Virtual Buddha

just thinking

2011-02-02T16:55:00.000Z

We are what we think.

All that we are arises with our thoughts.

With our thoughts we make the world.

- Buddha -

Mother and Child

2010-07-03T04:31:00.004Z

You should study not only that you become a mother when your child is born, but also that you become a child.

-Buddha-

On happyness

2010-07-03T03:11:00.002Z

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.

- Buddha -

Buddha the dog

2010-07-03T03:01:00.002Z

A dog is not considered a good dog because he is a good barker. A man is not considered a good man because he is a good talker.

- Buddha -

2010-05-28T15:15:00.004Z

Life is an extraordinarily vast thing. And when you use the word “life,” it is all the
oceans and the mountains and the trees and all of human aspirations, human miseries,
despairs, struggles, the immensity of it all.

- J. Krishnamurti, Krishnamurti on Education -

The challenge must be to come unstuck, resist habit — the same things over and over …
— to wake up, pay attention, try to face how strange, miraculous and fearful it is, every
life, every day. That hurts too, waking up, finding oneself so small and vulnerable,
knowing nothing. But suffering holds gifts, rich and mysterious gifts concealed in the
dark folds of pain….

- Kathryn Walker, A Stopover in Venice -

Virtual Buddha is here for you -and me-, again...

Namaste...

Buddha's Birthday in Tibet

2010-05-27T00:00:00.002Z

Saga Dawa is the entire fourth month of the Tibetan calendar, which usually begins in May and ends in June. The seventh day of Saga Dawa is the date of the historical Buddha's birth for Tibetans. However, the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and entry into Nirvana at his death are observed together on the 15th day of Saga Dawa, called Saga Dawa Duchen. This is the single most important holiday for Tibetan Buddhism, usually observed with pilgrimages and other visits to temples and shrines. In 2010, Saga Dawa Duchen falls on May 27. Today...

Now

2007-03-21T08:21:00.002Z

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future,
concentrate the mind on the present moment.

-- Siddharta Gautama--

May I become at all times, both now and forever

2007-02-02T09:20:00.001Z

A protector for those without protection

A guide for those who have lost their way

A ship for those with oceans to cross

A bridge for those with rivers to cross

A sanctuary for those in danger

A lamp for those without light

A place of refuge for those who lack shelter

And a servant to all in need.

- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

reincarnation

2006-09-12T17:52:00.000Z

In this life I am a woman. In my next life, I'd like to come back as a bear.

When you're a bear, you get to hibernate. You do nothing but sleep for six months. I could deal with that.
Before you hibernate, you're supposed to eat yourself stupid. I could deal with that, too.
When you're a girl bear, you bear your children (who are the size of a walnut) while you are sleeping, and you wake to partially grown, cute, cuddly cubs. I could definitely deal with that!
If you are a Mama Bear, everyone knows you mean business. You swat anyone who gets in your way. You swat anyone who bothers your cubs. If your cubs get out of line, you swat them too. I could deal with that.
If you're a bear, your mate EXPECTS you to wake up growling. He EXPECTS that you will have hairy legs and excess body fat.
Yup! Gonna be a bear!

Namaste

2006-07-10T10:24:00.001Z

With all the power of my arms,

With all the intelligence of my mind,

With all the love of my heart

I pay my due respect to the soul

-Within you.

Walk on water

2006-06-17T08:02:00.000Z

Three monks decided to practice meditation together. They sat by the side of a lake and closed their eyes in concentration. Then suddenly, the first one stood up and said, “I forgot my mat.” He steeped miraculously onto the water in front of him and walked across the lake to their hut on the other side. When he returned, the second monk stood up and said, “I forgot to put my other underwear to dry.” He too walked calmly across the water and returned the same way. The third monk watched the first two carefully in what he decided must be the test of his own abilities. “Is your learning so superior to mine? I too can match any feat you two can perform,” he declared loudly and rushed to the water’s edge to walk across it. He promptly fell into the deep water. Undeterred, the monk climbed out of the water and tried again, only to sink into the water. Yet again he climbed out and yet again he tried, each time sinking into the water. This went on for some time as the other two monks watched. After a while, the second monk turned to the first and said, “Do you think we should tell him where the stones are?”

-- Magyarul --

May all beings be at ease

2006-06-17T07:50:00.000Z

Wishing: in gladness and in safety,

May all beings be at ease...

Let none, through anger of ill-will

Wish harm upon another.

So with a boundless heart

Should one cherish all living beings.

--Buddha--

Dark retreat

2006-05-24T14:27:00.000Z

In our culture, we're taught to fear the darkness. It's built into our myths and our popular sages. But the darkness might well be the best thing that could happen to you.

Our visual capacities in everyday life are bombarded by lots of external images. Often, there isn't much room for other images to arise, other than in our imaginations. That's where a dark retreat (mun mtshams, a traditional Tibetan spiritual practice that a Western, non-monastic Buddhist can experience by sitting in a sound- and light-proof room ) could help out.
.
The idea of the dark retreat is not only do you create a setting in which you have no visual stimuli, so that the eyes relax, but you also sufficiently relax your body and your mind so that the deeper aspects of your core awareness can arise. In dark retreat, the practitioner lives in complete darkness--eating, sleeping, meditating, and simply existing in a world without external light. For half a day, a few days or even longer.

That's when the truths, along with lights and visions, can become evident.

FICUS RELIGIOSA

2006-05-19T14:10:00.000Z

Under the bodhi tree -

I vow with all beings

to sit until I become one with

all the heart-shaped leaves.

Under the mucalinda tree -

I vow with all beings

to sit until the moon, a bowl,

is almed only by the Good.

Under the goatherd`s banyan -

I vow with all beings

to sit until at the root,

every snake becomes an acolyte.

Under the rajayatana tree -

I vow with all beings

to sit until the nests of all the birds

are given gifts by the cuckoo.

Under the red-blossoming asokas -

I vow with all beings

to sit until the clouds reissue

the seeds of knowledge.

Under the thin mulberry -

I vow with all beings

to sit until the silk-worms

eat all greed driven life-cycles.

--BETWEEN THE PALACE AND THE BODHI TREE

By Judith Beveridge

Ten poems in the voice of Siddhattha Gotama as he wanders the forests --

The Tao of Pooh

2006-05-17T05:52:00.000Z

The painting shows three man tasting from a bin of vinegar. The expression on each man's face shows his individual reaction. Since the painting is allegorical, we are to understand that these are no ordinary vinegar tasters, but are instead representatives of the "Three Teachings" of China, and that the vinegar they are sampling represents the Essence of Life.

1) K'ung Fu-tse (mispronounced "Confucius") - considered life to be sour. He felt that the world was a disorderly place, which had to be controlled.

2) Buddha - considered life to be bitter. He saw the world as full of pain and illusion, full of attachments and traps. He felt that we must work spiritually to rise above these things.

3) Lao-tse - considered life to be perfect & wonderful as is. He saw a natural harmony that could be experienced by anyone at anytime. He believed the world to be a teacher of valuable lessons, and that we should embrace the wonder of every moment.

--from the Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff--

Vesak

2006-05-11T20:09:00.000Z

Happy Vesak everyone!

Vesak is the most important celebration of the Buddhist traditions, and marks the day Buddha was born, reached his enlightenment and passed to nibbhana. (vesak is also called Saga Dawa, Buddha Purnima, Visakha Puja and Waisac in different parts of the world.) The day is a religious festival and not really a festive occation. Buddhists are expected to reaffirm their connection with the Dharma and to lead a noble religious life. It is a day for visiting the temple, offer gifts to Buddha to show gratitude for the teachings, to meditate and to "radiate Loving Kindness".
It is the perfect opportunity to take refuge or to practice the refuge meditation, or the meditation of Loving Kindness (in Tibetan tradition, which is the only tradition I know, we have a meditation on Chenrezig - the bodhisattva of compassion and embodiment of Loving Kindness. This is the meditation I am doing on Vesak. The mantra of this meditation is Om Mani Peme hung...)

You can read more about this day, its history and different celebrations here.

Until I am enlightened,
I go for refuge to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.
Through the virtue I create by practising giving and the other perfections,
may I become a Buddha to benefit all sentient beings.

Tibetan Refuge prayer

I am still

2006-04-15T20:22:00.000Z

"You tell me to stand still, but I am not walking," he shouted, "whereas you who are walking say you are still. How is it that you are standing still but I am not?" The Buddha turned round. "My legs move but my mind is still," he said."Your legs are still but your mind moves all the time in a fire of anger, hatred, and feverish desire. Therefore, I am still but you are not."

-Majjhima Nikaya

The Heart Sutra

2006-04-15T08:39:00.000Z

On Homage to the Perfection of Wisdom the Lovely, the Holy !

Avalokita, the Holy Lord and Bodhisattva, was moving in the deep course of the Wisdom which has gone beyond. He looked down from on high, He beheld but five heaps, and He saw that in their own-being they were empty.

Here, O Sariputra, form is emptiness and the very emptiness is form ;
emptiness does not differ from form, form does not differ from emptiness, whatever is emptiness, that is form, the same is true of feelings, perceptions, impulses, and consciousness.

Here, O Sariputra, all dharmas are marked with emptiness ;
they are not produced or stopped, not defiled or immaculate, not deficient or complete.

Therefore, O Sariputra, in emptiness there is no form nor feeling, nor perception, nor impulse, nor consciousness ; No eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind ; No forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touchables or objects of mind ; No sight-organ element, and so forth, until we come to :
No mind-consciousness element ; There is no ignorance, no extinction of ignorance, and so forth, until we come to : There is no decay and death, no extinction of decay and death. There is no suffering, no origination, no stopping, no path. There is no cognition, no attainment and no non-attainment.

Therefore, O Sariputra, it is because of his non-attainmentness that a Bodhisattva, through having relied on the Perfection of Wisdom, dwells without thought-coverings. In the absence of thought-coverings he has not been made to tremble, he has overcome what can upset, and in the end he attains to Nirvana.

All those who appear as Buddhas in the three periods of time fully awake to the utmost, right and perfect Enlightenment because they have relied on the Perfection of Wisdom.

Therefore one should know the prajnaparamita as the great spell, the spell of great knowledge, the utmost spell, the unequalled spell, allayer of all suffering, in truth -- for what could go wrong ? By the prajnaparamita has this spell been delivered. It runs like this :
gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha.

( Gone, gone, gone beyond, gone altogether beyond, O what an awakening, all-hail ! -- )

This completes the Heart of perfect Wisdom.

2006-04-14T22:10:00.002Z

Walk and touch peace every moment.

Walk and touch happiness every moment.

Each step brings a fresh breeze.

Each step makes a flower bloom.

Kiss the Earth with your feet.

Bring the Earth your love and happiness.

The Earth will be safe

when we feel safe in ourselves.

Thich Nhat Hanh

2006-04-03T14:45:00.000Z

Display a heart of boundless love for all the world

In all its height and depth and broad extent

Love unrestrained, without hate or enmity.

Then as you stand or walk, sit or lie, until overcome by drowsiness

Devote your mind entirely to this, it is known as living here life divine

2006-03-27T21:07:00.000Z

In this world

Hate never dispelled hate.

Only love dispels hate.

This is the law,

Ancient and inexhaustible.

You too shall pass away.

Knowing this,

how can you quarrel?

inspiration

2006-03-16T20:56:00.000Z

May every creature abound in well-being and peace.
May every living being, weak or strong, the long and the small
The short and the medium-sized, the mean and the great;
May every living being, seen or unseen, those dwelling far off,
Those near by, those already born, those waiting to be born;
May all attain inward peace.

Let no one deceive another.
Let no one despise another in any situation.
Let no one, from antipathy or hatred, wish evil to anyone at all.
Just as a mother, with her own life,
protects her only son from hurt,
So within yourself foster a limitless concern
for every living creature.

Display a heart of boundless love for all the world.
In all its height and depth and broad extent,
Love unrestrained, without hate or enmity.
Then as you stand or walk, sit or lie,
until overcome by drowsiness
Devote your mind entirely to this,
it is known as living here life divine.

Refuge prayer

2006-03-11T20:30:00.000Z

At the foot of the Bodhi tree,
beautifully seated, peaceful and smiling,
the living source of understanding and compassion,
to the Buddha I go for refuge.
The path of mindful living,
leading to healing, joy, and enlightenment,
the way of peace,
to the Dhamma I go for refuge.
The loving and supportive community of practice,
realizing harmony, awareness, and liberation,
to the Sangha I go for refuge.
I am aware that the Three Gems are within my heart.
I vow to realize them.
I vow to practice mindful breathing and smiling,
looking deeply into things.
I vow to understand living beings and their suffering,
to cultivate compassion and loving kindness,
and to practice joy and equanimity.
I vow to offer joy to one person in the morning
and to help relive the grief of one person in the afternoon.
I vow to live simply and sanely,
content with just a few possessions,
and to keep my body healthy.
I vow to let go of all worry and anxiety in order to be light and free
I am aware that I owe so much to my parents, teachers, friends and all beings.
I vow to be worthy of their trust,
to practice wholeheartedly,
so that understanding and compassion will flower,
and I can help living beings
be free from their suffering.
May the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha support my efforts.

--Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh --

2006-03-10T10:39:00.001Z

Just as the soft rains fill the streams,

pour into the rivers and join together in the oceans,

so may the power of every moment of your goodness

flow forth to awaken and heal all beings,

Those here now, those gone before, those yet to come.

By the power of every moment of your goodness

May your heart's wishes be soon fulfilled

as completely shining as the bright full moon,

as magically as by a wish-fulfilling gem.

By the power of every moment of your goodness

May all dangers be averted and all disease be gone.

May no obstacle come across your way.

May you enjoy fulfillment and long life.

For all in whose heart dwells respect,

who follow the wisdom and compassion, of the Way,

May your life prosper in the four blessings

of old age, beauty, happiness and strength.

Tibetan Buddhism

2006-03-03T11:43:00.002Z

I know that Tibetan Buddhism seems strange and alien to a lot of people, and Thought I'd write a bit about it here.
Tibetan Buddhism is often called Lamaism because of it's prominent lama tradition. "Lama" actually means Highest Mother, even though lamas most of the time are male. They ar so called because they have reached a level of insight that makes them think of all living beings as a mother loves her child unconditionally.

There are four schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Nyingmapa, Kagyupa, Sakyapa og Gelugpa.

Nyingmapa is the second biggest school and the oldest. They consider Guru Rinpoche "the second buddha". He merged buddhism and the Bön religion that already existed in Tibet when Buddhism was brought there. The distinctive doctrine of the Nyingma school is Dzogchen ("great perfection"), also known as ati-yoga (extraordinary yoga). It also makes wide use of shamanistic practices and local divinities borrowed from the indigenous, pre-Buddhist Bon religion. Nyingma monks are not generally required to be celibate.

Kagyupa's ("oral transmission school") teachings were brought to Tibet by Marpa in the 11th century. As its name indicates, this school of Tibetan Buddhism places particular value on the transmission of teachings from teacher to disciple. It also stresses the more severe practices of Hatha Yoga. The central teaching is the "great seal" (mahamudra), which is a realization of emptiness, freedom from samsara and the inspearability of these two.

Sakyapa is the smalles of the four. The abbots were devoted to the transmission of a cycle of Vajrayana teachings called "path and goal" (Lamdre), the systemization of Tantric teachings, and Buddhist logic.

Gelugpa is the biggest and the newest version of buddhism that came to Tibet. It is the school of Dalai Lama, and they are often called "yellow hat school". It was founded in early 14th century and it restored celibacy and prohibition of alcohol and meat, enforced strict monastic discipline and established a higher standard of learning for monks.

So what is special for the Tibetan branch of Buddhism? In common with Mahayana schools, Tibetan Buddhism includes a pantheon of Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and Dharma protectors. Arya-bodhisattvas are able to escape the cycle of death and rebirth but compassionately choose to remain in this world to assist others in reaching nirvana or buddhahood. Dharma protectors are mythic figures incorporated into Tibetan Buddhism from various sources (including the native Bön religion, and Hinduism) who are pledged to protecting and upholding the Dharma. Many of the specific figures are unique to Tibet.

(information from : http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/sects/tibetan.htm)

Sangha

2006-02-16T15:14:00.000Z

There a many definitions on Buddhism, ways of practicing and teaching and what makes a Buddhist a Buddhist. Eastern Buddhism knows varieties and there are more modern ways of Buddhism in the west. All varieties do have many things in common. One of those are the Three Gems. What makes a Buddhist a Buddhist is that he or she goes for refuge to the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.

The three principal roots of the tree, therefore, are the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. But there is not any one single meaning to any of these words as said before. Each of them has many meanings to as many Buddhist.

The word "Sangha" means a group or community. The Sangha to which a Buddhist goes for refuge is the ariya-sangha, which means the Noble Community of people who have attained insight and virtue and who have either attained or come very close to attaining Nirvana.

It is important to realize that not all members of the Noble Community are monks or nuns, and that not all monks or nuns are members of the Noble Community. So a Buddhist does not go for refuge to the community of monks or nuns or even to the community of people who declare themselves to be Buddhists, but to the community of all excellent people everywhere whose insight and purity of character is significantly superior to that of the average human being.

The word "Sangha" can also refer to other communities, such as the community of monks (bhikkhu-sangha), the community of nuns (bhikkhuni-sangha), the community of householders who support the monks and nuns (upasaka-sangha) and to the entire community of people who heard the Buddha and formally went to him for refuge (savaka-sangha).

Sometimes some Buddhists find it convenient to think of Sangha as a a kind of concrete symbol of the much more abstract notion of the Noble Sangha of excellent people to which they go for refuge. .

Deep moment of self reflection

2006-02-15T20:43:00.000Z

In a natural stetting
of deep esthetic beauty
sitting on a little rock
I feel the freshness of my mind.

.
Quiet and peaceful
sensitive and alert
the mind that I am with now
in this deep moment of self-reflection.

.
Another newfound moment
and experience of higher form
of finer quality of consciousness
which one more time
takes me on a journey
to have a quick glance
at the beautiful sanctuary
of my inner world.
.

-- Bhante Wimala --

High rises

2006-02-15T20:32:00.000Z

High rises the eastern peak

soaring up to the blue sky

among the rocks- an empty hollow,

secret, still, mysterious!

uncarved and unhewn,

screened by nature with a roof of clouds

time and seasons,what things are you,

bringing to my life ceaseless change?

I will lodge forever in this hollow

where springs and autumns unheeded pass.

.
-- tao-yun , 400c.e --

Self

2006-02-10T22:45:00.000Z

All formations are transient; all formations are subject to suffering; all things are without self.

Therefore, whatever there be - of form, of feeling, perception, mental formations, or consciousness, whether past, present, or future, one’s own or external, gross or subtle, lofty or low, far or near, one should understand according to reality and true wisdom:

‘This does not belong to me; this am I not; this is not my Self’

From the Anguttara Nikaya

2006-02-07T16:04:00.000Z

The Buddha Mind contains the universe.
In this universe there is only one pure substance,
One absolute and indivisible Truth.
.
The notion of duality does not exist.
.
The small mind contains only illusions of separateness, of division.
It imagines myriad objects and defines truth in terms of relative opposites.
Big is defined by small, good by evil, pure by defiled,
Hidden by revealed, full by empty.
.
What is opposition?
.
It is the arena of hostility, of conflict and turmoil.
Where duality is transcended peace reigns.
.
This is the Dharma’s ultimate truth.

-- Maxims of Master Han Shan Te'Ch'ing --

2006-02-07T15:55:00.000Z

In studying ourselves,

we find the harmonythat is our total existence.

We do not make harmony.

We do not achieve it or gain it.

It is there all the time.

Here we are, in the midst of this perfect way,

and our practice is simply to realize it and then

to actualize it in our everyday life.

.
-- Maezumi Roshi --

2006-02-07T15:39:00.000Z

Dust and sand in his eyes,

dirt in his ears,

He doesn't consent to stay in the myriad peaks.

Falling flowers, flowing streams, very vast.

Suddenly raising my eyebrows

Where has he gone?

.
-- Hsueh-tou (980-1052) --

2006-02-05T11:28:00.000Z

To what shall I compare this life of ours?

Even before I can say

it is like a lightning flash or a dewdrop

it is no more.

-- Sengai --

2006-02-05T11:23:00.000Z

Finally out of reach -

No bondage, no dependency.

How calm the ocean,

Towering the void.

--Tessho's death poem--

2006-02-05T11:17:00.000Z

My legacy -

What will it be?

Flowers in spring,

The cuckoo in summer,

And the crimson maples

Of autumn ...

-- Ryokan (1758-1831)--

answers

2006-02-02T18:50:00.000Z

A man approached the Blessed One and wanted to have all his philosophical questions answered before he would practice.

In response, the Buddha said, "It is as if a man had been wounded by a poisoned arrow and when attended to by a physician were to say, 'I will not allow you to remove this arrow until I have learned the caste, the age, the occupation, the birthplace, and the motivation of the person who wounded me.' That man would die before having learned all this. In exactly the same way, anyone who should say, 'I will not follow the teaching of the Blessed One before the Blessed One has explained all the multiform truths of the world' - that person would die before the Buddha had explained all this."

2006-02-02T12:17:00.000Z

Drink your tea slowly and reverently,

as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves -

slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future;

Live the actual moment.

Only this moment is life.

.
-- Thich Nhat Hahn --

2006-02-02T11:53:00.000Z

There is a way between voice and presence where information flows.

In disciplined silence it opens.

With wandering talk it closes.
.

-- Rumi--

interview with Buddha

2006-02-01T09:41:00.000Z

Nerdine: Today we have a show I have been looking forward to: Our guests are Siddharta Gautama, also called Buddha, and a young student in Buddhism. Our honored guest Buddha has agreed to answer some questions from the student this morning, so here we go!

Student: I am so honored to be here with you today Buddha – is it OK if I call you that?
Buddha: That is what I am, so it is OK.
S: what do you mean – I thought it was who you are?
B: I am Siddharta Gautama, but I am also a buddha.
S: I find that a bit confusing – what does it mean to be a buddha?
B: The word Buddha means “the enlightened one”. I am not the only buddha. I am the first buddha.
S: I see. So when did you become a buddha?
B: I believe I was about thirty five at that time. It is a long time ago.
S: so how did you become a buddha?
B: that is really the million dollar question isn’t it? I have given 84 000 teachings on the subject so there is something for every one. But some of it in short form: I realized we are all buddhas. We are all perfect. I had spent my life being dissatisfied with everything in the world, and I realized that all we need to experience limitless joy in every single second of the day are in our possession already. One need only to realize this.
S: wow! That sounds wonderful!
B: it is.
S: So, can you tell me why you teach? Isn’t it better to be special and the only one called Buddha?
B: I teach because I want to share the experience. I teach because you, and all beings seek happiness and seek to avoid suffering. I want to give you the tools to gain what you seek.
S: so WHAT do you teach?
B: I teach “the way things are”.
Nerdine: last question, young student!
S: oh, but I have so many more!
Nerdine: Maybe next time, young one. One more question.
S: Ok ok. I have a good one: looking back on your life – what is your evaluation of it?
Nerdine: that was a good one. Buddha?
B: I can die happy. I did not hold one single teaching in a closed hand. Everything that may benefit you I have already given. But remember: even if you have all my teachings – don’t believe them because a Buddha told you, but examine them closely. Be a light onto yourselves.

Nerdine: there we have it folks! Maybe we’ll be lucky and get these fine guests back again later. A big thank you to Buddha and to our young student! I hope you enjoyed today’s show. May you all have a good day!

2006-01-31T22:19:00.000Z

If we are not fully ourselves, truly in the present moment, we miss everything. When a child presents herself to you with her smile, if you are not really there - thinking about the future or the past, or preoccupied with other problems - then the child is not really there for you. The technique of being alive is to go back to yourself in order for the child to appear like a marvellous reality. Then you can see her smile and you can embrace her in your arms.

--Thich Nhat Hanh--

2006-01-31T22:02:00.000Z

"Our ancestors viewed the earth as rich and bountiful, which it is. Many people in the past also saw nature as inexhaustibly sustainable, which we know is the case only if we care for it. It is not difficult to forgive destruction in the past that resulted from ignorance. Today, however, we have access to more information, and it is essential that we re-examine ethically what we have inherited, what we are responsible for, and what we will pass on to coming generations."

HH the 14th Dalai Lama

2006-01-31T21:32:00.000Z

Let your love flow outward through the universe,

To its height, its depth, its broad extent,

A limitless love, without hatred or enmity.

Then as you stand or walk,

Sit or lie down,

As long as you are awake,

Strive for this with a one-pointed mind;

Your life will bring heaven to earth.

--Sutta Nipata--

The eye..

2006-01-30T14:00:00.000Z

It is as though you have an eye

That sees all forms

But does not see itself.

This is how your mind is.

Its light penetrates everywhere

And engulfs everything,

So why does it not know itself?

--Foyan

Siddhartha Gautama

2006-01-30T12:54:00.000Z

Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha, was born in the sixth century B.C. in what is now modern Nepal. His father, Suddhodana, was the ruler of the Sakya people and Siddhartha grew up living the extravagant life of a young prince. According to custom, he married at the young age of sixteen to a girl named Yasodhara. His father had ordered that he live a life of total seclusion, but one day Siddhartha ventured out into the world and was confronted with the reality of the inevitable suffering of life. The next day, at the age of twenty-nine, he left his kingdom and newborn son to lead an ascetic life and determine a way to relieve universal suffering.

For six years, Siddhartha submitted himself to rigorous ascetic practices, studying and following different methods of meditation with various religious teachers. But he was never fully satisfied. One day, however, he was offered a bowl of rice from a young girl and he accepted it. In that moment, he realised that physical austerities were not the means to achieve liberation. From then on, he encouraged people to follow a path of balance rather than extremism. He called this The Middle Way.

That night Siddhartha sat under the Bodhi tree, and meditated until dawn. He purified his mind of all defilements and attained enlightenment at the age of thirty-five, thus earning the title Buddha, or "Enlightened One". For the remainder of his eighty years, the Buddha preached the Dharma in an effort to help other sentient beings reach enlightenment.

2006-01-30T12:20:00.000Z

The wheel of Dharma

2006-01-30T11:10:00.000Z

After he had attained enlightenment, as a result of requests Buddha rose from meditation and taught the so-called first "Wheel of Dharma. These teachings, which include the Sutra of the Four Noble Truths and other discourses, are the principal source of the Hinayana, or Lesser Vehicle, of Buddhism. Later, Buddha taught the second and third Wheels of Dharma, which include the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras and the Sutra Discriminating the Intention, respectively. These teachings are the source of the Mahayana, or Great Vehicle, of Buddhism. In the Hinayana teachings, Buddha explains how to attain liberation from suffering for oneself alone. In the Mahayana teachings he explains how to attain full enlightenment, or Buddhahood, for the sake of others. Both traditions flourished in Asia, at first in India and then gradually in other surrounding countries, including Tibet. Now they are also beginning to flourish in the West.

Buddha's teachings, which are known as "Dharma", are likened to a wheel that moves from country to country in accordance with changing conditions and people's karmic inclinations. The external forms of presenting Buddhism may change as it meets with different cultures and societies, but its essential authenticity is ensured through the continuation of an unbroken lineage of realized practitioners. Buddha's teachings are said to be like a precious wheel because, wherever they spread, the people in that area have the opportunity to control their minds by putting them into practice

Enlightenment

2006-01-30T10:34:00.000Z

Enlightenment is like the moon reflected on the water.

The moon does not get wet, nor is the water broken.

Although its light is wide and great,

The moon is reflected even in a puddle an inch wide.

The whole moon and the entire sky

Are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass.

Dogen

2006-01-29T19:38:00.000Z

Refuge Prayer

2006-01-29T19:18:00.001Z

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh

For Warmth

2006-01-29T19:18:00.000Z

I hold my face in my two hands.
No, I am not crying.
I hold my face in my two hands
to keep the loneliness warm:
two hands protecting,
two hands nourishing,
two hands preventing
my soul from leaving me
in anger!

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh

The Lotus-Flower

2006-01-29T15:00:00.000Z

All the heights of the high shores gleam

Red and gold at the sunset hour:

There comes the spell of a magic dream,

And the Harbour seems a lotus-flower;

A blue flower tinted at dawn with gold,

A broad flower blazing with light at noon,

A flower forever with charms to hold

His heart, who sees it by sun or moon.

Its beauty burns like a ceaseless fire,

And tower looks over the top of tower;

For all mute things it would seem, aspire

To catch a glimpse of the lotus-flower.

Men meet its beauty with furrowed face,

And straight the furrows are smoothed away;

They buy and sell in the market-place,

And languor leadens their blood all day.

At night they look on the flower, and lo!

The City passes with all its cares:

They dream no more in its azure glow,

Of gold and silver and stocks and shares.

The Lotus dreams 'neath the dreaming skies,

Its beauty touching with spell divine

The grey old town, till the old town lies

Like one half-drunk with a magic wine.

Star-loved, it breathes at the midnight hour

A sense of peace from its velvet mouth.

Though flowers be fair -- is there any flower

Like this blue flower of the radiant South?

Sun-loved and lit by the moon it yields

A challenge-glory or glow serene,

And men bethink them of jewelled shields,

A turquoise lighting a ground of green.

Fond lovers pacing beside it see

Not death and darkness, but life and light,

And dream no dream of the witchery

The Lotus sheds on the silent night.

Pale watchers weary of watching stars

That fall, and fall, and forever fall,

Tear-worn and troubled with many scars,

They seek the Lotus and end life's thrall.

The spirit spelled by the Lotus swoons,

Its beauty summons the artist mood;

And thus, perchance, in a thousand moons

Its spell shall work in our waiting blood.

Then souls shall shine with an old-time grace,

And sense be wrapped in a golden trance,

And art be crowned in the market-place

With Love and Beauty and fair Romance.

Roderic Quinn

Om Mani Padme Hum

2006-01-29T14:05:00.000Z

The Mani mantra is the most widely used of all Buddhist mantras, and open to anyone who feels inspired to practice it -- it does not require prior initiation by a lama (meditation master).

The six syllables of the mantra, as it is often pronounced by Tibetans -- Om Mani Padme Hum -- are here written in the Tibetan alphabet:

Reading from left to right the syllables are: Om (ohm) Ma (mah) Ni (nee) Pad (pahd) Me (may) Hum (hum)

The vowel in the sylable Hu (is pronounced as in the English word 'book'. The final consonant in that syllable is often pronounced 'ng' as in 'song' -- Om Mani Padme Hung. There is one further complication: The syllablePad is pronounced Pe (peh) by many Tibetans: Om Mani Peme Hung.

People who learn about the mantra naturally want to know what it means, and often ask for a translation into English or some other Western language. However, Om Mani Padme Hum can not really be translated into a simple phrase or even a few sentences.