Go Beyond

The no-mind not-thinks no-thoughts about no-things.

~Shakyamuni Buddha

James's comment: Om gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi soha.

Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/30/2005

If you don't disturb yourself, like a broken gong does not vibrate, then you have achieved nirvana. Irritability no longer exists for you.
~Buddha

Help the Animals of Hurricane Katrina

I received the following email from a volunteer with the Katrina animal survivors group. They are in danger of loosing many animals and this volunteer is hoping that some of you would be able to help so i am posting the email here.

Thanks,
-James:

Dear James,

I am an animal recovery volunteer 'on the board' for Katrina animal survivors. I am writing to you sort of in a panic because I am not sure what to do for these folks who work for the animals.  If you know of some buddhist people and organizations like tarasbabies who can shelter animals for awhile, please let these people or myself know.

 Thank you, and here are some emails that will help clairify this critical situation:

Emails from today, Sunday, 11-27-05

From Amber, Bayou Rescue (amberalsobrooks@hotmail.com)

She (Meredith) also just left a voice mail on dave’s phone that MuttShack has to be OUT BY THIS WEDNESDAY. They have to have everything in the gym by tomorrow (that means putting the 40 cats and all vet ward animals in the gym with the 70+ dogs).

I don’t know what to do at this point – they need a place that can take a lot of fosters, and take them THIS WEEK! Gosh, even 20-30 would be great.

From Metairie Rescuer:
Today, my friend, volunteers with Jane Garrison's group told me that all the feral or stray cats they caught over the last few days had to be released back because they could not keep them nor did they have a place to send. The volunteers are frustrated and so am I. Why have more volunteers when my city and state isn't doing all they can to take in EVERY animal needing assistance. I am sooo frustrated.

Kerryemails/nos. on site:
http://www.AnimalRescueNewOrleans.com

My name is Marilyn Rock
618.580.0367
Sereng4444@cs.com

Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/29/2005

All fear violence, all are afraid of death. Seeing the similarity to oneself, one should not use violence or have it used.
~Buddha

In Time, Things Will Change

There simply is nothing to which we can attach ourselves, no matter how hard we try. In time, things will change and the conditions that produced our current desires will be gone. Why then cling to them now?

-Master Hsing Yun, "The Indescribable"

Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/28/2005

If there is no wound on one's hand, one can handle poison. Poison has no effect where there is no wound. There is no evil for the non- doer.
~Buddha

Going Beyond

Enlightenment is not about becoming something or someone else. It is the recognition of our intrinsic human nature, which is absolute truth. This absolute true nature is called "Buddha nature." The term Buddha, from the Sanskrit tatha, or tathagata, means "gone beyond," going beyond an ignorant state to become completely inseparable from absolute truth, which is our genuine ground. This is the essence of Buddhism and the main focus of our understanding and practice.

~ Mindroling Khandro Rinpoche

James's comment: This reminds me of the precious Heart Sutra:

Om gate gate paragate parasamgate Bodhi Soha.

This is of course the most famous teaching on emptiness. It is is also a great quote to teach us that the Buddha is not someone or something to worship or not worship rather it is an acknowledgement that each one of us is a Buddha in fact everything is a Buddha as well as a non-Buddha. Everything is a Bodhisattva and a non-Bodhisattva. Thus, in bowing to a Buddha statue we are bowing to our "Buddha nature" or the Buddha within us all and everything that exists.

Each one of us is capable of "going beyond" an ignorant state to become One with form and non-form.

More commentary on the prajna paramita:

We can use the analogy of the water and the wave. The water is life itself, and the wave is an expression of the water. The wave is no other than the water, and the water is no other than the wave, but the wave doesn’t have own being: its own being is the water. A wave is dependent on wind and weather conditions for its existence, and, of course, it is dependent on a great body of water. So, each wave is an expression of a body of water just like each one of us is an expression of life itself. This is called "being empty," and "being empty" also means being full. I think it is important to remember that, whenever we say something in Buddhism, its opposite is also included. This is called the non-duality of duality. If you say, "I am alive," "I am dead" is also included. If you say, "I am dead," "I am alive" is also included. Otherwise, you fall into duality and you only see in a partial way.

To see things as they are completely is to end suffering. Not that there is not some pain; life is painful. Even though we may be saved from suffering, it doesn’t mean that there is no suffering, or that we won’t suffer, but we should know how to accept that suffering and know how to accept our pain, and know how to accept our joy. Whatever arises, this is our life. True life is more important than any one aspect of life. Fundamental life is more important than any one aspect of life. If we understand this, then we can appreciate our life no matter what happens. This is maturity and this is what we experience in zazen. In zazen we say, well what was it like? Well, it was painful, and it was joyful, and it was whatever you want to say. But each one of those aspects we accept equally. This is what zazen is. Whatever comes up, this is it. When it is painful, it is just painful. When it is joyful, it is just joyful. We just accept each moment as it is, with what it is, with deep appreciation. This view is the aspect of enlightenment. So we say zazen is enlightenment/practice. The practice is not discriminating, not picking and choosing.

-Peace to all beings-

Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/27/2005

One should avoid evil like a merchant with much goods and only a small escort avoids a dangerous road, and like a man who loves life avoids poison.
~Gautama Buddha

Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/26/2005

Do not think lightly of evil that not the least consequence will come of it. A whole waterpot will fill up from dripping drops of water. A fool fills himself with evil, just a little at a time.
~Gautama Buddha

Always be Thankful

Let us rise up and be thankful,
for if we didn’t learn a lot today,
at least we learned a little,
and if we didn’t learn a little,
at least we didn’t get sick,
and if we got sick,
at least we didn’t die;
so, let us be thankful.

-The Buddha

James's comment: No matter what our situation we can always find something to be thankful for.

-Peace to all beings-

Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/25/2005

Be urgent in good; hold your thoughts off evil. When one is slack in doing good the mind delights in evil.
~Gautama Buddha

A Buddhist Thanksgiving

I just wanted to take this momment and tell all who read this blog that I love you deeply and hope that this day you reflect on the good things in your life. As well as sending merit and compassion to those who are in pain and suffering greatly.

May you, your family and your friends all find peace this day and all days.

I am very thankful for you all and everything that this bountiful existence offers us.

Most of all I am thankful for the Dharma which the Buddha set forth for us as a path to follow for achieving "peace in every footstep" as Thay says.

-Peace to all beings-

Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/24/2005

Though one were to live a hundred years without wisdom and with a mind unstilled by meditation, the life of a single day is better if one is wise and practices meditation.

~Shakyamuni Buddha

View Problems as Challenges

View all problems as challenges. Look upon negativities that arise as opportunities to learn and to grow. Don't run from them, condemn yourself, or bury your burden in saintly silence. You have a problem? Great. More grist for the mill. Rejoice, dive in, and investigate.

~Bhante Henepola Gunaratana

James's comment: I can especially relate to the don't "condemn yourself." Often when I realize that i did not make a mindful choice I then beat myself up only adding more problems and fuel to the fire of the first problem!

-Peace to all beings-

Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/23/2005

Better than a thousand pointless words is one word saying to the point, which upon hearing one finds peace.
~Shakyamuni Buddha

Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/22/2005

The Secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, nor to anticipate troubles, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.

~Shakyamuni Buddha

A Buddhist Christmas Story

A Christmas Story from the Lotus Sutra
One time a young man inherited 4 farms form his father. He also married his childhood sweetheart. He celebrated his good fortune by building a great house with servants and many rooms.
As the children were born the man bought many toys. He filled the children's rooms with toys of many colors and sizes. The children loved to play for hours in their nursery.
One day a fire broke our in the house. The father shout, "Run everybody." Naturally he expected his children to run out of the house with them. But they didn't follow the mother and father outside to safety. The parents called and called to the children, but they did not want to leave their wonderful toys. A neighbor who had come to help out with the fire suggested that they lure the children outside with more new toys. "But we don't have any," said the father. "We'll just make them up," suggested the tear faced mother as the flames grew hotter and hotter.
"Come on out," shouted the father and mother together. "We have horses, carts, jumping frogs, mechanical dolls, bows and even a monkey."
The children left the burning house and their beloved toys to see the new ones and thus were saved. When the smoke cleared from their eyes they saw the house destroyed. They also noticed that there were really no new toys to be seen at all. For the first time in their lives they knew what it was to have nothing and be very grateful indeed.

Reconciliation

Reconciliation is to understand both sides; to go to one side and describe the suffering being endured by the other side, and then go to the other side and describe the suffering being endured by the first side.

~Thich Nhat Hahn

James's comment:
Everyone wants to be happy, no one wants to suffer.

-Peace to all beings-

Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/21/2005

Those who really seek the path to enlightenment dictate terms to their mind. They then proceed with strong determination.
~Shakyamuni Buddha

Face Your Life

The important point of spiritual practice is not to try to escape your life,but to face it -- exactly and completely.

~ Dainin Katagiri Roshi

James's comment:

Too often we use religion as a crutch or a means to escape and that is not facing our lives head on. I don't know what we think we are escaping from but it never works. We think we have made a great choice by avoiding problems.

However, we soon realize that our escape vehicle is a bubble that will burst sooner or later. This burst often drops us into a worse situation than if we had faced our original problem head on in the first place.

It only kicks the ball down the street aways but we have to face our "problems" eventually. Life has a funny way of compounding problems when we don't deal with the problems as they arise.

---End of Transmission---

Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/20/2005

The no-mind not-thinks no-thoughts about no-things.
~Shakyamuni Buddha

Wisdom in Stooping

Wisdom is ofttimes nearer when we stoop, than when we soar.

~William Wordsworth

James's comment:

Indeed. I often gain more wisdom from looking to what already exists then looking into the skies to try and predict the future. Great wisdom from say looking into the nature of a small, fragile leaf. Look deeply and mindfully into the nature of a leaf and you will find the nature and meaning of existance.

-Peace to all beings-

Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/19/2005

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.
~Shakyamuni Buddha

Don't Become Blinded by Desire

Although gold dust is precious, when it gets in your eyes, it obstructs your vision.

~Hsi-Tang

Tenacity & A Strong Will to Live ...

An interesting story from Yahoo News ...

Radish in intensive care after murder attempt
Thu Nov 17,11:18 AM ET
A giant white radish that won the hearts of a Japanese town by valiantly growing through the urban asphalt was in intensive care at a town hall in western Japan on Thursday after being slashed by an unknown assailant.

The "daikon" radish, shaped like a giant carrot, first made the news months ago when it was noticed poking up through asphalt along a roadside in the town of Aioi, population 33,289.

This week local residents, who had nicknamed the vegetable "Gutsy Radish," were shocked -- and in some cases moved to tears -- when they found it had been decapitated.

TV talk shows seized on the attempted murder of the popular vegetable and a day later, the top half of the radish was found near the site where it had been growing.

A town official said Thursday the top of the severed radish had been placed in water to try to keep it alive and possibly get it to flower.

Asked why the radish -- more often found on Japanese dinner tables as a garnish, pickle or in "oden" stew -- had so many fans, town spokesman Jiro Matsuo said: "People discouraged by tough times were cheered by its tenacity and strong will to live."

The little radish that could ...

Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/18/2005

Wisdom is often times nearer when we stoop, than when we soar.
~William Wordsworth

Getting Ready to Live in the West

People in the West are always getting ready to live.

~Chinese Proverb

-James's comment: Live now or die forever.

-Peace to all beings-

Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/17/2005

If you seek, how is that different from pursuing sound and form? If you don't seek, how are you different from earth, wood or stone? You must seek without seeking.

~Fo-Yan

Each Step is the Goal

The difference between a journey and a pilgrimage is this: on a journey, reaching the goal means success; a pilgrimage is successful only when each step becomes the goal.

~ Brother David Steindl-Rast

James's comment: This reminds me of Thich Nhat Hanh's mantra that "peace is every footstep. A great reminder that the present moment is our destination not just another step into the future that is still an illusion.

-Peace to all beings-

Meditate on This: Buddhist Tradition Thickens Parts of the Brain

Meditation alters brain patterns in ways that are likely permanent, scientists have known. But a new study shows key parts of the brain actually get thicker through the practice.
Brain imaging of regular working folks who meditate regularly revealed increased thickness in cortical regions related to sensory, auditory and visual perception, as well as internal perception -- the automatic monitoring of heart rate or breathing, for example.
The study also indicates that regular meditation may slow age-related thinning of the frontal cortex.
"What is most fascinating to me is the suggestion that meditation practice can change anyone's gray matter," said study team member Jeremy Gray, an assistant professor of psychology at Yale. "The study participants were people with jobs and families. They just meditated on average 40 minutes each day, you don't have to be a monk."
The research was led by Sara Lazar, assistant in psychology at Massachusetts General Hospital. It is detailed in the November issue of the journal NeuroReport.
The study involved a small number of people, just 20. All had extensive training in Buddhist Insight meditation. But the researchers say the results are significant.
Most of the brain regions identified to be changed through meditation were found in the right hemisphere, which is essential for sustaining attention. And attention is the focus of the meditation.
Other forms of yoga and meditation likely have a similar impact on brain structure, the researchers speculate, but each tradition probably has a slightly different pattern of cortical thickening based on the specific mental exercises involved.

Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/16/2005

Let us dig our gardens and not be elsewhere: Let us take long walks in the open air... Let us bathe in the rivers and lakes... Let us indulge in games... Let us be more simple: simple and true in our minds above all. Let us be ourselves.

~Robert Linssen

"Inquire Within" Featured on MeditateNYC Blog

BigHappyBuddha was featured on Meditate NYC's Blog (New York City) recently for one of our online retail store's most popular t-shirts, "Inquire Within". You can check out the post and blog here.

Collective Karma

The universe that we inhabit and our shared perception of it are the results of a common karma. Likewise, the places that we will experience in future rebirths will be the outcome of the karma that we share with the other beings living there. The actions of each of us, human or nonhuman, have contributed to the world in which we live. We all have a common responsibility for our world and are connected with everything in it.

~His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama

James's comment: We are all brothers, sisters, parents, children. Interconnected in every breath, word and action. Indeed we have a collective consciousness and karma that requires we all work together for the good of humanity, the world and our greater Universe.

-Peace to all beings-

Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/15/2005

Reconciliation is to understand both sides; to go to one side and describe the suffering being endured by the other side, and then go to the other side and describe the suffering being endured by the first side.

~Thich Nhat Hahn

Profound Dharmas

Explaining many profound dharmas is easy; living them yourself is hard.

-Adept Godrakpa, "Hermit of Go Cliffs"

James's comment:

Another great reminder that it is easier to philosophize and understand the Dharmas in our brains. As well as explaining them. Whereas living them in our personal life comes the real practice.

-Peace to all beings-

Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/14/2005

Although gold dust is precious, when it gets in your eyes, it obstructs your vision.

~Hsi-Tang

Clear Mind Meditation

Clear mind is like the full moon in the sky. Sometimes clouds come and cover it, but the moon is always behind them. Clouds go away, then the moon shines brightly. So don't worry about clear mind: it is always there. When thinking comes, behind it is clear mind. When thinking goes, there is only clear mind. Thinking comes and goes, comes and goes, You must not be attached to the coming or the going.

~Zen Master Seung Sahn

James's comment: I often use the cloud/moon metaphor when meditating and having intrusive thoughts. I picture clouds that are covering and blocking the clear mind represented by the moon and watch them pass with my mindful breathing. This is a great metaphor meditation on clear.

-Peace to all beings-

Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/13/2005

Clear mind is like the full moon in the sky. Sometimes clouds come and cover it, but the moon is always behind them. Clouds go away, then the moon shines brightly. So don't worry about clear mind: it is always there. When thinking comes, behind it is clear mind. When thinking goes, there is only clear mind. Thinking comes and goes, comes and goes, You must not be attached to the coming or the going.

~Zen Master Seung Sahn

Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/12/2005

We're all in this together - by ourselves.

~Lily Tomlin

Mindfulness the Key to Understanding the Dharma

In Buddhism, the essential meaning of the word "study" is the unceasing, dedicated observation and investigation of whatever arises in the mind, be it pleasant or unpleasant. Only those familiar with the observation of the mind can really understand Dharma.

-Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, "Heartwood of the Bodhi Tree"

James's comment: Another word for "study" in Buddhism is mindfulness. Studying the words of the Buddha and the Great Bodhisattvas are well and good. However, to really grasp the concepts of the Dharma one must practice, "living study" through moment by moment mindfulness.

-Peace to all beings-

Flowers and Weeds

A flower falls, even though we love it; and a weed grows, even though we do not love it.

~Dogen

Buddhist Master Rinpoche makes quiet arrival in Frisco

BY ANDREW TOLVE
summit daily news

FRISCO - When Ringu Tulku Rinpoche was a young child, the Buddhist Master was forced to flee the Chinese cultural revolution in Tibet. He and his family embarked on a perilous two-year journey, one that would lead the exiles away from the Himalayan high country toward safety in India.

Rinpoche was only three years old at the time.

This is hardly the type of traumatic adolescence that most people (including those in Summit) can reflect upon. But then again, nothing about Rinpoche's life has been ordinary, even the years before his exile in the 1950s.

As an infant, Rinpoche had been extremely sick, so much so that his uncle took him to see the local lama. When Rinpoche recovered to good health, the lama ordained that the child should become a monk. In the years that followed in India, Rinpoche studied with Buddhist teachers of the highest order. He received his formal education at Namgyal Institute of Tibetology and, upon graduation, began a 17-year tenure as professor of Tibetology in Sikkim.

More recently, the Buddhist Master has taught around the globe, offering advice at more than 50 universities in Europe, the U.S., Canada, Australia and Asia. In addition, he has published numerous books on Buddhism (both for children and adults) and has served as a teacher for many Western students, including Michael Gregory, founder of the Summit Dharma Center.

In June, after 50 years of exile, Rinpoche finally returned to his home of Rigul, Tibet.

I asked Rinpoche several questions in anticipation of his talk in Frisco tonight.



QIt seems that the search for a sense of home brings a lot of locals to Summit. How did returning to Tibet after so many years away change your perception of home?

A"My home is where my heart is and my heart is where there are people I love. So I feel at home in Tibet as well as in Summit County."



QWhat is it about Buddhism that makes it resonate with people of the Western Culture?

A"Buddhism teaches you to be in touch with your inner most nature. I think therefore it resonates with people of East as well as West. The cultures and traditions are not a barrier to it."



QHow do you view our local activities, sports like skiing or snowboarding? What positive influence can they have in people's lives? Have they had any in yours?

A"I only did frozen yak dung snowboarding when I was a child in Tibet. I remember the joy and excitement. I think it keeps people fit and happy. Isn't that good enough?"



Andrew Tolve can be reached at (970) 668-3998, ext. 13629, or at atolve@summitdaily.com

Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/11/2005

A flower falls, even though we love it; and a weed grows, even though we do not love it.

~Dogen

The Ocean of Delusion

If you live the sacred and despise the ordinary, you are still bobbing in the ocean of delusion.

~Lin-Chi

James's comment: Everything is apart of the whole. Even the manure.

Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/10/2005

If you live the sacred and despise the ordinary, you are still bobbing in the ocean of delusion.

~Lin-Chi

Cycle of Birth and Death

From contact comes feeling. From feeling comes reaction. This is what keeps us in the cycle of birth and death. Our reactions to our feelings are our passport to rebirth.

-Ayya Khema, "Being Nobody, Going Nowhere"

James's comment:

Great reminder that our reactions to our feelings seem to be more powerful then the actual feelings.

-Peace to all beings-

Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/9/2005

The mind, the Buddha, living creatures - these are not three different things.

~Avatamasaka Sutra

My new Sun Coral beginning to open!

Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/8/2005

People in the West are always getting ready to live.

~Chinese Proverb

Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/7/2005

When you do something, you should burn yourself completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself.

~Shunryu Suzuki

Laughter is Very Healthy

Since everything is but an apparition, having nothing to do with good or bad, acceptance or rejection, one may well burst out in laughter.

~Longchenpa(14th century Tibet)

James's comment: Laughter is so, SO important. Especially to our health. I think that too many Buddhists take themselves and "Buddhism" too seriously. Look around, be mindful and laugh from time to time.

In fact, laugh a lot.

-Peace to all Beings-

Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/6/2005

Since everything is but an apparition, having nothing to do with good or bad, acceptance or rejection, one may well burst out in laughter.

~Longchenpa(14th century Tibet)

Focus on Your Walk

Thus we see that the all-important thing is not killing or giving life, drinking or not drinking, living in the town or the country, being lucky or unlucky, winning or losing. It is how we win, how we lose, how we live or die; finally, how we choose. We walk, and our religion is shown (even to the dullest and most insensitive person), in how we walk. Living in this world means choosing, and the way we choose to walk is infallibly and perfectly expressed in the walk itself.

~R. H. Blyth

James's comment: I thought this was a great teaching on keeping perspective. I often walk too fast. I think this is a sign that I am not always in the present moment but rather trying to force the future. I need to slow down and give myself plenty of time so that I do not have to rush around everywhere.

-Peace to all beings-

Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/5/2005

Thus we see that the all-important thing is not killing or giving life, drinking or not drinking, living in the town or the country, being lucky or unlucky, winning or losing. It is how we win, how we lose, how we live or die; finally, how we choose. We walk, and our religion is shown (even to the dullest and most insensitive person), in how we walk. Living in this world means choosing, and the way we choose to walk is infallibly and perfectly expressed in the walk itself.

~R. H. Blyth

Desire

Desires achieved increase thirst like salt water.

-Milarepa,
"Drinking the Mountain Stream"

James's comment: Desires leads to more desires and the life of the hungry ghost which is a big part of what keeps us locked in samsara.

-Peace to all beings-

Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/4/2005

Although gold dust is precious, when it gets in your eyes, it obstructs your vision.

~Hsi-Tang

Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/3/2005

View all problems as challenges. Look upon negativities that arise as opportunities to learn and to grow. Don't run from them, condemn yourself, or bury your burden in saintly silence. You have a problem? Great. More grist for the mill. Rejoice, dive in, and investigate.

~Bhante Henepola Gunaratana

A Simple Maxim

"Reality is merely an agreement."

~George Robinson

Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/2/2005

The beauty of life is, while we cannot undo what is done, we can see it, understand it, learn from it and change so that every new moment is spent not in regret, guilt, fear or anger but in wisdom, understanding and love.

~Jennifer Edwards

Sri Aurobindo: The Life Divine

This is from the book, "The Life Divine" by Indian mystic and philosopher Sri Aurobindo:

It comes upon us with a great force of awakening to reality when the thought is stilled, when the mind withdraws from its constructions, when we pass into a pure selfhood void of all sense of individuality, empty of all cosmic contents: if the spiritualised mind then looks at individual and cosmos, they may well seem to it to be an illusion , a scheme of names and figures and movements falsely imposed on the sole reality of the Self-Existent. Or even the sense of self becomes inadequate; both knowledge and ignorance disappear into sheer Consciousness and consciousness is plunged into a trance of pure superconscient existence. Or even existence ends by becoming too limiting a name for that which abides solely for ever; there is only a timeless Eternal, a spaceless Infinite, the utterness of the Absolute, a nameless peace, an overwhelming single objectless Ecstasy.

-Peace to all beings-

Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 11/1/2005

So, the tendency of our childish nature is to take small things too seriously and get easily offended, whereas when we are confronted with situations which have long-term consequences, we tend to take things less seriously.

~His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama