Virtual Buddha
It is present everywhere. There is nothing it does not contain. However only those who have previously planted wisdom - seeds will be able to continuously see it. -Dogen-
woensdag, juli 11, 2012
Please call me by my true names..
woensdag, februari 02, 2011
zaterdag, juli 03, 2010
Buddha the dog
vrijdag, mei 28, 2010
oceans and the mountains and the trees and all of human aspirations, human miseries,
despairs, struggles, the immensity of it all.
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...
donderdag, mei 27, 2010
Buddha's Birthday in Tibet
woensdag, maart 21, 2007
vrijdag, februari 02, 2007
May I become at all times, both now and forever
dinsdag, september 12, 2006
reincarnation
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!
maandag, juli 10, 2006
Namaste
zaterdag, juni 17, 2006
Walk on water
May all beings be at ease
woensdag, mei 24, 2006
Dark retreat
.
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.
vrijdag, mei 19, 2006
FICUS RELIGIOSA
woensdag, mei 17, 2006
The Tao of Pooh
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--
donderdag, mei 11, 2006
Vesak
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.
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.
zaterdag, april 15, 2006
I am still
The Heart Sutra
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.
maandag, april 03, 2006
maandag, maart 27, 2006
donderdag, maart 16, 2006
inspiration
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.
zaterdag, maart 11, 2006
Refuge prayer
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.
vrijdag, maart 10, 2006
By the power of every moment of your goodness
vrijdag, maart 03, 2006
Tibetan Buddhism
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.
donderdag, februari 16, 2006
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. .
woensdag, februari 15, 2006
Deep moment of self reflection
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.
.
High rises
-- tao-yun , 400c.e --
vrijdag, februari 10, 2006
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:
From the Anguttara Nikaya
dinsdag, februari 07, 2006
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 --
-- Maezumi Roshi --
zondag, februari 05, 2006
donderdag, februari 02, 2006
answers
woensdag, februari 01, 2006
interview with Buddha
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!