This Week's Words of Wisdom by Master Sheng Yen

 We all have attachments. They may be material or mental; they may be worldly, philosophical or physical. Attachments may be superficial and transient or deeply ingrained and stubbornly fixed. Attachments have one thing in common, however, they all create aggravation, turmoil in our lives.

Timing

Wow, oh the timing :-) Every time my sitting starts to slip, I seem to get a friendly reminder from one of my teachers .... and he's across the country, wow he's good :-)

With palms together,

Good Morning All,

Our practice is not talking practice, its not philosophy practice, its practice practice. Zazen is something we all would like to do. Many people want to meditate. Few do.

Everything is a problem. Not enough time. Our back hurts. Our legs hurt. Its too noisy. There is nowhere in our homes that we feel comfortable. Our spouses aren't supportive. We have children, dogs, cats, jobs... you get the idea.

All of these, however, are not problems. They are real opportunities. Zazen is not outward, it is inward. Zazen is about our attitude: right understanding. When our understanding is correct, then everything becomes zazen.

So, what is correct understanding? When we are completely present with ourselves and our activity. When the map, compass, body, and mind are in complete alignment, that is right understanding. With this understanding every step is the correct step, naturally.

We attain correct understanding, however through our practice of seated meditation and mindfulness.

Therefore, it is important to find five minutes to be still. Five minutes to place your attention on yourself and your environment as if you were simply there as a witness. Five minutes of serene reflection. If not five minutes, then one minute. If not one minute, then thirty seconds. Become a 30 second master!

Its rather like prayer, you know, No need for a fancy church or synagogue or mosque. No need for a priest, minister, or rabbi. No need for an official time, public pronouncement, advertisement of any sort. Just do it.

Be well.

Rev. Harvey So Daiho Hilbert, Ph.D.
http://www.zencenteroflascruces.org

Buddhism can help end suffering, Jet Li says

The Record, Sept 23, 2006

San Francisco, USA -- Jet Li is famous for his fists and kicks, but he'd like his compassion to be a hit, too.

<<>

Li, who noted that a quarter of a million people committed suicide in China in 2003, said he hopes that he and his latest film, Jet Li's Fearless, can help make a difference.

"I would like to spend more of my energy practising Buddhism and helping younger Chinese people to understand life,'' he told the San Francisco Chronicle. "When people commit suicide, they cause 10 people to suffer. So this is causing millions and millions of people to suffer.''

"The Buddhism idea is to look back, to look into yourself. It's a feeling,'' he said. "The feeling is different from the material. You need to make yourself happy from inside your heart.''

Fun Quiz on Karma

I guess I could be better, but can't we all :-) This is all for fun :-) Enjoy!

You Have Good Karma

In general, you like to do the right thing when it comes to others. Your caring personality really shines through. Sure, you have your moments of weakness - and occasionally act out. But, all in all, you're karma is good... even with those few dark spots.

How's Your Karma?

Where is the Buddha?

Please pass this on...

Where is the Buddha?

Last book written by the late Chief Ven. Dr K Sri Dhammananda

The Buddhist Channel is pleased to present to you the last book written by the late Chief Ven. Dr K Sri Dhammananda. To fulfill the wish of  the late venerable, this e-Book shall be distributed free of charge. Please help to fulfill his wish by forwarding it to as many people as you can.

Download E-Book Here
(PDF 100K)

As part of the effort to distribute the book as widely as possible, the Buddhist Channel have also undertaken to work with different parties from various countries to have it printed in local editions.

Among the initial selected locations which we will be giving priority to are: Sri Lanka - 5,000 copies, India - 5,000 copies, Singapore - 2000. We are also planning to have the book translated in Thai, Sinhalese, Khmer, Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese and Japanese.

We welcome donations of any amount to support our effort to fulfill the late venerable's final wishes.

We would like to thank the following for their contribution:

- Tan HL (Sarawak) - RM 300.00
- Chan Sau Kheng - RM 50.00

Please click here to make a donation:

 

 

Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!

May your kind generosity bring light to help dispel ignorance.

With loving kindness
Kooi Fong Lim
September 22, 2006
for the Buddhist Channel

Letter from Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh to President George W Bush

Plumvillage, Published on the Buddhist Channel, Sept 22, 2006

"Our home is large enough for all of us. Let us go home as brothers and sisters." - Ven Thich Nhat Hanh

Thenac, France -- Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh recently wrote a handwritten letter to US President George W. Bush about a dream he had of his brother. He shared this dream of his with the President and implored Mr Bush to rethink the situation in the Middle East. Here is the letter in full.

Honorable George W. Bush
The White House
Washington DC, USA

Plum Village
Le Pey 24240
Thenac, France

Dear Mr President

Last night, I saw my brother (who died two weeks ago in the USA) coming back to me in a dream.  He was with all his children.  He told me, "Let's go home together."  After a millisecond of hesitation, I told him joyfully, "Ok, let's go."

Waking up from that dream at 5 am this morning, I thought of the situation in the Middle East; and for the first time, I was able to cry. I cried for a long time, and I felt much better after about one hour. Then I went to the kitchen and made some tea. While making tea, I realized that what my brother had said is true: our home is large enough for all of us. Let us go home as brothers and sisters.

Mr. President, I think that if you could allow yourself to cry like I did this morning, you will also feel much better. It is our brothers that we kill over there. They are our brothers, God tells us so, and we also know it. They may not see us as brothers because of their anger, their misunderstanding, and their discrimination. But with some awakening, we can see things in a different way, and this will allow us to respond differently to the situation. I trust God in you; I trust Buddha nature in you.

Thank you for reading.

In gratitude and with brotherhood,
Thich Nhat Hanh
Plum Village

I'm a Hindu! uummmm what?

OK so India, the birthplace of Buddhism has declared that it's only a part of Hinduism. Wow.... I'm really not sure how to put this nicely.... but they are VERY different...

Gujarati government defines Jainism and Buddhism as sects of Hinduism

The Eight Auspicious Symbols

THE EIGHT AUSPICIOUS SYMBOLS

This set of symbols is very popular in Tibet, but is also known in Sanskrit as 'Ashtamangala', ashta means eight and mangala means auspicious..

The Umbrella or parasol embodies notions of wealth or royalty, for one had to be rich enough to possess such an item, and further, to have someone carry it. It points to the "royal ease" and power experienced in the Buddhist life of detachment. It also symbolises the wholesome activities to keep beings from harm (sun) like illness, harmful forces, obstacles and so forth, and the enjoyment of the results under its cool shade.

The Golden Fish; were originally symbolic of the rivers Ganges and Yamuna, but came to represent good fortune in general, for Hindus, Jain and Buddhists. Within Buddhism it also symbolises that living beings who practice the dharma need have no fear to drown in the ocean of suffering, and can freely migrate (chose their rebirth) like fish in the water.

The Treasure Vase; is a sign of the inexhaustible riches available in the Buddhist teachings, but also symbolises long life, wealth, prosperity and all the benefits of this world. (There is even a practice which involves burying or storing treasure vases at certain locations to generate wealth, eg. for monasteries or dharma centers.)

The Lotus is a very important symbol in India and of Buddhism. It refers to the complete purification of body, speech and mind, and the blossoming of wholesome deeds in liberation. The lotus refers to many aspects of the path, as it grows from the mud (samsara), up through muddy water it appears clean on the surface (purification), and finally produces a beautiful flower (enlightenment). The white blossom represents purity, the stem stands for the practice of Buddhist teachings which raise the mind above the (mud of) worldly existence, and gives rise to purity of mind.
An open blossom signifies full enlightenment; a closed blossom signifies the potential for enlightenment.

From the website Exotic India Art:

Prayer Flags

Prayer Flags
Originally uploaded by jocieposse.

Picture of prayer flags I found on Flickr.com. Uploaded by jocieposse on 23 Aug '06, 2.44pm PDT.

Don't ask why - just be

Commentary: Waking Up

By Don Munro
ReligionAndSpirituality.com

MT. HOLLY, September 4 (UPI) — Sometimes there is great wisdom in not thinking about the "why" of our misfortune. When bad things happen, I think that it is wiser to just sit and be with our dark feelings. The stillness has much to teach us.
    
My career valleys offer plenty of opportunity for getting comfortable with feelings of insecurity and fear. For example, I hate it when I hit a dry spell of writing assignments, and I can get somewhat desperate.
    
To deal with this, I sometimes make good choices; I'll update the resumé or try to mine clients in a new industry. Other times, my judgment is off the mark. Once, I was so fearful about a rough patch that I took a night job cleaning toilets in one of the local schools. (I have nothing against this kind of work, it just left me with no time to write... and smelling like Pine Sol.)
    
But the trouble is not really that there is sometimes more doodles than actual appointments in my appointment book. The bigger problem is what I may do with the fear that arises in me when I hit a rough patch.
    
When I'm confronted with a slowdown, I struggle with a disturbing sense of restlessness, unease, insecurity. It can get worse. I've been known to feed the monsters with scary stories, escalating my suffering to unbridled worry.

Please visit the rest of this great article here... LINK

This Week's Words of Wisdom by Master Sheng Yen

Let go of the past and future and just concentrate on the present.

Zen Classics - The Heart Sutra

This sutra is usually the first one new students learn. It's short, fast and packs a LOT of meaning. I have seen 1000 page books written on this very short sutra. I aquired this version for Brad Warner's web page. He is a Zen monk in California and the author of the incredable book Hardcore Zen.

I THE
HEART SUTRA

Here's a little something I made for myself that I thought some of you might find useful. I went on and on in Hardcore Zen about the Heart Sutra. For those who don't have the book, the Heart Sutra is a short poetic piece written fairly early on in the history of Buddhism -- though probably a few hundred years after Buddha himself died -- which encapsulates most of what has come to be known as Zen Buddhism. The Heart Sutra is the standard sutra chanted at pretty much any relevant occasion at Zen temples and centers. It works for everything from morning services to funerals and everything in between.

I've been trying to commit it to memory. Since I can kinda sorta read the Chinese characters and since I know the meaning, I found it was easier to memorize if I associated what I was chanting to what it meant rather than just trying to memorize the syllables. So I put together a version where the Chinese characters, their pronunciation in Roman letters and the English translation of each line are side-by-side for easy reference.

The English translation I've used is based upon the ones by Kobun Chino and Gudo Nishijima with a bit of my own re-interpretation thrown in. I tried to follow the Chinese grammar in the English translation so that it would be easier to match the Chinese directly to the English. Since word order in Chinese and English is fairly close, this doesn't create too many problems, though there are a couple awkward spots.

I claim no ownership or copyright of any kind on this material. So feel free to use it in any way you please without asking permission from me. Copy it. Distribute it. Re-write it as a pornographic limerick if you want.

If your browser can deal with Japanese, you'll be able to view it below. If not, try downloading this PDF file:

THE HEART SUTRA

I've followed the Japanese practice of indicating lengthened o's and u's by adding a "u" after them. So, for example, the syllable "sou" is pronounced as a long "so" and not "sow." The letter "i" is pronounced "ee" and the letter "e" is pronounced "eh."

To chant it like a pro, just adopt a real low monotone Robby the Robot type voice and chant each character (separated by dashes in the Romanized version) for an even length of time. That means a two syllable character such as "satsu" lasts as long as a one syllable character. Don't go up or down at the ends of the lines. But you can drop your voice on the syllable "gyou" at the end of the first line and the end of the last line (but only those two times).

If you spot any errors, please let me know and I'll fix them (errors fixed 2/1/05, thanks to Shonen Dunley).

Have fun!

摩訶般波羅蜜多心経
ma-ka-han-nya-ha-ra-mi-ta-shin-gyou
The Great Heart of Wisdom Sutra

観自在菩薩行深般波羅蜜多時
kan-ji-zai-bo-satsu-gyou-jin-han-nya-ha-ra-mi-ta-ji
Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva while practicing deep Prajna Paramita

照見五薀皆空度一切苦厄
shou-ken-go-on-kai-kuu-do-is-sai-ku-yaku
Perceived all five skandhas were empty and was saved from suffering and distress

舍利子色不異空
sha-ri-shi-shiki-fu-i-kuu
Shariputra, form is no different from emptiness

空不異色
kuu-fu-i-shiki
Emptiness is no different from form

色即是空
shiki-soku-ze-kuu
That which is form is emptiness

空即是色
kuu-soku-ze-shiki
That which is emptiness is form

受想行識 亦復如是
juu-sou-gyou-shiki-yaku-bu-nyo-ze
Feelings, perceptions, impulses, consciousness, the same is true of these

舍利子是諸法空相
sha-ri-shi-ze-sho-hou-kuu-sou
Shariputra, all dharmas are marked with emptiness

不生不滅
fu-shou-fu-metsu
(They) do not appear or disappear

不垢不浄
fu-ku-fu-jou
are not tainted or pure

不増不減
fu-zou-fu-gen
do not increase or decrease

是故空中無色
ze-ko-kuu-chuu-mu-shiki
Therefore in emptiness no form,

無受想行識
mu-juu-sou-gyou-shiki
no feelings, perceptions, impulses, consciousness

無眼耳鼻舌身意
mu-gen-ni-bi-zes-shin-i
no eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind

無色声香味触法
mu-shiki-shou-kou-mi-soku-hou
no color, sound, smell, taste, touch, object of mind

無限界乃至無意識界
mu-gen-kai-nai-shi-mu-i-shiki-kai
no realm of eyes and so forth until no realm of mind consciousness

無無明亦無無明尽
mu-mu-myou-yaku-mu-mu-myou-jin
no ignorance and also no extinction of ignorance

乃至無老死亦無老死尽
nai-shi-mu-rou-shi-yaku-mu-rou-shi-jin
and so forth until no old age and death and no extinction of old age and death

無苦集滅道
mu-ku-shuu-metsu-dou
no suffering, origination, stopping, path

無智亦無得
mu-chi-yaku-mu-toku
no cognition also no attainment

以無所得故
i-mu-sho-tok-ko
with nothing to attain

菩提薩埵依般若波羅蜜多故
bo-dai-sat-ta-e-han-nya-ha-ra-mi-ta-ko
the Bodhisattva depends upon Prajna Paramita

心無罣礙
shin-mu-ke-ge
and (his) mind is no hindrance

無罣礙故無有恐怖
mu-ke-ge-ko-mu-u-ku-fu
without any hindrance no fear exists

遠離一切顛倒無想
on-ri-is-sai-ten-dou-mu-sou
far apart from every inverted view

究竟涅槃
ku-kyou-ne-han
(he) dwells in Nirvana

三世諸仏
san-ze-shou-butsu
All Buddhas in the Three Worlds

依般若波羅蜜多故
e-han-nya-ha-ra-mi-ta-ko
depend on Prajna Paramita

得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提
toku-a-noku-ta-ra-san-myaku-san-bo-dai
and attain complete unsurpassed enlightenment

故知般若波羅蜜多
ko-chi-han-nya-ha-ra-mi-ta
Therefore know the Prajna Paramita

是大神呪
ze-dai-jin-shu
is the great transcendent mantra

是大明呪
ze-dai-myou-shu
is the great bright mantra

是無上呪
ze-mu-jou-shu
is the utmost mantra

是無等等呪
ze-mu-tou-dou-shu
is the supreme mantra

能除一切苦真実不嘘
nou-jo-is-sai-ku-shin-jitsu-fu-ko
which is able to relieve all suffering and is true, not false

故説般若波羅蜜多呪
ko-setsu-han-nya-ha-ra-mi-ta-shu
so proclaim the Prajna Paramita mantra

即説呪曰
soku-setsu-shu-watsu
proclaim the mantra that says

揭諦揭諦波羅揭諦
gya-te-gya-te-ha-ra-gya-te
gone,gone, gone beyond

波羅僧揭諦菩提薩婆訶
ha-ra-sou-gya-te-bo-ji-so-wa-ka
gone all the way beyond, Bodhi Svaha!

般波心経
han-nya-shin-gyou
heart sutra

Buddhism 101 - Part 2

The 8-Fold Path. The path is the extension of Noble Truth number four. This is the checklist that the Buddha gave to us to help us reach nirvana aka the end of suffering. The path is divided up and graphically represented by a wheel.

The three major categories of the path are wisdom, ethical conduct and mental discipline sometimes called meditation. In a broad sense that is accurate, but meditation (the sitting kind) is only a part of the mental discipline category.

From Wikipedia - In all of the elements of the Noble Eightfold Path, the word "right" is a translation of the word samyañc (Sanskrit) or sammā (Pāli), which denotes completion, togetherness, and coherence, and which can also carry the sense of "perfect" or "ideal".

Though the path is numbered one through eight, it is generally not considered to be a series of linear steps through which one must progress; rather, as the Buddhist monk and scholar Walpola Rahula points out, the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path "are to be developed more or less simultaneously, as far as possible according to the capacity of each individual. They are all linked together and each helps the cultivation of the others.




* Wisdom (Sanskrit: prajñā, Pāli: paññā)
1. Right understanding
2. Right intention

* Ethical conduct (Sanskrit: śīla, Pāli: sīla)
3. Right speech
4. Right action
5. Right livelihood

* Mental discipline (Sanskrit and Pāli: samādhi)
6. Right effort
7. Right mindfulness
8. Right concentration

As time goes on I will try to address each of the 8 points, but please keep in mind entire books have been written on this topic. Here is a great study LINK for more information.

Buddhism 101 - Part 1

The backbone of all Buddhist teachings is the 4 Noble Truths. The first sermon that the newly enlightened historical Buddha gave was about the 4 Truths. This sermon was given in a deer park and has come to be known as the Samyutta Nikaya.

Therefore, the Buddha said in the Samyutta Nikaya: These Four Noble Truths, monks, are actual, unerring, not otherwise. Therefore, they are called noble truths.

So, what are these truths? Well......

1. Life entails suffering (dissatisfaction) also known as duhkha
2. Dissatisfaction is a result of suffering (craving/desire) also known as trishna
3. Suffering can be stopped also known as nirvana
4. The way to end suffering is with the 8-fold path also known as maggha

Again from the Samyutta Nikaya: Why have I declared (the four noble truths)? Because it is beneficial, it belongs to the fundamentals of the holy life, it leads to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nirvana. That is why I have declared it.

Here is a great LINK to a study guide. It goes into great detail on something that seems so simple :-)

Welcome and Intro

Welcome one and all! Namaste! Over the last several years since becoming a Buddhist, I have had many people ask me things like why, how, and most commonly what the heck are you talking about :-) So, in a way this blog is to help me put my thoughts down in one place. If it helps anyone else out there, that's a good thing. It is a meritous thing to spread the Dharma.....

My first couple of post will be about the most important tenants in Buddhism and Zen. No, Buddhism and Zen are not the same thing. There are several 'flavors' of Buddhism if you will. Zen (Japanese translation of the Chinese C'han) is know as the sudden enlightenment school. Zen is a subset of Mahayana Buddhism. LOL, ok another term there :-) There are three major categories or types of Buddhism. They are Theravada, Mahayana and the Vajrayana or know to most as the Tibetan path.

I am a C'han practitioner affiliated with a Chinese temple in my area. As a C'han practitioner I have more religious "things" going on then a Zen purist would. Trust me, it's convoluted, but i Will explain to the best of my ability as time goes on. So hang on, it just might be a very bumpy ride :-) Here is a great overview of Buddhism from Wikipedia. LINK