Nature refuses to be rushed
Always remember that Nature refuses to be rushed. She can only be made to evolve and that takes time, so take heart. ~Dharma Mittra
Always remember that Nature refuses to be rushed. She can only be made to evolve and that takes time, so take heart. ~Dharma Mittra
Verse 75: Indeed, the path that leads to worldly gain is one and the Path that leads to Nibbana is another. Fully comprehending this, the bhikkhu, the disciple of the Buddha, should not take delight in worldly gain and honour, but devote himself to solitude, detachment and the realization of Nibbana.
1.Vivekamanubruhaye (vivekam + anubruhaye): Viveka – solitary seclusion. According to the Commentary, the three kinds of vivekas are kayaviveka (seclusion of the body or solitude); cittaviveka (detachment of the mind from human passions) and upadhiviveka (Nibbana).
The Story of Samanera Tissa of the Forest Monastery
While residing at the Jetavana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verse (75) of this book, with reference to Tissa, a samanera, who dwelt in a forest monastery.
Tissa was the son of a rich man from Savatthi. His father used to offer alms-food to the Chief Disciple Sariputta in their house and so Tissa even as a child had met the Chief Disciple on many occasions. At the age of seven he became a novice (samanera) under the Chief Disciple Sariputta. While he was staying at the Jetavana monastery, many of his friends and relatives came to see him, bringing presents and offerings. The samanera found these visits to be very tiresome; so after taking a subject of meditation from the Buddha, he left for a forest monastery. Whenever a villager offered him anything, Tissa would just say ‘May you be happy, may you be liberated from the ills of life,’ (“Sukhita hotha, dukkha muccatha”), and would go on his own way. While he stayed at the forest monastery, he ardently and diligently practised meditation, and at the end of three months he attained arahatship. Continue reading
It is important to recognize that love, concern, and affection are not optional. We do not need any reason to offer love and affection. It is possible to have love without prices and without conditions. We do not need any further compensation beyond just giving our love. And love is an indefinitely renewable resource. For the well-being of society and for our own personal growth as well, it is crucial that we learn to love without needing a reason or reward. ~ 17th Karmapa
When you feel authentic love toward others, you will be deeply moved to act. You will not rest until you have found ways to secure the happiness of all those you are able to include in your feelings of love. As you learn to love more and more widely, your love will motivate you to act to benefit not just the few people in your inner circle, but your whole society, and eventually, the whole world. ~ 17th Karmapa
Sometimes harsh words must be said in order to help someone, but generally when we speak harshly, it is because we are angry, and it does not help. It is difficult to speak harsh words with love and compassion. In these situations, we can take ourselves as an example. Putting ourselves in someone else’s place, we ask, “If someone said these words to me in that way, how would I feel?” When we truly think of others, we will find some part of them that resembles us, because every one of us experiences pleasure and pain. Before we act or speak, thinking of others as similar to us is quite useful. ~ 17th Karmapa
The most exalted example Buddhists use to explain compassion is motherhood. Consider all that your mother probably has done for you since the time you were conceived — carrying you for 9 months, experiencing the hardship of labor and birth, feeding and clothing you, taking care of all your needs, and worrying about you long after you reach adulthood. Most mothers never stop caring unconditionally for their children. Regardless of whether one believes in reincarnation or not, one can suppose that all living beings are like mothers to us. The food that appears in front of us at dinner was grown, packaged, and prepared by people we probably do not know. The clothes we are wearing were produced by people we probably will never meet. Yet we are benefiting from their hopes, dreams, and labor. Plants, animals, and raw materials have all been used to provide us these things. This is the interdependence that characterizes life — no one thing exists by itself alone, or can survive alone. We are all part of one world ecology and the world is extremely compassionate to us.