An eighty year old is out playing golf with a very young pretty girl.
His doctor is also playing golf.
The old man sees him and yells out
I took your advice to find a hot momma and stay cheerful
The doctor yells back
I said a heart murmur and be careful.
Do we ever really listen to advice?
Are we even aware that others care about us?
Maybe we think the advice is not meant for us or maybe it's just wrong.
Thus I have heard;
Like a fine flower, beautiful to look at but without scent, fine words are fruitless in a man who does not act in accordance with them.
Dhammapada 51
Like a fine flower, beautiful to look at and scented too, fine words bear fruit in a man who acts well in accordance with them.
Dhammapada 52
To listen and to see an advice, as it is meant, with love and compassion,
we must have already lost our ego. Or at least to have let go of some of our preconceived ideals of who we think we are.
Only then can we appreciate the sight and scent of the phenomena that assails us.
Nathan
Sent from my iPhone and
http://www.dharmamaster.com
With love
Friday, 29 August 2014
Tuesday, 26 August 2014
Brother Billy Tan
Brother Billy Tan
This story is for you....
The axe or a donation...
We hear every day;
I want to change my ways.
I want to, but.....
It may take me twenty years before I change my ways or.....
Many years ago there were two friends and they did everything together
They lived next door to each other
They sat next to each-other at school and when they left school they got a job at the same shop
They bought the business together and had no time for women or to get married
They even went on holidays together
They travelled to smart foreign cities
They had no time for cultivation or even to think of the Buddha
They gave no donations to any charity or went to any Temple
On one of their many trips they came to an inn and asked the owner for food and lodging
The owner asked if they were Buddhists and if they would like vegetarian food
The reply came sharply and they said they wanted meat and drink and be quick and they didn't bother with such rubbish and didn't want to know the Buddha
The owner left them sitting at a table waiting for service
All of a sudden the owner came rushing back into the dining room looking most fierce with a large axe in his hand
He shouted at the two that he would kill them for their money and jewels and if they knew any prayers now is the time to pray
They fell to their knees and cried
Help us Lord Buddha
Save us Lord Buddha
We will dedicate our lives to you Lord Buddha just don't let this monster kill us
We are too young to die
The owner hearing their prayers put down his axe and smiled
I am sorry to frighten you
Just relax now
I am not going to kill you
Let me tell you a story
Twenty years ago Buddhists Monks visited here with a famous Master
They were on their way to open the great Temple that stands not far from here
The Master became very ill whilst he was here with a serious heart disorder
The Monks asked if they could stay whilst the Master recovered
Unfortunately he didn't recover and just before he died he asked to see me
He told me that in the future two non believers would come to this inn and when they did I was to threaten to kill them with an axe
The Master then passed away before he could say more
You are the only two that have asked to stay and are the only non believers we have seen here in twenty years
So I threatened you as the Master asked
We have seen the light the two friends said
The Buddha has saved us
We will now go to the Temple and share our wealth and dedicate our lives to the Buddha
We don't know what caused the Master to say his final words to a stranger about killing two friends in the distant future
We do know that twenty years after the Master passed the Temple needed a new roof as a storm had damaged it and we do know that all the Temples money had been used to help the local villagers from starving after the storms
We do know that the two helped the Temple with a new roof and replaced all the money used to feed the locals
We do know that Heaven and Karma work in mysterious ways
Our thoughts at this time must be with the unfortunate and our spare coins used to benefit others
We don't know if in twenty years time we will be threatened by an inn keeper with an axe
Nathan
Sent from my iPhone and
http://www.dharmamaster.com
With love
This story is for you....
The axe or a donation...
We hear every day;
I want to change my ways.
I want to, but.....
It may take me twenty years before I change my ways or.....
Many years ago there were two friends and they did everything together
They lived next door to each other
They sat next to each-other at school and when they left school they got a job at the same shop
They bought the business together and had no time for women or to get married
They even went on holidays together
They travelled to smart foreign cities
They had no time for cultivation or even to think of the Buddha
They gave no donations to any charity or went to any Temple
On one of their many trips they came to an inn and asked the owner for food and lodging
The owner asked if they were Buddhists and if they would like vegetarian food
The reply came sharply and they said they wanted meat and drink and be quick and they didn't bother with such rubbish and didn't want to know the Buddha
The owner left them sitting at a table waiting for service
All of a sudden the owner came rushing back into the dining room looking most fierce with a large axe in his hand
He shouted at the two that he would kill them for their money and jewels and if they knew any prayers now is the time to pray
They fell to their knees and cried
Help us Lord Buddha
Save us Lord Buddha
We will dedicate our lives to you Lord Buddha just don't let this monster kill us
We are too young to die
The owner hearing their prayers put down his axe and smiled
I am sorry to frighten you
Just relax now
I am not going to kill you
Let me tell you a story
Twenty years ago Buddhists Monks visited here with a famous Master
They were on their way to open the great Temple that stands not far from here
The Master became very ill whilst he was here with a serious heart disorder
The Monks asked if they could stay whilst the Master recovered
Unfortunately he didn't recover and just before he died he asked to see me
He told me that in the future two non believers would come to this inn and when they did I was to threaten to kill them with an axe
The Master then passed away before he could say more
You are the only two that have asked to stay and are the only non believers we have seen here in twenty years
So I threatened you as the Master asked
We have seen the light the two friends said
The Buddha has saved us
We will now go to the Temple and share our wealth and dedicate our lives to the Buddha
We don't know what caused the Master to say his final words to a stranger about killing two friends in the distant future
We do know that twenty years after the Master passed the Temple needed a new roof as a storm had damaged it and we do know that all the Temples money had been used to help the local villagers from starving after the storms
We do know that the two helped the Temple with a new roof and replaced all the money used to feed the locals
We do know that Heaven and Karma work in mysterious ways
Our thoughts at this time must be with the unfortunate and our spare coins used to benefit others
We don't know if in twenty years time we will be threatened by an inn keeper with an axe
Nathan
Sent from my iPhone and
http://www.dharmamaster.com
With love
Monday, 18 August 2014
The ritual.....
The ritual.....
A man went into a bar and ordered six whiskies.
He then drank the first,
the third and the fifth glass leaving the second, fourth and sixth untouched.
When asked why he did that, he said that the doctor told him he was allowed to have the odd drink.
We can always find a way around a rule, a law,
an advise.
We make it a ritual,
a way of life to escape commitments.
The ritualistic person can be a cunning person. They can be with the ritual, but remain untouched by it.
They can do the ritual but not be transformed by it.
Prayer can be a ritual, most are not aware how to pray, or even that they are part of the ritual.
This is why so many pray for change, but remain the same.
Millions of people praying, with no fragrance in the prayer, no love,
no compassion,
no flow.
Something's wrong.
Prayers being done
because they have to be done.
It is ritual, it is duty,
a pretense.
The cunning person keeps the heart out of anything they do.
Empty gestures.
Always a loophole for escape.
The basic problem is knowledge and I believe only knowledgable people are clever enough to be cunning.
To be knowledgable and unaware is to be unconscious.
When we become conscious, we become aware, we are full of light, enlightened.
The whole effort of knowledge is to investigate the mystery of life, but unfortunately most simply close their eyes to the mystery,
until it is proven.
The person who knows ignorance has started knowing, this is the point of consciousness.
The start of becoming aware.
A five year old boy gave a loud whistle In the middle of a sermon in church.
The Minister stopped and asked the boy why he whistled?
"I have been praying to God to teach me how to whistle and just now,
God answered me."
The childs prayer is to learn how to whistle, someone else for money, for romance, some one else to be prime minister.
All ask for the ego.
For some importance,
some superiority.
Few ask for nothing.
Real prayer does not ask for anything.
Real prayer is just giving thanks for what we have, for what we have already been given.
My prayer is for you and yours.
May you all be guarded and guided.
Nathan
Sent from my iPhone and
http://www.dharmamaster.com
With love
A man went into a bar and ordered six whiskies.
He then drank the first,
the third and the fifth glass leaving the second, fourth and sixth untouched.
When asked why he did that, he said that the doctor told him he was allowed to have the odd drink.
We can always find a way around a rule, a law,
an advise.
We make it a ritual,
a way of life to escape commitments.
The ritualistic person can be a cunning person. They can be with the ritual, but remain untouched by it.
They can do the ritual but not be transformed by it.
Prayer can be a ritual, most are not aware how to pray, or even that they are part of the ritual.
This is why so many pray for change, but remain the same.
Millions of people praying, with no fragrance in the prayer, no love,
no compassion,
no flow.
Something's wrong.
Prayers being done
because they have to be done.
It is ritual, it is duty,
a pretense.
The cunning person keeps the heart out of anything they do.
Empty gestures.
Always a loophole for escape.
The basic problem is knowledge and I believe only knowledgable people are clever enough to be cunning.
To be knowledgable and unaware is to be unconscious.
When we become conscious, we become aware, we are full of light, enlightened.
The whole effort of knowledge is to investigate the mystery of life, but unfortunately most simply close their eyes to the mystery,
until it is proven.
The person who knows ignorance has started knowing, this is the point of consciousness.
The start of becoming aware.
A five year old boy gave a loud whistle In the middle of a sermon in church.
The Minister stopped and asked the boy why he whistled?
"I have been praying to God to teach me how to whistle and just now,
God answered me."
The childs prayer is to learn how to whistle, someone else for money, for romance, some one else to be prime minister.
All ask for the ego.
For some importance,
some superiority.
Few ask for nothing.
Real prayer does not ask for anything.
Real prayer is just giving thanks for what we have, for what we have already been given.
My prayer is for you and yours.
May you all be guarded and guided.
Nathan
Sent from my iPhone and
http://www.dharmamaster.com
With love
Wednesday, 13 August 2014
Most want more....
Most want more....
An eager novice kept asking for more from his Master.
Finally the master said, Don't bother coming anymore. Just make yourself like a tree stump on the mountain.
Put your body and mind to rest. Do this for ten,
or seven, or even three years, and surely you will discover something.
................
Don't be so sure you want to be enlightened.
From where you are looking it would be awfully dull.
Shunryu Suzuki
................
Gain is delusion.
Loss is enlightenment.
Uchiyama Roshi
..................
Followers of the Way,
you take the words out of the mouths of old teachers and think this must be the Way.
Blind idiots!
You go through life betraying your own two eyes!
Lin-chi
....................
Men cannot see their reflections in running water, only in still water
Chiang-Tzu
.....................
Most want more,
there are a few,
who are at peace.
For those of us,
who practice,
there is clarity.
Follow the breath...
Nathan
Sent from my iPhone and
http://www.dharmamaster.com
With love
An eager novice kept asking for more from his Master.
Finally the master said, Don't bother coming anymore. Just make yourself like a tree stump on the mountain.
Put your body and mind to rest. Do this for ten,
or seven, or even three years, and surely you will discover something.
................
Don't be so sure you want to be enlightened.
From where you are looking it would be awfully dull.
Shunryu Suzuki
................
Gain is delusion.
Loss is enlightenment.
Uchiyama Roshi
..................
Followers of the Way,
you take the words out of the mouths of old teachers and think this must be the Way.
Blind idiots!
You go through life betraying your own two eyes!
Lin-chi
....................
Men cannot see their reflections in running water, only in still water
Chiang-Tzu
.....................
Most want more,
there are a few,
who are at peace.
For those of us,
who practice,
there is clarity.
Follow the breath...
Nathan
Sent from my iPhone and
http://www.dharmamaster.com
With love
Sunday, 10 August 2014
A dedication
A dedication to dedication
I have a friend
Richard P Wisnesky
who gave me a book.
Well, not really a book,
but a diary of his daily thoughts for 2013.
That's a thought a day,
for everyday,
for the whole year.
He didn't take any days off, not even public holidays.
In the forward of his book,
Richard tells of re-reading "Haiku Year" where three friends challenge each other to write a three line poem each day for a year. So Richard decided to do the same.
To give you an idea of what he did each day...
12/08/13
He went for a run
To clear the head
Plugging in his earphones
13/08/13
The Press Death notices
My name wasn't there
Gratitude.
05/08/13
My thinking these days
Has been reduced to three lines-
So I'll be brief....
13/11/13
French woman at the gym
Votre derrière est magnifique-
I think!
30/11/13
Random acts of kindness
Take mail from pigeons holes and
Give to those without
Finally.....
31/12/13
Today
My days will cease to be
Governed by succinct observations.
.................
I asked Richard
would you do it again?
He answered.....
From the Elizabeth street tram this morning
Saw a man with a dog
The dog deserved better.
Thank you Richard
Nathan
Sent from my iPhone and
http://www.dharmamaster.com
With love
I have a friend
Richard P Wisnesky
who gave me a book.
Well, not really a book,
but a diary of his daily thoughts for 2013.
That's a thought a day,
for everyday,
for the whole year.
He didn't take any days off, not even public holidays.
In the forward of his book,
Richard tells of re-reading "Haiku Year" where three friends challenge each other to write a three line poem each day for a year. So Richard decided to do the same.
To give you an idea of what he did each day...
12/08/13
He went for a run
To clear the head
Plugging in his earphones
13/08/13
The Press Death notices
My name wasn't there
Gratitude.
05/08/13
My thinking these days
Has been reduced to three lines-
So I'll be brief....
13/11/13
French woman at the gym
Votre derrière est magnifique-
I think!
30/11/13
Random acts of kindness
Take mail from pigeons holes and
Give to those without
Finally.....
31/12/13
Today
My days will cease to be
Governed by succinct observations.
.................
I asked Richard
would you do it again?
He answered.....
From the Elizabeth street tram this morning
Saw a man with a dog
The dog deserved better.
Thank you Richard
Nathan
Sent from my iPhone and
http://www.dharmamaster.com
With love
Tuesday, 5 August 2014
Perfection--
A novice monk asked the his Master;
"Why are you so happy,
so peaceful?"
"I have accepted myself."
explained the Master.
"Look out the window,
do you see that bush with the beautiful red flowers,
the large tree behind it?
I have been watching them each day for the 23 years I have been in this Temple and at no time,
over the years, have I heard one compare itself to the other.
The tree is, the bush is,
no comparison, you are taller than me, you have more flowers, you need less water.
The difference between most people and what we see here is comparison.
You, my dear monk,
are always comparing.
More hair, better body, more money, larger car, bigger house, better food, cooler, warmer, the list is endless."
"We are told to become more like Jesus, Krishna, Buddha, why?
Drop all of this, all the ideals of being not what we are."
"If you must compare then......
We are like the snowflake that falls from the sky.
Each flake is perfection.
It is then gathered and made into snowmen by external forces,
each snowman is different,
but the underlying is perfection."
"As the snowman melts and turns to water,
the water evaporates,
returns to the sky and once again becomes a cloud .
It can then return as a snowflake.
Perfection.
Again there is no comparison, the cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth happen automatically."
"My dear monk,
your original face was perfection."
"I see perfection now before me.
It is only your thoughts that make the difference,
it is comparison that makes the difference."
"To me you are perfection."
Nathan
Sent from my iPhone and
http://www.dharmamaster.com
With love
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