The Buddha said;
"Wonderful, indeed, is it to subdue the mind,
so difficult to subdue,
ever swift, and seizing whatever it desires.
A tamed mind brings happiness.
Let the discerning man guard the mind,
so difficult to detect and extremely subtle, seizing whatever it desires.
A guarded mind brings happiness.
Dhammapada 35-36
..............
The Master asked;
"Fa-yen, last night I heard you say several times that everything is only mind.
Is that so?"
"Indeed yes." Fa-yen said
"That boulder over there,
is it inside or out side the mind?" The Master asked
"Inside. It's inside my mind." Fa-yen replied
"Well, monk, you're going to be carrying a very heavy burden on your travels."
Fa-yen did not answer.
.................
What burden will we carry today?
What boulders and rocks and how heavy is our load.
Lets remove the load now and be happy.
Sit, relax and follow the breath....
Metta
Nathan
Sent from my iPhone and
http://www.dharmamaster.com
With love
Monday 28 July 2014
Saturday 19 July 2014
I have heard....
With what right did they have to inflict such pain on so many innocent people!
The Buddha spoke of such matters......
Dhammapada 137-140
"He who inflicts violence on those who are unarmed and offends those who are inoffensive will soon come upon one of these ten states:
Sharp pain, or disaster, bodily injury, serious illness, or derangement of mind, trouble from the government, or grave charges, loss of relatives, or loss of wealth, or houses destroyed by ravaging fire, upon dissolution of the body that ignorant man is born in hell."
We have a right to be enraged!
Sent from my iPhone and
http://www.dharmamaster.com
With love
The Buddha spoke of such matters......
Dhammapada 137-140
"He who inflicts violence on those who are unarmed and offends those who are inoffensive will soon come upon one of these ten states:
Sharp pain, or disaster, bodily injury, serious illness, or derangement of mind, trouble from the government, or grave charges, loss of relatives, or loss of wealth, or houses destroyed by ravaging fire, upon dissolution of the body that ignorant man is born in hell."
We have a right to be enraged!
Sent from my iPhone and
http://www.dharmamaster.com
With love
Monday 7 July 2014
In action:
In action:
The eight fold path.....
'He carried a bamboo stick but had no hat on his head. The suns rays best down so harshly that the tiles along the walk burned his feet.
He worked hard and was covered with sweat.
I asked him how old he was. He said that he was sixty eight. I asked him why he never used any helpers.
Other people are not me, he said.
You are right, I said, and I can see that your work is the activity of Buddhadharma. But why work in the burning sun?
He replied: if not now, when will it get done?
There was nothing more to say.'
Dogen, on the Tenzo,
or monastry cook.
Tenzo is a title given to the chef at a Japanese Buddhist monastery.
The literal translation is 'Heavenly Monk'.
From ancient times Buddhist monasteries have had six office-holders who, as disciples of the Buddha, guide the monastic community. Amongst these, the Tenzo bears the responsibility of caring for the community's meals.
The Zen Monastic Standards states;
"The Tenzo functions as the one who makes offerings with reverence to the monks."
.............
I have just come back from Brickfields Maha Vihara Buddhist Temple in Kuala Lumpur.
I was visiting my friend Bhante Nanadhaja Bikkhu
and spent four days in learning Dharma practice from him. What also amazed and delighted me, apart from Bhante, was the wonderful food.
The food was lovingly prepared by devotees.
Like the Tenzo these 'heavenly lay people' prepare and serve with love and reverence.
This act of kindness and compassion can only be found when one practices the Eight Fold Path.
When was the last time we did a 'random act of kindness.' When was the last time we thought about our practice in terms of random kindness.
Thank you
With Metta
Nathan
Sent from my iPhone and
http://www.dharmamaster.com
With love
The eight fold path.....
'He carried a bamboo stick but had no hat on his head. The suns rays best down so harshly that the tiles along the walk burned his feet.
He worked hard and was covered with sweat.
I asked him how old he was. He said that he was sixty eight. I asked him why he never used any helpers.
Other people are not me, he said.
You are right, I said, and I can see that your work is the activity of Buddhadharma. But why work in the burning sun?
He replied: if not now, when will it get done?
There was nothing more to say.'
Dogen, on the Tenzo,
or monastry cook.
Tenzo is a title given to the chef at a Japanese Buddhist monastery.
The literal translation is 'Heavenly Monk'.
From ancient times Buddhist monasteries have had six office-holders who, as disciples of the Buddha, guide the monastic community. Amongst these, the Tenzo bears the responsibility of caring for the community's meals.
The Zen Monastic Standards states;
"The Tenzo functions as the one who makes offerings with reverence to the monks."
.............
I have just come back from Brickfields Maha Vihara Buddhist Temple in Kuala Lumpur.
I was visiting my friend Bhante Nanadhaja Bikkhu
and spent four days in learning Dharma practice from him. What also amazed and delighted me, apart from Bhante, was the wonderful food.
The food was lovingly prepared by devotees.
Like the Tenzo these 'heavenly lay people' prepare and serve with love and reverence.
This act of kindness and compassion can only be found when one practices the Eight Fold Path.
When was the last time we did a 'random act of kindness.' When was the last time we thought about our practice in terms of random kindness.
Thank you
With Metta
Nathan
Sent from my iPhone and
http://www.dharmamaster.com
With love
Thursday 3 July 2014
Giving
Gift ---
The most wonderful thing we can do in our lives is to give.
A gift is the supreme cultivation.
It doesn't matter what it is and in what form the giving takes.
It may be just a smile,
the type of gift is not important.
It is the gift itself.
The ultimate gift is being able to take an illness and distress from another,
and send joy and love in return.
This week, for me,
has been has been a joy.
I have been visited by Ministers from three different religions.
The message was the same, the message of love for our fellow beings, who are not so fortunate at this moment.
The Ministers were from Burma, India and China.
Different religions from
different backgrounds,
each asking for blessings for those who have nothing.
Their prayers, for those unfortunate to be caught in the latest disasters, both natural and man made.
For me this was an occasion of joy and rejoicing, not one of sadness.
To be able to give is a joy.
I give thanks to The Divine for bringing together those whose prayers and gifts are helping.
It is so easy to criticize and condemn those in power for not doing enough, or seemingly not caring.
From disasters we must receive a clear message to let go of all regret and fear.
Regret for failures in the past, and fear for what the future may bring.
The most positive thing we can do at this moment is to give.
To give our blessings is enough.
Every thought is precious, every gift, a sign of our cultivation.
Everyone deserves the right to joy and love,
to be at peace with themselves and others.
The only way this will come about, is when,
we all realise that the gift of joy and love is our most precious possession.
Right now, when things seem to have no way out, the homeless and destitute need our gifts.
This is the time to be full of joy and love for all mankind.
The Universe will pick up the way we feel and out of the seeds of adversity will come hope.
This is our prayer.
Nathan
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