the dreams.
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In Buddhism, tolerance å¿�è¾± is not to suppress our resistance or anger. The true tolerance in Buddhism is through the understanding of emptiness, impermanence and thus doesn't have the negative feeling of one is at disadvantage. æ— æ‰€è°“çš„ “å¿�” 与 “ä¸�å¿�”。
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A true Buddhist practitioner is one who is kind and able to tame his/her own mind.
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AJAHN CHAH TEACHINGS
Seeing that we are better than others is not right. Seeing that we are equal to others is not right. Seeing that we are inferior to others is not right. If we think we are better than others, pride arises. If we think we are equal to others, we fail to show respect and humility at the proper times. If we think we are inferior to others, we get depressed thinking we are inferior, born under a bad sign and so on. Just let all of that go! -
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Always recite "Nanmo Amituofo" _/|\_
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Rainy Day, Sunny Day
(A story from the scripture, as told by Venerable Master Hsing Yun)
There was once an old lady who cried all the time. Her elder daughter was married to an umbrella merchant while the younger daughter was the wife of a noodle vendor. On sunny days, she worried, "Oh no! The weather is so nice and sunny. No one is going to buy any umbrellas. What will happen if the shop has to be closed?" These worries made her sad. She just could not help but cry. When it rained, she would cry for the younger daughter. She thought, "Oh no! My younger daughter is married to a noodle vendor. You cannot dry noodles without the sun. Now there will be no noodles to sell. What should we do?" As a result, the old lady lived in sorrow everyday. Whether sunny or rainy, she grieved for one of her daughters. Her neighbors could not console her and jokingly called her "the crying lady."
One day, she met a monk. He was very curious as to why she was always crying. She explained the problem to him. The monk smiled kindly and said, "Madam! You need not worry. I will show you a way to happiness, and you will need to grieve no more."
The crying lady was very excited. She immediately asked the monk to show her what to do. The master replied, "It is very simple. You just need to change your perspective. On sunny days, do not think of your elder daughter not being able to sell umbrellas but the younger daughter being able to dry her noodles. With such good strong sunlight, she must be able to make plenty of noodles and her business must be very good. When it rains, think about the umbrella store of the elder daughter. With the rain, everyone must be buying umbrellas. She will sell a lot of umbrellas and her store will prosper."
The old lady saw the light. She followed the monks instruction. After a while, she did not cry anymore; instead, she was smiling everyday. From that day on she was known as "the smiling lady. -
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The idea of “Self”/“我”的概念
What people call self is actually a collection of constantly changing physical and mental factors, just as the world car is name for a collection of parts such as the wheels, engine, axles and chassis which are assembled in a particular manner. The wheels alone do not make the car, neither does any other particular part. It is the correct assembly of all the parts of the car in a certain order that makes the final product. Similarly, when all the physical and mental factors are working together, people speak of a self and personal experience.
“我”的概念/ The idea of “Self”
人们所说的“我”，实际上是一个由ä¸�æ–å�˜åŒ–ç�€çš„物资和精神这两ç§�å› ç´ æ‰€æž„æˆ�的综å�ˆä½“。这和“车”çš„æ¦‚å¿µæ˜¯ä¸€æ ·çš„ã€‚“车”是由车轮，引擎，车轴和底盘ç‰æ‰€æž„æˆ�的综å�ˆä½“。å�•å�•è½¦è½®ï¼Œä¸�能称为“车”，其他的å�„个机件也ä¸�能å�«å�š“车”。å�ªæœ‰å�„个机件完整地装é…�妥当以å�Žï¼Œå®ƒæ‰�是一辆“车”。å�Œæ ·çš„é�“ç�†ï¼Œå�ªæœ‰å½“物质和精神互相é…�å�ˆçš„时候，æ‰�å�¯ä»¥è¯´æœ‰“我”以å�Šç”±“我”所产生的ç§�ç§�ç»�验。 -
Affliction can be meaningful when we can grow wise from it.
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The real basis of Buddhism is full knowledge of the truth of reality. If one knows this truth then no teaching is necessary. If one doesn’t know, even if he listens to the teaching, he doesn’t really hear.
- Ajahn Chah -
