obsession: an idea or thought that continually preoccupies or intrudes on a person's mind.
Six Paramitas and Ten Thousand Practices. Six Paramitas: generosity, precepts, patience, diligence, meditation, and wisdom. Ten Thousand Practices: the practice of the Six Paramitas. Have you ever practiced the Ten Thousand Practices? How many practices have practitioners practiced? If one practice is not completed, how can we talk about practice? Ten Thousand Practices lead to Bodhi, and small steps add up to a thousand miles. If you have never taken a single step, don't say the road is difficult.
Philanthropist Wang Fengyi said: "Whether a person's circumstances are good or bad, they all help him achieve enlightenment. The negative help is more powerful."
Li Yongcheng, the "silly monk", was a volunteer school worker at the Anda Girls' Charity School. Because he had been a monk, the old monk thought he was stupid and kicked him out of the school, so people called him "silly monk". The rules of the Girls' Charity School were strict. Female students who lived in the school were not allowed to go out, and had to ask their co-workers to buy things for them. He had a bad memory, and when students asked him to buy things for them, he could only remember one thing at a time. Students deliberately made trouble for him and swarmed to him to buy this and that, but he was not annoyed; when someone scolded him, he was not angry. No matter who told him, he said, "Okay!" When someone scolded him, he also said, "Okay!" Everyone laughed at him for being stupid, but Mr Wang Fengyi said he was a Buddha. Buddha takes advantage by suffering losses and enduring humiliation, which is the opposite of the world. When Du Neidong's family heard that Liu Jingyi was going to marry this stupid monk, they were very happy and notified Li Yongcheng, but Li Yongcheng refused. Later, it was said that it was Mr Wang Fengyi who asked Liu Jingyi to go, and he was willing to hold a wedding with Liu Jingyi on November 7, 1928. As soon as he entered the new house, he said to Liu Jingyi: "I am 49 years old this year! Do you know? I heard that Mr Wang Fengyi asked you to come here. Do your family members know? I am a stupid person and very dirty. You are a wise person. Don't I delay you." Liu Jingyi said: "I know everything. Wait for me to wash your clothes and they will be clean. In the future, when we start a business and earn interest, I will make you new ones." Li Yongcheng said: "The body is a false shell. What's the point of cleaning it? It is a bottomless pit. No matter how much you try, it can't fill it. I don't know how many people have been misled by it! Only when the nature is pure and there is no trouble in mind, can it be truly clean!"
Vimalakirti asked Upali: "Your mind is originally pure. When you were liberated, was this originally pure mind ever polluted?" Upali replied: "It was never polluted." Vimalakirti said: "The mind of all sentient beings is originally pure and has never been polluted, just like you.
If there is discrimination, or it is different from discrimination, there will be troubles. If there is no discrimination, or there is no difference from discrimination, then the mind is pure;
If there is inverted cognition, there will be troubles. If there is no inverted cognition, then the mind is pure;
If there is "I", the mind is polluted. If you can realize that there is no "I" at all, then the mind is pure;
The true nature does not stay in "existence" or "non-existence". It is like an illusion, like lightning, like floating clouds.
The true nature is not attached, and does not even stay in a moment of thought.
The description of the true nature is not real, just like a dream, like a flame, like a mirage.
The feeling of the true nature is all discrimination, and the relationship between the feeling and the true nature is like the moon in the water, like the image in the mirror."
Excerpt from "The Sutra of the Immaculate Name" translated by Master Xuanzang in the Tang Dynasty
Don’t Let Anyone or Anything Dim Your Inner Light
By Courtney Bridgman
“The more light you allow within you, the brighter the world you live in will be.” ~Shakti Gawain
I was born with it. I know I was. There was a light within me that showed in my smile, my dancing around the house, my love for life, for friends, for family, and my bright future.
I don’t remember the exact day it happened, I don’t remember the last event that did it, but my inner light went out. I was no longer the happy-go-lucky girl I once was; I became lost in an abyss of darkness and sadness. Happiness and joy were thing of the past.
Was it heartbreak over the guy I was supposed to marry who broke my heart? Was it the fact that my parents got divorced and I was suddenly in the middle of it? Was it because I never stuck up for myself or spoke my truth? Did I do anything so horrible that my “karma” was kicking in?
I couldn’t figure it out. I was suddenly paralyzed in fear and my world became a place where I no longer wanted to be; I wanted out.
I was diagnosed with stage three melanoma at the age of twenty-one.
I no longer had the ability to form friendships; I lost that knack which used to come so easily to me. I didn’t allow anyone to get close to me. My walls came up so high and I swore no one would ever get in.
From the tender age of eighteen I suffered daily with pain and fear.
In order to deal with all this emptiness and fear, I felt the only way out was to drink, do drugs, and self-destruct in any way I could.
…
Fear ruled my life. It was the gripping anxiety I felt on a daily basis in my stomach and in my heart. I have heard the acronym for fear, which is “Future Events Already Ruined.” I expected the worst to happen in any situation of my life.
It wasn’t until I realized I wasn’t in charge and my self-will had taken me to these dark places that I felt a load off of my jaded soul.
I began to see spirituality as a solace to my pain. I had hope (“hang on, pain ends”) that there was a light beyond my darkness.
I heard you gain strength through trials and emotional bottoms. The fact that I saw others who had suffered and found a way out made me feel like I could do it too. I wasn’t the only one who wasn’t able to cope with life.
I started to see meditation as a way to find the answers to life’s challenges and struggles. This came as such a relief, because I used to think I had to come up with the answers in my head, which was a dangerous place to be since it had led me to this place where I no longer wanted to live.
I began attending twelve-step meetings specific to my struggles, which helped me learn skills on how to live my life in a healthy way. I related to people and their pain, and was able to share mine.
Finally my pain was paying off. It allowed me to help others so that maybe they would not have to suffer as long as I did. I was no longer a victim of my life. I had appreciation and gratitude for my dark past.
I began to pray to a higher power. I learned for the first time in my life to let go. Let go of the outcomes, the fear, reactions or actions of other people, my career, my job, and my relationships—all of it.
Am I practicing letting go on a daily basis? No, but the key thing is that I have a willingness to try. Just knowing I have the option to try to let go gives me a peace of mind that I have not had for a very long time.
I had allowed people and situations that hurt me to burn out my inner light. No one turned off my light; I did. Knowing this gave me the freedom to find it again.
Everyone is born with an inner light. Some of us can hold on to it and others lose it and have to work extremely hard to get it back. My road back to my light has been painful, scary, exciting, and fulfilling. I would not change any of it. I am a stronger woman because of it and for that I am eternally grateful.
Everyone is born with an inner light. Some of us can hold on to it and others lose it and have to work extremely hard to get it back. Don’t Let Anyone or Anything Dim Your Inner Light. —Courtney Bridgman
We should stay away from all evil practices, abandon bad friends, befriend good friends, diligently practice the six methods of reaching the other shore, frequently repent of all evil deeds, and make righteous vows as appropriate. - The Mahayana Daśacakra Kṣitigarbha Sūtra
The student asked the master: Why do some people fall into hell for such a long time and cannot be liberated?
The master said: Many times, if a person has sinned, but even if he has a little bit of goodness, he will have the opportunity to be liberated. But if there is no goodness in this person, it is difficult to have a chance to be liberated.
The master gave an analogy: A person slipped and fell into a cesspool. If there are still places on this person's body that are not stained with filth, other people can reach out and grab these places to pull this person out of the cesspool. But if this person is soaked in the cesspool from head to toe, no one who wants to save him can do anything.
The master said: You should check yourself every day to see if there is a clean place on your body.
For thus said the Lord Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength. And ye would not.
You said, ‘No, we will flee on horses.’ Therefore you will flee! You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’ Therefore your pursuers will be swift!
When King Ashoka was young, he vowed to donate 10 billion golds to the Buddhist temple. Before he died, he had donated 9.6 billion golds. He was lying on his bed and asked his ministers to donate the gold from the treasury to fulfill his wish. But he was intercepted by the prince. He asked his attendants to donate his gold tableware, but they were intercepted again and replaced with silver tableware. He asked his attendants to donate his silver tableware, but they were intercepted again and replaced with copper tableware. He asked his attendants to donate his copper tableware, but they were intercepted again. When he was dying, he thought that when he was on the throne, the entire Indian continent belonged to him, but now he couldn't even donate his own tableware. So he handed half of the amla fruit in his hand to the attendant and asked him to donate this half of the fruit to the monks in the temple. This time, the attendant was not intercepted. The monks accepted this donation. In order to realize the meaning of the donation, the leading monk mashed half of the amla fruit into a paste, then stirred it with water to make juice, and all the monks in the temple shared the juice. Before his death, King Ashoka donated half of an amoala fruit with a sincere heart. He said that although he owned the whole world, only this half of an amoala fruit was at his disposal at his deathbed. Despite this, he still donated all his wealth (half of an amoala fruit) in the hope that he could also attain the supreme enlightenment in the future.
Speak. Most of the time, speaking must be the result of a reflex in the cerebral cortex, that is, the brain speaks only when there is input. The input may come from the outside world, it may be sound, it may be an image, it may be both, or it may not be there at all (such as from the sense of touch). It may also come from the inside, such as what is in the mind. Regardless of whether the input comes from inside or outside, speaking itself is a trace of inner activities. Speaking itself has shown that thinking and environment or thinking and thinking have produced an effect. This effect has a name - "knowledge". It can be understood as "recognition". Recognition is the cause of speaking. Moreover, recognition is not only the cause of speaking, but also the cause of all behaviors. If there is no recognition, there will be no speaking and no behavior. Sitting on the subway, two passengers are talking enthusiastically. They are constantly recognizing the information sent by each other. But the people sitting around are indifferent. Because the people around them do not recognize the information they send. Recognition itself not only strengthens the information, but more importantly, recognition is constantly reflecting the subject of recognition, that is, "I". Every sentence proves that I exist. Every sentence strengthens my existence. Therefore, speaking, a very common thing, fundamentally strengthens the "I", continues the "I", and then extends from the "I" to the "outside of me". The "I" and the "outside of me" further produce various feelings, and then various judgments and corresponding behaviors. And the collection of behaviors is the world. Speaking leads to the existence and continuation of the world - it seems absurd, but it is true. Therefore, the mind created by idealism refers to "recognition".
Sitting, getting up, or doing anything, all actions are subject to the law of decay. How can they not be destroyed? There is no way to make them not be destroyed. …All the various things that we love and like, all are subject to the law of separation and cannot be preserved forever.
In the section from 90 degrees of the sine wave to 0 degrees of the sine wave, we are currently at about sin30. And it will take about 7,000 years from sin30 to sin0.
Several concepts are very special:
Mahayana and Hinayana. It is a simplified description of the vision. Mahayana saves all sentient beings. Hinayana focuses on one's own liberation. According to some scriptures, there is actually only one Dharma, and it must be universal salvation of sentient beings. Therefore, Hinayana is not the ideal ultimate goal. Universal salvation itself is to eliminate the attachment to the self, and eliminating the self is a very important spiritual cornerstone for further transformation of the mind. Hinayana's self-salvation can be seen as an unfinished work.
Do not talk about the extinction of the Dharma. Sometimes, people talk about "emptiness" because this word can make people feel relieved, especially in this period of the Dharma Ending Age, when the world we face is on the descending part of the sine wave. Emptiness can make people look down on many troubles. But at the same time of looking down on troubles, because of "emptiness" we also look down on the "reality" contained in troubles, that is, the true nature. In particular, it is easy to retreat from goodness because of the prejudice against emptiness, which hinders the accumulation of good karma. In fact, even the wisdom of true emptiness and formlessness requires the accumulation of good karma of the six perfections and ten thousand practices to achieve it. If you only cling to the nihilistic view that everything is empty, you will deviate from the original meaning of Buddhism.
Crossing the infinite. The six kinds of practice can cross the sea of suffering of life and death, also known as crossing the infinite. The infinite - no extreme, that is, being in the middle way, the synonym of non-duality. These six kinds of practice are: giving, keeping precepts, forbearance, diligence, meditation, and wisdom. These six kinds of practice govern all the practices of Bodhisattvas, and are all called the six perfections and ten thousand practices. The six kinds of practice of crossing the infinite talk about the way and method.
Action and wish. The action of the body and the wish of the heart. The two words "action and wish" come from the spiritual concept of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva in Buddhist culture. "Action" refers to the spirit of practice, and "wish" is a lofty and far-reaching ideal. "
Ten good deeds: 1. Do not kill, 2. Do not steal, 3. Do not commit adultery, 4. Do not speak harshly, 5. Do not speak ill of others, 6. Do not lie, 7. Do not speak frivolously with flowery words, 8. Do not be greedy, 9. Do not be angry, 10. Do not have wrong views. They are called the Ten Good Deeds. The Ten Good Deeds are the foundation of all practice. All enlightenment begins with these ten things.
Generate the most noble aspirations.
Wisdom is like the ocean.
Nothing can be an obstacle.
(End of the Sutra)
Buildings from 150 years ago looked like swords with their blades pointing upwards. Not only in the past, the modern buildings next to them were just large swords - with their blades pointing upwards. Going back further, the obelisks of ancient Egypt also had their blades pointing upwards. Judging from the symbolic meaning of the symbol alone, the sword represents defense or offense. But whether it is defense or offense has details to follow. Among the sword blades, there is a sword whose blade is not pointing upwards, but downwards - China's Heroes Monument. The blade of this sword is inserted below the ground. This sword is also the one that is closest to Arthur's sword in the stone among the buildings currently. The blade is inserted into the ground, representing the end of the war, no more war - which is also the will of God for Arthur's sword in the stone. It is particularly ironic that the end of the war was not inherited by the West, but continued in the East. But what exactly are the sharp blades in Western buildings attacking? The earliest form of the weather vane on the roof of Western buildings was the rooster, because the rooster symbolizes dawn. Yearning for light, attacking darkness? So you will see the pattern of stars on most national flags. You can only see the stars in the dark. Those upward sword windows are always reminding us, are we in darkness?
1. Have pure faith. Believe in the results of all good and bad karma.
2. Have shame. Stay away from all bad friends and bad views.
3. Abide in the precepts. Stay away from killing and even drinking.
4. Abide in loving-kindness. Stay away from all anger and wrath.
5. Abide in compassion. Save all weak sentient beings.
6. Abide in joy. Stay away from all four evil deeds of speech.
7. Abide in equanimity. Stay away from all greed and jealousy.
8. Have true refuge. Stay away from all false beliefs about good and bad. Never take refuge in evil spirits and heretics.
9. Have diligence. Firmly and courageously practice all good dharmas.
10. Always enjoy tranquility. Think about the dharma with joy and tirelessness.
1. Practice to purify the karma of body, speech and mind.
2. Have shame and disgust for oneself.
3. Have deep fear of the five aggregates.
4. See that the river of birth and death is extremely difficult to cross.
5. Always enjoy tranquility and stay away from all confusion.
6. Enjoy the practice of Aśvajra and do not criticize others’ faults.
7. Guard the sense organs and keep the mind calm and steady.
8. Observe the origin of things and examine the cause and effect.
9. Always enjoy diligently practicing Samadhi and meditation.
10. Be able to eliminate the arising of things well.
- "Daśacakra Kṣitigarbha Sūtra"