Wednesday, October 31, 2007







When an arrow of evil is shot at my heart but lands at my feet.



I choose not to bend over, pick it up, and stab myself with it.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Monday, October 29, 2007

Atisha

The greatest achievement is selflessness.

The greatest worth is self-mastery.

The greatest quality is seeking to serve others.

The greatest precept is continual awareness.

The greatest medicine is the emptiness of everything.

The greatest action is not conforming with the worlds ways.

The greatest magic is transmuting the passions.

The greatest generosity is non-attachment.

The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind.

The greatest patience is humility.

The greatest effort is not concerned with results.

The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go.

The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Seven Conditions for the Sangha

Assemble at one place frequently and continue the habitual gathering.
*
Perform the prescribed duties together as the members of the Sangha.
*
Adhere to rules prescribed by the state and observe discipline.
*
Respect, honour, and make offering to the elders, and listen to them.
*
Protect the dignity of women.
*
Observe the national code of ethics.
*
Ensure respect to religious teachers and look after their comfort.
*
The Buddha asked for observance of these rules for householders or laity. These words have been proclaimed by the Buddha. If these principles and rules are followed, one can lead a peaceful life and attain prosperity. Observance of these rules will be helpful in the advancement towards Nibbana, the supreme bliss of Buddhism.
*
Sabbe sattva sukhita hontu -- may all beings be happy.

Lingyuan

When you cut and polish a stone, as you grind and rub you do not see it decreasing, yet with time it will be worn away. When you plant a tree and take care of it, you do not see it increase, but in time it gets big.

When you accumulate virtue with continued practice, you do not see the good of it, but in time it will function. If you abandon right and go against truth, you do not see the evil of it, but in time you will perish.

When students fully think this through and put it into practice, they will develop great capacity and emanate a fine reputation. This is the way that has not changed, now or ever.

Saturday, October 27, 2007

The Fragrance of the Rose

The disciples were absorbed in a discussion of Lao-tzu's dictum:

"Those who know, do not say;
Those who say, do not know."

"When the master entered, they asked him what the words meant.
Said the master, "Which of you knows the fragrance of a rose?"
All of them indicated that they knew.
Then he said, "Put it into words."

All of them were silent.

One Minute Wisdom by Anthony DeMello

Dalai Lama Has No Answers About Iraq War

2007-10-26 23:41:58By CLIFF BRUNT Associated Press Writer

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Even the Dalai Lama has no answers about Iraq.

When asked during a talk on the Purdue University campus Friday how to best end the war and bring peace to the region, he said: "The best answer for that, I don't know."

The near-capacity crowd at the Elliott Hall of Music applauded his honesty, a response that was common during his 80-minute talk titled "Cultivating Happiness."

The 72-year-old monk touched on topics ranging from the state of the human race to his favorite color: green.

The Dalai Lama, who became Tibet's leader at 15, was proclaimed the 14th Dalai Lama at age 5. He fled the Himalayan region in 1959 during a failed uprising against communist Chinese rule.
His efforts to preserve Tibetan culture and promote Tibet's liberation earned him the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize.

Although he remains highly popular among Tibetans and is lauded in much of the world as a figure of moral authority, China's government calls him a Tibetan separatist.

Chinese officials lashed out angrily at the U.S. after President Bush presented him this month with the prestigious Congressional Gold Medal, Congress' highest civilian honor. The Dalai Lama brushed aside the furor, saying he supports "genuine autonomy," not independence, for Tibet.

The Dalai Lama has gained respect for President Bush.

"In spite of my disagreement with some of his policies, as a person, I love him," he said. "We immediately became friends. He's a very nice person."

Friday, October 26, 2007

The Dhammapada

Canal-makers lead the water;

Archers bend the arrow;

Carpenters bend a log of wood;

Good people fashion themselves.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Who is the Dalai Lama?

The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, was born Lhamo Dhondub to a farming family in a northeastern Tibetan village in 1935. Buddhist officials recognized him as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso, when he was two years old. Buddhists believe the successive Dalai Lamas form a lineage back to the 14th century.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

How does China view the Dalai Lama?

China, which has ruled Tibet with a heavy hand since its forces invaded the Himalayan country in 1951, considers the Dalai Lama a separatist and traitor for advocating Tibetan self-rule. The Dalai Lama remains immensely popular in Tibet. The Dalai Lama has led an effective government-in-exile based in India since fleeing his homeland in 1959 amid a failed Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule.



The Dalai Lama states on his Web site that he does not seek to separate Tibet from China, but rather advocates a “middle-way approach whereby Tibet remains within the People’s Republic of China enjoying a high degree of self-rule or autonomy.”

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

What is the Dalai Lama’s spiritual significance?

According to Buddhists belief, the Dalai Lamas are earthly incarnations of Avalokiteshvara or Chenrezig, the bodhisattva of compassion and patron saint of Tibet. In Buddhist tradition, bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who chose rebirth, rather than the nirvana of afterlife, in order to serve humanity. As such, the Dalai Lama is considered the spiritual leader of Tibet and one of Buddhism’s most important leaders anywhere.

Monday, October 22, 2007

What is the Dalai Lama’s political significance?

The Dalai Lama traditionally claims to be head of Tibet’s government. He has sought to publicize the plight of Tibetans on the global stage. The Dalai Lama has taken his message to the United Nations and persuaded the world body to adopt resolutions calling for the protection of the Tibetan people on four occasions. He has met widely with political and religious leaders, including the late Pope John Paul II. More broadly, he has worked to boost awareness of the situation in Tibet and promote the preservation of Tibetan culture.


In awarding the Dalai Lama the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, the Norwegian Nobel Committee praised "his consistent resistance to the use of violence in his people's struggle to regain their liberty."

Sunday, October 21, 2007

How is the Dalai Lama chosen?

Senior Buddhist monks immediately begin a search for the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, usually a child, after the death of previous Lama. One of the chief signs of the reincarnation is whether the child is familiar with possessions of the previous Dalai Lama. The 14th Dalai Lama has asserted that he was born with his eyes open, which "may be some slight indication of a clear state of mind in the womb," and thus evidence that he was the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama.


According to his Web site, the Dalai Lama considers himself “a simple Buddhist monk. … I feel that the Dalai Lama as a temporal ruler is a man-made institution. As long as the people accept the Dalai Lama, they will accept me. But being a monk is something which belongs to me. No one can change that.”

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Kahlil Gibran

When the earth shall claim your limbs,

then you shall truly dance.
Conquer anger with lack of anger; bad, with good;
stinginess, with a gift; a liar, with truth.

What the miser fears, that keeps him from giving,
is the very danger that comes when he doesn't give.

No misers go to the world of the devas,
those who don't praise giving are fools.


The enlightened express their approval for giving,
and so find ease in the world beyond.

Friday, October 19, 2007

Buddha

Believe nothing merely because you have been told it.

Do not believe what your teacher tells you merely out of respect for the teacher.

But whatever, after due examination and analysis,

you find to be kind, conducive to the good,

the benefit, the welfare of all beings

that doctrine believe and cling to, and take it as your guide.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Buddha

"That which causes the stupidity and delusion of man is love and the desires." "Man having many faults, if he does not repent, but allows his heart to be at rest, sins will rush upon him like water to the sea. When vice has thus become more powerful it is still harder than before to abandon it. If a bad man becomes sensible of his faults, abandons them and acts virtuously, his sin will day by day diminish and be destroyed, till he obtains full enlightenment."

Buddha

The body is the tree of enlightenment

the mind like a clear mirror stand time and gain

wipe it diligently

don't let it gather dust.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Bush, Congress Honor Dalai Lama


Wednesday, October 17, 2007 2:58 PM EDTThe Associated PressBy FOSTER KLUG Associated Press Writer


WASHINGTON (AP) — The Dalai Lama accepted the Congressional Gold Medal Wednesday, joining President Bush and the leaders of Congress in urging reconciliation with the Chinese government that has kept him in exile for nearly half a century.


The world is waiting "to see how China's concepts of harmonious society and peaceful rights" unfold, the saffron-robed Tibetan monk said after becoming the 146th recipient of the most prestigious award bestowed by Congress. He repeated his long-held position that he is only seeking autonomy for the people of Tibet, not independence from China.


President Bush, defying Chinese complaints about the public honoring of a man it regards as a threat to Beijing's control of Tibet, called on Chinese leaders to welcome the Dalai Lama to the communist nation. The president called him a "universal symbol of peace and tolerance, a shepherd of the faithful and a keeper of the flame for his people."


"America cannot look to the plight of the religiously oppressed and close their eyes or turn away," said Bush, who sat next to the Dalai Lama during the ceremony and personally handed the medal to him.


"Let this man of peace visit Beijing," said House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Lantos, D-Calif., saying such a gesture would ensure the right atmosphere for the Beijing Olympics next summer.


The 72-year-old Buddhist leader struggled to deliver his remarks in English, but laughed at his own mistakes and joked that politicians, despite their good intentions, sometimes tell "a little lie here and there."


China vehemently protested the elaborate public ceremony. But at a news conference earlier in the day, Bush said that he did not think his attendance at the ceremony would damage U.S. relations with China.


"I support religious freedom; he supports religious freedom. ... I want to honor this man," Bush told reporters at the White House. "I have consistently told the Chinese that religious freedom is in their nation's interest. I've also told them that it's in their interest to meet with the Dalai Lama and will say so at the ceremony."


Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said this was the first time a U.S. president has appeared in public with the Dalai Lama. The Bush administration took pains on Tuesday to keep a private meeting with the president and the Dalai Lama from further infuriating China: no media access, not even a handout photo.


The Dalai Lama is lauded in much of the world as a figure of moral authority, but Beijing demonizes the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and claims he seeks to destroy China's sovereignty by pushing for independence for Tibet.


China had demanded that the United States cancel this week's celebrations. Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in Beijing said the events "seriously wounded the feelings of the Chinese people and interfered with China's internal affairs."


"China is strongly resentful of and resolutely opposes this and has made solemn representation to the U.S. side," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said in a comment carried Wednesday by the official Xinhua News Agency.


"We seriously urged the U.S. side to correct such wrongdoing and stop interfering in China's internal affairs in any forms," Liu said.


Chinese state media declared earlier Wednesday the U.S. "must be held responsible for the consequences."


"We are not willing to see damage done to relations between the two countries, but this event will certainly cast a shadow over the relations," the official China Daily newspaper said in an unsigned editorial.


U.S. lawmakers regularly criticize Beijing for human rights abuses and a massive military buildup and claim that China ignores abuse by unsavory foreign governments in Sudan and Myanmar in its pursuit of energy and business deals.


The Bush administration also finds fault with China but is usually more measured as it seeks to manage a booming trade relationship and a desire to enlist Chinese cooperation in world affairs.

The Dhammapada

If a traveler does not meet with one who is his better, or his equal,


let him firmly keep to his solitary journey;


there is no companionship for a fool.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama




His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is the spiritual and temporal leader of the Tibetan people. He was born in a small village called Takster in northeastern Tibet. Born to a peasant family, His Holiness was recognized at the age of two, in accordance with Tibetan tradition, as the reincarnation of his predecessor the 13th Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lamas are the manifestations of the Bodhisattva of Compassion, who chose to reincarnate to serve the people. Dalai Lama means Ocean of Wisdom. Tibetans normally refer to His Holiness as Yeshin Norbu, the Wish-fulfilling Gem, or simply, Kundun, meaning The Presence.


Education in Tibet

He began his education at the age of six and completed the Geshe Lharampa Degree (Doctorate of Buddhist Philosophy) when he was 25. At 24, he took the preliminary examination at each of the three monastic universities: Drepung, Sera and Ganden. The final examination was held in the Jokhang, Lhasa, during the annual Monlam Festival of Prayer, held in the first month of every year. In the morning he was examined by 30 scholars on logic. In the afternoon, he debated with 15 scholars on the subject of the Middle Path, and in the evening, 35 scholars tested his knowledge of the canon of monastic discipline and the study of metaphysics. His Holiness passed the examinations with honours, conducted before a vast audience of monk scholars.


Leadership Responsibilities

In 1950, at 16, His Holiness was called upon to assume full political power as Head of State and Government when Tibet was threatened by the might of China. In 1954 he went to Peking to talk with Mao Tse-Tung and other Chinese leaders, including Chou En-Lai and Deng Xiaoping. In 1956, while visiting India to attend the 2500th Buddha Jayanti, he had a series of meetings with Prime Minister Nehru and Premier Chou about deteriorating conditions in Tibet. In 1959 he was forced into exile in India after the Chinese military occupation of Tibet. Since 1960 he has resided in Dharamsala, aptly known as "Little Lhasa", the seat of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile. In the early years of exile, His Holiness appealed to the United Nations on the question of Tibet, resulting in three resolutions adopted by the General Assembly in 1959, 1961 and 1965. In 1963, His Holiness promulgated a draft constitution for Tibet which assures a democratic form of government. In the last two decades, His Holiness has set up educational, cultural and religious institutions which have made major contributions towards the preservation of the Tibetan identity and its rich heritage. He has given many teachings and initiations, including the rare Kalachakra Initiation, which he has conducted more than any of his predecessors. His Holiness continues to present new initiatives to resolve the Tibetan issues. At the Congressional Human Rights Caucus in 1987 he proposed a Five-Point Peace Plan as a first step towards resolving the future status of Tibet. This plan calls for the designation of Tibet as a zone of peace, an end to the massive transfer of ethnic Chinese into Tibet, restoration of fundamental human rights and democratic freedoms and the abandonment of China's use of Tibet for nuclear weapons production and the dumping of nuclear waste, as well as urging "earnest negotiations" on the future of Tibet and relations between the Tibetan and Chinese people. In Strasbourg, France, on June 15, 1988, he elaborated on this Five-Point Peace Plan and proposed the creation of a self-governing democratic Tibet, "in association with the People's Republic of China." In his address, the Dalai Lama said that this represented "the most realistic means by which to re-establish Tibet's separate identity and restore the fundamental rights of the Tibetan people while accommodating China's own interests." His Holiness emphasized that "whatever the outcome of the negotiations with the Chinese may be, the Tibetan people themselves must be the ultimate deciding authority.


Contact with the West

Unlike his predecessors, His Holiness has met and talked with many Westerners and has visited the United States, Canada, Western Europe, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Mongolia, Greece, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Nepal, Costa Rica, Mexico, the Vatican, China and Australia. He has met with religious leaders from all these countries.His Holiness met with the late Pope Paul VI at the Vatican in 1973, and with His Holiness Pope John Paul II in 1980, 1982, 1986 and 1988. At a press conference in Rome, His Holiness the Dalai Lama outlined his hopes for the meeting with John Paul II: "We live in a period of great crisis, a period of troubling world developments. It is not possible to find peace in the soul without security and harmony between the people. For this reason, I look forward with faith and hope to my meeting with the Holy Father; to an exchange of ideas and feelings, and to his suggestions, so as to open the door to a progressive pacification between people.". In 1981, His Holiness talked with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Robert Runcie, and with other leaders of the Anglican Church in London. He also met with leaders of the Roman Catholic and Jewish communities and spoke at an interfaith service in his honour by the World Congress of Faiths. His talk focused on the commonality of faiths and the need for unity among different religions: "I always believe that it is much better to have a variety of religions, a variety of philosophies, rather than one single religion or philosophy. This is necessary because of the different mental dispositions of each human being. Each religion has certain unique ideas or techniques, and learning about them can only enrich one's own faith."


Recognition by the West

Since his first visit to the west in the early 1970s, His Holiness' reputation as a scholar and man of peace has grown steadily. In recent years, a number of western universities and institutions have conferred Peace Awards and honorary Doctorate Degrees upon His Holiness in recognition of his distinguished writings in Buddhist philosophy and of his distinguished leadership in the service of freedom and peace.


Universal Responsibility

During his travels abroad, His Holiness has spoken strongly for better understanding and respect among the different faiths of the world. Towards this end, His Holiness has made numerous appearances in interfaith services, imparting the message of universal responsibility, love, compassion and kindness. "The need for simple human-to-human relationships is becoming increasingly urgent . . . Today the world is smaller and more interdependent. One nation's problems can no longer be solved by itself completely. Thus, without a sense of universal responsibility, our very survival becomes threatened. Basically, universal responsibility is feeling for other people's suffering just as we feel our own. It is the realization that even our enemy is entirely motivated by the quest for happiness. We must recognize that all beings want the same thing that we want. This is the way to achieve a true understanding, unfettered by artificial consideration."

The Diamond Cutter Sutra – The Dali Lama



In basic terms, a sutra is a narrative text generally regarded as a discourse of the Buddha.



The Diamond Cutter Sutra, in particular, is one of the Perfection of Wisdom sutras, and teaches followers that although they "may aspire to attainment enlightenment in order to benefit others, [they] must question whether there exists an actual self that can become enlightened.




The very name Diamond Cutter Sutra refers to the fact that the heart of the text - honing the ability to realize the illusory nature of daily life - is a wisdom that cuts through misconceptions like a diamond. As the Dalai Lama emphasized over and over again, the root of human suffering is being in a state of fundamental ignorance, of having a false sense of self. To attain freedom, we must all cultivate insight into ourselves and rid ourselves of our distorted states of mind. We must also beware the danger of "extreme self-centeredness," and cherish others' welfare as much as our own, although our compassion for others must also be tempered by our knowledge of "not being."

The Dhammapada


If a man's thoughts are not dissipated,


if his mind is not perplexed,


if he has ceased to think of good or evil,


then there is no fear for him while he is watchful.

Monday, October 15, 2007

The Dhammapada

It is good to tame the mind,

which is difficult to hold in and flighty,

rushing wherever it wishes;

a tamed mind brings happiness.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

THE LIAR, THE TRUTH, AND PEACE


The Liar shall learn to speak the Truth

He who learns how to speak the Truth, shall be at Peace

She who learns Peace, shall have the Truth

Those who learn Peace, and the truth, shall have the

Privilege to walk on the Devine Road of Life without Fear!

Words On Controlling Anger - Lama Surya Das

Patience means not retaliating with anger for anger, or harm for harm, and voluntarily bearing up under difficulties in order to progress on the path of spiritual awakening. How do we actually do this?

How do we slow down our conditioned, knee-jerk reactions while speeding up and sharpening our conscious, mindful, moment-to-moment, awareness?

How do we broaden the gap between stimulus and response so that we have time to give the situation a proper amount of consideration?

This takes clarity, resolve, meditation, and practice. I call this gap the Sacred Pause, because it is the only possible source of peace and harmony in our interactions with people or events. By consciously minding and utilizing the Sacred Pause, we can master ourselves and assert leverage over our clumsy, semiconscious, often unwarranted conditioned reactions.

Begin the process by taking a deep breath, smiling, and relaxing. Much of the accumulated pressure and tension may begin to dissipate right away, thus providing more space and clarity for mindful work. Breathe, smile, relax, and center yourself. Then apply what the Six Steps to Anger Management, which also could be called steps to mindfulness, freedom, and authentic responsiveness. Collectively, they are like cool, fresh breaths of mindful awareness that can help you let go of negativity and keep you from falling into regrettable outcomes. To remember these steps, think of them as the six R’s:

Recognizing: Noticing with objective equanimity a familiar stimulus—like harsh words—that pushes a hot button for you, triggering an unskillful retaliatory response.

Recollecting: remembering the disadvantages of returning anger with anger, negative with negative, and the advantages of practicing patience, forbearance, tolerance, and acceptance.

Refraining by restraining and reframing: seeing things from alternative points of view, including that of your antagonist (if the situation involves a button-pushing person); cultivating compassion; acknowledging the law of karma (what goes around comes around); and considering the situation an opportunity to develop patience or the person a teacher who can help you do this.

Relinquishing: letting go of habitual reactivity and impulsive urges in favor of more consciously chosen and intelligent courses of action.

Reconditioning: Going back over what you have done and learned so far—the entire dynamic—to help you substitute a healthier response process for your old knee-jerk conditioning.

Repetition is crucial.

Responding: Addressing the person or situation patiently, appropriately, intelligently, and proactively (rather than reactively). Let spiritual intelligence be your guide.

Applying the Six Steps of Anger Management is an adult version of kindergarten’s counting to ten in order to give yourself time to think before you act. Keep in mind that it is not other people or external circumstances that determine our karma, our character, our experience, and our destiny. It is how we relate to these other people and circumstances that makes all the difference. It is not what happens to us but what we make of it that makes all the difference; this is the secret of autonomy and spiritual self-mastery. The gift of patience is truly the gift of yourself, but not in any way that diminishes you, the giver. Instead, you share your strength with someone and become stronger yourself in the process. Please keep in mind these wise words on patience from the Dalai Lama: When we talk about patience or tolerance, we should understand that there are many degrees, starting from a simple tolerance, such as being able to bear a certain amount of heat and cold, progressing toward the highest level of patience, which is the type of patience and tolerance found in the great practitioners, the bodhisattvas. One should not see tolerance of patience as a sign of weakness, but rather as a sign of strength coming from a deep ability to remain steadfast and firm. We find that even in being able to tolerate a certain degree of physical hardship, like a hot or cold climate, out attitude makes a big difference.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

J. Krishnamurti



Insight is not an act of remembrance, the continuation of memory. Insight is like a flash of light. You see with absolute clarity, all the complications, the consequences, the intricacies. Then this very insight is action, complete. In that there are no regrets, no looking back, no sense of being weighed down, no discrimination. This is pure, clear insight - perception without any shadow of doubt. Most of us begin with certainty and as we grow older the certainty changes to uncertainty and we die with uncertainty. But if one begins with uncertainty, doubting, questioning, asking demanding, with real doubt about man's behaviour, about all the religious rituals and their images and their symbols, then out of that doubt comes the clarity of certainty.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Core Beliefs In Buddhism - THE FIVE PRECEPTS

The Five Precepts are basic ethical guidelines for the followers of Buddhism. They are undertaken voluntarily, rather than as commandments from a god. Essentially, these precepts promote harmony and reduce suffering between ourselves and others. The underpinning moral code has two qualities: compassion (karuna) and loving kindness (metta), which are used as the guiding principles in life.


I undertake the precept to refrain from destroying living creatures.

I undertake the precept to refrain from taking that which is not given.

I undertake the precept to refrain from sexual misconduct.

I undertake the precept to refrain from incorrect speech.

I undertake the precept to refrain from intoxicatants.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Basho

From the pine tree learn of the pine tree
and from the bamboo learn of the bamboo.

Monday, October 8, 2007

The Dhammapada

All that we are is the result of what we have thought:

it is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts.

If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him,

as the wheel follows the foot of the ox that draws the carriage.

Zen Proverb

If you understand,
things are just as they are...

If you do not understand,
things are just as they are.




Sunday, October 7, 2007

Dogen Zenji

If you cannot find the truth right where you are

where else do you expect to find it?

Saturday, October 6, 2007

The Dhammapada

Earnestness is the path of Nirvana,

thoughtlessness the path of death.

Those who are in earnest do not die,

those who are thoughtless are as if dead already.




Friday, October 5, 2007

The Dhammapada

As an archer makes his arrow straight,
so a wise man makes straight his trembling and unsteady thought,
which is difficult to guard and difficult to hold back.