The Fiction of the Self: Ruth Ozeki

By Caitlin DwyerBuddhistdoor Global 2017-02-24 |“Ultimately, all the creative arts are testaments to the foundational truths of Buddhist principles,” says Canadian-American writer Ruth Ozeki. Whether tracing the themes of interdependence and non-attachment, crafting characters who are Zen Buddhist nuns, or using her meditation practice as a springboard for new work, Ozeki has become a uniquely Buddhist voice in modern fiction.Ruth Ozeki. Photo by Kris Krug

Happiness

Rejection of Abhidhamma 拒绝学《阿毗达摩》 Sayadaw U Revata 乌·雷瓦德尊者

Question: Bhante said that to check whether or not a teaching is true Dhamma, we need to compare it with the Tipiṭaka – the Suttanta, the Vinaya, and the Abhidhamma. But I recently heard from an ordained person that he refused to learn the Abhidhamma because the Abhidhamma is not the teaching of the Buddha. He said that before the Buddha’s Parinibbāna, the Buddha said that only the Dhamma and the Vinaya would be our teacher. So if an ordained person has such wrong view, lay people like us may follow the wrong way. 

问： 尊者说过，要检视是否是真正的佛法，我们应该比对三藏，即《经》《律》和《阿毗达摩》。但最近，我听到一位出家人说，他拒绝去学《阿毗达摩》，因为这不是佛陀的教法。他说佛陀在般涅槃前说过：“只有法和律是我们的导师。”所以，如果连一位出家人都有如此错误的知见，那么在家人也很可能有同样的错误看法！

Who Was the Buddha?

BARBARA O'BRIEN| MARCH 3, 2017

What do we really know about Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha? And who are these other Buddhas we sometimes see and hear about? Barbara O’Brien answers your questions about the very real human being whose spiritual quest and awakening have inspired the world for some 2,600 years.

Sculpture of Shakyamuni Buddha touching the earth at the moment he reached enlightenment.
11th-12th century, Central Tibet. Brass with colored pigments. Photo courtesy of The Met.

Contents

• Who Was Buddha?
• What Do We Know About the Historical Buddha?
• Have There Been Other Buddhas?
• What About the Buddhas in Buddhist Art?
• Do Buddhists Worship the Buddha?
• What Did the Buddha Teach?
• What Is Enlightenment?
• Is There a Buddhist Bible?
• Additional Reading

You are a miracle

You are a miracle, and everything you touch could be a miracle.
- Thich Nhat Hanh
(Photo: Ian Norman)

5 Funny Buddhist Suttas That Have a Great Message

MARCH 5, 2017 Mindah-Lee Kumar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuOOmGfebV8&t=131s

You wouldn’t expect the Buddha’s teachings to include anything funny would you? I mean we’re talking about the serious business of purifying our mind and becoming enlightened. But occasionally I’ve come across some Buddhist suttas that have surprised me and made me chuckle. In this video, I share with you five suttas from the Pali Canon that I’ve found amusing and also have a great message.

It benefits both yourself and others

AN 3.57

Peaceful Uplifting Monasteries

Then Vacchagotta the wanderer went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, exchanged courteous greetings with him. After an exchange of friendly greetings & courtesies, he sat to one side. As he was sitting there, he said to the Blessed One: "Master Gotama, I have heard that 'Gotama the contemplative says this: "Only to me should a gift be given, and not to others. Only to my disciples should a gift be given, and not to others. Only what is given to me bears great fruit, and not what is given to others. Only what is given to my disciples bears great fruit, and not what is given to the disciples of others."' Now those who report this: Are they reporting the Master Gotama's actual words, are they not misrepresenting him with what is unfactual, are they answering in line with the Dhamma, so that no one whose thinking is in line with the Dhamma will have grounds for criticizing them? For we don't want to misrepresent the Master Gotama."

Kitten Meditation

Thai Forest monk Ajahn Brahm invites us to start meditating by choosing something easy to love in this excerpt from his book.  By Ajahn Brahm MAR 04, 2017

Photo by Carolina Barría Kemp | https://tricy.cl/2l8ylQS

I prepare myself for metta meditation by imagining a little kitten. 
I like cats, especially kittens, so my imaginary kitten is to loving-
kindness as gas is to a flame. I need only to think of my little 
kitten and my heart lights up with metta.

The Buddha cannot do it for you

"The Buddha cannot do it for you. The Noble Disciples cannot do it for you. They can only tell you what to do, but it is you who will have to do it yourself and you are left with less time with each passing day.”

Don't do nothing

How to Live Forever: a Meditation on the Heart Sutra

December 4, 2014 by James Ford 

I love the Heart Sutra.

I adore the Heart Sutra.

Among those many books and poems and spiritual texts that have informed my life, the one which I find at the very center of my understanding of the way things are, is the Heart Sutra.

Anyone who visits any Zen center throughout North America has heard it. The Heart Sutra is very short and its message is telegraphed so fast the subtlety and depth of its teaching can easily be missed. The fact that it ends with a mantra, a sacred phrase can be a bit of misdirection for some, thinking just chanting it has some magical efficacy. Well, maybe it does. But, mainly by inviting us to allow the Heart of it to enter our hearts.

Buddhist Documentary "Becoming Who I Was"

By Craig Lewis Buddhistdoor Global  2017-02-21  

Filmed over an eight-year period, the documentary follows the life of Padma Angdu, who is recognized as the incarnation of a high-ranking Tibetan lama. From facebook.com

Following its worldwide premier at the Berlin International Film festival 
last week, a new documentary on Tibetan Buddhism, Becoming Who I 
was, by South Korean directors Chang-Yong Moon and Jin Jeon has been 
picked up for distribution in the US and Canada, under a deal that includes 
a premier in New York City later this year, to be followed by nationwide 
cinema, DVD, and digital releases.

Yuval Harari, author of Sapiens, on how meditation made him a better historian

What kind of mind creates a book like Sapiens? A clear one.

Updated by Ezra Klein@ezraklein  Feb 28, 2017

Photo by Lane Turner/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Yuval Noah Harari’s first book, Sapiens, was an international sensation. The Israeli historian’s mind-bending tour through the trump of Homo sapiens is a favorite of, among others, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Barack Obama. His new book, Homo Deus: a Brief History of Tomorrow, is about what comes next for humanity — and the threat our own intelligence and creative capacity poses to our future. And it, too, is fantastically interesting.

Impermanence so is it worth living?

Life is impermanent, but that does not mean that it is not worth living. It is precisely because of its impermanence that we value life so dearly. Therefore we must know how to live each moment deeply and use it in a responsible way. If we are able to live the present moment completely, we will not feel regret later.

- Thich Nhat Hanh
(Photo: Morgaine La Fay)

Spreading ‘Great Love’ the Tzu Chi way

Angel of mercy: Cheng Yen consoling a patient in Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital on March 4, 2003 
BY HO WAH FOON The Star Online

Master Cheng Yen’s determination to help people regardless of religion is felt worldwide.

In the reception room of Jing Si Abode, the residence of Dharma Master Cheng Yen, the air appeared to stand still while everyone waited anxiously for the arrival of the VIP host – one of the most respected Buddhist leaders in the world.

When you meditate, you will see the real face of the mind

“When you meditate, you will see the real face of the mind, and this face is simply the act of knowing. That is all that the mind does. It knows.”

Breathing in, Breathing out

“Breathing in, I’m aware of my body. Breathing out, I release the tension in my body.” Peace is possible at that moment, and it can be practiced many times a day—in the workplace, while you are driving, while you are cooking, while you are doing the dishes, while you are watering the vegetable garden. It is always possible to practice releasing the tension in yourself.

- Thich Nhat Hanh
(Image: Maja Lindberg)

Ghandharan Statue of the Fasting Prince/Bodhisatta(Buddha)

Zoroastrian fire cult, perhaps equating Ahura Mazda to the Buddha. The solar disc (nimbus) behind Buddha's head represents the deification of the ancient Iranian practice of Sun-worship, and symbolizing purity and enlightenment. The central figure is the fasting Buddha during the period of his extreme asceticism and renunciation in the process of attaining enlightenment. The sculpture shows Greek art styles in creating the emaciated Buddha with minor details all over the body. Also, note how the Buddha's facial features are typical to people of the region (Gandhara). This great piece of art was probably made during the Scytho-Parthian or Kushan period (100 BC - 250 AD).

11 Buddhist iPhone Apps to Help Recognize You Don’t Really Need a Buddhist iPhone App

BY SAM LITTLEFAIR| FEBRUARY 22, 2017  Sam Littlefair learns why there are so few Buddhist apps and how — even if they’re not totally necessary — they might help you on your spiritual journey.

Photo by Claire Zimmerman.

I select Stop, Breathe & Think on my iPad, and the app opens to a friendly drawing of a meditator, next to a large “Begin” button, which I tap. I’m swept into my guided meditation. Close your eyes, reads the next page. Take a deep breath, and think about how your mind and body feel. Below the text is another button: “Dim screen for ten seconds.” I tap and go into ten seconds of contemplation. Next, the app asks me some questions about my mental, emotional, and physical state. Based on my answers, it recommends a few guided meditations for me—top among them is a nine-minute meditation called “Great Compassion.”