Jendhamuni - Buddhism and inspiring quotes

Perfect harmony

4 December 10, 2020

Harmony: When there is Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration, then one is fearless. There is fearlessness because there is nothing to be frightened of. One has the guts to look at things and not take them in the wrong way; one has the wisdom to contemplate and reflect upon life; one has the security and confidence of sila, the strength of one’s moral commitment and the determination to do good and refrain from doing evil with body and speech. In this way, the whole thing holds together as a path for development. It is a perfect path because everything is helping and supporting; the body, the emotional nature (the sensitivity of feeling), and the intelligence. They are all in perfect harmony, supporting each other. Source: BuddhaNet

Jendhamuni at Greylock Mountain in Massachusetts on November 22, 2020.
The only thing that is ultimately real about your journey

2 December 10, 2020

The only thing that is ultimately real about your journey is the step that you are taking at this moment. That’s all there ever is… Wherever you are, be there totally. — Eckhart Tolle
We have a limited time on earth

1 December 10, 2020

It’s only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth – and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up – that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had. – Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
For a man to be perfect there are two qualities that he should develop equally

Comment December 10, 2020

Novices Calvin and Ananda

According to Buddhism for a man to be perfect there are two qualities that he should develop equally: compassion on one side, and wisdom on the other. Here compassion represents love, charity, kindness, tolerance and such noble qualities on the emotional side, or qualities of the heart, while wisdom would stand for the intellectual side or the qualities of the mind. If one develops only the emotional neglecting the intellectual, one may become a good-hearted fool; while to develop only the intellectual side neglecting the emotional may turn one into a hardheaded intellect without feeling for others. Therefore, to be perfect one has to develop both equally. That is the aim of the Buddhist way of life: in it wisdom and compassion are inseparably linked together.

— Walpola Rahula, What the Buddha Taught
The Three Essentials In Practising the Teaching of the Buddha

Comment December 10, 2020

1. Faith and Determination, Loving Kindness and Compassion, Wisdom

The philosophy expounded by the Buddha is very profound and broad. It is so broad and profound that sometimes ordinary people have difficulties in finding a right entrance into it. They do not know where to start. However, this does not imply that the Buddha’s Teachings are confusing or disorganised. On the contrary, Buddhism has very logical, well-reasoned and practical principles.

Wise men in the past commented that all the methods taught by the Buddha, whether the expedient or ultimate paths, serve the sole purpose of leading one to Buddhahood. Whether it is the path that leads one away from evil, and towards the right aspirations (the principle of the Five Vehicles)or the path that leads to disentanglement from worldly desires and to freedom (the principle of the Three Vehicles);or the path that turns one away from the practice of the Sravaka and Pratyeka-buddhas and redirects one to Mahayana thought (the principle of the one Vehicle);

the Buddha explained the paths to enlightenment in all these various ways for the benefit of sentient beings in all their corresponding variety. It is for this great reason that the Buddha appeared in this world.

From the stand point of one who wants to learn about Buddhism, it is important to understand that all the methods taught by the Buddha are in fact processes in the Bodhisattva’s practice. They are the Bodhi paths that lead to Buddhahood. Due to the differing conditions, causes, times and places into which we were born, the best ways towards Bodhi (Enlightenment) may differ for each of us. But if we try to seek the truth of nature through the various methods we will realise that there are no great differences in the teachings of the Buddha. Three themes characterize all the teachings and encompass them as one coherent whole. These themes are as applicable to the practice of “One Vehicle” as they are to the “Three vehicles” and “Five vehicles”. Thus, we call these themes the “The Three Essentials in Practising the Teaching of the Buddha”. Continue reading →
Living 24 hours with mindfulness

1 December 9, 2020
Living 24 hours with mindfulness is more worthwhile than living 100 years without it. – The Buddha

Mindfulness is about being fully awake in our lives. It is about perceiving the exquisite vividness of each moment. We also gain immediate access to our own powerful inner resources for insight, transformation, and healing. – Jon Kabat-Zinn

Being mindful means that we suspend judgment for a time, set aside our immediate goals for the future, and take in the present moment as it is rather than as we would like it to be. – Mark Williams
Birds teach a great life lesson

1 December 9, 2020

Birds teach a great life lesson. All you have to do is listen to their song. — Unknown

A bird does not sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song. — Maya Angelou
Relationships are like birds. If you hold tightly, they die. If you hold loosely, they fly. But if you hold with care, they remain with you forever. — Unknown

The bird is powered by its own life and by its motivation. — Unknown
Human Family

2 December 8, 2020

Jendhamuni at the Wachusett Mountain on a rainy and foggy day on November 26, 2020.

I note the obvious differences
in the human family.
Some of us are serious,
some thrive on comedy.

Some declare their lives are lived
as true profundity,
and others claim they really live
the real reality.

The variety of our skin tones
can confuse, bemuse, delight,
brown and pink and beige and purple,
tan and blue and white…

Human Family
Maya Angelou
Source: Familyfriendpoems
Nurture your soul with positive thoughts

1 December 8, 2020
Nurture your soul with positive thoughts and internal happiness will blossom before your eyes. — Melanie Koulouris

You are not a helpless victim of your own thoughts, but rather a master of your mind. — Louise Hay

If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely. — Anonymous
Feelings and thoughts appear and disappear

Comment December 7, 2020

As I noticed feelings and thoughts appear and disappear, it became increasingly clear that they were just coming and going on their own. . . . There was no sense of a self owning them. – Tara Brach

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Shantidevas’ Bodhisattva vows

Should anyone wish to ridicule me and make me an object of jest and scorn why should I possibly care if I have dedicated myself to others?

Let them do as they wish with me so long as it does not harm them. May no one who encounters me ever have an insignificant contact.

Regardless whether those whom I meet respond towards me with anger or faith, may the mere fact of our meeting contribute to the fulfilment of their wishes.

May the slander, harm and all forms of abuse that anyone should direct towards me act as a cause of their enlightenment.