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Post by dancingwind on Nov 28, 2005 13:30:23 GMT
There simply is nothing to which we can attach ourselves, no matter how hard we try. In time, things will change and the conditions that produced our current desires will be gone. Why then cling to them now?
-Master Hsing Yun, "The Indescribable"
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Post by dancingwind on Nov 29, 2005 7:25:43 GMT
Buddhist wisdom about Human Nature
"I am convinced that human nature is basically gentle, not aggressive. And every one of us has a responsibility to act as if all our thoughts, words, and deeds matter. For, really, they do. Our lives have both purpose and meaning."
HH 14th Dalai Lama
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Post by dancingwind on Nov 29, 2005 10:50:34 GMT
How very happily we live, free from busyness among those who are busy. Among busy people, free from busyness we dwell.
-Dhammapada, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
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Post by dancingwind on Nov 30, 2005 8:00:50 GMT
"Compassion is what makes our lives meaningful. It is the source of all lasting happiness and joy. And it is the foundation of a good heart, the heart of one who acts out of a desire to help others. Through kindness, through affection, through honesty, through truth and justice toward all others we ensure our own benefit. This is not a matter for complicated theorizing. It is a matter of common sense.
HH 14th Dalai Lama
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Post by dancingwind on Dec 1, 2005 8:02:07 GMT
"There is no denying that consideration of others is worthwhile. There is no denying that our happiness is inextricably bound up with the happiness of others. There is no denying that if society suffers we ourselves suffer. Nor is there any denying that the more our hearts and minds are afflicted with ill-will, the more miserable we become. Thus we can reject everything else: religion, ideology, all received wisdom. But we cannot escape the necessity of love and compassion."
Dalai Lama
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Post by dancingwind on Dec 1, 2005 8:02:55 GMT
When all the myriad streams that flow in different places, each with its own color and taste, enter the great ocean, they blend and become just one taste, with one name. In the same way, stupidity and wisdom both become one in the awakened mind. When one first starts along the path, there seems to be a distinction that this is stupidity and that is wisdom. But later, when one penetrates more deeply, one finds there is no difference between stupidity and wisdom.
-Visuddhi Magga
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Post by dancingwind on Dec 2, 2005 11:40:59 GMT
Real happiness in life starts when you begin to cherish others.
The thought of liking problems should arise as naturally as the thought of liking ice cream.
If one does not remember death, one does not remember Dharma.
In Arizona Rinpoche was asked if he would like to visit Grand Canyon. "A whole in the ground? What for!" he replied.
Less desire means less pain
The best way to cure ourselves of disease is through meditation, through using our own mind. We then become our own doctor, or own psychologist, our own guru.
Like moulding dough in your hand you can definitely turn your mind whichever way you want.
Since you don't like problems there is no choice: you have to practice Dharma.
Everything has to do with your own attitude, your own way of thinking - your motivation.
A sick body with a good heart is more beneficial to future lives than a fit, healthy body that i s used for self-cherishing.
The best thing to do is recite every morning, "I am going to die today." Since the I that exists is merely imputed, there is nothing to cherish, nothing to cling to.
Lama Zopa
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Post by dancingwind on Dec 2, 2005 11:41:56 GMT
Your own practice can show you the truth. Your own experience is all that counts.
-Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, "Mindfulness in Plain English
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Post by dancingwind on Dec 2, 2005 11:42:38 GMT
What now is the Noble Truth of Suffering?
Birth is suffering; decay is suffering; death is suffering; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair are suffering; not to get what one desires is suffering; in short the five groups of existence are suffering.
-Samyutta Nikaya
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Post by dancingwind on Dec 3, 2005 7:23:41 GMT
"When the iron bird flies, when horses run on wheels, the king will come to the land of the red man" Padmasambhava (eighth century)
"What is presented here is like a map; it is an entirely different experience to actually make this journey. It requires a guide to make this journey, and as well, we must make the proper preparations; our minds must be tamed and trained through the practice of meditation. Only then can we see the vajra world."
Chogyam Trunpa, Journey Without Goal
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Post by dancingwind on Dec 4, 2005 9:09:50 GMT
"We tend to have a very selfish, impure motivation. We want to get the teachings for our own sakes and this is not respected in terms of spiritual development. We need to have at least a motivation to help others as a result of the practice or listening to the teachings. Even if that motivation is not there right away, we need to work on th teachings from that time and eventually be able to benefit beings. This must be the true motivation."
"Whatever your practice, this is a path. The path is the mind, the motivation the mental state. The spiritual path actually means one's mental state. So, wherever and whatever your motivation is, that is the path - path is motivation always has to be there continuously. When the motivation stops, the path stops. There is no path other than motivation; there is no motivation other than the path."
Gyalwang Drukgpa - Drukpa Kargyud
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Post by dancingwind on Dec 4, 2005 9:18:33 GMT
Without love we could not survive. Human beings are social creatures, and a concern for each other is the very basis of our life together.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
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Post by dancingwind on Dec 5, 2005 7:34:10 GMT
Buddhist wisdom about the Root delusions
The six subtle and extensive delusions Of [samsaric] existence are: Attachment, anger, pride ignorance, wrong views, and doubt
That is there are six root delusions:
Anger - highly disturbed aspect of mind that arises when we see something unpleasant - enemies, and so forth
Attachment - attachment to ego / self / others / things causes suffering
Pride - is your inflated opinion of yourslef and can manifest in relation to some good or bad object: your power, wealth, good qualities, family, wisdom, pure ethics - even your pleasant voice or physical prowess
Ignorance - not knowing, not seeing, not understanding, being unclear, and so forth. Ignorance is like blindness - not seeing the nature or mode of existence of something. Ignorance is the root of all delusions.
Doubt - directed towards the four truths, the Three Jewels, cause and effect
Deluded Views - there are 5
The view that equates the self with the perishable Extreme Views - views such as the continuity of the 'I' as being discontinued at death The view of holding aggregates to be supreme
Holding an ethic or mode of behaviour to be supreme Wrong views - such as Three Jewels do not exist, cause and effect do not exist
The Causes of Delusion:
Their Foundation Their Object Society Discussions Familiarity Unrealistic Thinking
The Drawbacks of the Delusions
From An Ornament to the Sutras
Delusions destroy you, Destroy sentient beings, And destroy your ethics. You hold your equals as inferiors. Guardians and teachers criticize you, And you don't heed opponents. You will be born in conducive states. Your acquisitions and non-acquisitions Will decline, and you will have great suffering.
Kyabje Pabonka Rinpoche
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Post by dancingwind on Dec 5, 2005 12:58:01 GMT
We confuse attachment with love. Attachment is concerned with my needs, my happiness, while love is an unselfish attitude, concerned with the needs and happiness of others....
A relationship free of unrealistic grasping is free of disappointment, conflict, jealousy, and other problems, and is fertile ground for the growth of love and wisdom.
-Kathleen McDonald, "How to Meditate"
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Post by dancingwind on Dec 6, 2005 11:21:55 GMT
Free from anger, duties observed, principled, with no overbearing pride, trained, a 'last-body': he's what I call a brahmin.
Like water on a lotus leaf, a mustard seed on the tip of an awl, he doesn't adhere to sensual pleasures: he's what I call a brahmin.
-Dhammapada, 26, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
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