Rajendra Prasanna - Bamboo Flute

Impermanence

Buddhists focus quite a bit on impermanence, and some outsiders see this as dismal. But face it, we will all ultimately die—there is just no way around it, no matter how rich or how smart you can become—and acknowledging this simple truth, Buddhists believe, will make us more free, more able to enjoy the life we do have.

~Dinty W. Moore, in The Accidental Buddhist

Cold Pasta with Tomato Sauce

Nikos Oikonomopoulos

3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
4 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped, or one 28-ounce can of tomatoes, drained and chopped
2 tablespoons of wine vinegar
1 tablespoon of sugar
Salt to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste
1 bunch of parsley or basil, chopped
12 ounces of spaghetti

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds.

Stir in the tomatoes, the vinegar, the sugar, the salt, and the cayenne, and simmer until thick, about 25 to 30 minutes.

Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the parsley or the basil.

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and toss with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, then toss with the tomato sauce.

Serve at room temperature.

No Final Expression

No particular interpretation or expression of Buddhism can ever be final. Buddhism, just like any other phenomenon, is a dependent-arising and therefore lacks an inherent self-nature.

Unfortunately, this insight of Nagarjuna has rarely been applied to the very body that proclaims it.

~Stephen Batchelor, in Alone With Others

Mashed Carrot and Potato Salad

1 pound of carrots
1 pound of potatoes
1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil
2 to 4 tablespoons (your taste) of fresh lemon             juice
1 teaspoon of paprika
1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon of crushed garlic
Salt to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste

Trim and scrape the carrots.

Peel the potatoes.

Cut the carrots and the potatoes into large chunks and boil in lightly salted water until very tender, 20 minutes or so.

Drain the vegetables and allow them to cool.

Chop the vegetables with a knife, transfer them to a bowl, and mash them with a potato masher.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients.

Pour the dressing over the mashed carrots and potatoes and mix well.

Serve at room temperature.

The Great Revival

Buddhism has undergone a revival in modern times — in the East as much as in the West. Why has this happened? Because people see a need for a new path to salvation after death? Surely not. Because we need another orderly, conventional, nice, Sunday religion? No. Because we want an exotic pastime pursuing mystic experiences? Perhaps for some this is the answer, but it will not do. No, the real reason is because a wide range of people have begun to suspect and hope that in Buddhism lie things of value for this world: possibilities that restore our faith in life; possibilities of culture without war and intolerance; possibilities of compassion and cooperation in social organisation; possibilities of real community that is not rooted in oppression: possibilities of all the things that people know instinctively are right for this world, but hardly dare risk believing in for fear of yet another disappointment.

~David Brazier, in The New Buddhism

Vinaigrette Potato Salad

6 medium red or gold potatoes
1/3 cup of extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of cider vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
6 thinly sliced green onions
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Scrub the potatoes, do not peel them. Cut them into bit-size pieces.

Steam the potatoes pieces until they are tender. Transfer the potatoes to a bowl.

Whisk together the oil, the vinegar, the salt, and the pepper.

Pour the dressing over the warm potatoes.

Add the green onions and the parsley and mix gently.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Unaware? Uncaring?

If we cannot find better ways to live, we will continue to make new nightmares.

~David Brazier, in The New Buddhism

The Practice

Avoid all evil, cultivate the good, purify your mind: this sums up the teaching of the Buddhas.

~The Dhammapada, verse 183

Rice, Zucchini, and Corn Salad

3 cups of cooked rice (use what you prefer; white, brown, or wild)
1 pound of small zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and then sliced into half moons
2 cups of cooked sweet corn kernels
1/4 cup of thinly sliced scallions
1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon of chopped fresh dill
salt to taste

Combine the rice, the zucchini, and the corn in a large bowl.

Whisk together the remaining ingredients. Pour this dressing over the vegetables and toss well.

Serve the salad at room temperature.

The Three Jewels

Blessed is the birth of the Buddha, blessed is the teaching of the dharma; blessed is the sangha, where all live in harmony.

~The Dhammapada, verse 194

Lentil Salad

4 cups of drained, cooked lentils
1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice
Minced fresh parsley to taste
1/2 teaspoon of crushed garlic
1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

Place the lentils in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and toss gently.

Serve at room temperature.

The Teaching

Do not find fault with others, do not injure others, but live in accordance with the dharma. Be moderate in eating and sleeping, and meditate on the highest. This sums up the teaching of the Buddhas.

~The Dhammapada, verse 185

White Beans and Tomatoes

1/4 cup of olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
1 teaspoon of garlic
6 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
6 cups of cooked white beans (Reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid if you cooked your own.)
1 teaspoon of paprika
Cayenne pepper to taste
1/4 cup of parsley (cilantro is a great substitute)
Lemon wedges to garnish

Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the onions and saute until tender and just starting to brown.

Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute.

Stir in the tomatoes, the salt and pepper, and simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes. Stir often.

Add the beans and the cup of cooking liquid (or 1 cup of water), the paprika and the cayenne.

Simmer for 20 minutes.

Cool. Then chill thoroughly.

Stir in the parsley (or cilantro if you went that route).

Serve with the lemon wedges on the side.

White Bean Salad

3 cups of cooked white beans
3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon of chopped fresh oregano
1/2 teaspoon of crushed garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

Place the beans in a large bowl.

Add the remaining ingredients. Toss gently, but thoroughly.

Serve at room temperature.

Marinated Zucchini

1 pound of zucchini (4 medium or 3 large), very thinly sliced on the diagonal
1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of crushed garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
Chopped fresh parsley (basil is a great substitute)

Place the sliced zucchini in a bowl and toss with all the remaining ingredients except the parsley or basil.

Cover and refrigerate for no less than 4 hours and no more than 8. Toss the salad occasionally during the marinating process.

Toss with the parsley or basil and serve.

The Grand Rapids Michigan Sangha

Mashed Zucchini Salad

1 1/2 pounds of zucchini
2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon of ground coriander
1 teaspoon of caraway
1/2 teaspoon of crushed garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste

Trim the zucchini and cut it into large chunks. Steam or boil it until it is soft. Drain it, allow it to cool and then gently press it in a colander to squeeze out the extra water.

Chop the zucchini, then transfer it to a bowl.

Mash the zucchini with a fork. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Chill the salad before serving.

The Mind

You may control a mad elephant;
You may shut the mouth of the bear and the tiger;
Ride the lion and play with the cobra;
By alchemy you may earn your livelihood;
You may wander through the universe incognito;
Make vassals of the gods; be ever youthful;
You may walk on water and live in fire;
But control of the mind is better and more difficult. 

~Paramahansa Yogananda, Autobiography of a Yogi

Roasted Onion Salad

5 medium onions
1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
Salt, to taste
Capers, rinsed

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the unpeeled whole onions on a baking sheet lined with foil. Bake the onions until they are tender when pressed, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Remove the onions from the oven and allow them to cool.

Peel off and discard the outer skin. Cut the onions into quarters and transfer them to a bowl.

Dress the onions with the oil and the vinegar.

Salt to taste.

Stir n the capers.

Chill thoroughly before serving.

Starving-Student Pickles

2 cups of thinly sliced English cucumbers
Salt
2 tablespoons of vinegar of your choice
1 teaspoon of sugar
Grated onion to taste
Black pepper


Put the cucumbers in a colander and sprinkle them with plenty of salt. Place the colander in a sink or a large bowl and let the cucumbers rest for 30 minutes until they soften and lose their juice. Rinse the cucumbers under cold water and drain well.

Combine the vinegar and the sugar in a medium bowl. Add the cucumbers and a little grated onion. Mix well.

Season with a little salt (if needed) and some fresh ground black pepper and mix again.

If you don't eat them all, store them in a tightly closed glass or plastic container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Spicy Cucumber Salad

2 cups of thinly sliced English cucumbers
Salt
2 tablespoons of rice vinegar
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
Cayenne pepper to taste

Put the cucumbers in a colander and sprinkle them with plenty of salt. Place the colander in a sink or a large bowl and let the cucumbers rest for 30 minutes until they soften and lose their juice. Rinse the cucumbers under cold water and drain well.

Transfer the cucumbers to a medium bowl and sprinkle with the vinegar and the oil.

Season the cucumbers with a little cayenne pepper.

Toss the cucumbers well to thoroughly mix the seasoning.

Serve at once or chill.

Starving-Student Vichyssoise

3 tablespoons of dried minced onion
3 cups of milk
1/4 teaspoon of salt
A few grings of black pepper
1/4 cup of instant mashed potato powder/flakes
1 (10 1/2 ounce) can of condensed cream of celery or cream of mushroom soup
Cut chives to garnish

Add the dried onion to 1 cup of the milk and allow it to stand for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the other 2 cups of milk, the salt, and the pepper. Bring this almost to the boil. Stir in the instant mashed potato, simmer over low heat, stirring until the mixture is smooth and slightly thickened.

Combine the milk and potato mixture with milk and onion mixture and then stir in the soup.

Cool.Using a whisk, blend until it is all smooth and cream. You can also use an electric mixer.

Chill the soup thoroughly in the refrigerator.

Serve garnished with the cut chives.

Truth

Instead of arbitrating whose religious claims are true, the Buddha comments on the absurdity of how some people argue about the truth. Everyone would be equally a fool if the only criterion for being a fool is not approving an opponent's doctrine. On the other hand, no one would be a fool if one is wise merely because one claims to be. 

~Gil Fronsdal, in "The Buddha before Buddhism"

Truth

When asked whose claims are true, the Buddha avoids answering the question. Instead he respond by explaining that people "make their very own view to be true." In other words, the people who argue are not debating the truth, they are quarreling over what they have constructed as true. 

~Gil Fronsdal, in "The Buddha before Buddhism"

Truth

In "The Shorter Discourse on the Dead End," the Buddha makes an astonishing revelation: he does not claim anything to be "the truth." This was undoubtedly a surprising thing to assert, given the context of religious debates and competing claims of truth. The declaration can be seen as one of the distinguishing characteristics of the Buddha's teachings. It also raises the question, if the Buddha does not teach the truth, what does he teach?

In accord with not teaching "the truth," in this twelfth poem [of the Atthakavagga] the Buddha offers no religious doctrine or teachings of his own. When asked whose claims are true, the Buddha avoids answering the question. Instead he respond by explaining that people "make their very own view to be true." In other words, the people who argue are not debating the truth, they are quarreling over what they have constructed as true.

Instead of arbitrating whose religious claims are true, the Buddha comments on the absurdity of how some people argue about the truth. Everyone would be equally a fool if the only criterion for being a fool is not approving an opponent's doctrine. On the other hand, no one would be a fool if one is wise merely because one claims to be. These contradictory conclusions are, of course, untenable. In these comments, the Buddha is not saying anything about the truth or falsehood of the people's truth claims. Rather he is pointing to the inadequacy of some of the (simplistic) ways people argue that they are right and others are wrong.

~Gil Fronsdal, in "The Buddha before Buddhism"

Actions

Not by birth does one become an outcast, not by birth does one become a Bramana; by deeds one becomes an outcast, by deeds one becomes a Bramana.

~The Sutta-Nipata

Concepts

[The Buddha:]
"Except for concepts, there are not
    Many, varied and constant truths in the world.
    Having worked out the logic of [their] views
    They say there are two things: the true and the false.

                                                                      ~The Sutta-Nipata

Gender Equality

Before becoming free from delusion, men and women are equally not free from delusion. At the time of becoming free from delusion and realizing the truth, there is no difference between men and women.

~Master Dogen

Baked Potatoes Stuffed with Corn

4 medium baking potatoes, scrubbed
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1/4 cup of milk, room temperature
2 cups of cooked fresh corn kernels
1/4 cup of grated manchego
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Bake the potatoes until they are soft when tested with a knife, about 1 hour.

Leave the oven on.

While still warm but cool enough to handle, cut the top third off each potato horizontally. Scoop out the potato in the bottom section and put it into a large bowl. (Save the cutoff potato tops to fry with eggs for your breakfast.)

Save the shells.

Mash the potatoes with the butter and the milk.

Mash in the cooked corn, the cheese, the salt, and the pepper.

Stuff the potato shells equally with the mashed potato mixture.

Baked the stuffed potatoes until piping hot and the way through and lightly browned on top, 20 to 25 minutes.

Serve.

Enlightenment

If you speak of "achieving enlightenment," you may think that you don't usually have enlightenment. If you say, "Enlightenment comes," you may wonder where it comes from. If you say, "I have become enlightenment," you may suppos that enlightenment has a beginning.

~Master Dogen

The Way

The way is the eightfold noble path.

The truth is the four noble truths.

The Master is free from craving

and has eyes to see.

This is the right way,

the way that leads to liberation,

the way that opens your eyes,

the way to follow.

The one who knows this path

outwits sorrow.

It is you who must make the effort;

the awakened only show the way.

Who will liberate your own mind,

if not yourself?

"Everything arises and passes away".

Understand this and find the shining way.

"Conditioned existence is sorrow".

Understand this and go beyond sorrow.

"Conditioned existence is illusionary".

Understand this and know clarity.

Act while you still possess your health.

Arise now! The fool procrastinates,

indulging in fantasy.

Act now! Find the path of peace.

Know words of peace.

Know thoughts of peace.

Harm no one.

By these three ways

you will find the Way

and walk among the Awakened.

Sit in the world,

sit in sorrow.

Sit in mindfulness,

sit in joy.

You choose your own seat.

Choose the one where wisdom grows.

~The Dhammapada, verses 273-282

(Karma Yonten Senge translator)

* Remember, Mara is not the Buddhist version of Satan. Mara is your own anger, greed, delusion, inertia, fear, and unwillingness to act.

The Path

Of all paths the Eightfold Path is the best; of all truths the Four Noble Truths are the best; of all things passionlessness is the best; of men the Seeing One (the Buddha) is the best.

This is the only path; there is none other for the purification of insight. Tread this path, and you will bewilder Mara*.

Walking upon this path you will make an end of suffering. Having discovered how to pull out the thorn of lust, I make known the path.

You yourself must strive; the Buddhas only point the way. Those meditative ones who tread the path are released from the bonds of Mara.

"All conditioned things are impermanent"—when one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering, This is the path to purification.

"All conditioned things are unsatisfactory"—when one see this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering. This is the path to purification.

"All things are not-self"—when one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering. This is the path to purification.

The idler who does not exert himself when he should, who though young and strong is full of sloth, with a mind full of vain thoughts—such an indolent man does not find the path to wisdom.

Let a man be watchful of speech, well controlled in mind, and not commit evil in bodily action. Let him purify these three courses of action, and win the path made known by the Great Sage.

Wisdom springs from meditation; without meditation wisdom wanes. Having known these two paths of progress and decline, let a man so conduct himself that his wisdom may increase.

~The Dhammapada, verses 273-282 

(Venerable Sri Acharya Buddharakkhita translator)

* Remember, Mara is not the Buddhist version of Satan. Mara is your own anger, greed, delusion, inertia, fear, and unwillingness to act.

The Path

Of paths the Eightfold is the best; of truths the Noble Four are best; of mental states, detachment is the best; of human beings the illuminated is best.

This is the path; there is no other that leads to the purification of the mind. Follow this path and conquer Mara*. This is the path; there is no other that leads to the purification of the mind. This path will lead to the end of suffering. This is the path I made known after the arrows of sorrow fell away.

All the effort must be made by you; Buddhas only show the way. Follow this path and practice meditation; go beyond the power of Mara.

All created things are transitory; those who realize this are freed from suffering. This is the path that leads to pure wisdom.

All created things are involved in sorrow; those who realize this are freed from suffering. This is the path that leads to pure wisdom.

All states are without self; those who realize this are freed from suffering. This is the path that leads to pure wisdom.

Now is the time to wake up, when you are young and strong. Those who wait and aver, with a weak will and a divided mind, will never find the way to pure wisdom.

Guard your thoughts, words, and deeds. These three disciplines will speed you along the path to pure wisdom.

Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom.

~The Dhammapada, verses 273-282 
(Eknath Easwaran translator)

* Remember, Mara is not the Buddhist version of Satan. Mara is your own anger, greed, delusion, inertia, fear, and unwillingness to act.