Daily Buddhist Verses

• An Eternal Now

  17 Nov 09, 07:17

  Pseudo-Zen, ‘Pure Awareness’, and the Wisdom of Differentiation

  By Ted Biringer, on September 13th, 2009

  I have observed pseudo-Zen teachers who claim that Zen practice and enlightenment is aimed only at realizing this condition, and learning to expand and sustain it… adherents of this practice are unable to advance and experience the true path of Zen.

  Learned audience, many popular “Zen” books advocate the experience of the universal mirror prajna and the prajna of equality, but fail to acknowledge, much less encourage students to realize, the deeper levels of wisdom beyond these partial aspects of the enlightened mind… such books sometimes assert that progress on the path of Zen consists only in expanding the duration that the conditions of ‘oneness’ or ‘pure awareness’ can be sustained…

  [but] failing to recognize the wisdom of differentiation, can effectively bar students from the true wisdom of the buddhas and Zen masters. The overall effect of practicing such teachings actually fosters a non-Buddhist disdain for the world of things and events. If such teachings were true, the highest realization of Zen would consist of nothing more than living in a detached state of pure awareness all the time. To become fixated on this aspect of the enlightened mind is to abstain from the zeal, the passion, the joy, and the heartache that gives life its flavor.

  …there is much more to Zen Buddhism than experiences of oneness or pure awareness. The practice and enlightenment of Zen includes the wisdom of differentiation, infinite variety, and joyful participation in the world.

  Becoming attached to or fixated on the blissful conditions of oneness, or pure awareness is a disease that causes practice and enlightenment to stagnate and become foul. The profound wisdom and skillful techniques of the buddhas and Zen ancestors are beyond the reach of practitioners that stop here. Failing to awaken to the wisdom beyond emptiness and equality, they remain powerless to help others in any truly meaningful way.

  ~The Flatbed Sutra of Louie Wing

• An Eternal Now

  17 Nov 09, 14:00

  A layman: Every time I clear a thought from my mind, another appears right away. Thoughts keep appearing like that without end. What can I do about them?

  Bankei: Clearing thoughts from the mind as they arise is like washing away blood in blood. You may succeed in washing away the original blood, but you're still polluted by the blood you washed in. No matter how long you keep washing, the bloodstains never disappear. Since you don't know that your mind is originally unborn and undying and free of illusion, you think that your thoughts really exist, so you transmigrate in the wheel of existence. You have to realize that your thoughts are ephemeral and unreal and, without either clutching at them or rejecting them, just let them come and go of themselves. They're like images reflected in a mirror. A mirror is clear and bright and reflects whatever is placed before it. but the image doesn't remain in the mirror. The buddha-mind is ten thousand times brighter than any mirror and is marvelously illuminative besides. All thoughts vanish tracelessly into its light.

• An Eternal Now

  26 Nov 09, 02:32

   

  Meditation as I mean it is not something you do for a future result. It is not something "you" do. It is simply awareness itself seeing through the thought-constructed movies and ideas that are so mesmerizing, including the desire for experiences, transformations and future results. It is seeing the false as false, deconstructing every frame, demolishing every landing place, every foot-hold, every answer. It is the wonder of not knowing, not the dead weight of dogma and belief. True meditation is  always only about Here and Now, not some future benefit or attainment. Meditation is the aliveness of actuality (seeing, hearing, sensing, touching, being).  It is the absolute simplicity of what is, not methods or techniques designed to achieve results. It is an invitation to let all the answers and formulas go, to enjoy the extraordinary in the ordinary, and perhaps to discover that there is no separate one to be bound or free. Meditation is without repetition. It is always utterly new.

  ~ Joan Tollifson

• An Eternal Now

  26 Nov 09, 02:34

  I see a lot of people wanting to practice yet not finding the time. It affects their self-esteem. We need to ask ourselves what prevents us from meeting our aspirations in life. Are we using our life well, or are we simply working to maintain it? How are we using our time? Are we considering what’s at stake? Are we tending to our desire for a meaningful life, or are we simply avoiding it? If so, why?
  
  How we spend our time depends on how we organize our time, and how we organize our time depends on how we envision our lives. Once we have sorted out these questions and have made a clear decision to make room in our lives for practice, we have to exert ourselves rather than let the mind become too loose and unorganized, and just wait for something to happen.

  ~ Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche

• An Eternal Now

  27 Nov 09, 14:01

  Resolve the nature of your mind; don't resolve the characteristics of all the teachings. ~ Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche?

• An Eternal Now

  27 Nov 09, 14:40

  Once you decide to practice the Dharma, carry it through to the end. Otherwise, it is as Paltrul Rinpoche said: "When young, we are controlled by others and cannot practice." Usually, until people are about 17 or 18 years of age, they must take orders from their parents or remain stuck in school or at home; they cannot just walk off and practice. Paltrul Rinpoche's quote continues, "In adulthood, we chase after the objects of pleasure and cannot practice. When we are old, we lose our physical strength and cannot practice. Alas, Alas! What do we do now?"

  ~ Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

• An Eternal Now

  28 Nov 09, 03:44

  The aliveness in the body is an intelligent aliveness, and the wonderful thing is that when you direct attention there, it removes attention away from thinking. You cannot feel the aliveness of the inner body and think a lot, because consciousness is taken out of thinking and moves into the body. Feel that, just feel...

  ~ Eckhart Tolle

• An Eternal Now

  1 Dec 09, 23:38

  "We do not need to make this uncontrived naturalness. Simply give up thinking of the three times. When the past has gone and the future hasn't arrived, your present wakefulness is right here. We all have this cognizant quality -- if we don't, we are corpses! Don't investigate or make thoughts about this present wakefulness. Making thoughts is the act of dualistic fixation. Without those thoughts, we are free of the three times."

  ~ Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

• Isis

  12 Dec 09, 00:04

  The story of the Hoe… A farmer ploughed the land with a hoe after day, year after year. The work was hard, but the harvest was plentiful. And yet, one day he couldn’t help but ask himself, “Why am I working so hard? Life is meaningless and boring! Where is my life leading?” Shortly afterwards, a monk came to his house to ask for alms. The monk looked free and happy, which deeply impressed the farmer cheerfully made up his mind to give up everything and become a monk. As soon as he left his house, he suddenly felt how empty his hands were. He was so used to holding a hoe in his hands to work that without the hoe he now felt a little lost. Therefore, he went back to his house, picked up his hoe and tried hard to think of what he could do with it. It was a fine hoe. The shaft was smooth and shiny from daily use. It would be heartbreaking to throw it away. “Ok, then,” He thought, “I’ll wrap it up and put it away.” He found a secure place in the house to hide it. Now everything was settled. With his mind at ease, the farmer left his house at last. The farmer did all he could to fulfil the requirements to be a true monk. However, he could hardly resist thinking of his hoe whenever he came across green paddles. Every now and then, he would rush back home just to feel the hoe and then return to the temple. Time passed by quickly. After seven or eight years, he felt that something was missing. “ Why haven’t I fulfilled my dream of becoming a free, happy monk after having tried very hard to cultivate morality? There is something I haven’t let go of. Now it’s time to get rid of burden!” He rushed back home, picked up the hoe and threw it into a lake. Splash, there it went! “ I won! I succeeded!” He couldn’t resist crying out loud. Just at that moment, a king, leading his victorious army, happened to pass by. He overheard the cry and went to ask the monk, “What did you win? Why are you so cheerful?” “ I have conquered the devils in my heart. I have let all my burdens go.” The king saw that the monk was really happy and free from earthly burdens and delusions. The king thought to himself, “Now I have won the war. Victory is mine. But am I really happy? I took lands that didn’t belong to me. It is not real victory.” Then and there, the king realizes that although he had won the war, he was not a real winner, but a common person burdened with life’s vexations. He realized that in order to become a real winner and a saint, you have to conquer the devils in your heart.

• Isis

  12 Dec 09, 00:19

  “THE UNUSAL ATTITUDE – Your cultivation of love and great compassion should not be left in a state of mere imagination or wish alone; rather a sense of responsibility, a genuine intention to engage in the task of relieving sentient beings of their sufferings and providing them with happiness, should be developed. It is important for a practitioner to work for and take upon him or herself the responsibility of fulfilling this intention. The strong your cultivation of compassion is, the more committed you will feel to taking this responsibility. Because of their ignorance, sentient beings do not know the right methods by which they can fulfil their aims. It is the responsibility of those who are equipped with this knowledge to fulfil the intention of working for their benefit.

  “For people who have the problem of self-hatred or self-loathing, for the time being it is advisable that they not think seriously about the suffering nature of existence or the underlying of unsatisfactory nature of existence. Rather they should concentrate more on the positive aspects of existence, such as appreciating the potentials that lie within oneself as a human being and the opportunities that one’s existence as a human being affords. In the traditional teaching, one speaks about all the qualities of a fully-endowed human existence. By reflecting upon these opportunities and potentials, one will be able to increase one’s sense of worth and confidence.”

  Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive. “One of the best human qualities is our intelligence, which enables us to judge what is wholesome and what is unwholesome, what is beneficial and what is harmful. Negative thoughts, such as anger and strong attachment, destroy this special human quality; indeed this is indeed very sad. When anger or attachment dominates the mind, a person becomes almost crazed, and I am certain that nobody wishes to be crazy. Under the power of anger or attachment we commit all kinds of harmful acts – often having far-reaching and destructive consequences. A person gripped by such states of mind and emotion is like a blind person, who cannot see where he is going. Yet we neglect to challenge these negative thoughts and emotions that lead us nearly to insanity. On the contrary, we often nurture and reinforce them! By doing this we are, in fact, making ourselves prey to their destructive power. When you reflect along these lines, you will realize that our true enemy is not outside ourselves” – The Dalai Lama.

• Isis

  12 Dec 09, 00:33

  “Now, whatever time you can commit to the practice of Dharma – Be it one year, one month, one week or one day – the motivation with which you do it is extremely important. It should be done with Bodhicitta, the mind of awakening; this means telling yourself that you are going to do it for the benefit of all beings. Having this inner attitude as the basis of all practices is very important. While progressing on the path, properly speaking, the most important thing, if one can do it, is to understand as much as possible the nature of mind and do such practice with this understanding as the basis. If one can do recitation and physical practices with the speech and body while meditating on the nature of mind, these will bring even great benefit.“Buddha never mentioned that the problems we have encountered are the result of misconstruction of a house or starting a project or work on an inappropriate day or time. Buddha always talked about negative experience as a result of having performed negative actions. So for a good practitioner there is no new year, there is no good or bad day.” – The Dalai Lama.

• An Eternal Now

  12 Dec 09, 13:58

  A son, a wife, and flame to extreme,
  Are three great fetters for a yogi.
  The practitioner should leave them.
  Prestige, enjoyment and goods like gems,
  Are three great hinderances to a yogi,
  The practitioner should renounce them.
  Relatives, disciples, and rich patrons,
  Are three great obstacles to a yogi.
  The practitioner should forsake them.
  Fatigue, sleep, and spirits like gin,
  Are three great robbers of a yogi.
  The practitioner should forswear them.
  To chat, to joke, to entertain,
  Are three distractions to a yogi,
  The practitioner should renounce them.

  ~ Milarepa

• Isis

  25 Dec 09, 23:04

  Don't think that only sitting with the eyes closed is practice. If you do think this way, then quickly change your thinking. Steady practice is keeping mindful in every posture, whether sitting, walking, standing or lying down. When coming out of sitting, don't think that you're coming out of meditation, but that you are only changing postures. If you reflect in this way, you will have peace. Wherever you are, you will have this attitude of practice with you constantly. You will have a steady awareness within yourself.
  
  I went all over looking for places to meditate. I didn't realize it was already there, in my heart. All the meditation is right there inside you. Birth, old age, sickness, and death are right there within you. I travelled all over until I was ready to drop dead from exhaustion. Only then, when I stopped, did I find what I was looking for ... inside me.

  ~ Ajahn Chah ~

• Isis

  25 Dec 09, 23:05

  Sometimes I'd go to see old religious sites with ancient temples. In some places they would be cracked. Maybe one of my friends would remark, "Such a shame, isn't it? It's cracked." I'd answer, "If they weren't cracked there'd be no such thing as the Buddha. There'd be no Dhamma. It's cracked like this because it's perfectly in line with the Buddha's teaching."
  

  ~ Ajahn Chah ~

   

• Isis

  25 Dec 09, 23:20

  Some people get bored, fed up, tired of the practice and lazy. They can't seem to keep the Dhamma in mind. Yet, if you go and scold them, they'll never forget that. Some may remember it for the rest of their lives and never forgive you for it. But when it comes to the Buddha's teaching, telling us to practise conscientiously, why do they keep forgetting these things? Why don't people take these things to heart?

  ~ Ajahn Chah ~

• Rooney9

  25 Dec 09, 23:23

  Ajahn Chah's teachings are refreshing, witty and wise.

• Isis

  27 Dec 09, 21:11

  Practice is about...

  Practice is about slowly increasing our awareness of who we and how we relate to life."

  - Charlotte Joko Beck, Zen Teacher.

• Isis

  27 Dec 09, 21:15

  ~ Zen says: be empty. Look without any idea. Look into the nature of things but with no idea, with no prejudice, with no presupposition. ~

  Osho

   

  ~ Zen is not a philosophy, it is poetry. It does not propose, it simply persuades. It does not argue, it simply sings its own song. ~ 

  Osho

   

  
  
• An Eternal Now

  3 Jan 10, 14:19

  A mind that is resolved is simply present. We are not struggling with good or bad, right or wrong, life or death. We are not trying to shape our mind through Dharma Practice or anything else. We have the presence of mind to simply enjoy our life – good or bad, right or wrong, “dharmic” or not. We take great pleasure in the world and the people around us, and we walk in the world with elegance and grace.
  Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche

• An Eternal Now

  12 Jan 10, 02:21

  

  TS'IG SUM NÄD DEG

  THREE WORDS STRIKING THE ESSENCE

  BY

  RIG'DZIN GA'RAB DORJE

   

  WITH A BRIEF COMMENTARY BY KYABJE DÜD'JOM RINPOCHE, 'JIGDRÄL YESHE DORJE

  
  

  Directly meeting with one's own nature

  This fresh and present awareness beyond all consideration of the three times, is, in itself, the primordial awakenedness that is spontaneously present pure awareness. Such is direct introduction to one's own nature.
  

  Directly make one single decision

  Since all phenomenal appearance of both cyclic existence and the state beyond suffering do not go beyond the innate creativity of pure awareness, firmly decide that there is no other thing besides the continuous flow of this pure awareness .
  

  Have confidence in direct liberation–dissolution

  Whatever discursive thoughts arise, be they gross or subtle, by recognising them for what they are, they all arise and simultaneously dissolve into the vast expanse of the dimension of pure reality — awareness–voidness inseparable. Remain confident in this liberation.

  (m94)

• An Eternal Now

  24 Jan 10, 23:09

  Jiddu Krishnamurti Awareness is from moment to moment, it is not the cumulative effect of self-protective memories. Awareness is not determination nor is it the action of will. Awareness is the complete and unconditional surrender to what is, without rationalization, without the division of the observer and the observed. As awareness is non-accumulative, non-residual, it does not build up the self, positively or negatively. Awareness is ever in the present and so, non-identifying and non-repetitive; nor does it create habit. Just be aware; that is all what you have to do, without condemning, without forcing, without trying to change what you are aware of. Then you will see that it is like a tide that is coming in. You cannot prevent the tide from coming in, build a wall, or do what you will, it will come with tremendous energy. In the same if you are aware choicelessly the whole field of consciousness begins to unfold. And as it unfolds, you have to follow and the following becomes extraordinarily difficult - following in the sense to follow the movement of every thought, of every, feeling, of every secret desire. It becomes difficult the moment you resist, the moment you say, "that is ugly" "this is good", "this is bad", "this I will keep", "that I will not keep". So you begin with the outer and move inwardly. Then you will find, when you move inwardly that the inward and the outward are not two different things, and the outward awareness is not different from the inward awareness, and that they are both the same. Self awareness is arduous; to think-out, feel-out every thought-feeling is strenuous; but this awareness of every thought-feeling will bring to an end the wandering of the mind.

• Isis

  28 Jan 10, 10:51

  Thich Nhat Hanh on The Practice of Mindfulness
  
  

  “Breathing in, I know that I am breathing in.” It is such a simple practice, but it can transform your life. The great meditation master Thich Nhat Hanh teaches five mindfulness exercises to help you live with happiness and joy.
  
  

  Our true home is not in the past. Our true home is not in the future. Our true home is in the here and the now. Life is available only in the here and the now, and it is our true home.

  Mindfulness is the energy that helps us recognize the conditions of happiness that are already present in our lives. You don’t have to wait ten years to experience this happiness. It is present in every moment of your daily life. There are those of us who are alive but don’t know it. But when you breathe in, and you are aware of your in-breath, you touch the miracle of being alive. That is why mindfulness is a source of happiness and joy.

  Most people are forgetful; they are not really there a lot of the time. Their mind is caught in their worries, their fears, their anger, and their regrets, and they are not mindful of being there. That state of being is called forgetfulness—you are there but you are not there. You are caught in the past or in the future. You are not there in the present moment, living your life deeply. That is forgetfulness.

• An Eternal Now

  1 Feb 10, 01:34

  One evening Paltrül Rinpoche taught the daughter of Chokgyur Lingpa, Könchok Paldrön, who was to become my grandmother. She remembered his words very clearly, and later repeated them to me. She imitated Paltrül Rinpoche’s thick Golok accent, and said, “Don’t entertain thoughts about what has passed, don’t anticipate or plan what will happen in the future. Leave your present wakefulness unaltered, utterly free and open. Aside from that, there is nothing else whatsoever to do!� What he meant was, don’t sit and think about what has happened in the past, and don’t speculate on what will appear in the future, or even a few moments from now. Leave your present wakefulness, which is the buddha nature of self-existing wakefulness, totally unmodified. Do not try to correct or alter anything. Leave it free, as it naturally is, free and wide-open like space. There is nothing more to do besides that. These are the vajra words of Paltrül Rinpoche, and they are truly meaningful. ~ Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche
• Isis

  3 Feb 10, 19:43

  Godwin Samararatne: “See how far you can accept yourself…”

  The Vipassana Fellowship’s March newsletter arrived today, and inside is this gem from the late Sri Lankan teacher Godwin Samararatne. It’s an excerpt from a recording he made for a young cancer patient, to help him on his journey:

  “See how far you can gently soften, accepting yourself as you are, without any notion of what you should become. Making friends with who you are —and really feel that friendship, that kindness.

  Then can you extend that friendship, gentleness, softness even to those who have hurt you, disappointed you, frustrated you. Letting go of the hurts and wounds you have been carrying by learning to forgive, by learning to accept our common human-ness.

  Learn to forgive yourself too for all the mistakes you have made in the past, not holding onto these wounds by having guilt and remorse in relation to them; and also letting go of the wounds that have been created by others. Learn to accept yourself as you are, and learn to accept others as they are, without an image of how you or they should be. Learning to be gentle to oneself and gentle to others.

  Thinking: May all beings be well and happy; may all beings overcome the suffering that they create themselves.”

• An Eternal Now

  4 Mar 10, 17:52

  The wild geese do not intend to cast their reflection:
  The water has no mind to receive their image.

  - Chuang Tzu