Jendhamuni - Buddhism and inspiring quotes

The degree of self-clinging

Comment April 21, 2019

The degree of self-clinging that we have is the measure of the harms we suffer. ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Dragonflies – Most Charming Among All Flying Insects

Comment April 20, 2019

Photo credit: Randy Neufeldt

Of all the flying insects, dragonflies just might be the most charming. They don’t sting or bite. They don’t carry diseases or germs. And they have bright colors and an amazing way of flying. Dragonflies live in most parts of the world, but they prefer to live near ponds or streams.

Dragonflies and their smaller cousins, damselflies, spend most of their life as larva, or baby dragonflies. They hatch from eggs under water and feed on water insects, tiny fish and even tadpoles. They can stay in the larval stage for up to two years, depending on the species. Then they leave the water and come ashore. Their hard exoskeleton cracks and their abdomen, or bottom part, expands. Their wings harden and they become adults. Unfortunately, most adult dragonflies live only a few weeks.

Fun Facts About Dragonflies for Kids

There are over 3,600 kinds of dragonflies on the planet.
Dragonflies have sharp teeth. They are fierce hunters. Some dragonflies float over the water like hawks looking for prey. Others dart about grabbing prey quickly. Dragonflies catch insects with their feet. They are expert hunters.
A dragonfly can eat hundreds of mosquitoes in a single day.
Dragonflies can fly straight up and down and side to side.

Source: easyscienceforkids
Link to this article
Getting some experience in mind training

Comment April 20, 2019

The important thing is not to do anything that we might have to regret later on. Therefore we should examine ourselves honestly. Unfortunately, our ego-clinging is so gross that, even if we do possess some small quality, we think that we are wonderful. On the other hand, if we have some great defect, we do not even notice it. There is a saying that, ‘On the peak of pride the water of good qualities does not stay.’ So, we should be very meticulous. If, after thoroughly examining ourselves, we can put our hands on our hearts and honestly think, ‘My actions are all right,’ then that is a sign that we are getting some experience in mind training.

~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
A bridge between all religions

Comment April 20, 2019

Practices of loving-kindness and compassion are indispensable elements of all religious traditions. These are qualities everyone can practice, regardless of their religious affiliation or ancestry. In fact, training to develop loving-kindness and compassion provides a bridge between all religions and all the many parts of our global society.

I am a Buddhist, but I still have to live my life as a member of the larger world community and take full part in society, where Buddhism is not the only spiritual tradition. There are many different forms of religion and spirituality, and there are also many different types of people, including those who are inclined toward religious or spiritual approaches and those who are not.

Since our world community is so very vast and diverse, it is important for us to respect the entire range of religious and spiritual traditions, not setting ourselves up as “opponents” of any other tradition. The way to accomplish happiness in the world is to do meaningful work in one’s own life, with a positive motivation that sees all people and all traditions as equal.

~ 17th Karmapa
The interdependence between us and the world

Comment April 20, 2019

When we think of containers, we often overlook the ways in which the contents can affect the container itself — warming or cooling it, staining or bleaching it, stretching or strengthening it and even breaking it. The word used in Tibetan for “contents’ in this analogy also literally means “nutrients”, such that we ourselves are like the nourishment for the world that contains us. Indeed, as I have mentioned, the carbon dioxide we exhale nourishes the trees and plants, and our bodies also return to the earth and nourish it after we have died. The natural environment, in turn, nourishes us and provides us with the conditions we need for life. What this signals is that the connections of interdependence between us and the world we live in are far closer and more reciprocal than we normally envision. ~ 17th Karmapa
The Story of Thera Mahakaccayana

Comment April 19, 2019

Verse 94: The arahat whose sense-faculties are calm like horses well-tamed by the charioteer, who is free from pride and moral intoxicants – such an arahat is held dear even by the devas.

1. tadino: one who is calm and tranquil or unperturbed by the ups and downs of life (Lokadhamma).

The Story of Thera Mahakaccayana

While residing at the Pubbarama monastery, the Buddha uttered Verse (94) of this book, with reference to Thera Mahakaccayana.

On a full moon day, which was also the end of the vassa, Sakka with a large company of devas came to pay homage to the Buddha, who was then in residence at Pubbarama, the monastery built by Visakha. At that time, the Buddha was being attended upon by the Chief Disciples and all the senior bhikkhus. Thera Mahakaccayana, who spent the vassa in Avanti, had not yet arrived, and a seat was kept vacant for him. Sakka paid homage to the Buddha with flowers, incense and perfumes. On seeing a vacant seat he declared how he wished that Thera Mahakaccayana would come so that he could pay obeisance to him also. At that instant Mahakaccayana arrived; Sakka was very pleased and eagerly paid obeisance to him with flowers, incense and perfumes.

The bhikkhus were awed by Sakka paying obeisance to Mahakaccayana, but some bhikkhus thought that Sakka was being partial to Mahakaccayana. To them, the Buddha said, “One who is restrained in his senses is loved by both men and devas.”

The Buddha then spoke in verse as follows:
Verse 94: The arahat whose sense-faculties are calm like horses well-tamed by the charioteer, who is free from pride and moral intoxicants – such an arahat is held dear even by the devas.

Dhammapada Verse 94
Mahakaccayanatthera Vatthu

Yassindriyani samathangatani
assa yatha sarathina sudanta
pahinamanassa anasavassa
devapi tassa pihayanti tadino1.

Source: Tipitaka
This is the Dhamma

Comment April 18, 2019

Sometimes there is happiness,
Sometimes suffering,
Sometimes comfort,
Sometimes pain…
This is the Dhamma.
Do you see it?

~Ajahn Chah
The value of compassion

Comment April 18, 2019

The value of compassion cannot be over-emphasized. Anyone can criticize. It takes a true believer to be compassionate. No greater burden can be borne by an individual than to know no one cares or understands. ~Arthur H. Stainback
Anger is an illusion

Comment April 18, 2019

[Screengrab/Al Jazeera]
When anger arises in what we think of as our minds, we become oblivious even to the dangers that might threaten us. Our faces flushed with rage, we seize our weapons and could even kill a lot of people. But this anger is an illusion; it is not at all some great force that comes rushing into us. It achieves one thing only and that is to send us to hell, and yet it is nothing but thought, insubstantial thought. It is only thought, and yet!

At this moment, while I am teaching Dharma, let us consider the mental experience, or thought, which you have, of listening carefully to me. Does this have a form or color? Is it to be found in the upper or lower part of the body, in the eyes or the ears?

What we call the mind is not really there at all. You can find out whether the mind exists or not by just turning inwards and reflecting carefully. You will see that the mind does not begin, or end, or stay, anywhere; that it has no color or form and is to be found neither inside nor outside the body. And when you see that it does not exist as any thing, you should stay in that experience without an attempt to label or define it. ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
How to make the mind positive

Comment April 18, 2019

When the mind is positive, body and speech, the servants of the mind, will of course be positive also. But how are we to make the mind positive? At the moment, we cling to the notion that our minds are real entities. When someone helps us, we think, ‘That person has been so good to me. I must be kind to him in return and make him my friend for lives and lives to come.’ This only goes to show that we do not know about the empty nature of the mind. As for our enemies, we think of how to harm them as much as possible… We think like that simply because we think our anger is a true and permanent reality – while in fact it is nothing at all. We should therefore rest in the empty nature of the mind beyond all mental elaborations, in that state which is free from clinging, a clarity beyond concepts. ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

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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.