Buddist Images

[soma]

Peaceful in body, peaceful in speech,

The bhikkhu who is peaceful and well-concentrated

And who has rejected the world's bait

Is called "one at peace".

 

Dhammapada 378

 

 

 

Whoever is unopposing among those who oppose,

Peaceful among the armed,

Not clinging among those who cling,

I call a brahmin.

 

Dhammapada 406

[minsocal]

minsocial,

 

I have no doubt that there is in fact an anti Mahayana/Zen bias built into Nyanaponika's words. Not that he would necessarily deny the possibility of "instant" enlightenment/trnscending of the opposites (there are documented instances of such within the Theravada Scriptures) but owing to his seeing - even at the time he was writing - many instances of a pseudo-enlightenment being claimed by some within the Western world.

 

From a Buddhist perspective we would all be at different stages of "development", and therefore there is no reason to hold back! I would only say - and what do I know? - in my understanding it has virtually nothing to do with the will as "desire".

 

I should explain. I grew up on a farm. In this environment one quickly learns about impermanence and oneness. Perhaps the first opposites to transcend are East and West?

[tariki]

I should explain. I grew up on a farm. In this environment one quickly learns about impermanence and oneness. Perhaps the first opposites to transcend are East and West?

 

Minsocial,

 

Still not really sure exactly what you mean. Are you implying that I am "assuming a diversity in human nature" by posting "Buddhist Images" ....for communion.....?

 

Virually every time I speak of "eastern" and "western" I use inverted commas!!

[tariki]

After the little diversion, time for another image. This is drawn from the wrtings of Ajahn Chah of the Thai Forest Monastic tradition. Ajahn Chah was very strong on the discipline of the Vinaya, the ancient monastic rules laid down for the monks/bhikkhu's in the Theravada Scriptures.

 

Following the Vinaya means we are contained in our speech and action, and accordingly the mind is contained - it is collected. If we are skilled in disciplining speech and action, then the faculty of knowing - mindfulness - is sharp. The mind is as skilled as speech and action, and speech and action are as skilled as the mind. This is religious practice - training of body, speech, and mind.

 

Do everything with a mind that lets go. Don't accept praise or gain or anything else. If you let go a little you will have a little peace; if you let go a lot you will have a lot of peace; if you let go completely you will have complete peace.

 

The Buddha is to be found right in the most simple things in front of you, if you're willing to look. And the essence of this is finding the balance which doesn't hold and which doesn't push away.

 

Speak simply, work simply - simplify everything you do so you will be able to see clearly. If you arrive at wisdom, it will be because you've learned to understand your own body and mind. To know the world means to understand the body/mind processes and vice versa......If you don't know yourself, you don't know the world........if you don't understand the nature of the world, then you do not understand yourself.

 

And finally, a link to the Pure Land......again from Ajahn Chan...

 

Do not worry about enlightenment. When growing a tree, you plant it, water it, fertilize it, keep the bugs away; and if these things are done properly, the tree will naturally grow. How quickly it grows, however, is something you cannot control.

 

What a wonderful description of the "spiritual" life........keeping the bugs away "For the earth brings forth fruit of herself."

[JosephM]

Tariki,

 

Thanks for the images. Oddly, the part on neither 'holding' or 'pushing' spoke to me.

 

Joseph

[tariki]

I popped up to London a few days ago and drifted around Tottenham Court Road, home of a multitude of bookshops, a tariki paradise! Anyway, I collared another couple by Thomas Merton, one a little pocket size book, handy for taking around with me and dipping into as the mood strikes.

 

I've often had reason to quote the following lines by the Pure Land "saint" Saichi......

 

O! Saichi, will you tell us of Other Power?

Yes, but there is neither self power nor Other Power.

What is, is the Graceful Acceptance only.

 

And lo and behold, from the words of Merton, a quote from his book "Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander"

 

In our being there is a primordial YES that is not our own; it is not at our own disposal; it is not accessible to our inspection and understanding; we do not even fully experience it as real.......Basically......my being is not an affirmation of a limited self, but the YES of Being itself, irrespective of my own choices. Where do "I" come in? Simply in uniting the YES of my own freedom with the YES of Being that already IS before I have a chance to choose. This is not "adjustment". There is nothing to adjust. There is reality, and there is free consent. There is the actuality of one YES. In this actuality no question of "adjustment" remains and the ego vanishes.

 

A "buddhist" or a "christian" image?

[JosephM]

Tariki,

 

Perhaps both. It seems to me that Christianity teaches One, at least in theory, to say Yes to the will of God. However, confusion seems to arise when sees the will of God as something different than that which Is. Yes?

 

Joseph

[tariki]

Tariki,

 

Perhaps both. It seems to me that Christianity teaches One, at least in theory, to say Yes to the will of God. However, confusion seems to arise when sees the will of God as something different than that which Is. Yes?

 

Joseph

 

Joseph,

 

Yes, for me it was a rhetorical question. I view Merton's words as amplification of Saichi's.

 

Though I am familiar with confusion, I do agree with you. I see the point made by Saichi - again - when he says that "gratitude is all a lie, as there is nothing wrong with one". Yet, now, today, for me, gratitude is more and more an ever present. Its where I am.

 

 

Derek

[tariki]

The dharma, can be discovered through the Buddhist tradition, but Buddhism is by no means the only source of dharma. I would define dharma as anything that awakens the enlightened mind and brings on the direct experience of selflessness. The teachings of Christ are prefumed with dharma. There is dharma in jazz, in beautiful gardens, in literature, in Sufi dance, in Quaker silence, in shaman healing, in projects to care for the homeless and clean up the inner cities, in Catholic ritual, in meaningful and competent work. There is dharma in anything that causes us to respect the innate softness and intelligence of ourselves and others. When the Buddhist system is applied properly, it does not turn us inward toward our own organizations, practices, and ideas. The system has succeeded when the Buddhist can recognize the true dharma at the core of all other religions and disciplines that are based on respect for the human image, and has no need to reject them.

 

(Extract from a book, the name of which I have forgotten, by an author whose name of I have forgotten.... )

[tariki]

Pema Chodron is an American nun, associated with Tibetan Buddhism. I have always loved her writings, which for me have the warmth of compassion, not to mention great insight and understanding.........and sometimes humour.

 

Just as a taster, here are a few of her words from her discourse on Loving Kindness (maitri).......

 

When people start to meditate or to work with any kind of spiritual discipline, they often think that somehow they're going to improve, which is a sort of subtle aggression against who they really are. It's a bit like saying, "If I jog, I'll be a much better person." "If I could only get a nicer house, I'd be a better person." "If I could meditate and calm down, I'd be a better person." Or the scenario may be that they find fault with others; they might say, "If it weren't for my husband, I'd have a perfect marriage." "If it weren't for the fact that my boss and I don't get on, my job would be just great." And "If it weren't for my mind, my meditation would be excellent."

 

But loving-kindness - "maitri" - towards ourselves doesn't mean getting rid of anything. "Maitri" means we can still be crazy after all these years. We can still be angry after all these years. We can still be timid or jealous or full of feelings of unworthiness. The point is not to try to change ourselves. Meditation practice is not about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It's about befriending who we are already. The ground of practice is you or me or whoever we are right now, just as we are. That's the ground, that's what we study, that's what we come to know with tremendous curiosity and interest.

 

Sometimes among Buddhists the word "ego" is used in a derogatory sense, with a different connotation than the Freudian term. As Buddhists, we might say, "Well, then, we're supposed to get rid of it, right? Then there'd be no problem." On the contrary, the idea isn't to get rid of the ego but actually to begin to take an interest in ourselves, to investigate and be inquisitive about ourselves.

 

Ah! "We can still be crazy after all these years."

 

Then all is well.......

 

[tariki]

Just a couple more "images"........

 

From the Culasaropama Sutta of the Majjhima Nikaya, or - in English - The Shorter Discourse on the Simile of the Heartwood of the Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha

So this holy life.......does not have gain, honour, and renown for its benefit, or the attainment of virtue for its benefit, or the attainment of concentration for its benefit, or knowledge and vision for its benefit. But it is this unshakeable deliverance of mind that is the goal of this holy life, its heartwood, and its end.

 

Heartwood indeed in this world of many snares and entrapments and enticements.

 

The second selection is from one of the most ancient Buddhist Texts, the Sutta Nipata...........

 

Seeing misery in views and opinions, without adopting any, I found inner peace and freedom. One who is free does not hold to views or dispute opinions. For a sage there is no higher, lower, nor equal, no places in which the mind can stick. But those who grasp after views and opinions only wander about the world annoying people.

 

Well, they certainly annoy me.......though, having said that, I must myself have annoyed plenty of others in my time on various forums!

[JosephM]

 

Seeing misery in views and opinions, without adopting any, I found inner peace and freedom. One who is free does not hold to views or dispute opinions. For a sage there is no higher, lower, nor equal, no places in which the mind can stick. But those who grasp after views and opinions only wander about the world annoying people.

 

Well, they certainly annoy me.......though, having said that, I must myself have annoyed plenty of others in my time on various forums!

 

Thanks tariki,

 

Love that quote from the Sutta Nipata...........

Made my day....

 

Joseph

[tariki]

A little while ago I posted a "taster" by the American born Tibetan Buddhist nun Pema Chodron. Here are a few more......

 

 

If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher.

 

 

To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest

 

 

As long as our orientation is toward perfection or success, we will never

learn about unconditional friendship with ourselves, nor will we find compassion

 

 

Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It's a relationship between equals. Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others. Compassion becomes real when we recognise our shared humanity

 

 

We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don't really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It's just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.