Shakyamuni Buddha, before he became a Buddha, had a lifetime, he was an immortal with a snail bun, and his name was Shang Sheli. He used to be in the fourth level of meditation, and he had stopped breathing in and out. He was sitting under a tree, motionless. A bird saw him and thought he was a tree, so the bird laid eggs in the immortal's hair. At this time, the immortal woke up from meditation and noticed the eggs in his hair, and he thought, "If I get up now, the mother bird will never come again, and if the mother bird doesn't come, the eggs will be destroyed." So, The immortal re-entered the meditation, and when the bird hatched and was able to fly away alone, the immortal got up. - "The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom"
Śāriputra said the method of Zazen of meditation : not relying on the body, not relying on the mind, not relying on the three realms, in the three realms without body and mind, this is Zazen of meditation. - The Vimalakirti Sutra
Desire to be the cause of fear and sorrow. - Buddha said to Brahmins who are infected with desire
Desire is the abode of all kinds of troubles. If the heart is greedy, there is no way to approach the Dharma. -"The Treatise on the Great Prajñāpāramitā"
On the night that Buddha Shakyamuni left home to seek Dharma, his former wife Yasodhara realized that she was pregnant. However, after six years, Yasodhara gave birth to his son Rahula. Later, when the Buddha returned to his hometown to save relatives and friends, his ex-wife Yasodhara asked the Buddha, "What is the cause, I have to be pregnant for six years before giving birth to Rahula?" The Buddha explained the cause of this incident: In the past , very long ago, Rahula once was a king in his life. At that time, a fairy came to the king and said that he hoped that the king would punish him for his sins. The king asked the fairy, what was his sin? The fairy said, "I broke the willow branches here without permission, and I drank the water of this country without permission." The king said, I have just ascended the throne, the willow branches and water are what I gave to all sentient beings, you are not guilty. The fairy said, "Even so, there is still remorse in my heart, and I hope that you will punish me now, so that I will not suffer other punishments for this in the future." The king said, "If you must ask me to punish you, then please wait for me for a moment, I will be right back when I return to the palace." However, the king entered the palace and did not come out for six days. The fairy waited for the king for six days without food or water. The fairy thought, "Maybe this is the method the king used to punish me." After six days, the king came out of the palace and apologized to the fairy. The king said, "I'm really sorry, because I forgot that I should come back to you, please don't blame me." Because of this, the king fell into the evil realm in five hundred reincarnations. In each of the five hundred subsequent reincarnations, he spent six years in the womb. That's why Rahula stayed in his mother's womb for six years. - "The Treatise on the Great Prajñāpāramitā"
One day you will understand, being kind is harder than being smart. Smart is a talent, but kindness is a choice.
When you're in a bad mood, don't use decisive words to hurt those who love you.
Hook up the curtain so that the little swallow can fly home. Poke the window paper, so that the flies can fly out. Always keep some meals for the mice. Mercy moths don't light the lamp. -Su Shi
Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.
Form is like "a lump of foam" (pheṇapiṇḍa); sensation like "a water bubble" (bubbuḷa); perception like "a mirage" (marici); formations like "a plantain tree" (kadalik-khandha); and cognition is like "a magical illusion" (māyā).
It is said that the world is empty, the world is empty, lord. In what respect is it said that the world is empty?" The Buddha replied, "Insofar as it is empty of a self or of anything pertaining to a self: Thus it is said, Ānanda, that the world is empty.
Emptiness as a quality of dharmas, in the early canons, means simply that one cannot identify them as one's own self or having anything pertaining to one's own self ... Emptiness as a mental state, in the early canons, means a mode of perception in which one neither adds anything to nor takes anything away from what is present, noting simply, "There is this." This mode is achieved through a process of intense concentration, coupled with the insight that notes more and more subtle levels of the presence and absence of disturbance.
The emptiness of phenomena is often illustrated by metaphors like drops of dew.
Form is emptiness, emptiness is form.
Emptiness is not separate from form, form is not separate from emptiness.
Whatever is form is emptiness, whatever is emptiness is form.
We state that conditioned origination is emptiness. It is mere designation depending on something, and it is the middle path.
Since nothing has arisen without depending on something, there is nothing that is not empty.
Long ago, wildfires burned the forest. There was a pheasant in the forest. It flew into the water very hard, stained its feathers, and used the water in the feathers to put out the fire. However, the fire was great, its feathers carried little water, and it was very tired from flying around, but it didn't feel hard. At that time, the emperor of heaven, Sakra, asked the pheasant: What are you doing? It replied: I want to save this forest, because I have mercy on all living beings. This forest has a wide range of shades, cool and happy. Our animals and our relatives, as well as all sentient beings, depend on this forest to survive. I have physical strength, why should I slack off and not save the forest? The Emperor of Heaven asked: You are diligent, how long can you persist like this? The pheasant replied: I will keep doing this until I die. The Emperor of Heaven said: Although your heart is strong, who will prove it? The pheasant swore to himself: I am sincere in my heart, and if my faith is not false, the fire will be extinguished. At that time, The Suddhavasa devas could understand the oath of the pheasant, so The Suddhavasa devas put out the fire. From ancient times to the present, only this forest has always been lush and not burnt by fire. (Therefore, the scriptures say: People have good wishes, and God will obey them. This is true.) - "The Treatise on the Great Prajñāpāramitā"
The origin of The Deer Park in Sarnath, where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma: Master Xuanzang's "Great Tang Records on the Western Regions" records that in the Kingdom of Kashi, when Gautama Buddha was still practicing Bodhisattva behavior in the causal ground, he once incarnated as a deer king, whose name is The Kind Deer King. Devadatta is also a deer king at that time, known as The Evil Deer King. The Kind Deer King and The Evil Deer King each have five hundred deer in their herd. Both herds of deer live in this same wood which located in Kingdomin of Kashi. The Kingdomin of Kashi was an ancient Indian kingdom located in the region around its capital Varanasi. The name of the king of the Kingdom of Kashi at that time was King Brahmadatta. The king hunted the forest, and the two deer kings and the herd were surrounded by the king's hunting crowd. At that time, The Kind Deer King came to the King Brahmadatta and said to the king: "Your Majesty, you are hunting and setting fire to the forest. Our thousand deer will die today. However, after the deer die, there is a lot of meat, and the venison will rot that day. I beg you to be kind and allow us to send you a deer to cook every day. In this way, you will have fresh venison to eat every day, and we can live for a few more days." The king felt that The Kind Deer King was right and agreed. From then on, the two herds of deer took turns to give the king a deer every day, and they did not dare to neglect. On this day, the deer of The Evil Deer King should donate a deer to cook for the king, and the arranged deer happened to be a doe. And this doe was pregnant with a fawn. The doe begs The Evil Deer King to delay her death so that she can give birth to a fawn. The Evil Deer King refused. So the doe came to find The Kind Deer King and asked for help. The Kind Deer King said, "The heart of a loving mother is touching, and her kindness benefits the unborn fetus. Don't worry, I will take your place." So The Kind Deer King himself came to the king's kitchen. The cook in charge of the slaughter was surprised to see the deer king coming here in person, so he reported it to the king. The king asked The Kind Deer King why he came in person. The Kind Deer King said: "The deer that should be delivered today happened to be a pregnant female deer. She begged to give birth to a young deer and then die. But there is no other deer suitable to replace her. Who doesn't want to live another day? I can't bear it anymore. Afraid of missing the appointment, I will serve your kitchen myself. I hope you agree with me to replace her." The King Brahmadatta heard this and sighed: "You have this kindness, you are a human being, and I am a beast. I will never eat meat again. I no longer need you to send deer to cook for me every day." The king ordered that this garden be given to the deer as a garden for raising deer. So this place has since been called The Deer Park. Because of this karma, Gautama Buddha chose this place for the first time he taught the Dharma, and it was also to repay the kindness of this place in the past.
When the Bodhisattva sees sentient beings suffering from the five realms, he is as helpful to them as he is to his own father. - "The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom"
For example, a stream of water can break a big stone; it is the same if one does not let go of the mind. If you specialize in the practice of the Dharma, and practice it often without slack, you will be able to break through the mountains of afflictions and knots. - "The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom"
When forms appear, emptiness arises; when forms disappear, emptiness disappears. When various actions appear, emptiness arises, and when actions disappear, emptiness disappears. Among them, there is no me, no man, no god, no one from this life to the next, all this is just a combination of karma and various names. People who don't understand this truth explore all kinds of mentality and form, but think it's real. - The Buddha told King Bimbisara what is emptiness
Do not do evil, do good, and purify your mind. This is Buddhism.
The Buddha said to Subhuti: If a Bodhisattva views all dharmas as neither permanent nor impermanent, neither suffering nor pleasure, neither self nor non-self, neither existence nor non-existence, and is not attached to this view, then it is called Bodhisattva Prajna paramita. The meaning here is to give up all views, eliminate all words, detach from all mental actions, come from the original, neither arise nor disappear, just like the appearance of Nirvana; this is the appearance of all dharmas, and this is called the reality of all dharmas. - "The Treatise on the Great Prajñāpāramitā"
Knot and messenger. Both the knot and the messenger are aliases for afflictions. The afflictions can bind the body and mind and form bitter fruits, so they are called knots. They can make all living beings indulge in the suffering of life and death, so they are also called messengers.