Nobel Peace Prize proposed for Master Cheng Yen
The China Post, December 4, 2009
Taipei, Taiwan -- This year's Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to President Barack Obama of the United States, albeit he doesn't seem to have done anything to contribute to world peace. Well, that may be the reason why a German Nobel laureate on a brief visit to Taipei is planning to nominate Venerable Dharma Master Cheng Yen for that prize next year.
Dr. Harald zur Hausen, director of the German Cancer Research Center at Heidelberg and winner of last year's Nobel Prize for Medicine, wants to recommend Master Cheng Yen for the peace prize for her compassionate work around the world. She is Taiwan's equivalent to Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who started her Missionaries of Charity that extends love to and takes care of those persons nobody is prepared to look after. She won the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize.
Professor Hausen, who won the prize for his discovery of human papilloma viruses that cause cervical cancer, came to Taipei last Thursday for a lecture tour at the invitation of the Sayling Wen Cultural and Education Foundation. He took time out to visit Hualien, where the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, founded by Master Cheng Yen in 1966, has grown from its original 30 housewives to over five million members in 45 countries over the past 43 years. He was so greatly impressed by Tzu Chi's contributions to the promotion of social and community services, medical care, education and humanism in Taiwan and around the world that he announced he would nominate her for next year's Nobel Peace Prize.
The work Master Cheng Yen has done rivals that of Mother Teresa, whose Society of Missionaries has spread all over the world, including the former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries. Her followers provide effective help to the poorest of the poor in a number of countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. They undertake relief work in the wake of natural catastrophes such as floods, epidemics and famine, as well as for refugees. The order also has houses in North America, Europe and Australia, where shut-ins, alcoholics, homeless and AIDS sufferers are taken care of. Tzu Chi has done all this and even a little more.
Master Cheng Yen has erected a chain of hospitals in Taiwan and elsewhere. A university of medical sciences in Hualien trains thousands of doctors, nurses and technicians. Her foundation has also established a marrow donor and stem cell research center in Taiwan. It manages one of the world's largest Asian marrow donor and stem cell tissue registries. The Tzu Chi International Medical Association is made up of more than 5,000 medical professionals worldwide who volunteer their expertise and time to provide quality medical services, both in their own communities, whether urban or rural, and worldwide.
Like the Society of Missionaries, Master Cheng Yen's foundation started from scratch. Its first 30 members were housewives who saved two cents from their grocery money each day to help the poor. She deserves the prize Mother Teresa won 30 years ago.
Source from:http://www.buddhistchannel.tv
Monday, December 7, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Happiness
Do not let the shadow of unhappiness cover your heart.
One must radiate light and warmth, so that life will be meaningful
~Master Cheng Yen
One must radiate light and warmth, so that life will be meaningful
~Master Cheng Yen
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
The Mind As Our Software
THE MIND AS OUR SOFTWARE
To illustrate the Buddhist approach to the mind, let us compare our body and mind to a computer. In this simile, the body is the hardware and the mind is the software.
As mentioned above, the mind is defined as a non-physical phenomena which perceives, thinks, recognises, experiences and reacts to the environment, not unlike computer software.
Although software needs to be imprinted or registered in something like the hard-drive before it can do anything, in itself, a program represents a lot of thinking by the software manufacturer. Without software (mind), the hardware (body) is just a 'dead thing'. The hardware (body) is of course important in what the computer can do; how fast it is, which programs can be run, and how the computer can interact with the world. However good the hardware is, it can ultimately only perform what the program 'knows'. The hardware can get damaged, or even 'die', and the software can be moved onto another set of hardware; not unlike rebirth!
The software needs to use the 'senses' of the hardware, like the keyboard, the mousea, a video camera, a modem etc. to receive 'input'; just like the mind needs the senses the receive the 'input' of the outside world.
This leads to an important observation: it is easy to recognise that a computer is not 'objective' about the world; depending on what kind of video camera, microphone or modem we connect it to, the input will be different. Similarly, our bodily senses cannot really be objective: people's ears are different, the eyes are different etc., so how can someone ever claim to be an 'objective observer'? Above and beyond that lies the software; the more advanced this is, the more 'intelligent' it will be able to read the world and determine what is the best thing to do. Similarly, the more advanced our mind is, the more intelligent and wise we will be, providing we are not hampered by serious physical problems. As the software actually determines what the hardware does, so is the mind the master of the body - within the physical limitations of the body. But the Buddha made it clear that a human body is the best type of available hardware!
There are limits to the development of the hardware; for example, the amount of electrical circuits on chips is getting larger and larger, but there are physical limits which the developers encounter. With the software, the limit appears to be much less clear; the first types of computers behaved with the intelligence of an on/off switch, but already they can beat a grandmaster at chess and nobody can say where it will end. Similarly, Buddhism teaches that there is no real limit to the development of our mind, and in fact omniscience is possible. At that stage, all our normal values and concepts dissolve as limited and non-objective. Buddhism encourages us to develop the software of our mind to enter into a different state which is beyond limitations, suffering and problems.
The method to develop our mind is summarised as study and meditation. Initially, we need to understand how the programs of our mind work and how they can be improved, and then do the reprogramming in meditation. This is why psychology and meditation are so important.
Below listing of aspects of the mind may appear very dry and boring, but remember, so are computer manuals...
CLEAR-LIGHT MIND
In Tibetan Buddhism, often the so-called 'clear-light mind' is mentioned. This is the most subtle level of mind (see also death & rebirth), which we are normally not even aware of. It appears to the very advanced meditator and during the death process, but in this case, also only advanced meditators will be able to notice it. It is a non-conceptual, 'primordial' state of mind.
From a talk given by HH Dalai Lama. Oct. 11-14, 1991 New York City. Path of Compassion teaching preliminary to Kalachakra:
Question: When people hear of luminosity of clear light that dawns at the moment of death they ask why it is called clear light. What has this got to do with light as we know it?
Dalai Lama:
"I don't think that in the term clear light, light should be taken literally. It is sort of metaphoric. This could have its roots in our terminology of mental will. According to Buddhism, all consciousness or all cognitive mental events are said to be in the nature of clarity and luminosity. So it is from that point of view that the choice of the term light is used. Clear light is the most subtle level of mind, which can be seen as the basis or the source from which eventual experience or realisation of Buddhahood, Buddha's wisdom might come about, therefore it is called clear light. Clear light is a state of mind which becomes fully manifest only as a consequence of certain sequences or stages of dissolution, where the mind becomes devoid of certain types of obscurations, which are again metaphorically described in terms of sun-like, moonlike and darkness. These refer to the earlier three stages of dissolution which are technically called, including the clear light stage, the four empties. At the final stage of dissolution the mind is totally free of all these factors of obscuration. Therefore it is called clear light. Sort of a light. It is also possible to understand the usage of the term clear light in terms of the nature of mind itself. Mind or consciousness is a phenomena which lacks any obstructive quality. It is non-obstructed."
A teaching from Venerable Ajahn Chah (Pra Bhodinyana Thera):
"About this mind... In truth there is nothing really wrong with it. It is intrinsically pure. Within itself it's already peaceful. That the mind is not peaceful these days is because it follows moods. The real mind doesn't have anything to it, it is simply (an aspect of) Nature. It becomes peaceful or agitated because moods deceive it. The untrained mind is stupid. Sense impressions come and trick it into happiness, suffering, gladness and sorrow, but the mind's true nature is none of those things. That gladness or sadness is not the mind, but only a mood coming to deceive us. The untrained mind gets lost and follows these things, it forgets itself. Then we think that it is we who are upset or at ease or whatever.
But really this mind of ours is already unmoving and peaceful... really peaceful! Just like a leaf which is still as long as no wind blows. If a wind comes up the leaf flutters. The fluttering is due to the wind -- the 'fluttering' is due to those sense impressions; the mind follows them. If it doesn't follow them, it doesn't 'flutter.' If we know fully the true nature of sense impressions we will be unmoved.
Our practice is simply to see the Original Mind. So we must train the mind to know those sense impressions, and not get lost in them. To make it peaceful. Just this is the aim of all this difficult practice we put ourselves through."
Source from: http://buddhism.kalachakranet.org
To illustrate the Buddhist approach to the mind, let us compare our body and mind to a computer. In this simile, the body is the hardware and the mind is the software.
As mentioned above, the mind is defined as a non-physical phenomena which perceives, thinks, recognises, experiences and reacts to the environment, not unlike computer software.
Although software needs to be imprinted or registered in something like the hard-drive before it can do anything, in itself, a program represents a lot of thinking by the software manufacturer. Without software (mind), the hardware (body) is just a 'dead thing'. The hardware (body) is of course important in what the computer can do; how fast it is, which programs can be run, and how the computer can interact with the world. However good the hardware is, it can ultimately only perform what the program 'knows'. The hardware can get damaged, or even 'die', and the software can be moved onto another set of hardware; not unlike rebirth!
The software needs to use the 'senses' of the hardware, like the keyboard, the mousea, a video camera, a modem etc. to receive 'input'; just like the mind needs the senses the receive the 'input' of the outside world.
This leads to an important observation: it is easy to recognise that a computer is not 'objective' about the world; depending on what kind of video camera, microphone or modem we connect it to, the input will be different. Similarly, our bodily senses cannot really be objective: people's ears are different, the eyes are different etc., so how can someone ever claim to be an 'objective observer'? Above and beyond that lies the software; the more advanced this is, the more 'intelligent' it will be able to read the world and determine what is the best thing to do. Similarly, the more advanced our mind is, the more intelligent and wise we will be, providing we are not hampered by serious physical problems. As the software actually determines what the hardware does, so is the mind the master of the body - within the physical limitations of the body. But the Buddha made it clear that a human body is the best type of available hardware!
There are limits to the development of the hardware; for example, the amount of electrical circuits on chips is getting larger and larger, but there are physical limits which the developers encounter. With the software, the limit appears to be much less clear; the first types of computers behaved with the intelligence of an on/off switch, but already they can beat a grandmaster at chess and nobody can say where it will end. Similarly, Buddhism teaches that there is no real limit to the development of our mind, and in fact omniscience is possible. At that stage, all our normal values and concepts dissolve as limited and non-objective. Buddhism encourages us to develop the software of our mind to enter into a different state which is beyond limitations, suffering and problems.
The method to develop our mind is summarised as study and meditation. Initially, we need to understand how the programs of our mind work and how they can be improved, and then do the reprogramming in meditation. This is why psychology and meditation are so important.
Below listing of aspects of the mind may appear very dry and boring, but remember, so are computer manuals...
CLEAR-LIGHT MIND
In Tibetan Buddhism, often the so-called 'clear-light mind' is mentioned. This is the most subtle level of mind (see also death & rebirth), which we are normally not even aware of. It appears to the very advanced meditator and during the death process, but in this case, also only advanced meditators will be able to notice it. It is a non-conceptual, 'primordial' state of mind.
From a talk given by HH Dalai Lama. Oct. 11-14, 1991 New York City. Path of Compassion teaching preliminary to Kalachakra:
Question: When people hear of luminosity of clear light that dawns at the moment of death they ask why it is called clear light. What has this got to do with light as we know it?
Dalai Lama:
"I don't think that in the term clear light, light should be taken literally. It is sort of metaphoric. This could have its roots in our terminology of mental will. According to Buddhism, all consciousness or all cognitive mental events are said to be in the nature of clarity and luminosity. So it is from that point of view that the choice of the term light is used. Clear light is the most subtle level of mind, which can be seen as the basis or the source from which eventual experience or realisation of Buddhahood, Buddha's wisdom might come about, therefore it is called clear light. Clear light is a state of mind which becomes fully manifest only as a consequence of certain sequences or stages of dissolution, where the mind becomes devoid of certain types of obscurations, which are again metaphorically described in terms of sun-like, moonlike and darkness. These refer to the earlier three stages of dissolution which are technically called, including the clear light stage, the four empties. At the final stage of dissolution the mind is totally free of all these factors of obscuration. Therefore it is called clear light. Sort of a light. It is also possible to understand the usage of the term clear light in terms of the nature of mind itself. Mind or consciousness is a phenomena which lacks any obstructive quality. It is non-obstructed."
A teaching from Venerable Ajahn Chah (Pra Bhodinyana Thera):
"About this mind... In truth there is nothing really wrong with it. It is intrinsically pure. Within itself it's already peaceful. That the mind is not peaceful these days is because it follows moods. The real mind doesn't have anything to it, it is simply (an aspect of) Nature. It becomes peaceful or agitated because moods deceive it. The untrained mind is stupid. Sense impressions come and trick it into happiness, suffering, gladness and sorrow, but the mind's true nature is none of those things. That gladness or sadness is not the mind, but only a mood coming to deceive us. The untrained mind gets lost and follows these things, it forgets itself. Then we think that it is we who are upset or at ease or whatever.
But really this mind of ours is already unmoving and peaceful... really peaceful! Just like a leaf which is still as long as no wind blows. If a wind comes up the leaf flutters. The fluttering is due to the wind -- the 'fluttering' is due to those sense impressions; the mind follows them. If it doesn't follow them, it doesn't 'flutter.' If we know fully the true nature of sense impressions we will be unmoved.
Our practice is simply to see the Original Mind. So we must train the mind to know those sense impressions, and not get lost in them. To make it peaceful. Just this is the aim of all this difficult practice we put ourselves through."
Source from: http://buddhism.kalachakranet.org
Monday, August 17, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
Rebirth as cycle of consciousness
Buddhist meditation teachers suggest that through careful observation of the mind, it is possible to see consciousness as being a sequence of conscious moments rather than a continuum of awareness. Each moment is an experience of an individual mind-state: a thought, a memory, a feeling, a perception. A mind-state arises, exists and, being impermanent, ceases following which the next mind-state arises. Thus the consciousness of a sentient being can be seen as a continuous series of birth and death of these mind-states. In this context rebirth is simply the persistence of this process. Clearly this explanation of rebirth is wholly divorced from rebirth which may follow bodily death.
The explanation of rebirth as a cycle of consciousness is consistent with other core Buddhist beliefs, such as anicca (impermanence), dukkha (unsatisfactoriness) and anatta (non-self). Furthermore, it is possible to observe a karmic link between these mind-states.
In the practice of Vipassana meditation, the meditator uses "bare attention" to observe the endless round of mind-states. This observation derives insight and understanding from seeing this cycle of birth, death and rebirth without interfering, owning or judging the individual states of mind that arise and pass away. This understanding enables them to limit the power of desire, which according to the second noble truth of Buddhism is the cause of Dukkha (suffering, unsatisfactoriness) thus making possible the realisation of Nibbana. So it can be concluded that the understanding of rebirth in the context of the cycle of consciousness is an invaluable and practical component of the fundamental aim of Buddhism.
Rebirth as Buddhist reincarnation
Within Buddhism, the term rebirth or re-becoming (Sanskrit: punarbhava; Pali: punabbhava) is preferred to "reincarnation", as the latter is taken to imply there is a fixed entity that is reborn. However, this still leaves the question as to what exactly the process of rebirth entails.
The lack of a fixed self does not mean lack of continuity. One of the metaphors used to illustrate this is that of fire. For example, a flame is transferred from one candle to another, or a fire spreads from one field to another. In the same way that it depends on the original fire, there is a conditioned relationship between one life and the next; they are not identical but neither are they completely distinct. The early Buddhist texts make it clear that there is no permanent consciousness that moves from life to life.
The nikayas refer to a level of mind called "luminous mind" which may be seen as a basic mode of mind in terms of which the "evolution" of beings through the round of rebirths may be understood.[2]
Early Buddhists had to deal with the problems of establishing the nature of the causal link between two lives, especially the crucial one of how one being could receive the fruits of the actions of a previous being, now dead, and how saṃskāras, or volitional tendencies to act and think in particular ways can be transferred from one being to another.
The Puggalavāda school (now extinct) believed in a personal entity (puggala) separate from the five skandhas that provided a link of personal continuity that allows for karma to act on an individual over time. The medieval Pali scholar Buddhaghosa posited a 'rebirth-linking consciousness' (patisandhi), which connected the arising of a new life with the moment of death, but how one life came to be associated with another was still not made clear. Some schools were led to the conclusion that karma continued to exist in some sense and adhere to a particular person until it had worked out its consequences. Another school, the Sautrantika, made use of a more poetic model to account for the process of karmic continuity. For them, each act 'perfumed' the individual and led to the planting of a 'seed' that would later germinate as a good or bad karmic result.
While all Buddhist traditions seem to accept some notion of rebirth, there is no unified view about precisely how events unfold after the moment of death. Theravada Buddhism generally asserts that rebirth is immediate. The Tibetan schools, on the other hand, hold to the notion of a bardo (intermediate state) which can last up to forty-nine days, and this has led to the development of a unique 'science' of death and rebirth, a good deal of which is set down in what is popularly known as The Tibetan Book of the Dead.
While Theravada Buddhism generally denies there is an intermediate state, some early Buddhist texts seem to support it. One school that adopted this view was the Sarvāstivāda, who believed that between death and rebirth there is a sort of limbo in which beings do not yet reap the consequences of their previous actions but in which they may still influence their rebirth. The death process and this intermediate state were believed to offer a uniquely favourable opportunity for spiritual awakening.
There are many references to rebirth in the early Buddhist scriptures. These are some of the more important: Mahakammavibhanga Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 136); Upali Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 56); Kukkuravatika Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 57); Moliyasivaka Sutta (Samyutta Nikaya 36.21); Sankha Sutta (Samyutta Nikaya 42.8).
Rebirth in the context of other religions and other Buddhist beliefs
In the religions of Middle Eastern origin, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, life and death are believed to be linear: a being is born (usually understood as a new creation), lives, and then dies, at which point their soul or other part that survives death, passes to a domain that is inaccessible to living beings and remains there indefinitely, or until the end of the world. (Note that reincarnation, in the limited form of gilgul neshamot plays a role in some forms of Judaism. An even more restricted belief in reincarnation (tanasukh) is found in the Druze religion which is derived from Islam.)
The Buddha lived at a time of great philosophical creativity in India, and many different concepts of the nature of life and death were proposed at that time. Some thinkers were materialists, believing that there was no existent consequent upon the end of a life, and that there was an ātman (self) which was annihilated upon death. Others believed in a form of cyclic existence, where a being is born, lives, dies and then is re-born, but in the context of a type of determinism or fatalism, in which karma played no role. Others were "eternalists", postulating an eternally existent ātman, comparable to the Western concept of the soul: when a being (or his body) dies, the ātman survives death and is re-embodied (reincarnates) as another living being, based on its karmic inheritance. This last belief is the one that has come to be dominant (with certain modifications) in modern Hinduism.
The Buddha is said to have taught a concept of rebirth that was distinct from that of any Indian teacher contemporary with him. This concept was consistent with the common notion of a sequence of related lives stretching over a very long time, but was constrained by two core Buddhist concepts: anattā, that there is no irreducible ātman or "self" tying these lives together; and anicca, that all compounded things are subject to dissolution, including all the components of the human person and personality. The Buddha's detailed conception of the connections between action (karma), rebirth, and their ultimate causes is set out in the twelve links of dependent origination.
Notes
^ Arvind Sharma's review of Hajime Nakamura's A History of Early Vedanta Philosophy, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 37, No. 3 (Jul., 1987), page 330.
^ Peter Harvey, Consciousness Mysticism in the Discourses of the Buddha. In Karel Werner, ed., The Yogi and the Mystic. Curzon Press 1989, page 96. One canonical instance is at A I, 8-10.
Source from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/rebirth_(buddhism)
Buddhist meditation teachers suggest that through careful observation of the mind, it is possible to see consciousness as being a sequence of conscious moments rather than a continuum of awareness. Each moment is an experience of an individual mind-state: a thought, a memory, a feeling, a perception. A mind-state arises, exists and, being impermanent, ceases following which the next mind-state arises. Thus the consciousness of a sentient being can be seen as a continuous series of birth and death of these mind-states. In this context rebirth is simply the persistence of this process. Clearly this explanation of rebirth is wholly divorced from rebirth which may follow bodily death.
The explanation of rebirth as a cycle of consciousness is consistent with other core Buddhist beliefs, such as anicca (impermanence), dukkha (unsatisfactoriness) and anatta (non-self). Furthermore, it is possible to observe a karmic link between these mind-states.
In the practice of Vipassana meditation, the meditator uses "bare attention" to observe the endless round of mind-states. This observation derives insight and understanding from seeing this cycle of birth, death and rebirth without interfering, owning or judging the individual states of mind that arise and pass away. This understanding enables them to limit the power of desire, which according to the second noble truth of Buddhism is the cause of Dukkha (suffering, unsatisfactoriness) thus making possible the realisation of Nibbana. So it can be concluded that the understanding of rebirth in the context of the cycle of consciousness is an invaluable and practical component of the fundamental aim of Buddhism.
Rebirth as Buddhist reincarnation
Within Buddhism, the term rebirth or re-becoming (Sanskrit: punarbhava; Pali: punabbhava) is preferred to "reincarnation", as the latter is taken to imply there is a fixed entity that is reborn. However, this still leaves the question as to what exactly the process of rebirth entails.
The lack of a fixed self does not mean lack of continuity. One of the metaphors used to illustrate this is that of fire. For example, a flame is transferred from one candle to another, or a fire spreads from one field to another. In the same way that it depends on the original fire, there is a conditioned relationship between one life and the next; they are not identical but neither are they completely distinct. The early Buddhist texts make it clear that there is no permanent consciousness that moves from life to life.
The nikayas refer to a level of mind called "luminous mind" which may be seen as a basic mode of mind in terms of which the "evolution" of beings through the round of rebirths may be understood.[2]
Early Buddhists had to deal with the problems of establishing the nature of the causal link between two lives, especially the crucial one of how one being could receive the fruits of the actions of a previous being, now dead, and how saṃskāras, or volitional tendencies to act and think in particular ways can be transferred from one being to another.
The Puggalavāda school (now extinct) believed in a personal entity (puggala) separate from the five skandhas that provided a link of personal continuity that allows for karma to act on an individual over time. The medieval Pali scholar Buddhaghosa posited a 'rebirth-linking consciousness' (patisandhi), which connected the arising of a new life with the moment of death, but how one life came to be associated with another was still not made clear. Some schools were led to the conclusion that karma continued to exist in some sense and adhere to a particular person until it had worked out its consequences. Another school, the Sautrantika, made use of a more poetic model to account for the process of karmic continuity. For them, each act 'perfumed' the individual and led to the planting of a 'seed' that would later germinate as a good or bad karmic result.
While all Buddhist traditions seem to accept some notion of rebirth, there is no unified view about precisely how events unfold after the moment of death. Theravada Buddhism generally asserts that rebirth is immediate. The Tibetan schools, on the other hand, hold to the notion of a bardo (intermediate state) which can last up to forty-nine days, and this has led to the development of a unique 'science' of death and rebirth, a good deal of which is set down in what is popularly known as The Tibetan Book of the Dead.
While Theravada Buddhism generally denies there is an intermediate state, some early Buddhist texts seem to support it. One school that adopted this view was the Sarvāstivāda, who believed that between death and rebirth there is a sort of limbo in which beings do not yet reap the consequences of their previous actions but in which they may still influence their rebirth. The death process and this intermediate state were believed to offer a uniquely favourable opportunity for spiritual awakening.
There are many references to rebirth in the early Buddhist scriptures. These are some of the more important: Mahakammavibhanga Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 136); Upali Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 56); Kukkuravatika Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 57); Moliyasivaka Sutta (Samyutta Nikaya 36.21); Sankha Sutta (Samyutta Nikaya 42.8).
Rebirth in the context of other religions and other Buddhist beliefs
In the religions of Middle Eastern origin, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, life and death are believed to be linear: a being is born (usually understood as a new creation), lives, and then dies, at which point their soul or other part that survives death, passes to a domain that is inaccessible to living beings and remains there indefinitely, or until the end of the world. (Note that reincarnation, in the limited form of gilgul neshamot plays a role in some forms of Judaism. An even more restricted belief in reincarnation (tanasukh) is found in the Druze religion which is derived from Islam.)
The Buddha lived at a time of great philosophical creativity in India, and many different concepts of the nature of life and death were proposed at that time. Some thinkers were materialists, believing that there was no existent consequent upon the end of a life, and that there was an ātman (self) which was annihilated upon death. Others believed in a form of cyclic existence, where a being is born, lives, dies and then is re-born, but in the context of a type of determinism or fatalism, in which karma played no role. Others were "eternalists", postulating an eternally existent ātman, comparable to the Western concept of the soul: when a being (or his body) dies, the ātman survives death and is re-embodied (reincarnates) as another living being, based on its karmic inheritance. This last belief is the one that has come to be dominant (with certain modifications) in modern Hinduism.
The Buddha is said to have taught a concept of rebirth that was distinct from that of any Indian teacher contemporary with him. This concept was consistent with the common notion of a sequence of related lives stretching over a very long time, but was constrained by two core Buddhist concepts: anattā, that there is no irreducible ātman or "self" tying these lives together; and anicca, that all compounded things are subject to dissolution, including all the components of the human person and personality. The Buddha's detailed conception of the connections between action (karma), rebirth, and their ultimate causes is set out in the twelve links of dependent origination.
Notes
^ Arvind Sharma's review of Hajime Nakamura's A History of Early Vedanta Philosophy, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 37, No. 3 (Jul., 1987), page 330.
^ Peter Harvey, Consciousness Mysticism in the Discourses of the Buddha. In Karel Werner, ed., The Yogi and the Mystic. Curzon Press 1989, page 96. One canonical instance is at A I, 8-10.
Source from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/rebirth_(buddhism)
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Compassion in perspective of Dalai Lama
"All the peace and happiness of the whole globe,
the peace and happiness of societies,
the peace and happiness of family,
the peace and happiness in the individual persons' life,
and the peace and happiness of even the animals and so forth,
all depends on having loving kindness toward each other."
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
COMPASSION IN PERSPECTIVE
To explain the different motivations of engaging in Buddhist practices, one can distinguish the three different scopes.
With the lowest scope of motivation, one realises the problems one can encounter in the next life, and is concerned about working to achieve a good rebirth. In fact, this is not even a spiritual goal, as it relates to worldly happiness for oneself.
With the medium scope of motivation, one realises that within cyclic existence there is no real happiness to be found, and one strives for personal liberation or Nirvana.
With the highest scope of motivation, one realises that all sentient beings are suffering within cyclic existence, and one strives to free all beings from suffering.
WHAT IS COMPASSION
A praise of compassion by Lama Zopa Rinpoche:
"Live with compassion
Work with compassion
Die with compassion
Meditate with compassion
Enjoy with compassion
When problems come,
Experience them with compassion."
The definition of compassion is: wanting others to be free from suffering. So compassion is the definition of the highest scope of motivation. It is said that to generate genuine compassion, one needs to realise that oneself is suffering, that an end to suffering is possible, and that other beings similarly want to be free from suffering.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama:
"Nirvana may be the final object of attainment, but at the moment it is difficult to reach. Thus the practical and realistic aim is compassion, a warm heart, serving other people, helping others, respecting others, being less selfish. By practising these, you can gain benefit and happiness that remain longer. If you investigate the purpose of life and, with the motivation that results from this inquiry, develop a good heart - compassion and love. Using your whole life this way, each day will become useful and meaningful."
"Every human being has the same potential for compassion; the only question is whether we really take any care of that potential, and develop and implement it in our daily life. My hope is that more and more people will realise the value of compassion, and so follow the path of altruism. As for myself, ever since I became a Buddhist monk, that has been my real destiny - for usually I think of myself as just one simple Buddhist monk, no more and no less."
Another quote from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, from The Compassionate Life"
"Compassion without attachment is possible. Therefore, we need to clarify the distinctions between compassion and attachment. True compassion is not just an emotional response but a firm commitment founded on reason. Because of this firm foundation, a truly compassionate attitude toward others does not change even if they behave negatively. Genuine compassion is based not on our own projections and expectations, but rather on the needs of the other: irrespective of whether another person is a close friend or an enemy, as long as that person wishes for peace and happiness and wishes to overcome suffering, then on that basis we develop genuine concern for their problem. This is genuine compassion.
For a Buddhist practitioner, the goal is to develop this genuine compassion, this genuine wish for the well-being of another, in fact for every living being throughout the universe."
Sogyal Rinpoche, from Glimpse of the Day:
"The times when you are suffering can be those when you are open, and where you are extremely vulnerable can be where your greatest strength really lies.
Say to yourself: “I am not going to run away from this suffering. I want to use it in the best and richest way I can, so that I can become more compassionate and more helpful to others.” Suffering, after all, can teach us about compassion. If you suffer, you will know how it is when others suffer. And if you are in a position to help others, it is through your suffering that you will find the understanding and compassion to do so."
More teachings of H.H. the Dalai Lama at Compassion, the Supreme Emotion.
"Sometimes we think that to develop an open heart, to be truly loving and compassionate, means that we need to be passive, to allow others to abuse us, to smile and let anyone do what they want with us. Yet this is not what is meant by compassion. Quite the contrary. Compassion is not at all weak. It is the strength that arises out of seeing the true nature of suffering in the world. Compassion allows us to bear witness to that suffering, whether it is in ourselves or others, without fear; it allows us to name injustice without hesitation, and to act strongly, with all the skill at our disposal. To develop this mind state of compassion...is to learn to live, as the Buddha put it, with sympathy for all living beings, without exception."
Sharon Salzberg
Source from: http://buddhism.kalachakranet.org
the peace and happiness of societies,
the peace and happiness of family,
the peace and happiness in the individual persons' life,
and the peace and happiness of even the animals and so forth,
all depends on having loving kindness toward each other."
Lama Zopa Rinpoche
COMPASSION IN PERSPECTIVE
To explain the different motivations of engaging in Buddhist practices, one can distinguish the three different scopes.
With the lowest scope of motivation, one realises the problems one can encounter in the next life, and is concerned about working to achieve a good rebirth. In fact, this is not even a spiritual goal, as it relates to worldly happiness for oneself.
With the medium scope of motivation, one realises that within cyclic existence there is no real happiness to be found, and one strives for personal liberation or Nirvana.
With the highest scope of motivation, one realises that all sentient beings are suffering within cyclic existence, and one strives to free all beings from suffering.
WHAT IS COMPASSION
A praise of compassion by Lama Zopa Rinpoche:
"Live with compassion
Work with compassion
Die with compassion
Meditate with compassion
Enjoy with compassion
When problems come,
Experience them with compassion."
The definition of compassion is: wanting others to be free from suffering. So compassion is the definition of the highest scope of motivation. It is said that to generate genuine compassion, one needs to realise that oneself is suffering, that an end to suffering is possible, and that other beings similarly want to be free from suffering.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama:
"Nirvana may be the final object of attainment, but at the moment it is difficult to reach. Thus the practical and realistic aim is compassion, a warm heart, serving other people, helping others, respecting others, being less selfish. By practising these, you can gain benefit and happiness that remain longer. If you investigate the purpose of life and, with the motivation that results from this inquiry, develop a good heart - compassion and love. Using your whole life this way, each day will become useful and meaningful."
"Every human being has the same potential for compassion; the only question is whether we really take any care of that potential, and develop and implement it in our daily life. My hope is that more and more people will realise the value of compassion, and so follow the path of altruism. As for myself, ever since I became a Buddhist monk, that has been my real destiny - for usually I think of myself as just one simple Buddhist monk, no more and no less."
Another quote from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, from The Compassionate Life"
"Compassion without attachment is possible. Therefore, we need to clarify the distinctions between compassion and attachment. True compassion is not just an emotional response but a firm commitment founded on reason. Because of this firm foundation, a truly compassionate attitude toward others does not change even if they behave negatively. Genuine compassion is based not on our own projections and expectations, but rather on the needs of the other: irrespective of whether another person is a close friend or an enemy, as long as that person wishes for peace and happiness and wishes to overcome suffering, then on that basis we develop genuine concern for their problem. This is genuine compassion.
For a Buddhist practitioner, the goal is to develop this genuine compassion, this genuine wish for the well-being of another, in fact for every living being throughout the universe."
Sogyal Rinpoche, from Glimpse of the Day:
"The times when you are suffering can be those when you are open, and where you are extremely vulnerable can be where your greatest strength really lies.
Say to yourself: “I am not going to run away from this suffering. I want to use it in the best and richest way I can, so that I can become more compassionate and more helpful to others.” Suffering, after all, can teach us about compassion. If you suffer, you will know how it is when others suffer. And if you are in a position to help others, it is through your suffering that you will find the understanding and compassion to do so."
More teachings of H.H. the Dalai Lama at Compassion, the Supreme Emotion.
"Sometimes we think that to develop an open heart, to be truly loving and compassionate, means that we need to be passive, to allow others to abuse us, to smile and let anyone do what they want with us. Yet this is not what is meant by compassion. Quite the contrary. Compassion is not at all weak. It is the strength that arises out of seeing the true nature of suffering in the world. Compassion allows us to bear witness to that suffering, whether it is in ourselves or others, without fear; it allows us to name injustice without hesitation, and to act strongly, with all the skill at our disposal. To develop this mind state of compassion...is to learn to live, as the Buddha put it, with sympathy for all living beings, without exception."
Sharon Salzberg
Source from: http://buddhism.kalachakranet.org
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Meditation and Weight Loss
Meditation and weight loss
by Valerie Reiss for WeightWatchers.com
Taken from : http://fitness.msn.com/articles/feeds/?dept=lose&article=lw_ww_meditation_120902
Meditation is a centuries-old method for clearing the mind and calming the body. A few decades ago, it was known only as an Eastern religious practice or as mysteriously bohemian (The Beatles, for example, were avid meditators). Now, meditation has gone mainstream. Recommended as a stress-reducing technique by hospitals and doctors across the country, its myriad benefits include reduced blood pressure, healthier arteries and an enhanced sense of well-being. With all these benefits going for it, meditation is an ideal tool for relaxation and self-discovery on the way to your weight goal.
Breathing Your Way to Peace and Thinner Thighs?
"The very core place to start is the breath," says Alison Shore Gaines, a holistic counselor at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Lenox, Massachusetts. In her "Conscious Eating for Sacred Nourishment" workshops, Gaines teaches students to take five deep breaths before eating. "A lot of times when we eat habitually, we get poised for action we lean in and the tummy gets tight and we get ready to shovel," she says. Taking five breaths relaxes the body and clears the emotional palate. "This way people enjoy their food, they really taste it, they really see it and they eat less because they"re enjoying more and going slower," adds Gaines.
Before you get too excited, though, remember: Meditation is not a quick fix. "You can"t just magically sit down and meditate and tomorrow have no weight on your body," says DeDe Lahman, a certified yoga instructor and body image lecturer in New York City.
A Practice of Presence
Of course, a meditation practice involves more than a few deep breaths. But it is simple not easy, but simple. "Meditation is about stopping and being present, that is all," writes Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., in Wherever You Go, There You Are; Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life (Hyperion, 1994). He adds, "Mostly we run around doing. Are you able to come to a stop in your life, even for one moment? Could it be this
moment? What would happen if you did?"
What happens on the physical level is what Dr. Herbert Benson, M.D., the Harvard doctor who initiated meditation studies in the 1970s, calls the "Relaxation Response." He discovered that during meditation, brain waves shift into a state similar to and sometimes more relaxed than sleep.
This level of relaxation lowers the amount of stress hormones that cause pain and illness.
Meditation can also clear a foundation for healthier thinking and feeling. "When you meditate, all the junk comes up, all the clutter," says Lahman. "The negative body images come up, the desires for certain foods come up and the emotions that are attached to those desires come up. The more they surface, the more you can put them in your mental recycle bin and start with a clean slate," she adds.
Meditation Cheat Sheet
There are many types of meditation. Find one that resonates with your beliefs, and make sure your instructor has plenty of experience. In the meantime, you can try the following:
*Sit straight in a comfortable, quiet place.
*Close your eyes.
*Relax your muscles.
*Pay attention to your slow and natural breathing.
When distracting thoughts occur and they will simply notice them and gently bring your attention back to the breath. You may have to do this often at first.
Continue for 10 to 20 minutes.
Try to practice once or twice daily with time meditation will "bring a sense of relaxation, of coming to peace," says Gaines. "And from that place of peace we make better choices."
Meditation is not a magic cure for weight issues, but it can help curb emotional eating and pave the way for a healthier relationship with food.
For Further Study
Web: www.yogajournal.com; www.dhamma.org (Vipassana Meditation Website);
www.gaiam.com
by Valerie Reiss for WeightWatchers.com
Taken from : http://fitness.msn.com/articles/feeds/?dept=lose&article=lw_ww_meditation_120902
Meditation is a centuries-old method for clearing the mind and calming the body. A few decades ago, it was known only as an Eastern religious practice or as mysteriously bohemian (The Beatles, for example, were avid meditators). Now, meditation has gone mainstream. Recommended as a stress-reducing technique by hospitals and doctors across the country, its myriad benefits include reduced blood pressure, healthier arteries and an enhanced sense of well-being. With all these benefits going for it, meditation is an ideal tool for relaxation and self-discovery on the way to your weight goal.
Breathing Your Way to Peace and Thinner Thighs?
"The very core place to start is the breath," says Alison Shore Gaines, a holistic counselor at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Lenox, Massachusetts. In her "Conscious Eating for Sacred Nourishment" workshops, Gaines teaches students to take five deep breaths before eating. "A lot of times when we eat habitually, we get poised for action we lean in and the tummy gets tight and we get ready to shovel," she says. Taking five breaths relaxes the body and clears the emotional palate. "This way people enjoy their food, they really taste it, they really see it and they eat less because they"re enjoying more and going slower," adds Gaines.
Before you get too excited, though, remember: Meditation is not a quick fix. "You can"t just magically sit down and meditate and tomorrow have no weight on your body," says DeDe Lahman, a certified yoga instructor and body image lecturer in New York City.
A Practice of Presence
Of course, a meditation practice involves more than a few deep breaths. But it is simple not easy, but simple. "Meditation is about stopping and being present, that is all," writes Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., in Wherever You Go, There You Are; Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life (Hyperion, 1994). He adds, "Mostly we run around doing. Are you able to come to a stop in your life, even for one moment? Could it be this
moment? What would happen if you did?"
What happens on the physical level is what Dr. Herbert Benson, M.D., the Harvard doctor who initiated meditation studies in the 1970s, calls the "Relaxation Response." He discovered that during meditation, brain waves shift into a state similar to and sometimes more relaxed than sleep.
This level of relaxation lowers the amount of stress hormones that cause pain and illness.
Meditation can also clear a foundation for healthier thinking and feeling. "When you meditate, all the junk comes up, all the clutter," says Lahman. "The negative body images come up, the desires for certain foods come up and the emotions that are attached to those desires come up. The more they surface, the more you can put them in your mental recycle bin and start with a clean slate," she adds.
Meditation Cheat Sheet
There are many types of meditation. Find one that resonates with your beliefs, and make sure your instructor has plenty of experience. In the meantime, you can try the following:
*Sit straight in a comfortable, quiet place.
*Close your eyes.
*Relax your muscles.
*Pay attention to your slow and natural breathing.
When distracting thoughts occur and they will simply notice them and gently bring your attention back to the breath. You may have to do this often at first.
Continue for 10 to 20 minutes.
Try to practice once or twice daily with time meditation will "bring a sense of relaxation, of coming to peace," says Gaines. "And from that place of peace we make better choices."
Meditation is not a magic cure for weight issues, but it can help curb emotional eating and pave the way for a healthier relationship with food.
For Further Study
Web: www.yogajournal.com; www.dhamma.org (Vipassana Meditation Website);
www.gaiam.com
Sunday, March 1, 2009
3 Steps Meditation in the morning
Waking Up In The Morning
Waking up this morning I smile
knowing there are 24 brand new hours before me.
I vow to live fully in each moment,
and look at beings with eyes of compassion.
As we wake up in the morning and open our eyes we may like to recite the above gatha. We can start our day with the happiness of a smile and the aspiration to dedicate ourselves to the path of love and understanding. We are aware that today is a fresh, new day, and we have 24 precious hours to live.
Let us try to get up from bed right away after following three deep breaths to bring ourselves into mindfulness. Let us not delay our waking. We may like to sit up and gently massage our head, neck, shoulders, and arms to get your blood circulating. We might like to do a few stretches to loosen our joints and wake up our body. Drinking a cup of warm water is also good for our system first thing in the morning.
Let us wash up or do what we need to before heading towards the meditation hall. Allow ourselves enough time so we will not have to rush. Enjoy the dark morning sky. Many stars are twinkling and greeting us. Take deep breaths and enjoy the cool, fresh air. As we walk slowly towards the hall, let the morning fill our being, awakening our body and mind to the joy of a new day.
Walking Meditation
Wherever we walk, we can practice meditation. This means that we know that we are walking. We walk just for walking. We walk with freedom and solidity, no longer in a hurry. We are present with each step. And when we wish to talk we stop our movement and give our full attention to the other person, to our words and to listening.
Walking in this way should not be a privilege. We should be able to do it in every moment. Look around and see how vast life is, the trees, the white clouds, the limitless sky. Listen to the birds. Feel the fresh breeze. Life is all around and we are alive and healthy and capable of walking in peace.
Let us walk as a free person and feel our steps get lighter. Let us enjoy every step we make. Each step is nourishing and healing. As we walk, imprint our gratitude and our love on the earth.
We may like to use a gatha as we walk. Taking two or three steps for each in-breath and each out-breath,
Breathing in "I have arrived"; Breathing out "I am home"
Breathing in "In the here"; Breathing out "In the now"
Breathing in "I am solid"; Breathing out "I am free"
Breathing in "In the ultimate"; Breathing out "I dwell"
Working Meditation
To participate in working meditation can be a great happiness. It is an opportunity to engage in the maintenance and care of our practice center while enjoying our practice of mindfulness. When we wash the cars, or turn the compost piles or chop wood we stay mindful of our breathing and the activity that we are doing. We speak only when necessary and about the work at hand. We can maintain a light and easy feeling as we work. An environment that is quiet can make the work more pleasant and enjoyable.
When we work in the garden we get in touch with the plants and nourish our connection to the earth we are living on. Sweeping and mopping the meditation halls we see that we are already practicing to calm our mind and body. Please, do not be in too great of a hurry to get the job done. Our most important contribution to the Sangha is to maintain our practice of mindfulness.
Working Meditation links us to our everyday life, both here and when we return home. As we are working at our computer or preparing dinner for our family or teaching a class, we can practice stopping, calming and refreshing ourselves with our conscious breathing. We can relax and smile at our co-workers and pace ourselves to maintain a light and serene state of being.
Source from :Plumvillage.com
Waking up this morning I smile
knowing there are 24 brand new hours before me.
I vow to live fully in each moment,
and look at beings with eyes of compassion.
As we wake up in the morning and open our eyes we may like to recite the above gatha. We can start our day with the happiness of a smile and the aspiration to dedicate ourselves to the path of love and understanding. We are aware that today is a fresh, new day, and we have 24 precious hours to live.
Let us try to get up from bed right away after following three deep breaths to bring ourselves into mindfulness. Let us not delay our waking. We may like to sit up and gently massage our head, neck, shoulders, and arms to get your blood circulating. We might like to do a few stretches to loosen our joints and wake up our body. Drinking a cup of warm water is also good for our system first thing in the morning.
Let us wash up or do what we need to before heading towards the meditation hall. Allow ourselves enough time so we will not have to rush. Enjoy the dark morning sky. Many stars are twinkling and greeting us. Take deep breaths and enjoy the cool, fresh air. As we walk slowly towards the hall, let the morning fill our being, awakening our body and mind to the joy of a new day.
Walking Meditation
Wherever we walk, we can practice meditation. This means that we know that we are walking. We walk just for walking. We walk with freedom and solidity, no longer in a hurry. We are present with each step. And when we wish to talk we stop our movement and give our full attention to the other person, to our words and to listening.
Walking in this way should not be a privilege. We should be able to do it in every moment. Look around and see how vast life is, the trees, the white clouds, the limitless sky. Listen to the birds. Feel the fresh breeze. Life is all around and we are alive and healthy and capable of walking in peace.
Let us walk as a free person and feel our steps get lighter. Let us enjoy every step we make. Each step is nourishing and healing. As we walk, imprint our gratitude and our love on the earth.
We may like to use a gatha as we walk. Taking two or three steps for each in-breath and each out-breath,
Breathing in "I have arrived"; Breathing out "I am home"
Breathing in "In the here"; Breathing out "In the now"
Breathing in "I am solid"; Breathing out "I am free"
Breathing in "In the ultimate"; Breathing out "I dwell"
Working Meditation
To participate in working meditation can be a great happiness. It is an opportunity to engage in the maintenance and care of our practice center while enjoying our practice of mindfulness. When we wash the cars, or turn the compost piles or chop wood we stay mindful of our breathing and the activity that we are doing. We speak only when necessary and about the work at hand. We can maintain a light and easy feeling as we work. An environment that is quiet can make the work more pleasant and enjoyable.
When we work in the garden we get in touch with the plants and nourish our connection to the earth we are living on. Sweeping and mopping the meditation halls we see that we are already practicing to calm our mind and body. Please, do not be in too great of a hurry to get the job done. Our most important contribution to the Sangha is to maintain our practice of mindfulness.
Working Meditation links us to our everyday life, both here and when we return home. As we are working at our computer or preparing dinner for our family or teaching a class, we can practice stopping, calming and refreshing ourselves with our conscious breathing. We can relax and smile at our co-workers and pace ourselves to maintain a light and serene state of being.
Source from :Plumvillage.com
Mindfulness Vs. Concentration
Some people do not know the difference between "mindfulness" and "concentration." They concentrate on what they're doing, thinking that is being mindful... We can concentrate on what we are doing, but if we are not mindful at the same time, with the ability to reflect on the moment, then if somebody interferes with our concentration, we may blow up, get carried away by anger at being frustrated.
If we are mindful, we are aware of the tendency to first concentrate and then to feel anger when something interferes with that concentration. With mindfulness we can concentrate when it is appropriate to do so and not concentrate when it is appropriate not to do so.
Source from: www.thedailyenlightenment.com
- Ajahn Sumedho, Teachings of a Buddhist Monk
Some people do not know the difference between "mindfulness" and "concentration." They concentrate on what they're doing, thinking that is being mindful... We can concentrate on what we are doing, but if we are not mindful at the same time, with the ability to reflect on the moment, then if somebody interferes with our concentration, we may blow up, get carried away by anger at being frustrated.
If we are mindful, we are aware of the tendency to first concentrate and then to feel anger when something interferes with that concentration. With mindfulness we can concentrate when it is appropriate to do so and not concentrate when it is appropriate not to do so.
Source from: www.thedailyenlightenment.com
- Ajahn Sumedho, Teachings of a Buddhist Monk
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
How To Meditate - by Dalai Lama
HOW TO MEDITATE?
"The most important thing is practice in daily life; then you can know gradually the true value of religion. Doctrine is not meant for mere knowledge, but for the improvement of our minds. In order to do that, it must be part of our life. If you put religious doctrine in a building and when you leave the building depart from the practices, you cannot gain its value."
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, from ' A Policy of Kindness'
I would strongly advise everyone to start with a serious course in meditation in a centre or group under the guidance of an experienced teacher, preferably at least with a few days in silence. This should give you a genuine feeling of the effect that meditation can have on the mind. Many people try to teach themselves meditation by reading books etc., but I can't remember ever meeting an enthusiastic self-taught meditator. So a proper course, if possible with a qualified teacher is invaluable. Furthermore, one should realise that continuity in meditation is considered essential: better five minutes a day, every day, than two hours once a week. For example, five minutes in the morning are likely to become longer over time, and can easily become part of your everyday life.
Many people discover it quickly becomes more essential and helpful than a good breakfast or 'the first cup of coffee' in the morning. In the evening, it can be a good way to stop the worries of the day and go to sleep in a comfortable state of mind. People who have problems getting to sleep may discover that with an evening meditation just before going to bed, the mind becomes much calmer and getting to sleep is no problem anymore. Ultimately, meditation can become a continuous state of mind, but that obviously takes a lot of training/habituation.
Before starting meditation, ideally we need to take care of a few things:
- a quiet place (using music is nice for relaxing, but not really meditation), switching off the phone will help.
- make sure you are not too tired, early morning is generally said to be the best time.
- sit comfortable; most people like a cushion under their behind, the room is best not too warm or cold.
- wear loose, comfortable clothing.
- try to create continuity in time and place to become habituated to the circumstances of meditation.
The Body:
- keeping the back straight, in whichever posture you meditate is most essential.
- try to be comfortable and physically relaxed, and avoid moving too much.
- keep the head straight, slightly bent forward, keep the teeth slightly apart, the tip of the tongue against the upper pallet.
- the eyes are best kept half-open (without really looking), but many beginners find that too distracting and close them.
- the shoulders should be relaxed and the hands can be put in one's lap.
- the legs can be in the full lotus (which not many Westerners manage), but also simply crossed. In fact, other positions like sitting on one's knees or on a bench are good as well. If all of these are too difficult, you can also use a chair, but remember to sit only on the front half of the seat, not leaning against the back rest to avoid a bent back, and keep the feet flat on the floor. Keeping the knees warm may help to avoid numbness of the legs.
- try belly-breathing; not breathing with the chest, but from the navel.
- always remember that the posture should enhance meditation, not be an obstacle! The Buddha even taught one of his disciples who had many problems with his posture to lie down with his back on a bed, and then he quickly made progress; however, most people tend to fall asleep - so it will not be suitable for everyone...
The Mind:
- be relaxed but at the same time awake and attentive: finding your balance here is not easy!
- be a careful observer of your own mind and thoughts; sometimes called the 'little spy inside':
From Ani Tenzin Palmo, Reflections on a Mountain Lake: Teachings on Practical Buddhism:
"As we begin to develop awareness of the mind, the mind itself appears to divide into two. A new aspect of the mind arises. This is referred to variously as the witness, the seer, the knower, or the
observer. It witnesses without judgment and without comment. Along with the arrival of the witness, a space appears within the mind. This enables us to see thoughts and emotions as mere thoughts and emotions, rather than as 'me' and 'mine.' When the thoughts and emotions are no longer seen as 'me' or 'mine', we begin to have choices. Certain thoughts and emotions are helpful, so we encourage them. Others are not so helpful, so we just let them go. All the thoughts and emotions are recognized and accepted. Nothing is suppressed. But now we have a choice about how to react. We can give energy to the ones, which are useful and skillful and withdraw energy from those which are not."
The Session:
1. Try and set yourself a minimum time that you want to meditate and try to stick to that as a minimum, but also stop before you get completely tired.
2. Motivation - to know what you are doing, most Buddhists will start with a refuge prayer, generating bodhicitta (for example using the prayer of the four immeasurables) and the seven-limb prayer (this contains the aspects of respectfulness towards the teachers, making (mental) offerings, admitting one's past mistakes, rejoicing in positive actions, asking the teachers to remain, requesting them to teach and dedicating the practice to full enlightenment). See the example meditations for a set of these prayers.
3a. Calming and clearing the mind - often using a simple (but often not easy) breathing meditation - see below.
3b. Optional for an analytical meditation: take specific object or technique and stay with that - avoid excuses to change the subject.
4. Conclusion and dedication - to make impression on the mind
In short: meditation is a method to transform ourselves into the person we would like to be; don't forget what you want to be like, therefore we need to set the motivation which gives perseverance in the practice. Keep relaxed, don't push yourself and don't expect great experiences. A dedication at the end directs positive energy towards results.
The Tibetans traditionally advise the '6 Preparatory Practices' prior to the first traditional meditation session of the day:
1. Sweep and clean the room and arrange the altar.
2. Make offerings on the altar, e.g. light, food, incense, water bowls, etc..
3. Sit in a comfortable position and examine your mind. If there is much distraction, do some breathing meditation to calm your mind. Then establish a good motivation. After that, take refuge and generate the altruistic intention by reciting the appropriate prayers.
4. Visualise the 'merit field' in front of you with your Teachers, Buddhas, bodhisattvas, etc. If this is too difficult, visualise Shakyamuni Buddha alone and consider him the embodiment of all Buddhas, Dharma (teachings) and Sangha (community).
5. Offer the seven limb prayer and do the mandala offering by reciting the prayers.
6. Make requests to the lineage teachers for inspiration by reciting the requesting prayers. It is also good to review the entire graduated path to enlightenment by reciting for example, "Foundation of All Good Qualities". This helps you to understand the purpose of the particular meditation that you will do in the overall scheme of training the mind in the gradual path. It also plants the seed for you to obtain each realisation of the path.
Source from: http://buddhism.kalachakranet.org/
"The most important thing is practice in daily life; then you can know gradually the true value of religion. Doctrine is not meant for mere knowledge, but for the improvement of our minds. In order to do that, it must be part of our life. If you put religious doctrine in a building and when you leave the building depart from the practices, you cannot gain its value."
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, from ' A Policy of Kindness'
I would strongly advise everyone to start with a serious course in meditation in a centre or group under the guidance of an experienced teacher, preferably at least with a few days in silence. This should give you a genuine feeling of the effect that meditation can have on the mind. Many people try to teach themselves meditation by reading books etc., but I can't remember ever meeting an enthusiastic self-taught meditator. So a proper course, if possible with a qualified teacher is invaluable. Furthermore, one should realise that continuity in meditation is considered essential: better five minutes a day, every day, than two hours once a week. For example, five minutes in the morning are likely to become longer over time, and can easily become part of your everyday life.
Many people discover it quickly becomes more essential and helpful than a good breakfast or 'the first cup of coffee' in the morning. In the evening, it can be a good way to stop the worries of the day and go to sleep in a comfortable state of mind. People who have problems getting to sleep may discover that with an evening meditation just before going to bed, the mind becomes much calmer and getting to sleep is no problem anymore. Ultimately, meditation can become a continuous state of mind, but that obviously takes a lot of training/habituation.
Before starting meditation, ideally we need to take care of a few things:
- a quiet place (using music is nice for relaxing, but not really meditation), switching off the phone will help.
- make sure you are not too tired, early morning is generally said to be the best time.
- sit comfortable; most people like a cushion under their behind, the room is best not too warm or cold.
- wear loose, comfortable clothing.
- try to create continuity in time and place to become habituated to the circumstances of meditation.
The Body:
- keeping the back straight, in whichever posture you meditate is most essential.
- try to be comfortable and physically relaxed, and avoid moving too much.
- keep the head straight, slightly bent forward, keep the teeth slightly apart, the tip of the tongue against the upper pallet.
- the eyes are best kept half-open (without really looking), but many beginners find that too distracting and close them.
- the shoulders should be relaxed and the hands can be put in one's lap.
- the legs can be in the full lotus (which not many Westerners manage), but also simply crossed. In fact, other positions like sitting on one's knees or on a bench are good as well. If all of these are too difficult, you can also use a chair, but remember to sit only on the front half of the seat, not leaning against the back rest to avoid a bent back, and keep the feet flat on the floor. Keeping the knees warm may help to avoid numbness of the legs.
- try belly-breathing; not breathing with the chest, but from the navel.
- always remember that the posture should enhance meditation, not be an obstacle! The Buddha even taught one of his disciples who had many problems with his posture to lie down with his back on a bed, and then he quickly made progress; however, most people tend to fall asleep - so it will not be suitable for everyone...
The Mind:
- be relaxed but at the same time awake and attentive: finding your balance here is not easy!
- be a careful observer of your own mind and thoughts; sometimes called the 'little spy inside':
From Ani Tenzin Palmo, Reflections on a Mountain Lake: Teachings on Practical Buddhism:
"As we begin to develop awareness of the mind, the mind itself appears to divide into two. A new aspect of the mind arises. This is referred to variously as the witness, the seer, the knower, or the
observer. It witnesses without judgment and without comment. Along with the arrival of the witness, a space appears within the mind. This enables us to see thoughts and emotions as mere thoughts and emotions, rather than as 'me' and 'mine.' When the thoughts and emotions are no longer seen as 'me' or 'mine', we begin to have choices. Certain thoughts and emotions are helpful, so we encourage them. Others are not so helpful, so we just let them go. All the thoughts and emotions are recognized and accepted. Nothing is suppressed. But now we have a choice about how to react. We can give energy to the ones, which are useful and skillful and withdraw energy from those which are not."
The Session:
1. Try and set yourself a minimum time that you want to meditate and try to stick to that as a minimum, but also stop before you get completely tired.
2. Motivation - to know what you are doing, most Buddhists will start with a refuge prayer, generating bodhicitta (for example using the prayer of the four immeasurables) and the seven-limb prayer (this contains the aspects of respectfulness towards the teachers, making (mental) offerings, admitting one's past mistakes, rejoicing in positive actions, asking the teachers to remain, requesting them to teach and dedicating the practice to full enlightenment). See the example meditations for a set of these prayers.
3a. Calming and clearing the mind - often using a simple (but often not easy) breathing meditation - see below.
3b. Optional for an analytical meditation: take specific object or technique and stay with that - avoid excuses to change the subject.
4. Conclusion and dedication - to make impression on the mind
In short: meditation is a method to transform ourselves into the person we would like to be; don't forget what you want to be like, therefore we need to set the motivation which gives perseverance in the practice. Keep relaxed, don't push yourself and don't expect great experiences. A dedication at the end directs positive energy towards results.
The Tibetans traditionally advise the '6 Preparatory Practices' prior to the first traditional meditation session of the day:
1. Sweep and clean the room and arrange the altar.
2. Make offerings on the altar, e.g. light, food, incense, water bowls, etc..
3. Sit in a comfortable position and examine your mind. If there is much distraction, do some breathing meditation to calm your mind. Then establish a good motivation. After that, take refuge and generate the altruistic intention by reciting the appropriate prayers.
4. Visualise the 'merit field' in front of you with your Teachers, Buddhas, bodhisattvas, etc. If this is too difficult, visualise Shakyamuni Buddha alone and consider him the embodiment of all Buddhas, Dharma (teachings) and Sangha (community).
5. Offer the seven limb prayer and do the mandala offering by reciting the prayers.
6. Make requests to the lineage teachers for inspiration by reciting the requesting prayers. It is also good to review the entire graduated path to enlightenment by reciting for example, "Foundation of All Good Qualities". This helps you to understand the purpose of the particular meditation that you will do in the overall scheme of training the mind in the gradual path. It also plants the seed for you to obtain each realisation of the path.
Source from: http://buddhism.kalachakranet.org/
Fang Sheng - Apa Esensinya?
Melihat sekumpulan orang di pinggir kali, apa asumsi yang muncul dalam benak kita pertama kali? Hampir dapat dipastikan kita berasumsi mereka adalah sekumpulan orang yang sedang mencari dan menangkap ikan. Sebaliknya, mungkin tidak ada yang berasumsi bahwa kumpulan orang tersebut sedang melakukan kegiatan yang bertolak belakang, yakni alih-alih menangkap ikan, mereka justru sedang melepas ikan-ikan ke kali tersebut.
Orang yang belum pernah melihat hal ini dengan mata kepala sendiri, mungkin berpendapat ini hanyalah isapan jempol belaka, mana ada orang yang melepas ratusan bahkan ribuan ikan ke kali? Bagi yang pernah menyaksikan hal tersebut, mungkin geleng-geleng kepala tidak percaya. Gila mungkin, demikian pikir mereka.
Di saat banyak orang sibuk mengambil ikan dari kali, ternyata ada sekelompok orang sibuk melepas ikan ke kali. Ada apa gerangan? Apakah mereka adalah para pecinta lingkungan hidup yang sedang beraksi? Apakah mereka para pejabat pemerintah yang sedang melakukan kegiatan seremonial tabur benih? Atau …?
Pelepasan ikan (dan makhluk hidup lainnya) seperti yang dilakukan oleh sekumpulan orang tersebut dalam Buddha Dharma (ajaran Buddha) disebut sebagai Fang Sheng. Fang Sheng berasal dari bahasa Mandarin, yang mana Fang berarti “melepas” dan Sheng menunjuk pada “makhluk hidup”. Dengan demikian Fang Sheng memiliki pengertian yang sangat gamblang yakni melepaskan makhluk hidup ke habitatnya masing-masing agar mereka mereguk kembali kehidupan alam yang bebas dan bahagia.
Semangat Fang Sheng
Buddha Dharma adalah ajaran yang sangat menghargai kehidupan. Setiap makhluk hidup (sekecil apapun) adalah sama berharganya dengan diri kita. Buddha Dharma mengajarkan bahwa tidak ada seorangpun yang berhak mengakhiri kehidupan makhluk lain dengan alasan apapun.
Dalam Kitab Suci Tripitaka, bagian Anguttara Nikaya III, 203, Buddha mengajarkan lima aturan moral (sila) yang dikenal dengan Panca Sila Buddhis. Kelima sila tersebut adalah bahwa seorang umat Buddha bertekad melatih diri menghindarkan diri dari (1) pembunuhan makhluk hidup, (2) perbuatan pencurian, (3) perbuatan asusila, (4) ucapan yang tidak benar, (5) minuman yang menyebabkan kesadaran berkurang.
Sila adalah aturan moral yang dijalankan oleh seorang umat Buddha. Aturan moral ini bukanlah perintah ataupun larangan, karena azas ajaran Buddha adalah kebijaksanaan. Buddha tidak pernah menerapkan larangan ataupun perintah dalam ajaran Beliau. Buddha senantiasa memberi teladan dan mengajarkan Dharma dengan menjelaskan apa yang baik untuk dilakukan dan apa yang tidak baik untuk dilakukan, bukan apa yang harus dilakukan (perintah) dan apa yang tidak boleh dilakukan (larangan). Karena itu, sila adalah pernyataan tekad mulia yang muncul dan berkembang dari dalam lubuk hati kita sendiri, dengan tanpa adanya paksaan dari siapapun.
Pembunuhan, apapun bentuknya, adalah hal yang tidak baik untuk dilakukan karena pembunuhan berarti mengakhiri kehidupan makhluk lain. Jika kita sebagai manusia memiliki hasrat untuk hidup, serta tidak ingin kehidupan kita diambil, demikian juga yang dirasakan dan diinginkan oleh makhluk lain. Hal ini tidak dapat dipungkiri, tapi mungkin kita berusaha mengingkarinya dengan mengutamakan kepentingan diri kita di atas kepentingan makhluk lain.
Keseluruhan ajaran Buddha dapat dirangkum dalam sebait syair yang indah yang berbunyi:
Sabba pappasa akaranam,
Kusala uppasampada,
Sacitta pariyodapanam,
Etam Buddhanam sasanam
Janganlah melakukan perbuatan jahat,
Perbanyaklah berbuat kebajikan,
Sucikan hati dan pikiran,
Inilah inti ajaran Buddha.
(Dhammapada XIV, 183)
Fang Sheng, sesungguhnya adalah aplikasi sederhana yang lengkap dari bait syair tersebut. Tidak melakukan pembunuhan makhluk hidup (sila pertama) adalah bahwa kita tidak melakukan perbuatan jahat dengan merenggut kehidupan makhluk lain. Bahkan, setelah melepaskan diri dari melakukan kejahatan pembunuhan makhluk hidup, lebih jauh lagi adalah dengan memperbanyak berbuat kebajikan, yakni membebaskan makhluk-makhluk hidup yang menderita, kapan saja dan di mana saja hal tersebut dapat dilakukan. Kehendak mulia yang mendasari perbuatan Fang Sheng yakni berharap agar semua makhluk hidup berbahagia dan terlepas dari penderitaan, ini menunjukkan bahwa kita telah mulai memasuki tahap penyucian hati dan pikiran, sehingga niat-niat jahatpun tidak akan mendapat tempat dalam batin kita.
Disadari atau tidak, ajaran cinta kasih universal (tanpa kondisi dan persyaratan apapun, pun tidak hanya terbatas pada manusia) yang dibabarkan oleh Buddha adalah ajaran yang ramah lingkungan. Ajaran Buddha secara langsung atau tidak langsung memberikan kontribusi luar biasa bagi upaya pelestarian lingkungan hidup.
Fang Sheng adalah perluasan dari sila untuk tidak melakukan pembunuhan makhluk hidup serta menjadi sebuah solusi untuk mengembalikan ekosistem sehingga kepunahan spesies-spesies karena ulah manusia dapat dihindarkan
Source from :
Abin Nagasena
http://dhammacitta.org/artikel/berpikir-cara-buddhis/fang-sheng-apa-esensinya
Orang yang belum pernah melihat hal ini dengan mata kepala sendiri, mungkin berpendapat ini hanyalah isapan jempol belaka, mana ada orang yang melepas ratusan bahkan ribuan ikan ke kali? Bagi yang pernah menyaksikan hal tersebut, mungkin geleng-geleng kepala tidak percaya. Gila mungkin, demikian pikir mereka.
Di saat banyak orang sibuk mengambil ikan dari kali, ternyata ada sekelompok orang sibuk melepas ikan ke kali. Ada apa gerangan? Apakah mereka adalah para pecinta lingkungan hidup yang sedang beraksi? Apakah mereka para pejabat pemerintah yang sedang melakukan kegiatan seremonial tabur benih? Atau …?
Pelepasan ikan (dan makhluk hidup lainnya) seperti yang dilakukan oleh sekumpulan orang tersebut dalam Buddha Dharma (ajaran Buddha) disebut sebagai Fang Sheng. Fang Sheng berasal dari bahasa Mandarin, yang mana Fang berarti “melepas” dan Sheng menunjuk pada “makhluk hidup”. Dengan demikian Fang Sheng memiliki pengertian yang sangat gamblang yakni melepaskan makhluk hidup ke habitatnya masing-masing agar mereka mereguk kembali kehidupan alam yang bebas dan bahagia.
Semangat Fang Sheng
Buddha Dharma adalah ajaran yang sangat menghargai kehidupan. Setiap makhluk hidup (sekecil apapun) adalah sama berharganya dengan diri kita. Buddha Dharma mengajarkan bahwa tidak ada seorangpun yang berhak mengakhiri kehidupan makhluk lain dengan alasan apapun.
Dalam Kitab Suci Tripitaka, bagian Anguttara Nikaya III, 203, Buddha mengajarkan lima aturan moral (sila) yang dikenal dengan Panca Sila Buddhis. Kelima sila tersebut adalah bahwa seorang umat Buddha bertekad melatih diri menghindarkan diri dari (1) pembunuhan makhluk hidup, (2) perbuatan pencurian, (3) perbuatan asusila, (4) ucapan yang tidak benar, (5) minuman yang menyebabkan kesadaran berkurang.
Sila adalah aturan moral yang dijalankan oleh seorang umat Buddha. Aturan moral ini bukanlah perintah ataupun larangan, karena azas ajaran Buddha adalah kebijaksanaan. Buddha tidak pernah menerapkan larangan ataupun perintah dalam ajaran Beliau. Buddha senantiasa memberi teladan dan mengajarkan Dharma dengan menjelaskan apa yang baik untuk dilakukan dan apa yang tidak baik untuk dilakukan, bukan apa yang harus dilakukan (perintah) dan apa yang tidak boleh dilakukan (larangan). Karena itu, sila adalah pernyataan tekad mulia yang muncul dan berkembang dari dalam lubuk hati kita sendiri, dengan tanpa adanya paksaan dari siapapun.
Pembunuhan, apapun bentuknya, adalah hal yang tidak baik untuk dilakukan karena pembunuhan berarti mengakhiri kehidupan makhluk lain. Jika kita sebagai manusia memiliki hasrat untuk hidup, serta tidak ingin kehidupan kita diambil, demikian juga yang dirasakan dan diinginkan oleh makhluk lain. Hal ini tidak dapat dipungkiri, tapi mungkin kita berusaha mengingkarinya dengan mengutamakan kepentingan diri kita di atas kepentingan makhluk lain.
Keseluruhan ajaran Buddha dapat dirangkum dalam sebait syair yang indah yang berbunyi:
Sabba pappasa akaranam,
Kusala uppasampada,
Sacitta pariyodapanam,
Etam Buddhanam sasanam
Janganlah melakukan perbuatan jahat,
Perbanyaklah berbuat kebajikan,
Sucikan hati dan pikiran,
Inilah inti ajaran Buddha.
(Dhammapada XIV, 183)
Fang Sheng, sesungguhnya adalah aplikasi sederhana yang lengkap dari bait syair tersebut. Tidak melakukan pembunuhan makhluk hidup (sila pertama) adalah bahwa kita tidak melakukan perbuatan jahat dengan merenggut kehidupan makhluk lain. Bahkan, setelah melepaskan diri dari melakukan kejahatan pembunuhan makhluk hidup, lebih jauh lagi adalah dengan memperbanyak berbuat kebajikan, yakni membebaskan makhluk-makhluk hidup yang menderita, kapan saja dan di mana saja hal tersebut dapat dilakukan. Kehendak mulia yang mendasari perbuatan Fang Sheng yakni berharap agar semua makhluk hidup berbahagia dan terlepas dari penderitaan, ini menunjukkan bahwa kita telah mulai memasuki tahap penyucian hati dan pikiran, sehingga niat-niat jahatpun tidak akan mendapat tempat dalam batin kita.
Disadari atau tidak, ajaran cinta kasih universal (tanpa kondisi dan persyaratan apapun, pun tidak hanya terbatas pada manusia) yang dibabarkan oleh Buddha adalah ajaran yang ramah lingkungan. Ajaran Buddha secara langsung atau tidak langsung memberikan kontribusi luar biasa bagi upaya pelestarian lingkungan hidup.
Fang Sheng adalah perluasan dari sila untuk tidak melakukan pembunuhan makhluk hidup serta menjadi sebuah solusi untuk mengembalikan ekosistem sehingga kepunahan spesies-spesies karena ulah manusia dapat dihindarkan
Source from :
Abin Nagasena
http://dhammacitta.org/artikel/berpikir-cara-buddhis/fang-sheng-apa-esensinya
Saturday, February 14, 2009
THE MIND AS OUR SOFTWARE
To illustrate the Buddhist approach to the mind, let us compare our body and mind to a computer. In this simile, the body is the hardware and the mind is the software.
As mentioned above, the mind is defined as a non-physical phenomena which perceives, thinks, recognises, experiences and reacts to the environment, not unlike computer software.
Although software needs to be imprinted or registered in something like the hard-drive before it can do anything, in itself, a program represents a lot of thinking by the software manufacturer. Without software (mind), the hardware (body) is just a 'dead thing'. The hardware (body) is of course important in what the computer can do; how fast it is, which programs can be run, and how the computer can interact with the world. However good the hardware is, it can ultimately only perform what the program 'knows'. The hardware can get damaged, or even 'die', and the software can be moved onto another set of hardware; not unlike rebirth!
The software needs to use the 'senses' of the hardware, like the keyboard, the mousea, a video camera, a modem etc. to receive 'input'; just like the mind needs the senses the receive the 'input' of the outside world.
This leads to an important observation: it is easy to recognise that a computer is not 'objective' about the world; depending on what kind of video camera, microphone or modem we connect it to, the input will be different. Similarly, our bodily senses cannot really be objective: people's ears are different, the eyes are different etc., so how can someone ever claim to be an 'objective observer'? Above and beyond that lies the software; the more advanced this is, the more 'intelligent' it will be able to read the world and determine what is the best thing to do. Similarly, the more advanced our mind is, the more intelligent and wise we will be, providing we are not hampered by serious physical problems. As the software actually determines what the hardware does, so is the mind the master of the body - within the physical limitations of the body. But the Buddha made it clear that a human body is the best type of available hardware!
There are limits to the development of the hardware; for example, the amount of electrical circuits on chips is getting larger and larger, but there are physical limits which the developers encounter. With the software, the limit appears to be much less clear; the first types of computers behaved with the intelligence of an on/off switch, but already they can beat a grandmaster at chess and nobody can say where it will end. Similarly, Buddhism teaches that there is no real limit to the development of our mind, and in fact omniscience is possible. At that stage, all our normal values and concepts dissolve as limited and non-objective. Buddhism encourages us to develop the software of our mind to enter into a different state which is beyond limitations, suffering and problems.
The method to develop our mind is summarised as study and meditation. Initially, we need to understand how the programs of our mind work and how they can be improved, and then do the reprogramming in meditation. This is why psychology and meditation are so important.
Below listing of aspects of the mind may appear very dry and boring, but remember, so are computer manuals...
CLEAR-LIGHT MIND
In Tibetan Buddhism, often the so-called 'clear-light mind' is mentioned. This is the most subtle level of mind (see also death & rebirth), which we are normally not even aware of. It appears to the very advanced meditator and during the death process, but in this case, also only advanced meditators will be able to notice it. It is a non-conceptual, 'primordial' state of mind.
From a talk given by HH Dalai Lama. Oct. 11-14, 1991 New York City. Path of Compassion teaching preliminary to Kalachakra:
Question: When people hear of luminosity of clear light that dawns at the moment of death they ask why it is called clear light. What has this got to do with light as we know it?
Dalai Lama:
"I don't think that in the term clear light, light should be taken literally. It is sort of metaphoric. This could have its roots in our terminology of mental will. According to Buddhism, all consciousness or all cognitive mental events are said to be in the nature of clarity and luminosity. So it is from that point of view that the choice of the term light is used. Clear light is the most subtle level of mind, which can be seen as the basis or the source from which eventual experience or realisation of Buddhahood, Buddha's wisdom might come about, therefore it is called clear light. Clear light is a state of mind which becomes fully manifest only as a consequence of certain sequences or stages of dissolution, where the mind becomes devoid of certain types of obscurations, which are again metaphorically described in terms of sun-like, moonlike and darkness. These refer to the earlier three stages of dissolution which are technically called, including the clear light stage, the four empties. At the final stage of dissolution the mind is totally free of all these factors of obscuration. Therefore it is called clear light. Sort of a light. It is also possible to understand the usage of the term clear light in terms of the nature of mind itself. Mind or consciousness is a phenomena which lacks any obstructive quality. It is non-obstructed."
A teaching from Venerable Ajahn Chah (Pra Bhodinyana Thera):
"About this mind... In truth there is nothing really wrong with it. It is intrinsically pure. Within itself it's already peaceful. That the mind is not peaceful these days is because it follows moods. The real mind doesn't have anything to it, it is simply (an aspect of) Nature. It becomes peaceful or agitated because moods deceive it. The untrained mind is stupid. Sense impressions come and trick it into happiness, suffering, gladness and sorrow, but the mind's true nature is none of those things. That gladness or sadness is not the mind, but only a mood coming to deceive us. The untrained mind gets lost and follows these things, it forgets itself. Then we think that it is we who are upset or at ease or whatever.
But really this mind of ours is already unmoving and peaceful... really peaceful! Just like a leaf which is still as long as no wind blows. If a wind comes up the leaf flutters. The fluttering is due to the wind -- the 'fluttering' is due to those sense impressions; the mind follows them. If it doesn't follow them, it doesn't 'flutter.' If we know fully the true nature of sense impressions we will be unmoved.
Our practice is simply to see the Original Mind. So we must train the mind to know those sense impressions, and not get lost in them. To make it peaceful. Just this is the aim of all this difficult practice we put ourselves through."
Source from: http://buddhism.kalachakranet.org
As mentioned above, the mind is defined as a non-physical phenomena which perceives, thinks, recognises, experiences and reacts to the environment, not unlike computer software.
Although software needs to be imprinted or registered in something like the hard-drive before it can do anything, in itself, a program represents a lot of thinking by the software manufacturer. Without software (mind), the hardware (body) is just a 'dead thing'. The hardware (body) is of course important in what the computer can do; how fast it is, which programs can be run, and how the computer can interact with the world. However good the hardware is, it can ultimately only perform what the program 'knows'. The hardware can get damaged, or even 'die', and the software can be moved onto another set of hardware; not unlike rebirth!
The software needs to use the 'senses' of the hardware, like the keyboard, the mousea, a video camera, a modem etc. to receive 'input'; just like the mind needs the senses the receive the 'input' of the outside world.
This leads to an important observation: it is easy to recognise that a computer is not 'objective' about the world; depending on what kind of video camera, microphone or modem we connect it to, the input will be different. Similarly, our bodily senses cannot really be objective: people's ears are different, the eyes are different etc., so how can someone ever claim to be an 'objective observer'? Above and beyond that lies the software; the more advanced this is, the more 'intelligent' it will be able to read the world and determine what is the best thing to do. Similarly, the more advanced our mind is, the more intelligent and wise we will be, providing we are not hampered by serious physical problems. As the software actually determines what the hardware does, so is the mind the master of the body - within the physical limitations of the body. But the Buddha made it clear that a human body is the best type of available hardware!
There are limits to the development of the hardware; for example, the amount of electrical circuits on chips is getting larger and larger, but there are physical limits which the developers encounter. With the software, the limit appears to be much less clear; the first types of computers behaved with the intelligence of an on/off switch, but already they can beat a grandmaster at chess and nobody can say where it will end. Similarly, Buddhism teaches that there is no real limit to the development of our mind, and in fact omniscience is possible. At that stage, all our normal values and concepts dissolve as limited and non-objective. Buddhism encourages us to develop the software of our mind to enter into a different state which is beyond limitations, suffering and problems.
The method to develop our mind is summarised as study and meditation. Initially, we need to understand how the programs of our mind work and how they can be improved, and then do the reprogramming in meditation. This is why psychology and meditation are so important.
Below listing of aspects of the mind may appear very dry and boring, but remember, so are computer manuals...
CLEAR-LIGHT MIND
In Tibetan Buddhism, often the so-called 'clear-light mind' is mentioned. This is the most subtle level of mind (see also death & rebirth), which we are normally not even aware of. It appears to the very advanced meditator and during the death process, but in this case, also only advanced meditators will be able to notice it. It is a non-conceptual, 'primordial' state of mind.
From a talk given by HH Dalai Lama. Oct. 11-14, 1991 New York City. Path of Compassion teaching preliminary to Kalachakra:
Question: When people hear of luminosity of clear light that dawns at the moment of death they ask why it is called clear light. What has this got to do with light as we know it?
Dalai Lama:
"I don't think that in the term clear light, light should be taken literally. It is sort of metaphoric. This could have its roots in our terminology of mental will. According to Buddhism, all consciousness or all cognitive mental events are said to be in the nature of clarity and luminosity. So it is from that point of view that the choice of the term light is used. Clear light is the most subtle level of mind, which can be seen as the basis or the source from which eventual experience or realisation of Buddhahood, Buddha's wisdom might come about, therefore it is called clear light. Clear light is a state of mind which becomes fully manifest only as a consequence of certain sequences or stages of dissolution, where the mind becomes devoid of certain types of obscurations, which are again metaphorically described in terms of sun-like, moonlike and darkness. These refer to the earlier three stages of dissolution which are technically called, including the clear light stage, the four empties. At the final stage of dissolution the mind is totally free of all these factors of obscuration. Therefore it is called clear light. Sort of a light. It is also possible to understand the usage of the term clear light in terms of the nature of mind itself. Mind or consciousness is a phenomena which lacks any obstructive quality. It is non-obstructed."
A teaching from Venerable Ajahn Chah (Pra Bhodinyana Thera):
"About this mind... In truth there is nothing really wrong with it. It is intrinsically pure. Within itself it's already peaceful. That the mind is not peaceful these days is because it follows moods. The real mind doesn't have anything to it, it is simply (an aspect of) Nature. It becomes peaceful or agitated because moods deceive it. The untrained mind is stupid. Sense impressions come and trick it into happiness, suffering, gladness and sorrow, but the mind's true nature is none of those things. That gladness or sadness is not the mind, but only a mood coming to deceive us. The untrained mind gets lost and follows these things, it forgets itself. Then we think that it is we who are upset or at ease or whatever.
But really this mind of ours is already unmoving and peaceful... really peaceful! Just like a leaf which is still as long as no wind blows. If a wind comes up the leaf flutters. The fluttering is due to the wind -- the 'fluttering' is due to those sense impressions; the mind follows them. If it doesn't follow them, it doesn't 'flutter.' If we know fully the true nature of sense impressions we will be unmoved.
Our practice is simply to see the Original Mind. So we must train the mind to know those sense impressions, and not get lost in them. To make it peaceful. Just this is the aim of all this difficult practice we put ourselves through."
Source from: http://buddhism.kalachakranet.org
Sunday, February 8, 2009
GENERAL BUDDHISM
Buddhist Teachings.
These are the basic teachings and concepts in Buddhism.
Karma
Actions have consequences; so our lives are conditioned by our past actions.
Rebirth
Consciousness continues after death, and finds expression in a future life.
Liberation from karma
By following the Buddha's path one escapes the cycle of craving and suffering.
The Four Noble Truths
These are the essentials of Buddhism.
Enlightenment
The highest goal of life is to reach Enlightenment; a state of being that goes beyond suffering.
Dharma
The teachings and hence the way to nirvana.
The core of Buddhist teaching
At the heart of the Buddha's teaching lie The Four Noble Truths and The Eightfold Path which lead the Buddhist towards the path of Enlightenment.
Facing the Truth
The Buddha taught that the human tendency is to avoid the difficult truths of life and this in turn leads to suffering. By enabling the mind to be at peace through meditation a human being can confront reality and overcome hatred and craving.
Source from http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion
These are the basic teachings and concepts in Buddhism.
Karma
Actions have consequences; so our lives are conditioned by our past actions.
Rebirth
Consciousness continues after death, and finds expression in a future life.
Liberation from karma
By following the Buddha's path one escapes the cycle of craving and suffering.
The Four Noble Truths
These are the essentials of Buddhism.
Enlightenment
The highest goal of life is to reach Enlightenment; a state of being that goes beyond suffering.
Dharma
The teachings and hence the way to nirvana.
The core of Buddhist teaching
At the heart of the Buddha's teaching lie The Four Noble Truths and The Eightfold Path which lead the Buddhist towards the path of Enlightenment.
Facing the Truth
The Buddha taught that the human tendency is to avoid the difficult truths of life and this in turn leads to suffering. By enabling the mind to be at peace through meditation a human being can confront reality and overcome hatred and craving.
Source from http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion
Holy Days - Wesak
WESAK
Find this year's date in the multifaith calendar
Wesak is the most important of the Buddhist festivals and is celebrated on the full moon in May. It celebrates the Buddha's birthday, and, for some Buddhists, also marks his birth and death.
Buddha literally means 'one who is awake' and has become enlightened. It is a term that denotes a person who has attained the supreme wisdom and compassion of Enlightenment.
To Buddhists Enlightenment is a blessed state in which the individual attains Nirvana - the transcendence of desire and suffering.
Buddha’s disciples
Many of Buddha's disciples have attained Enlightenment, and there have been many other Enlightened teachers.
The celebration of Wesak is a chance to remember the story of how the Buddha gained Enlightenment, and to reflect on what it might mean for individual Buddhists to move towards Enlightenment themselves.
Celebrations
The festival is celebrated with much colour and gaiety. Homes may be cleaned and decorated. In Thailand, for example, special Wesak lanterns are made of paper and wood, and often there a large ceremonial releases of caged birds.
In many countries during the festival, Buddhists will visit their local temple for services and teaching, and will give offerings to the monks of food, candles and flowers.
Chanting and praying are an important part of Wesak. The 'Bathing the Buddha' ceremony is also often included. Water is poured over the shoulders of the Buddha and serves as a reminder to purify the mind from greed, hatred and ignorance.
Chinese Buddhists incorporate elements of their country's culture into their religious celebrations like the traditional dancing dragons.
Gifts are taken to an altar to be offered to the Buddha statues. This shows respect and gratitude to the Buddha for his life and teachings.
If there is food it is usually vegetarian as Buddhists try not to harm animals.
Source from http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion
Find this year's date in the multifaith calendar
Wesak is the most important of the Buddhist festivals and is celebrated on the full moon in May. It celebrates the Buddha's birthday, and, for some Buddhists, also marks his birth and death.
Buddha literally means 'one who is awake' and has become enlightened. It is a term that denotes a person who has attained the supreme wisdom and compassion of Enlightenment.
To Buddhists Enlightenment is a blessed state in which the individual attains Nirvana - the transcendence of desire and suffering.
Buddha’s disciples
Many of Buddha's disciples have attained Enlightenment, and there have been many other Enlightened teachers.
The celebration of Wesak is a chance to remember the story of how the Buddha gained Enlightenment, and to reflect on what it might mean for individual Buddhists to move towards Enlightenment themselves.
Celebrations
The festival is celebrated with much colour and gaiety. Homes may be cleaned and decorated. In Thailand, for example, special Wesak lanterns are made of paper and wood, and often there a large ceremonial releases of caged birds.
In many countries during the festival, Buddhists will visit their local temple for services and teaching, and will give offerings to the monks of food, candles and flowers.
Chanting and praying are an important part of Wesak. The 'Bathing the Buddha' ceremony is also often included. Water is poured over the shoulders of the Buddha and serves as a reminder to purify the mind from greed, hatred and ignorance.
Chinese Buddhists incorporate elements of their country's culture into their religious celebrations like the traditional dancing dragons.
Gifts are taken to an altar to be offered to the Buddha statues. This shows respect and gratitude to the Buddha for his life and teachings.
If there is food it is usually vegetarian as Buddhists try not to harm animals.
Source from http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion
Kathina
KATHINA
The Kathina festival, which originated 2,500 years ago, celebrates the largest alms-giving ceremony of the Buddhist year.
It occurs at the end of the Vassa, or monsoon, period, in October and November. During the Vassa period, normally nomadic Buddhist monks will have remained in one place for three months, and the Kathina celebration marks the time for them to move on. The festival also celebrates the offerings of cloth that are given to the monks upon their leaving by the lay people.
The offering can take place up to one month following the end of the Vassa period, from 19th October to 16 November, and is celebrated by buddhists of the Theravada tradition.
HISTORY
According to the scriptures, a group of thirty monks were journeying together with the intention of spending the Vassa period with the Lord Buddha, but the Vassa began before they reached their destination and so they had to stop.
The monks were upset that they were unable to be with Buddha, who later heard of their plight. As a reward Buddha gave some cloth, which he had acquired as a gift from one of the lay community, to the monks and told them to sew a robe and then bestow it upon one of their company. The Buddha said that there was nothing as uplifting as generosity and sharing, and so the monks set about sewing a new set of robes. They used a frame, called a Kathina, on which to spread the cloth as they were making it.
THE FESTIVAL
Lay supporters now continue this tradition at the end of the Vassa. The cloth giving is a gift of the followers of Buddhism, and therefore no monk is allowed to request or organise the festival.
The cloth, according to Buddha, must be offered to the whole Sangha community, who will then decide among themselves who receives the gift.
Buddhist families take joy in offering cloth to their teachers. About three metres of cloth is all that is needed, but very often other items are offered as well. On the day of the festival, people begin to arrive at the monastery and begin by sharing a meal. At about 1 o clock, they will formally offer the cloth and other gifts.
Two monks will be presented with the cloth on behalf of the whole Sangha community. These monks will then formally announce the member of the community who will receive the cloth once it has been made up.
The monks will spend much of the night preparing and cutting the cloth, and finally sewing it together to form a robe.
The formal Sangha act (Sangha Kamma) of presenting the cloth to the chosen monk may take place much later in the evening, when it is ceremonially presented to the nominated monk.
Source from http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion
The Kathina festival, which originated 2,500 years ago, celebrates the largest alms-giving ceremony of the Buddhist year.
It occurs at the end of the Vassa, or monsoon, period, in October and November. During the Vassa period, normally nomadic Buddhist monks will have remained in one place for three months, and the Kathina celebration marks the time for them to move on. The festival also celebrates the offerings of cloth that are given to the monks upon their leaving by the lay people.
The offering can take place up to one month following the end of the Vassa period, from 19th October to 16 November, and is celebrated by buddhists of the Theravada tradition.
HISTORY
According to the scriptures, a group of thirty monks were journeying together with the intention of spending the Vassa period with the Lord Buddha, but the Vassa began before they reached their destination and so they had to stop.
The monks were upset that they were unable to be with Buddha, who later heard of their plight. As a reward Buddha gave some cloth, which he had acquired as a gift from one of the lay community, to the monks and told them to sew a robe and then bestow it upon one of their company. The Buddha said that there was nothing as uplifting as generosity and sharing, and so the monks set about sewing a new set of robes. They used a frame, called a Kathina, on which to spread the cloth as they were making it.
THE FESTIVAL
Lay supporters now continue this tradition at the end of the Vassa. The cloth giving is a gift of the followers of Buddhism, and therefore no monk is allowed to request or organise the festival.
The cloth, according to Buddha, must be offered to the whole Sangha community, who will then decide among themselves who receives the gift.
Buddhist families take joy in offering cloth to their teachers. About three metres of cloth is all that is needed, but very often other items are offered as well. On the day of the festival, people begin to arrive at the monastery and begin by sharing a meal. At about 1 o clock, they will formally offer the cloth and other gifts.
Two monks will be presented with the cloth on behalf of the whole Sangha community. These monks will then formally announce the member of the community who will receive the cloth once it has been made up.
The monks will spend much of the night preparing and cutting the cloth, and finally sewing it together to form a robe.
The formal Sangha act (Sangha Kamma) of presenting the cloth to the chosen monk may take place much later in the evening, when it is ceremonially presented to the nominated monk.
Source from http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion
Sangha Day - Magha Puja
This festival is also known as Fourfold Assembly or Magha Puja Day.
Sangha Day is the second most important Buddhist festival. It is a celebration in honour of the Sangha, or the Buddhist community. For some Buddhists Sangha refers only to monks and nuns. It is a chance for people to reaffirm their commitment to Buddhist practices and traditions.
Sangha Day commemorates the spontaneous gathering of 1,250 enlightened monks (arahants) to hear the Buddha preach at Veluvana Vihara.
At this gathering, the Buddha gave his first sermon, or recitation of the Patimokkha (the rules and regulations of the monastic order).
Sangha is the term used for the Buddhist spiritual community. On Sangha Day Buddhists celebrate both the ideal of creating a spiritual community, and also the actual spiritual community which they are trying to create.
The Sangha is precious in Buddhism as without those in the community to look up to or share aspirations with, the spiritual life would be very challenging.
Sangha Day is a traditional time for exchange of gifts; it has become a prominent festival among Western Buddhists even though it is less well known in the East.
Celebrations vary, but can include chanting, meditation, the lighting of oil lamps, and the reaffirmation of people's commitment to Buddhist practice.
Source from http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion
This festival is also known as Fourfold Assembly or Magha Puja Day.
Sangha Day is the second most important Buddhist festival. It is a celebration in honour of the Sangha, or the Buddhist community. For some Buddhists Sangha refers only to monks and nuns. It is a chance for people to reaffirm their commitment to Buddhist practices and traditions.
Sangha Day commemorates the spontaneous gathering of 1,250 enlightened monks (arahants) to hear the Buddha preach at Veluvana Vihara.
At this gathering, the Buddha gave his first sermon, or recitation of the Patimokkha (the rules and regulations of the monastic order).
Sangha is the term used for the Buddhist spiritual community. On Sangha Day Buddhists celebrate both the ideal of creating a spiritual community, and also the actual spiritual community which they are trying to create.
The Sangha is precious in Buddhism as without those in the community to look up to or share aspirations with, the spiritual life would be very challenging.
Sangha Day is a traditional time for exchange of gifts; it has become a prominent festival among Western Buddhists even though it is less well known in the East.
Celebrations vary, but can include chanting, meditation, the lighting of oil lamps, and the reaffirmation of people's commitment to Buddhist practice.
Source from http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Dhamma For All
Welcome to this inspirative blog and thank you for come over to my blog.
This Dhamma For All blog is an interactive network for all over people in the world.The vision of this blog is to improve the interactive communication between members which is focusing in the implementation of the beautiful Dhamma.
Your participation and support in exchanging the different information regarding Dhamma as well as other subjects which is good, useful,positive thought and also could be enlightened for all human beings in the world is kindly appreciated and welcomed. Kindly provide your inspirative words, wisdom words, beautiful poems,etc.
Any books regarding buddhism such as Dalai Lama's books is also provided here and you could obtain any information link to other inspirative & motivational website also.
Have a nice reading.
Moderator,
Mira Mulyadi
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