May we gain conviction in the view,
wherein samsara and nirvana are the same.
May we have consummate skill in meditation,
a natural flow unaltered, uncontrived.
May we bring our action to perfection,
a natural, unintended, spontaneity.
May we find the dharmakaya,
beyond all gaining and rejection.
~ Dudjom Rinpoche
Ultimately, your state of mind determines your circumstances. To realize the outcomes you want, it is critical to recognize and experience the transition from our present thoughts, habits, and actions to new thoughts, habits, and actions. – Darren L. Johnson
As it is said in the teachings, first think that every happiness — day-to-day happiness; future life happiness (deva and human rebirth); nirvana, the blissful state of peace for oneself which is experienced forever; and even the total cessation of the obscurations and completion of realizations, the peerless happiness — comes from the mind.
All the happiness that we experience came from our mind, and all the suffering — hell, hungry ghost, animal, human being —came from our mind. That’s because in the past we created nonvirtue as well as harming others. All our suffering came from that and all our happiness came from virtue. So our mind is the basic creator, not God, not Buddha, Dharma, Sangha.
~ Lama Zopa Rinpoche
“Nobody understands love,” the writer admits.
“It seems to be universal. Timeless. Yet, it’s also
very individual, filtered by our own lives and expectations.”
~latest sms
Verse 81: As a mountain of rock is unshaken by wind, so also, the wise are unperturbed by blame or by praise.
The Story of Thera Lakundaka Bhaddiya
While residing at the Jetavana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verse (81) of this book, with reference to Thera Bhaddiya.
Bhaddiya was one of the bhikkhus staying at the Jetavana monastery. Because of his short stature he was known as Lakundaka (the dwarf) to other bhikkhus. Lakundaka Bhaddiya was very good natured; even young bhikkhus would often tease him by pulling his nose or his ear, or by patting him on his head. Very often they would jokingly say, “Uncle, how are you? Are you happy, or are you bored with your life here as a bhikkhu?”, etc. Lakundaka Bhaddiya never retaliated in anger, or abused them; in fact, even in his heart he did not get angry with them.
When told about the patience of Lakundaka Bhaddiya, the Buddha said, “An arahat never loses his temper, he has no desire to speak harshly or to think ill of others. He is like a mountain of solid rock; as a solid rock is unshaken, so also, an arahat is unperturbed by scorn or by praise.”
Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:
Verse 81: As a mountain of rock is unshaken by wind, so also, the wise are unperturbed by blame or by praise.
Dhammapada Verse 81
Lakundakabhaddiyatthera Vatthu
Selo yatha ekaghano
vatena na samirati
evam nindapasamsasu
na saminjanti pandita
Source: Tipitaka
Great compassion makes a peaceful heart. A peaceful heart makes a peaceful person. A peaceful person makes a peaceful family. A peaceful family makes a peaceful community. A peaceful community makes a peaceful nation. A peaceful nation makes a peaceful world. ― Maha Ghosananda
Maybe it’s wrong-footed trying to fit people into the world, rather than trying to make the world a better place for people. ― Paul McHugh, in The New Yorker
Snow scene on Thursday March 15, 2018.
There is pleasure when a sore is scratched,
But to be without sores is more pleasurable still.
Just so, there are pleasures in worldly desires,
But to be without desires is more pleasurable still.
~Nagarjuna
Verse 80: Farmers (lit., makers of irrigation canals ) channel the water; fletchers straighten the arrow; carpenters work the timber; the Wise tame themselves.
The Story of Samanera Pandita
While residing at the Jetavana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verse (80) of this book, with reference to Samanera Pandita.
Pandita was a young son of a rich man of Savatthi. He became a samanera at the age of seven. On the eighth day after becoming a samanera, as he was following Thera Sariputta on an alms-round, he saw some farmers channeling water into their fields and asked the thera, “Can water which has no consciousness be guided to wherever one wishes ?” The thera replied, “Yes, it can be guided to wherever one wishes.” As they continued on their way, the samanera next saw some fletchers heating their arrows with fire and straightening them. Further on, he came across some carpenters cutting, sawing and planing timber to make it into things like cart-wheels. Then he pondered, “If water which is without consciousness can be guided to wherever one desires, if a crooked bamboo which is without consciousness can be straightened, and if timber which is without consciousness can be made into useful things, why should I, having consciousness, be unable to tame my mind and practise Tranquillity and Insight Meditation?”
Then and there he asked permission from the thera and returned to his own room in the monastery. There he ardently and diligently practised meditation, contemplating the body. Sakka and the devas also helped him in his meditation by keeping the monastery and its precincts very quiet and still. Before meal time Samanera Pandita attained Anagami Fruition.
At that time Thera Sariputta was bringing food to the samanera. The Buddha saw with his supernormal power that Samanera Pandita had attained Anagami Fruition and also that if he continued to practise meditation he would soon attain arahatship. So the Buddha decided to stop Sariputta from entering the room, where the samanera was. The Buddha went to the door and kept Sariputta engaged by putting some questions to him. While the conversation was taking place, the samanera attained arahatship. Thus, the samanera attained arahatship on the eighth day after becoming a novice.
In this connection, the Buddha said to the bhikkhus of the monastery, “When one is earnestly practising the Dhamma, even Sakka and the devas give protection and keep guard; I myself have kept Thera Sariputta engaged at the door so that Samanera Pandita should not be disturbed. The samanera, having seen the farmers irrigating their fields, the fletchers straightening their arrows, and carpenters making cart-wheels and other things, tames his mind and practises the dhamma; he has now become an arahat.”
The Buddha then spoke in verse as follows:
Verse 80: Farmers (lit., makers of irrigation canals) channel the water; fletchers straighten the arrow; carpenters work the timber; the Wise tame themselves.
Dhammapada Verse 80
Panditasamanera Vatthu
Udakam hi nayanti nettika
usukara namayanti tejanam
darum namayanti tacchaka
attanam damayanti pandita.
Source: Tipitaka
Hope and fear is a feeling with two sides. As long as there’s one, there’s always the other. This is the root of our pain. In the world of hope and fear, we always have to change the channel, change the temperature, change the music, because something is getting uneasy, something is getting restless, something is beginning to hurt, and we keep looking for alternatives.
In a nontheistic state of mind, abandoning hope is an affirmation, the beginning of the beginning. You could even put “Abandon hope” on your refrigerator door instead of more conventional aspirations like “Every day in every way I’m getting better and better. ~ Pema Chödron
ព្រះត្រៃបិដក ប្រែថា កញ្រ្ចែង ឬ ល្អី ៣ សម្រាប់ដាក់ផ្ទុកពាក្យពេចន៍នៃព្រះសម្មាសម្ពុទ្ធ
The Tipitaka or Pali canon, is the collection of primary Pali language texts which form the doctrinal foundation of Theravada Buddhism. The three divisions of the Tipitaka are: Vinaya Pitaka, Sutta Pitaka, Abhidhamma Pitaka.
វចនានុក្រមសម្តេចសង្ឃ ជួន ណាត
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Listen to Khmer literature and Dhamma talk by His Holiness Jotannano Chuon Nath, Supreme Patriarch of Cambodia Buddhism.
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.
As a solid rock is not shaken by the wind, so the wise are not shaken by blame and praise. As a deep lake is clear and calm, so the wise become tranquil after they listened to the truth…
Good people walk on regardless of what happens to them. Good people do not babble on about their desires. Whether touched by happiness or by sorrow, the wise never appear elated or depressed. ~The Dhammapada
