THE BUDDHA TEACHES
THE BUDDHA
TEACHES
SPIRITUAL
EMANCIPATION
AND SUPREME
ENLIGHTENMENT:
ENDING
IGNORANCE AND SUFFERING
AND
ATTAINING THE BLISS OF BUDDHAHOOD
(A)The Buddha’s Message: “We can all become Buddhas”
The Buddha Shakyamuni teaches that
every human being can become a Buddha – one who is fully enlightened and
blissful, totally free from ignorance and craving as well as completely
liberated from all the causes and effects of suffering.
When Shakyamuni attained the Supreme,
Perfect Enlightenment, He opened His Buddha-eye and saw all sentient beings as Buddhas
in their ultimate state of spiritual evolution – what they truly are when they
return to their original perfection and reclaim their inherent Buddha-nature.
What is Buddha-nature? It is the
intrinsic nature of self-enlightenment, the spiritual essence of Buddhahood in
every human being. Buddhahood is everyone’s immutable and inalienable
birthright: this is the Buddha’s timeless message.
However, until we become enlightened,
we will continue to live in the inescapable condition of dukkha (suffering), life after life, in the interminable cycle of
birth-n-death, bound relentlessly to the law of Karma (the principle of cause and effect), in the infinite prison
of Samsara (cyclic existence).
According to Buddha, we chain, padlock and straitjacket ourselves with our very
own ignorance/delusion/stupidity, with our very own
craving/desire/passion/self-attachment, and with our very own
hatred/ill-will/malice/rancor. These defilements cover up and obscure our
Buddha-nature in its pristine purity and radiance. So, we must get rid of all
these karmic taints and toxins. Eradicate them all!
“When our adventitious defilements
are abandoned, we understand that a Buddha has been there primordially,”
Khetsun Sangpo Rinbochay, a contemporary Nying-ma lama has commented.
How do we get rid of all our
defilements? How do we free ourselves spiritually? Through correct and proper
cultivation. Through diligent practice.
Master Hsu Yun (1840-1959), the
Chan/Zen giant of the 20th century, has taught us:
“If our self-cultivation is practiced
according to the (Dharma) method, without either backsliding or regret, we are
bound to attain Buddhahood.
“Therefore, we should firmly believe
that fundamentally we are Buddhas, we should also firmly believe that
self-cultivation performed according to the (appropriate) method is bound to
result in the attainment of Buddhahood…” (2)
In a classic introductory treatise on
one’s actual intrinsic awareness and self-liberation, the great 8th
century adept and guru Padmasambhava, the Master from Uddiyana, has composed:
“… So all sentient beings, even though they possess the actual essence
of
Buddhahood,
Will not realize Buddhahood without engaging in practice.
If he practices, then even a cowherd can realize liberation…” (3)
(B)
The Basics of
the Buddhadharma:
The
Fundamentals of the Buddha’s Teachings
(1)
The Four
Noble Truths (FNT)
In
His very first discourse (Dhammacakkappavattana
Sutta) the Buddha said to the five monks at the Deer Park in
Issipatana that only when “the absolute true intuitive knowledge” of the Four
Noble Truths “became perfectly clear” to Him, did He acknowledge that He “had
gained the Incomparable Supreme Enlightenment”… (4)
The
Buddha taught His inaugural class of five disciples that the First Noble Truth
of Suffering should be perceived, the Second Noble Truth of the Cause of
Suffering (ignorance-bound craving)
should be eradicated, the Third Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering
should be realized, and the Fourth Noble Truth of the Path (the Noble Eightfold
Path) leading to the Cessation of Suffering should be developed. (5)
“Bhikkhus, it
is through not realizing, through not penetrating the Four Noble Truths that
this long course of birth and death has been passed through and undergone by Me
as well as by you,” the Blessed One preached in His last sermon (as recorded in
the Mahaparinibbana Sutta and posted
on buddhasutra.com) before the
distinguished assembly of five hundred great monks at Kotigama.
“But
now, Bhikkhus, that these (four fundamental existential truths) have been
realized and penetrated, cut off is the craving for existence, destroyed is
that which leads to renewed becoming (rebirth), and there is no fresh beginning
(final release from samsaric existence, total spiritual liberation)…”
Then
the Master said, speaking in verse:
“Through not seeing the Four Noble Truths,
Long was the weary path from birth to
birth.
When these (four truths) are known,
removed is rebirth’s cause,
The root of sorrow (suffering) plucked:
thus ends rebirth…”
The complete
cessation of suffering is Nibbana (in
Pali), Nirvana (Sanskrit), the
ultimate goal of Buddhist cultivation. “It is achieved by the total eradication
of all forms of craving,” Theravada scholar-monk Narada has commented. (6)
“This Nibbana
has to be comprehended by the mental eye by renouncing all internal attachment
to the external world.
“This Truth (the
Cessation of Suffering) has to be realized by developing the Noble Eightfold
Path which is the Fourth Noble Truth. This unique path is the only straight
route that leads to Nibbana…” 13.07.2014
03:13
(2)
The Noble
Eightfold Path (NEP)
The Buddha has called it the Middle
Path “which tends to peace, higher wisdom, enlightenment, and Nibbana…” (7)
“The very Noble Eightfold Path –
namely, Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right
Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration,” the
Buddha taught. “This, O Bhikkhus, is the Middle Path which the Tathagata
(Buddha) has comprehended...”
As explained by Narada: Right
Understanding and Right Thought embrace Wisdom (panna/prajna), Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood
constitute morality (sila), Right
Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration culminate in complete and consummate
Concentration (samadhi).
To quote Narada:
“According to the order of development, Morality, Concentration, and Wisdom are
the three stages in the Grand Highway that leads to Nibbana…” (8)
Morality, Concentration
and Wisdom are the three basic and indispensable elements in the Buddhist way
of cultivation and dedicated practice leading to the ultimate attainment of total
spiritual liberation, perfect enlightenment and the supreme Buddhahood.
Says the Buddha (Dhammapada verse 234):
“The wise are
controlled in bodily action,
controlled in
speech
and controlled in thought.
“They are truly
well-controlled (self-disciplined)…”
On His last journey to
Kusinara, the Blessed One also often gave further counsel to the large
community of monks, on following the Noble Eightfold Path and attaining the
fruit of bodhi (omniscience and
great compassion) “when fully developed by virtuous conduct (sila),
concentration (samadhi), and wisdom (prajna)…”
Says the Buddha (Dhammapada verses 273-275) (9):
“Of all
paths
the
Eightfold Path is the best;
of all truths
the Four
Noble Truths are the best… (v 273)
“ This is the
only path;
there is no
other for the purification
of insight.
“Tread this
path
and you will
bewilder Mara (Lord of evil forces)…“ (v 274)
“Walking
upon this path
you will make
an end of suffering.
“Having
discovered
how to pull
out the thorn of lust (craving),
I make
known the path…” (v 275)
(3)
The Law of
Karma (LOK)
Karma/kamma is the
universal ethical/moral law of cause and effect. To quote the Theravada
scholar-monk Narada:
“Kamma is action, and Vipaka, fruit or result is its reaction. Just as
every object is accompanied by a shadow, even so every volitional activity is
accompanied by its due effect. Like potential seed is Kamma. Fruit, arising
from the tree, is the Vipaka, effect or result. As Kamma may be good or bad, so
may Vipaka, fruit, be good or bad… (10)
“What we think, speak or do, become our very own. It is these thoughts,
words, and deeds that assume the name of Kamma and pass from life to life
exalting and degrading us in the course of our wanderings in Samsara…” (11)
While the physical law of gravity stops short and loses its pulling
power at the point of weightlessness in space, the inexorable moral law of
karma rules evenly, and yet keenly, throughout all the vast domains of the
infinite cosmos and countless life-n-death worlds in Samsara.
Says the Buddha (Dhammapada
verse 127):
“Neither in the sky nor in mid-ocean,
nor by entering into mountain clefts,
nowhere in the world
is there a place where one may escape
from the results of evil deeds...”
Says the Buddha (Samyutta Nikaya/Kindred Sayings):
“Man’s merits and the sins he here hath wrought:
That is the thing he owns, that takes he hence;
That dogs his steps, like shadows in pursuit.
“Hence let him make good store for life (next life) elsewhere…”
Says the Buddha (Dhammapada verse 319):
“Those who
discern
the wrong as
wrong
and the right
as right –
upholding right views,
they go to
realms of bliss…”
In His final
teaching, the Buddha reminded His disciples: “You should control yourselves!
“Hence, wise
men control themselves and do not indulge their senses but guard them like
robbers who must not be allowed freedom from restraint. If you allow them
freedom from restraint, before long Mara will destroy you. The mind is lord of
the five senses and for this reason you should well control the mind…” (12)
In the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra, the
Buddha said to the Bodhisattva-Mahasattva Lion’s Roar: “…Because the person
excises defilements. Because of this, we say result…Nirvana (the bliss of
spiritual liberation and enlightenment) is the result…Nirvana has no cause. It
is the result. Why so? Because there is no birth-and-death…” (13)
(4)
Sila: the
Moral Foundation of the Path
Says the Buddha
(Dhammapada verse 8):
“Just as a
storm
cannot
prevail against a rocky mountain,
so
Mara can never overpower
the man
who lives meditating
on the impurities, who is
controlled
in his
senses, moderate in eating,
and filled
with faith and earnest effort...” (14)
“You should
practice morality which is unimpaired, blameless, not mixed and unsullied – for
morality is said to be the foundation of all virtues, just as the earth is (the
support of both animate and inanimate things),” Acarya Nagarjuna (c. 150-250)
wrote in a letter to his Buddhist friend and royal patron King Gantaniputra
Satakarni of Andhra. (15)
“Just as the
earth is the basis of every thing in the world, so morality is the foundation
of all worldly and beyond worldly achievements.
“Morality is
also essential for the subsequent development of concentration (samadhi) and
wisdom (prajna), therefore cultivate it well…”
Ch’an
Patriarch Hsu Yun (1840-1959) has also taught: “…For discipline is the
fundamental of the Supreme Bodhi (Supreme Enlightenment and Buddhahood),
discipline begets immutability and immutability begets wisdom. There is no such
thing as self-cultivation without observance of the rules of discipline.
“The Surangama Sutra which lists four kinds
of purity, clearly teaches us that cultivation of Samadhi (a mind of pure and
strong concentration) without observance of the rules of discipline (sila),
will not wipe out the dusts (defilements and impurities)…” (16)
Says the
Buddha (Dhammapada verse 16):
“The doer
of good
rejoices
here and hereafter;
he rejoices
in both the worlds…” (17)
Says the
Buddha (Dhammapada verse 118):
“Should a person do good,
let
him do it again and again.
Let
him find pleasure therein,
For
blissful is the accumulation of good…” (18)
(5)
Pancasila:
The Five Precepts for the lay followers
On one
occasion the Lord Buddha taught the five lay precepts to Dhammika and five
hundred other lay disciples at the Anathapindaka’s monastery in the Jeta Grove
near Savatthi.
“Now
I will tell you the layman’s duty. Following it a lay disciple would be
virtuous,” the Lord said.
“He
should not kill a living being, nor cause it to be killed, nor should he incite
another to kill. Do not injure any being, either strong or weak in the world…
“He
should not steal nor incite another to steal. He should completely avoid theft.
“A
wise man should avoid un-chastity as (he would avoid falling into) a pit of
glowing charcoal. If unable to lead a celibate life, he should not go to
another’s wife…
“He
should not speak lies himself nor incite others to do so. He should completely
avoid falsehood.
“A layman who has chosen to practice this
Dhamma should not indulge in the drinking of intoxicants. He should not drink
them nor encourage others to do so. Through intoxication foolish people perform
evil deeds and cause other heedless people to do likewise. He should avoid
intoxication, this occasion for demerit, which stupefies the mind…” (19)
At one time when the Buddha was dwelling
among the Koliyans, the rivals of the Sakyans, He taught Vyagghapajja, a
Koliyan layman who sought instructions to attain “weal and happiness” in his
future life. The Buddha taught this young householder the four conditions and
accomplishments: (1) faith in the Buddha’s enlightenment, (2) virtue, (3)
charity and generosity, and (4) wisdom/insight leading to the destruction of
suffering.
On the
accomplishment of virtue, the Buddha said: “Herein a householder abstains from
killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and from intoxicants that cause
infatuation and heedlessness. This is called the accomplishment of virtue…”
(20)
His parting
advice for the lay people: to go on the Noble Eightfold Path:
“Endowed
with faith and virtue too,
Generous
he is and free from avarice;
He ever
works to clear the path
That
leads to weal in future life…”
Late one
morning the Buddha met, and taught young Sigala, the son of a recently deceased
wealthy householder in the ancient city of Rajagaha in Northern India.
“The destruction of life,
householder, is a vice, and so are stealing, sexual misconduct and lying,” the
Buddha taught Sigala.
The
injunction against consumption of intoxicants, the fifth precept of the moral
code for the laity, was then taught as one of the six sources of dissipating
wealth, including indulgence in gambling and association with evil companions –
timely and significant advice for the young son of a multimillionaire who had lately passed away. (21)
Says the Buddha (Dhammapada verses 246-247):
“One
who destroys life,
utters
lies, takes what is not given,
goes to
another man’s wife,
and is addicted to intoxicating
drinks –
such a man digs
up his own root even in this very world...” (22)
As
summarized in the Maha Mangala Sutta:
Restraint and departure from evil ways,
Abstinence from intoxicants and all drugs too,
Diligently active in the pursuit of goodness
–
These rank among the highest
success-generators… (23)
In Verses of Praise, the Original Buddha
Vairocana advises and says :
“…All beings with resolve
Should accept and uphold the Buddha’s precepts.
“Sentient
beings on receiving them
Join forthwith the ranks
of Buddhas.
“They
are in essence (their Buddha-nature) equal to the Buddhas.
“They
are the true offspring of the Buddhas…” (24)
In the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra, the
Buddha says: “All beings possess the Buddha-Nature. Only by observing the
precepts can one see it. When one sees the Buddha-Nature, one attains
unsurpassed Enlightenment…” (25) 15.07.2014 06:45 3,306 words
© The fusion power of faith and
wisdom
In Buddhist
practice, faith is primarily established in the Buddha as the Supreme Teacher of spiritual
liberation and enlightenment, as the model and paradigm of the ultimate
spiritual accomplishment for human beings in this world of temporal existence.
“The
ariyan (noble) disciple is of faith; he (she) has faith in the Awakening of the
Tathagata (Buddha),” it’s declared in the Majjhima-Nikaya
(Collection of Middle-length Discourses) 53. Such firm faith, according to the Buddha, can lead one to
spiritual liberation.
As also
stated in the Anguttara-Nikaya (Collection
of Gradual Sayings) Book of Threes, 21, “a person who is “released by faith”
can well be “on the path to arahantship” (the fourth and highest stage of
sainthood in Theravada Buddhism, culminating in complete spiritual emancipation
and enlightenment).
In the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra, the
Buddha ascribes faith as the cause of enlightenment (its effect or fruit). He
teaches “we say that unsurpassed Awakening (Wisdom/insight/enlightenment) has
faith as its cause. The causes of Awakening are innumerable; but if stated as
faith, this covers everything…” (26)
As understood in the Buddha’s final
teachings, faith is embedded in the Buddhadharma, specifically in the Four
Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path (which the Buddha first taught the
five monks in His very first sermon), the law of Karma, and taking refuge in
the Three Jewels of the Buddha, Dharma (Doctrine), and Sangha (Spiritual
Community of ordained and lay disciples).
“As I
have already stated, if one believes in the Way, such a Way of faith is the
root of faith. This assists the Way of Awakening,” the Buddha said (Chapter 20:
On Holy Actions). “The Way begins with the root of faith…”
The
“Tathagatagarba” sutra entitled Anunatva-Apurnatva
Niodesa (Exposition of Non-Decrease, Non-Increase) tells of how the essence
of the Ultimate Truth, the “Tathagatagarba”, can only be perceived by means of
faith. A person with insight alone cannot “know, see or investigate” the
spiritual essence of Buddhahood. “How much less able to do so are foolish ordinary
people, except when they directly realize it by faith!” (27)
In
the Nagasena Bhiksu Sutra (p. 47),
the eminent Buddhist monk and arahat Nagasena said in answer to King Menander
of Bactria: “Faith means belief without doubt…” He then told the king that
those who have attained any of the four stages of sainthood, have done so
because of “their wholesome state of mind and their perseverance.” Then he
added (p.49): “Therefore the Buddha said, ‘He who has faith can save himself.
If people of the world can control and overcome the five sense desires by
themselves, and also know that the body is suffering, they can save themselves.
People all obtain the path by wisdom’ (free from all the doubts)…” (28)
“If we want to be liberated from (the
samsaric cycle of) births and deaths, we must first have a firm believing mind.
The Buddha said that all living beings on earth had (inherent in them) the
meritorious Tathagata wisdom which they could not realize solely because of
their false thinking and grasping,” Master Hsu Yun taught.
“We
should, therefore, believe that His words are not false and that all living
beings can attain Buddhahood…”
Through a firm faith, the great Ch’an Master emphasized. (29)
“The Buddhadharma is deeper than the great
sea, higher than Mount Sumeru. It is difficult to fathom and difficult to
penetrate, but with faith one can taste its flavor. Entry into the ocean of
Buddhadharma is impossible for the person who lacks faith,” taught Master Hsuan
Hua, Master Hsu Yun’s spiritual successor.
“However, if one has faith, if one truly believes, then from the shallow
one can enter the deep; from the near one can reach the far; from a little one
can gain a lot. With constant investigation, little by little one penetrates
the precious store of Buddhadharma. Deep faith, firm vows
(commitment/dedication), and actual practice (diligence) are the ingredients.
No matter how wonderful the great Dharma is, without firm faith the wonderful cannot be obtained.
“Great
Dharma refers to Prajna wisdom. One
simply need believe in his (her) own originally existent wisdom
(Buddha-nature). A passage of the Vajra
Sutra (Diamond Sutra) says: “Whoever produces a single thought of pure faith is completely known and
completely seen by the Tathagata (Buddha).” The Buddha knows if you bring forth
a single thought of pure faith. Receiving the telegram he sends the reply:
Relentlessly Cultivate Morality
Concentration Wisdom
Stop Put Greed Anger Stupidity To Rest Stop
“The person who receives the reply should respond immediately by
relentlessly cultivating morality, concentration, and wisdom and putting greed,
anger, and stupidity to rest…” (30) 16.07.2014
06:10 12(15) pages 4,343 words
D:
The Practice of Patience and Diligence
(a)
Patience
In the Diamond
Sutra (chapter 14), the Buddha said to His disciple Subhuti that “during My
five hundred previous lives I had used life after life to practice patience and
to look upon My life humbly as though I were a saint called upon to
suffer humility…” (31)
The Diamond Sutra says: “All accomplishments
are attributed to patience…” (32)
The great Mahayana
exponent and scholar-monk Nagarjuna (c. 150-250) has taught: “Since there is no
penance like patience, you must give anger no opportunity to arise. The Buddha
said that by giving up anger, one will attain the irreversible stage (of the
path to enlightenment)…” (33)
Says the Buddha (Dhammapada verse 184):
“Enduring patience
is the highest austerity...”
(b)
Diligence
Says the Buddha (Dhammapada verse 276):
“You yourselves must
strive;
the Buddhas only point the way.
“Those meditative ones who tread the path
are released from the bonds of Mara (mental defilements/moral taints).”
(34)
“O Bhikkhus,
if you strive diligently, nothing will be difficult for you. As a little water
trickling can bore a hole through a rock, so must you strive energetically,”
the Buddha taught His disciples just before His parinibbana.
“From now on, all
My disciples must continue to practice in this way without ceasing, whereby the
body of the Tathagata’s Dharma (the Dharmakaya of omniscient wisdom) will be
everlasting and indestructible…” (35)
“Great
patience and diligence are needed day and night to continually develop our
concentration and understanding – the endeavor of self-realization,” Thich Nhat
Hanh, world-renowned Vietnamese scholar-monk, has commented.
“Our energy must also be regulated until all the basic desires and
passions – greed, anger, narrow-mindedness, arrogance, doubt, and pre-conceived
ideas – are uprooted. At this time we will know that our bodies and minds are
liberated from the imprisonment of birth and death, the five skandas, and the
three worlds…” (36)
The Blessed One’s last words in the Parinibbana
Sutra:
“… Behold, O disciples, I exhort you. Subject to change are all
component things (skandas). Strive on with diligence
(Vayudhamma samkhara, Appamadena sampadetha)…” (37)
(E) The
Threefold Practice of Self-Purification, Selfless Giving, and Letting Go
(1)
Self-Purification
Says the Buddha (Dhammapada verse
165):
“By oneself is evil done;
by oneself is one defiled.
“ By
oneself is evil left undone;
By
oneself is one made pure.
“Purity
and impurity depend on oneself;
no one can
purify another.” (38)
Says the
Buddha (Dhammapada verse 238):
“Make an island for yourself!
“ Strive hard and become wise!
“Rid
of impurities and cleansed of stain,
you shall not come again
to birth and decay.” (39)
One late afternoon when the Blessed One was staying at the Bamboo Grove
near Rajagraha, He went over to see Venerable Rahula (His only son) at the
Mango Stone and taught him: “Thus, Rahula, you should train yourself: ‘I will
purify my bodily actions through repeated reflection (to know whether they are
unskillful with affliction and painful consequences, or skillful with pleasant
results). I will purify my verbal actions through repeated reflection (like
looking into a mirror). I will purify my mental actions through repeated
reflection.’ That’s how you should train yourself.” (40)
The Buddha’s advice is that before doing anything or taking any action,
one should look at it (like looking at a mirror) clearly, reflect on its merit
or demerit. One should not do what’s demeritable, non-virtuous, and unpleasant.
In the late afternoon session with Rahula, the Buddha concluded, saying:
“Therefore, Rahula, you should train thus, ‘Reflecting I will purify my bodily,
verbal and mental actions.’”
Says the Buddha (Dhammapada verse
281):
“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.” (41)
In Pure Land
faith and practice, devotees make use of their own effort and energy
(self-power) as well as the Buddha’s purifying and enlightening power (Other Power)
extended through His Great Vows to all the faithful. As explained by Pure Land
Master T’an-luan (476-542), the mindful practice of chanting/reciting the
Buddha’s Name (of immeasurable true and pure merit) is capable of eradicating
all karmic evils.
On the Buddha’s Power, Japanese Pure Land scholar Dr. Hisao Inagaki has
written: “When it works upon us through the Name and the Light (of
Buddha-Wisdom and Great Compassion), it has the effect of emptying us of karmic
defilements and passions, along with the attachments which bind us to Samsaric
existence.
“At the same time, this Power fills us completely and changes our karmic
course towards the Land of Bliss. Birth in the Pure Land and subsequent
attainment of Enlightenment are, therefore, the natural result of the working
of this Power…” (42)
American Pure Land scholar Dr. Roger
Tashi Corless has written: “…T’an-luan tells us that reciting (Buddha) Amita’s
Name purifies our minds because its essence (i) is infinite wisdom. If this purification does not occur in the
practitioner, he explains that it is because one is not practicing in
accordance with the correspondence (hsiang-ing)
of the Name (Ming) Amitabha (Infinite Light) and its
essence (i) (infinite omniscient
wisdom).
“Effective
invocation requires that it be pure (shun),
that is, unmixed with other thoughts;
definite (chueh-ting), that is, not
half-hearted; and continuous (hsiang-hsu),
meaning without gaps between the repetitions of the phrase (NAMO AMITABHA BUDDHA)…” (43)
One of the foremost Buddhist leaders of the 20th century,
Grand Master T’an Hsu has taught that “one invocation of Buddha Amitabha’s Name
represents the supreme Dharma and covers unlimited approaches (to spiritual
liberation). One invocation to Amitabha, if uttered properly, will immediately
cause the six sense organs to become clean and clear…” (44)
Says the Buddha (Dhammapada verse 24):
“Ever grows the glory of him
who is energetic, mindful
and pure in
conduct,
discerning and self-controlled,
righteous and heedful.” (45) 18.07.2014 06:27
5,857 words
E (2)
Selfless Giving
“Subhuti, in the practice of compassion and charity, a disciple should
be detached,” said the Buddha in the Diamond
Sutra. (46)
“Why? Because practicing compassion and charity without attachment is
the way to reaching the highest Perfect Wisdom, it is the way to becoming a
living Buddha…”
The
practice of detached, selfless giving is of unlimited merit, impossible to
measure – immeasurable like empty and infinite space, according to Buddha.
Master Hsuan Hua (1918-1995) has explained that one should give without
being attached, free from attachment to self as giver, to recipient and to gift
itself, and understanding that the one who gives, one who receives, and what is
given, are all empty of marks. “Your giving is devoid of attachment to the
giver, the recipient, or the gift given,” Master Hua said. (47) Everything is,
ultimately, and absolutely, empty.
Non-attachment is implicit in the nature of emptiness of all things. As
explained by the Prince of Dharma, the Bodhisattva-Mahasattva Manjusri, the
whole world is made of the five empty aggregates or skandas. And the five
aggregates of form, feeling, conception, impulse, and consciousness have to be
rightly understood.
“Such a right understanding of the five aggregates is called the supreme
understanding,” Manjusri said to Subhuti. (48)
“If one attains this supreme understanding, then he is liberated…
“If he is not attached to mundane things, he transcends the mundane
world…” Why be attached to such things which are essentially empty?
E (3)
Detaching self/Emptying ego/Letting go
The
Buddha teaches (Dhammapada verse
337):
“…Dig up the root of craving,
like one in search of the fragrant roots
of birana
grass.
“Let not Mara crush you
again and again
as
a flood crushes a reed…” (49)
The Buddha
teaches (Dhammapada verse 348):
“Let go of the past
let go of the future,
let go of the present,
and cross over (Samsara)
to
the farther shore of existence (Nirvana).
“With mind wholly liberated,
you shall come no
more to birth and death.” (50)
The Buddha teaches (Dhammapada verse
350):
“He who delights
in
subduing evil thoughts
who meditates on the impurities
and is ever mindful –
it is he who
will make an end of craving
and render asunder Mara’s fetter (ignorance).” (51)
The Buddha teaches (Dhammapada verse369):
“Empty this boat,
O monk! Emptied, it will sail lightly.
“Rid of lust and hatred,
you shall reach Nirvana.” (52)
In a brief
discourse Mogharaja’s Question, the
Lord Buddha said: “Look upon the world as empty, Mogharaja, ever mindful;
uprooting the view of self you may thus be one who overcomes death. So
regarding the world, one is not seen by the King of Death (Mara)…” (53)
In
the Samyutta-Nikaya (Kindred
Sayings), the Lord explained to Ananda: “Because, Ananda, it is empty of a self
or what belongs to a self, therefore it is said, ‘the world is empty’…”
It’s the mundane world or the
entire macrocosm of the five empty aggregates or skandas, the entirety of one’s
subjective and objective experience. This phenomenal world is truly impermanent
and empty.
(F)
Mindfulness of the Buddha Amitabha
(a) Buddha’s
Name
Of Infinite Light and Life,
Buddha’s
Power of
Omniscient
Wisdom and
Great
Compassion
“The reason why I believe in Amida (Amitabha)
is that Amida Buddha gives me His wisdom and compassion through His Name so
that I am able to attain birth in His Pure Land,” Master T’an-luan (476-542),
known and respected as Donran in Japan, said to Emperor Hsiao-ching-ti, who was
himself a profound Buddhist scholar.
T’an-luan played a key role in the early development of Pure Land
Buddhism in China. He was also highly influential among the Pure Land schools
in Japan. He has written that faith in Amitabha Buddha alone enables one to
attain birth in the Pure Land and reach the stage of non-retrogression in
spiritual practice (with the Buddha’s vow-powered assurance of attaining the
ultimate Buddhahood).
An eminent scholar-monk ordained at an early age of 15, T’an-luan has
also written: “Amida Buddha’s Light of Wisdom shines upon the darkness of the
world, dissipating the darkness of our ignorance and delivering us from the
endless samsara of birth and death. His Light of Mercy reaches far and wide,
carrying joy into the hearts of all and expelling the sorrows and griefs, evils
and sins of all sentient beings…” (54)
And, it may be added: joy because of the Buddha’s vow-powered offer to
everyone of sincere and deep faith, a place and a seat of honor in the Pure
Land. “They will sit in the place of Enlightenment and be born into the family
of the Buddhas,” the Buddha Shakyamuni said to Ananda towards the end of THE SUTRA ON VISUALIZATION OF THE BUDDHA OF
INFINITE LIFE (Inagaki/Stewart, THE
THREE PURE LAND SUTRAS, p. 350).
19.07.2014 04.15
Professor Ryosetsu
Fujiwara of Ryukoku University in Kyoto, Japan, has recently written: “Only
through the Name (which embodies Amida’s infinite merits and virtues) can the
common mortal with his defilement and ignorance, come to realize His Compassion
and become one with Him. And through His Compassion, common mortals become
endowed with His Infinite Life and Light…” (55)
Contemporary Pure Land Master
Chin Kung has taught:
“For a true practitioner who wants to
have a fast, assured success in his or her practice in this lifetime, the Buddha-name is all he or she needs…
“Frankly, the only method of practice
that allows one to succeed in one lifetime is the Buddha-name chanting method.
In all my forty plus years of learning Buddhism, this is what I have realized…
“Of all the methods, the Buddha-name
chanting method is the most convenient and the easiest in which to succeed.
When one mindfully chants the
Buddha-name, one’s cultivation will be enhanced by the supportive power of
Amitabha Buddha and all other Buddhas in the ten directions (of the infinite
universe). This is why all the other methods cannot compare with this one…”
(56)
AMITABHA,
the Name of the Buddha of Infinite Light and Infinite Life, opens the
Dharma-door to the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, Nirvana and the Supreme,
Perfect Enlightenment of Buddhahood.
Chant/recite: NAMO AMITABHA BUDDHA
19.07.2014
04:45
F (b)
MINDFULNESS in the Practice of Buddhahood
In the vast audience with the Blessed One at the Karanda Bamboo Garden
in the city of Rajagrha, the Buddha told the Bodhisattva Bhadrapala (Worthy
Protector) to practice the samadhi (mindfulness/meditative
concentration) of “Concentrated Mind” (the powerful practice of profound
concentration to invoke the presence of all the Buddhas).
“If you can do this dharma, you will have the answers to all your
questions,” Buddha said to Bhadrapala who had asked quite a mouthful of 25
“what to do” questions to develop wisdom “like the immense ocean” and to
acquire the merit and wisdom required for Buddhahood, etc.
“Of all virtuous ways, this
is the foremost one…”
The Buddha then said and taught:
“Keep only one thought, ceasing all other thoughts.
“Stand firm in your faith, without any doubts
(even as slight as a hair).
“Progress energetically, never negligent or indolent…
“Hold one thought, never losing it…
“This is meditative concentration
in the Bodhisattva Way, which will unfold the fundamental wisdom and elicit
myriads of wisdom-knowledge…”
The Buddha then told Bhadrapala
that “those who want to train according to this Dharma, they should fully
observe their precepts and live alone in a place to think of Amitabha Buddha…”
The Buddha said, “Bodhisattvas in this land can see Amitabha Buddha by
thinking intently only of Him…
“Why? Because they are able to see Him by virtue of three powers: the
(awesome spiritual) power of Buddhas, the power of the samadhi, and the power
of their own merit…”
Then, the
Buddha said: “I can see what I think of.
The mind forms a Buddha for itself to see; the mind is the Buddha mind. As my
mind forms a Buddha, my mind is the Buddha; my mind is the Tathagata…” (57)
NAMO AMITABHA BUDDHA 19.07.2014
05:32 27.07.2014 22:50
NOTES
1. Khetsun
Sangpo Rinbochay was trained in Tibet in all four lineages of Tibetan Buddhism.
Quote
from his book TANTRIC PRACTICE IN
NYING-MA, translated and edited by Professor Jeffrey Hopkins of the
University of Virginia, published by Snow Lion Publications, New York, 1996,
pp. 159-160.
(a) The Tathagata Sutra (200-250 CE) states
that one is already or primordially awakened. Source: Wikipedia
(b) In The Lion’s Roar of Queen Srimala, the
point is made that when all the defilements are totally removed through
self-purification, the potentiality of Buddhahood manifests as the Dharmakaya,
the Truth Body of a Buddha’s omniscient consciousness. – Authored by Alex and
Hideko Wayman, published by Motilal Banarsidas, New Delhi, 1990, p. 48.
(c) This point is
reiterated in the Mahayana
Mahaparinirvana Sutra when the Buddha explains to Kasyapa: “Those (beings)
with faith can be cured (of suffering) from the poisoned arrows of illusion…”
The
Buddha then said to Kasyapa: “True emancipation means segregation of one’s own
self from all the bonds of illusion… True emancipation is the Tathagata. This
Tathagata is the Dharma-Body (the Dharmakaya of omniscient wisdom)…”
Dharmakshema’s
Chinese version of this Sutra was translated by Kosho Yamamoto in 1973, edited
and revised by Dr. Tony Page in 2007. Source: nirvanasutra.nct pp. 68-71
(d) The great
Jigten Sumgon (1143-1217), founder of the Drikung Kagyu school in northeastern
Tibet, once had a vision of the Seven Taras (female deities embodying the
activities of all the Buddhas), and he sang a beautiful song containing these
words (i):
“…Through
not understanding oneself as Dharmakaya,
one’s mind
is overpowered by the kleshas (defilements/conflicting emotions)…”
It’s stated in
the Phagpa Daka Yeshe Sutra (ii):
“If one
realizes the nature of the mind,
This is wisdom!
“One
should not look for the Buddha outside the mind…”
Thus it is
said in the Khadroma Dorje Gur
(iii):
“Oh, the
highest attainment is Buddha.
“One
can attain Buddhahood by practicing mind.
“Outside
of this precious mind
There
are no buddhas or sentient beings…”
(i) Quoted in Prayer Flags The Life and Spiritual
Teachings of Jigten Sumgon
translated by
Khenpo Rinpoche Konchog Gyaltsen, published by Snow Lion Publications, New
York, 1986, p. 66
(ii) Ibid., p. 79
(iii) Ibid., pp. 85-86 12-13.07.2014 01:48
(2) The Ch’an Training: Hsu Yun Ho Shang Fa Hui
Master Hsu Yun’s Discourse in the Ch’an
Hall: Prerequisites
Edited, translated and explained by
Lu Kuan Yu (Charles Luk), published by The Corporate Body of The Buddha
Educational Foundation, Taipei, Taiwan, and posted on sunysb.edu
(3)Self
Liberation through Seeing with Naked Awareness, translated
by John Myrdhin Reynolds, and as posted on fodian.net
(4) Narada, THE BUDDHA AND HIS TEACHINGS, p. 94
(6) Ibid., pp.
91-93
(7) Ibid., p. 323
13.07.2014 03:20 1,243 words
(8) Ibid., pp.
88-89
(9) Ibid., p. 512
(10) Dhammapada: a practical guide to right living, translated
by Venerable Sri Acharya Buddharakkhita, 30,000 copies published for free
distribution by Sukhi Hotu Sdn Bhd, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, and Ayer Itam,
Penang undated pp.178-179 13.07.2014
09:05 1,590 words
(11) THE BUDDHA AND HIS TEACHINGS, p. 351
(12) Ibid., p. 391
(13) The Discourse Of The Teaching Bequeathed By The
Buddha Just Before His Parinibbana, translated from Sanskrit to Chinese
by Kumarajiva. Source: buddhasutra.com
(14) Chapter
Thirty-four. Source: nirvanasutra.net
(a) In Abhidharma Study compiled by Korin of
the Soto Zen tradition, defilements are the generating cause and a supporting
condition for Karma. Karma is generated because of the defilements and without
defilements, karmas are incapable of effecting a new existence…Karma requires
the defilements as a necessary supporting condition for the process of
retribution. Source: wordpress.com
(b) “…His heart
(with his mind concentrated, purified), thus knowing, thus seeing, is released
from the fermentation of sensuality, the fermentation of becoming, the fermentation
of ignorance. With release, there is the knowledge, ‘Realized’…,” the Buddha
taught in the Yodhajiva Sutta: The
Warrior (2), comparing the spiritually liberated individual with the victorious
warrior in battle. Translated by Thanissaro Bhikku. Source: buddhasutra.com
14.07.2014 09:41 2,143 words
(14) Ven.
Buddharakkhita, Dhammapada, p. 5
(15) The
Wisdom of Nagarjuna, by Dr. Peter Della Santina, published for free
distribution by the
Buddhist Research Society, Geylang, Singapore, 2002, pp. 21-22. Online buddhanet.net
Dr. Santina has written (p. 19): “Acarya Nagarjuna’s The Good Hearted Letter provides the
aspirant who wishes to be acquainted with the essentials of the Buddhist
path to liberation
with a comprehensive summary of the principles of the Buddhist religion.
The foundation of
correct moral conduct and right understanding of the truth free from the
obscurations of
ignorance results in a transcendent
mode of being in which not only is freedom from
bondage and ignorance achieved, but also the
capacity to nurture and mature all living beings
that they may also attain enlightenment (the signature
vow of a bodhisattva seeking his/her
own enlightenment to benefit and enlighten all
beings)…”
(16) The
Ch’an Training: Hsu Yun Ho Shang Fo Hui
Stressing the moral basis of
practice, Master Hsu Yun then said: “The practice of any
Dharma door (opening to the path of enlightenment) must be based on Sila (morality/
moral discipline) and if the training is undergone in this manner, there
is no reason why
it
will not be successful…”
With faith, patience and steadfastness on the track of moral discipline,
one should continue
training until the moment of spiritual breakthrough “when cause
(training) comes to fruition,
like a ripe melon which automatically falls, anything it may happen to
touch or come into
contact with, will suddenly cause his supreme awakening…”
(17) Dhammapada,
p. 9
(18) Ibid., p. 81
14.07.2014
11:27 2,697 words
(19) buddhasutra.com
(20) Vyagghapajja Sutta: Conditions of
Welfare, translated by Narada Thera. Source:
accesstoinsight.org
(21) SIGALOVADA
SUTTA: Code of Discipline for Lay Buddhists, published for free
distribution by
the
Buddhist Missionary Society, Kuala Lumpur, 1987, pp. 12-13
(22) Ven. Buddharakkhita, DHAMMAPADA, p. 162
(23) Mahamangala
Sutta: The Great Collection of Success-Generators. Source: buddhasutra.com
Intoxicants and drugs have recently become serious global problems.
Alcohol has a long
history of use, abuse
and misuse.
CONTINUED NEXT PAGE
According
to a recent estimate of the World Health
Organization (WHO), about 140 million people (more than the present
total population of
Japan) throughout the world suffer from alcohol dependence, and in the
United States of
America about 12% of the adults have had this problem at some time in
their life. Alcoholism
has
the potential to damage almost every organ in the human body including the
brain.
Abused substances including alcohol, tobacco and other drugs from
cocaine to heroin can
produce intoxication. A 2010 survey estimates over 22 million users of
illicit drugs in the U.S.
In
China where there are some 300 million smokers (about the whole population in
the U.S.),
700
million people are harmed regularly by second-hand smoke, and over one million
die
annually due to diseases from smoking.
According to a recent American report, excessive drinking accounted for
one-tenth of global
deaths. The intoxicants, stimulants, opiates and toxic smoke pose
serious health, social and
economic problems in many countries throughout the world.
(24) Brahma Net Sutra, translated by the
Buddhist Text Translation Society (BTTS), USA.
Source: fodian.net
15.07.2014
07:30 3,565 words
(25) The
Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra, Chapter Nine: On Wrong and Right, p. 97.
Source: nirvanasutra.nct
(26) Source: nirvanasutra.nct
(27) Source: nirvanasutra.nct
(28) Source: woodenfish.org
King
Meander, also known as King Milanda, ruled Bactria in Northwestern India around
150
B.C. The kingdom of Bactria was established by Alexander the Great when he
invaded
India in 326 B.C. at the age of 30.
(a) “Faith is the
heart and mind without doubt; it is shinjin
(true trusting faith), which is true
and
real,” Shinran (1173-1262) taught. Founder of the Jodoshin (True Pure Land
School) in Kyoto, Japan, Shinran also believed that faith is a gift from the
Buddha Amitabha, the Buddha of Infinite Light and Infinite Life.
“True
faith is endowed by Amitabha,” Japanese Pure Land scholar Dr. Hisao Inagaki has
written in his book THE THREE PURE LAND
SUTRAS (Nagata Bunshodo, Kyoto, 1995, p. 196).
CONTINUED NEXT PAGE
“It is
Amitabha’s Mind and Heart received by the aspirant, and is itself Bodhi-mind
(Mind of Enlightenment), so it is the cause of birth in the Pure Land (of
Ultimate Bliss) and subsequent attainment of Enlightenment…” 17.07.2014
05:34
(29) Hsu
Yun Ho Shang Fa Hui Source: sunysb.edu
(30) The
Diamond Sutra: A General Explanation by Dhyana Master Hsuan Hua
translated by the Buddhist Text Translation Society, Sino-American
Buddhist Association,
San
Francisco, CA September 1974
In 1948 Master Hsuan Hua
(1918-1995) succeeded Elder Master Hsu Yun (1840-1959) as the
Ninth Patriarch of the Wei Yang Sect of the Chan School. In 1962 Master
Hua brought the
Dharma Proper to the USA and the West. 16.07.2014
06:36 16 pages 4,488 words
(31) Translated by Alex Johnson, 2005, 2011
Source: diamondsutra.com
(32) As quoted by Venerable Master Chin Kung, Commentary on the Infinite Life Sutra,
Excerpt 16, translated by the Pure Land College Translation team.
Source: amtweb.org
(33) The
Wisdom of Nagarjuna, by Dr. Peter Della Santina, published for free
distribution by the
Buddhist Research Society, Geylang, Singapore, 2002, p. 24
(34)
Venerable Buddharakkhita, Dhammapada,
p. 179
(35) The
Discourse Of The Teaching Bequeathed By The Buddha Just Before His Parinibbana,
translated from Sanskrit into Chinese by Kumarajiva. Source: buddhasutra.com
(36) Eight
Great Realizations Sutra, translated from Vietnamese by Truong Giam Tan and
Melkoniam, with commentary by Thich Nhat Hanh. Source: buddhasutra.com
(a) In Manjusri Spoke The Inconceivable State of
Buddhahood Sutra, the Bodhisattva-
Mahasattva
Manjusri, the Dharma Prince, said that Buddhahood “should be sought
right
in the defilements of sentient beings”. The defilements are craving/desire,
hatred,
and
ignorance.
“The
basic nature of the defilements is the basic nature of the state of
Buddhahood,”
Manjusri
said, in answer to the Buddha. Both the defilements and Buddhahood “abide in
equality.”
Speaking
to Subhuti, Manjusri said liberation would result from right understanding of
the
five
skandas (aggregates/components) constituting the whole mundane world of all
things
and
all beings. The five skandas are form, feeling, conceptions, impulse, and
consciousness. They are all empty, in their essence and very nature. – Source: fodian.net
CONTINUED
NEXT PAGE
(b) The three
worlds refer to the three levels of existence in Samsara: (1) the world of
desire, which comprises the various hells, the realms of hungry spirits,
animals, humans and some of the heavens; (2) the world of form, which comprises
some higher heavens; and (3) the non-form (formless) world of supernal heavens.
Source: THE THREE PURE LAND SUTRAS,
by Hisao Inagaki and Harold Stewart, Nagata Bunshodo, Kyoto, 1995, p. 420.
17.07.2014 18 pages 5,239 words
(37) Narada, THE BUDDHA AND HIS TEACHINGS, p. 268
(38) Sri Achrya Buddharakkhita, DHAMMAPADA p. 110
(39) Ibid., p. 157
(40) Ambalatthikaraahulovada
Sutra, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
Sources: accesstoinsight.org
buddhasutra.com
(41) DHAMMAPADA,
p.183
(42) Hisao Inagaki and Harold Stewart, THE THREE PURE LAND SUTRAS, Nagata
Bunshodo,
Kyoto, 1995, p. 37
(43) Buddhist
Hermeneutics, edited by Donald S. Lopez, Jr, published by Motilal
Banarsidas,
Delhi, 1993, p. 278
(44) On
Amidism: A Short Discourse: Buddha As Mind by Grand Master T’an Hsu
Source: AmitabhaSutra Online
English version introduced on 30 July 1973 to commemorate the centennial
of the Grand
Master’s birthday in the Temple of Enlightenment, Bronx, New York
(45) Dhammapada,
p. 15
(46) As translated by Alex Johnson, 2005, 2011.
Source: diamondsutra.com
(47) The Diamond Sutra: A General Explanation by
Dhyana Master Hsuan Hua, p. 131
Source: buddhanet.net
(48) Manjusri Spoke The Inconceivable State of
Buddhahood Sutra
Source: fodian.net
Towards
the end of the Surangama Sutra, the
Buddha said to Ananda, one of His major
disciples and the closest: “…The five aggregates (created by false
thinking) arise by piling
themselves upon one another. They originate from consciousness (mind)
and should be
eliminated beginning with form (matter).
CONTINUED NEXT PAGE
“In
principle, they all vanish the moment one is
instantaneously awakened, but in practice,
they are wiped out gradually due to the force of
habit
(caused and conditioned by false thinking)…”
as translated by Upasaka Lu K’uan Yu (Charles
Luk), p. 235
(49) Dhammapada, p. 217
(50) Ibid., p. 224
(51) Ibid., p. 225
(52) Ibid., p. 236
(53) Source: buddhasutra.com
In The Enlightenment Sutra, the Buddha
teaches us to develop compassion and
wisdom
together as well as to follow the eight
precepts:
(1) To practice
not-self, to free oneself from attachments that lead to wrongdoing
(2) Excessive
desire brings suffering: to cut off greedy attachment to things of this world
(3) Let go of
craving which increases motivation for sin and wrongdoing
(4) Laziness
degrades oneself; diligence and hard work to free oneself and escape to
Infinite
Light
(5) Ignorance is
the root of unhappiness, develop one’s knowledge to gain release from
suffering
and awaken oneself to the bliss of Enlightenment
(6) Ill feeling
leads to discord and further unhappiness, so to treat every being with love
and
respect and with malice towards none, to dwell in contentment and help all
beings
to
Peace
(7) Passions lead
one to sin and sorrow, firmly resolve to attain to Enlightenment, and
(8) Resolve to
awake from one’s slumber (in life-after-life ignorance), with concern for all
sentient beings, arouse in oneself an intense dedication and forbearance, avoid
taking on one’s neighbors but help them to attain Perfect Peace (“leaving
behind the world of birth and death, dwelling forever in peace” to quote the
final line in the Eight Great
Realizations Sutra).
Source:
buddhasutra.com 18.07.2014
09:10 24 pages 6,825 words
(54) As quoted by Shoji Matsumoto in his article
“The Modern Relevance of Donran’s Pure Land
Buddhist Thought,”
published in Pacific World Journal,
New Series 2, 1986. Source: archive.org
“Through
his inner experience and his meditation upon the Buddha-Dharma, he (Donran)
came
to the
conclusion that the power of Amida Buddha alone could assure him of attaining
his goal
(of
spiritual non-retrogression),” Shinshu authority Matsumoto has written.
CONTINUED
NEXT PAGE
“Amida
Buddha had made the vows (48 of them) and established the Pure Land in order to
attain
access to
the human mind—to endow such a one as Donran saw himself to be with this very
power (of attaining non-retrogression in
his spiritual practice). This, Donran realized, was
Amida’s
universal gift to all: His eko…”
This is
the Buddha Amitabha’s universal gift of wisdom and compassion, as emphasized by
Matsumoto,
and His salvific offer of the Pure Land to all faithful beings for them to
reach the
level of non-retrogression in their development
of Buddhahood.
(55) A
Standard of Shinshu Faith, transcribed by Ryosetsu Fujiwara, prepared for
the Buddhist
Churches
of America, and published 1963. Source: nembutsu.info
(56) Infinite
Life Sutra: Commentary by Venerable Master Chin Kung
Source: amtbweb.org
(57) Buddha
Pronounces the Sutra of the Pratyutpanna Buddha Sammukhovasthika Samadhi (Sutra
of the Samadhi of being in the Presence of all
Buddhas). Also known as the Pratyutpanna
Samadhi Sutra (Banshou Sanmei Jing in pinyin), one of
the earliest Mahayana texts, it was first
translated
from Sanskrit into Chinese by the Kushan Buddhist monk Lokaksema in 179 CE at
the
Han capital
of Luoyang. Source: sutrasmantras.info
In the Sutta Nipata (Collected Discourses) is
the narrative of Gotama’s contention with the eight
(or ten)
armies of Namuci (“He who does not let go”) AKA Mara, the Dark One’s striking
forces
(ranging
from sensual desire, hunger and thirst, to craving, fear, doubts/indecision and
stubbornness).
The Lord
addressed the Evil One: “…I have faith and energy and wisdom…
“It is
better for me to die in battle than to live defeated…
“This army
of yours which the world together with the devas (gods and heavenly beings)
is unable
to subdue, that I will destroy with wisdom, like an unbaked clay-bowl with a
stone.
CONTINUED
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“Having mastered the mind
and firmly established mindfulness,
I shall wander from country to
country
guiding many disciples. And they will be diligent and energetic in practicing
my teaching,
the
teaching of one without sensual desire, and they will go where, having gone,
one does not
grieve (sorrow or
suffer)…”
The then
Bodhisattva Gotama used the power of mindfulness
to subdue Mara, who then left him
alone to
continue his spiritual practice near the banks of the river Neranjara. Gotama
shortly after
made the
final spiritual breakthrough and attained the Supreme, Perfect Enlightenment of
Buddhahood.
– The Buddha’s Great Struggle,
translated by John D. Ireland. Source:
buddhasutra.com
It was when
Gotama came close to death after long and arduous practices of extreme
austerity
that Mara
came to tempt and break him down completely, but failed miserably to do so.
Instead,
Gotama
became more determined, but he changed his extreme methods to the Middle Way of
Cultivation.
Through unshakable faith and unceasing diligence, through ever-strong and
unconquerable
mindfulness and meditative concentration, the Bodhisattva Gotama became the
Buddha. The
first human being to do so in recorded history, and the supreme model for
others
to follow in
the timeless Noble Eightfold Path par excellence.
19.07.2014 07:34 29 pages 8,202 words
20.07.2014 06:39 8,258 words
27.07.2014 09:36
Amitabha
Buddha’s Auspicious Birthday 07.01.2015 23:32 NAMO AMITABHA BUDDHA
Mahasthama
Mindfulness Center
25 Selsar
Rokam 40
Taman Ipoh Jaya
31350 Ipoh
Perak Malaysia
Telephone:
05-3134941
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