Monday, September 7, 2015
Sunday, September 6, 2015
Buddha Nature
The bodhisattvas vow simply that all beings become conscious of universal enlightenment, which is the fact that the intrinsic nature of awareness, or life itself, is just Buddha nature—simple, direct, total.
---The Prajnaparamita Sutra in 8,000 Lines---
The Diamond Being—The Bodhisattva
The bodhisattva will always maintain a motherly mind, consecrated to the constant protection, education and maturing of conscious beings, inviting and guiding them along the path of all-embracing love. This Mahayana mind never succumbs to fear, anxiety or depression and is never overwhelmed by the strange adventures of awareness in the three realms of reality—mundane form, sublime form and formlessness.
---The Prajnaparamita Sutra in 8,000 Lines---
Painting by Mayumi Oda
Commitment to Logic
Commitment to logic is an essential part of the commitment to compassionate action and, therefore, to universal conscious enlightenment.
---Lex Hixon---
Saturday, September 5, 2015
Evidence
Science
… means more than a set of conclusions; it means also a set of
methods and intellectual habits. The most important of these habits
is adherence to a rule that is felt to be at once intellectual and
moral, the rule of adjusting one's assent to the evidence.
---Brand Blanshard---
The Buddha's Anatta Doctrine
To understand the Anatta doctrine, one must understand that the eternal soul theory—"I have a soul"—and the material theory—"I have no soul"—are both obstacles to self-realization.
Both arise from the misconception "I am."
We must not cling to any opinion or view on soul-theory. Rather, we must try to see things objectively as they are and without any mental projections. We must learn to see the so-called "I" or Soul or Self for what it really is: a combination of changing forms.
The Buddha taught what we conceive as eternal within us is merely a combination of physical and mental phenomena: matter (or body), sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness.
These phenomena are working together in a flux of momentary change; they are never the same for two consecutive moments.
When the Buddha analyzed the psycho-physical life, he found only these five phenomena. He did not find an eternal soul.
However, many people have the misconception that consciousness and soul are the same thing. The Buddha said consciousness depends on matter, sensation, perception, and mental formations and it cannot exist independently of them.
Meditative Bliss
The dhyana system involves four stages of mental purification, beginning with transcending desire for a heightened apprehension of elemental form, resulting in states of meditative bliss and joy. Feelings of enjoyment are then forsaken for equanimity, and perceptions of all forms are transcended in concentration on formless qualities, leading to heightened awareness. In bodhisattva practice such mental states and exercises are not valued for their own sake, but may be explored to gain perspective on conventional mental outlooks. Experience of unusual mental realms may help develop skillfulness in helping the diversity of beings. The bliss states may also be useful as rests amid the struggles of bodhisattva work in the world. However, attachment to meditative bliss is strongly warned against as a serious obstacle to true awakening.
---Taigen Dan Leighton---
Note:
Dhyana is Sanskrit for meditation.
The Chinese transliteration of dhyana is Ch'an.
The Japanese pronounce the word Ch'an as Zen.
Wisdom and Patience
When we try to hold on to any limited entity or idea, we cause suffering.
Wisdom naturally inspires patience, and patience lets us stay calm and available to the arousal of this wisdom.
---Taigen Dan Leighton---
Gone Beyond
To end death,
.........I must end birth.
To end birth,
.........I must end being.
To end being,
.........I must end clinging.
To end clinging,
.........I must end feeling.
To end feeling,
.........I must end contact.
Freedom
If anyone can show me, and prove to me, that I am wrong in thought or deed, I will gladly change. I seek the truth, which never yet hurt anybody. It is only persistence in self-delusion and ignorance which does harm.
---Marcus Aurelius---
Friday, September 4, 2015
To Be Free
Don't get selfishly attached to anything, for trying to hold on to it will bring you pain. When you have neither likes nor dislikes, you will be free.
---The Dhammapada, verse 211---
Being Alone
It's beautiful to be alone.
To be alone does not mean to be lonely.
It means
the mind is not
influenced and
contaminated by society.
---Jiddu Kristnamurti---
Naturally Luminous
According to the Buddha, our minds are naturally luminous. In each moment, as consciousness first arises, its spark is bright. In the unenlightened mind, however, that spark gets covered up by the impurities of greed, hatred, and delusion. These impurities obstruct the mind's brightness, leaving the mind dark and miserable.
---Bhante Henepola Gunaratana---
Hindrance
No matter how good our conduct or practice, expecting or grabbing at some reward or result is a hindrance.
---Taigen Dan Leighton---
Non-Alcoholic Cocktail - Mexican Kiss
1 teaspoon of grenadine
1 scoop of vanilla ice cream
1 orange
In a blender, combine the orange juice, the grenadine, and the ice cream with 6 ice cubes. Blend well.
Pour the cocktail into a collins glass.
Garnish with the orange slice.
Corn and Cabbage
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1/4 of a white onion, chopped
1/2 of a head of cabbage, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups of corn kernels (cut fresh from the cob is preferred)
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add the onion and cook until it is softened.
Add the cabbage and cook, stirring, until wilted.
Add the corn, the jalapeno, and the salt and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Serve hot.
Our Minds and Bodies
One should realize that one's mind is really nothing but a sequence of ever-changing thoughts. There is no enduring "mind" (or personality). Similarly, the body is composed of material elements and is itself not fixed or unchanging. Our minds and bodies, as we see them, are false perceptions.
---Master Sheng Yen---
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Taking Refuge
---Taigen Dan Leighton---
Starving-Student Faux-Guacamole
1 (20 ounce) bag of frozen peas, defrosted
1/4 cup of fresh lime juice
1/2 of a bunch of green onions, sliced thin
1/4 cup of your favorite salsa (or to taste)
In a blender, process the peas, the lime juice, and the onions.
When the desired consistency is achieved, remove to a bowl and stir in the salsa.
Refrigerate for an hour and serve with tortilla chips.
Buddhist Communal Regulations
The communal regulations and guidelines promulgated by the Buddha in the vinaya, the code of conduct and discipline for the Buddha's order, were given not as innate principles; each item was a response to some specific incident or problem requiring adjudication.
---Taigen Dan Leighton---
The Natural Expression of An Awakened Mind
Mahayana Buddhism does not legislate morality, but rather sees ethical conduct and discipline as the natural expression of an awakened mind. The specific precepts are descriptions of enlightening activity rather than proscriptions on conduct. As we recognize the limitations of our own realization, we then use ethical guidelines as necessary tools to help attune ourselves to our fundamental, open heart.
---Taigen Dan Leighton---
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Anger
Since the old days, it is said that "anger is the fire in one's mind that burns away all of one's virtuous deeds." Anger should be absolutely surrendered.
---Jae Woong Kim---
Sunyata
Even a strong wind is empty by nature.
Even a great wave is just ocean itself.
Even thick southern clouds are insubstantial as sky.
Even the dense mind is naturally birthless.
---Milarepa---
Starving-Student Ramen Slaw
1 (3-ounce)
package of ramen noodles
4 cups of
shredded cabbage
4 green onions,
sliced
2 tablespoons
of sesame seeds
3 tablespoons
of apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons
of sugar
2 tablespoons
of salad oil
Freshly ground
black pepper to taste
½ cup of
slivered almonds, toasted
Crush the
noodles slightly and place them in a colander. Pour boiling water
over the noodles to soften them slightly. Drain them well.
In a large
mixing bowl, combine the softened noodles, the cabbage, the onions,
and the sesame seeds.
For the
dressing, in a screw-top jar, combine the seasoning packet from the
noodles, the vinegar, the sugar, the oil, and the pepper, put the lid
on securely and shake well.
Pour the
dressing over the cabbage mixture and toss.
Cover and chill
several hours or over night.
Before serving,
stir in the almonds.
Serve.
The Four Noble Truths
There is discomfort in life. It is stressful and filled with anxiety.
There is a cause for the stress: desire born out of hatred (anger), greed (desire). and delusion (ignorance).
There is freed from the stress and anxiety.
The freedom is found by follow the path of understanding the teachings, the intention to observe and understand the stress, using language to help oneself and others, acting in accord with compassion and wisdom, finding a means of supporting oneself and family that is harmful to no one or no thing, applying oneself with wisdom and compassion to the teachings, being always aware of one's actions, and being centered.
The Four Immeasurable Minds/The Four Pure Abodes
These terms refer to immeasurable kindness, immeasurable compassion, immeasurable joy, and immeasurable equanimity. "Immeasurable" means that these feelings or attitudes are extended to embrace all beings, overcoming emotional biases or discriminations between friends and enemies, relatives and strangers.
---Thomas Cleary---
Armchair Practitioners
Deluded people chant this with their mouths, the wise practice it with their minds. There are also deluded people who call having an empty mind and not think 'great.' But that isn't how this works. The capacity of the mind is great, but if you don't use it, it's small. If you merely talk about emptiness with your mouth, but you don't practice this practice, you're no disciple of mine.
---The Platform Sutra---
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Cause and Effect
My current suffering is due to negative actions, attitudes, thoughts, and emotions I performed in the past, and whatever I think, say, and do now will determine what I experience and become in the future.
---The Lojong Practice---
The Avatamsaka Scripture
As to the Avatamsaka-Sutra, it is really the consummation of Buddhist thought, Buddhist sentiment, and Buddhist experience. To my mind, no religious literature in the world can ever approach the grandeur of conception, the depth of feeling, and the gigantic scale of composition, as attained by the sutra. Here not only deeply speculative minds find satisfaction, but humble spirits and heavily oppressed hearts, too, will have their burdens lightened. Abstract truths are so concretely, so symbolically represented here that one will finally come to a realization of the truth that even in a particle of dust the whole universe is seen reflected—not this visible universe only, but a vast system of universes, conceivable by the highest minds only.
---D. T. Suzuki---
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