introspective

2008-06-06T12:38:00.000+08:00

天生皮骨非天生, 乃是前生苦修成。
美丑二字凡人念, 大好江山丽人焚。
牡丹花下遍白骨, 桃花本是血染红。
世间万般带不去, 唯有业障随此身。

2006-11-09T14:50:00.000+08:00

最美的人生是心的覺悟；

最真的享受是心的清寧；

最寬的淨土是心的涵養；

最高的境界是心的智慧；

最苦的掙扎是心的執著；

最快的解脫是心的放下！

Opportunity

2006-08-29T16:21:00.000+08:00

many of us have been looking for and waiting for an opportunity to improve our chance of success in life. to obtain more wealth, material things, fame, reputation, etc.

but we are foolish enough, really foolish... in search of things that are outside of us... always looking for things externally that can help us to be happy... contradictory, the search is making us suffer.

when in fact, truthfully, the only thing that are able to make us happy has always been inside us... and the truly rare opportunity that we have been looking for, is right here in us... this birth as a human is the most precious and rare opportunity.

The Third Buddhist Precept

2005-10-14T09:35:00.000+08:00

Buddhism means many things to many people. To some, it offers wise and compassionate

Buddhist Sexual Ethics
by Winton Higgins

Religious traditions help us to find our basic orientations in many aspects of our lives. The most important aspect of our lives is how we interact with others. Among other things, this means religions often have a lot to say about sexual ethics. What sexual ethics does Buddhism promote? In this area our tradition speaks more quietly than others, which can leave newcomers wondering if it addresses the subject at all. In fact it speaks quite firmly. In opening up the subject I'll highlight those questions that bear on the issues raised by various liberation movements - by the women's movement, by gays and lesbians, and by the smaller sexual minorities. I don't think I could be too wide off the mark in saying that all these movements whatever else they are about, are engaging with various forms of prejudice, and with violence and violations based on those prejudices.

Prejudices against women and against sexual minorities are usually reinforced by certain standard features of social psychology, such as intolerance of difference and the often deep-seated insecurities of those who regard themselves as 'normal' but aren't quite sure. An important ingredient in this nasty little cocktail, however, is various forms of prejudice, inhibition and repression associated with theistic religious fundamentalism.

Like all religions, Buddhism takes a strong ethical stand in human affairs and sexual behaviour in particular. The most common formulation of Buddhist ethics are the five precents:

I undertake the training precept of:

1. Refraining from harming living beings/practising loving kindness
2. Refraining from taking the non-given/practising generosity
3. Refraining from committing sexual misconduct/practising contentment
4. Refraining from false speech/practising truthful communication
5. Refraining from intoxicants/practising mindfulness.

These precepts take the form of voluntary, personal undertakings. They are not commandments; there is no god in Buddhism, so none to issue any.

The precepts express basic principles rather than fixed, legalistic rules that any one action falls inside or outside of. Like any non-fundamentalist ethical system, Buddhism provides us with general guiding principles while in no way relieving us of the obligation to make appropriate moral judgements in each morally significant situation we come across. Moral judgement is never a question of blindly applying a rule.

The five precepts constitute an integrated set - each precept supports the others. To know what 'sexual misconduct' means you look at the other precepts. 'Sexual misconduct', in the spirit of the precepts as a job lot, means any sexual conduct involving violence, manipulation or deceit - conduct that therefore leads to suffering and trouble. By contrast good sexual conduct is based on loving kindness, generosity, honesty, and mental and emotional clarity - conduct that has good results.

The third precept about sexual misconduct is strictly superfluous - if in our sexual lives we act non-violently, do not take what is not freely given, do not deceive and do not act out of delusive and irresponsible mindstates, we cannot fall foul of the third precept anyway. Buddhism's very tough sexual ethic would be complete without the third precept. It's really there for the sake of emphasis. Sexuality is a very strong energy, the focus of many cravings, vanities and delusions. It calls for its very own precept! If we have a propensity to make fools of ourselves, to act stupidly and destructively - and we all do have this propensity - then we are likely to manifest it in our sex lives. On the other hand, each of us also has the opposite propensity to act out of friendliness, generosity and wisdom. With moral and meditative training our sex lives can powerfully express this propensity too. Hence the third precept expresses a tough and challenging sexual ethic. Not least for anyone who has grown up male and straight in a society like this one, with all its training in objectifying and predatory attitudes towards women, and deep fears of so-called deviance!

Lets look at the spirit of the precepts as a whole before returning to sexuality. Freedom is the ultimate promise of Buddhist practice - of the moral training as well as the other two great trainings, in mediation and wisdom. Freedom means letting go of the obsessions, compulsions and inhibitions of our psychological conditioning, and so freeing ourselves to respond appropriately in any and every situation. Often freedom takes the form of restraint, the ability to say no to an habitual or received compulsion, craving, fashion or dependency. Sometimes freedom takes the form of saying yes, a yes that overrides habitual or received fears, prejudices and inhibitions.
We can either treat other people and other elements of our environment as objects of our calculation, exploitation and consumption, or we can see other people as we see ourselves. All great religions more or less embody the latter ethic (like the Christian 'golden rule': "do unto others as you would have them do unto you"). Buddhism does so in pure form. The precepts are a training in loving oneself and others, expressed in the intention to act skilfully so as to set us all free. Free from what and to do what? In traditional Buddhist terms, free from bondage, suffering, harm and danger, and free to take responsibility for our own wellbeing, and to contribute to that of others.
So back to the third precept. In ancient India the precept in its negative form was conventionally read as an injunction against abduction, rape and adultery. It has always carried the additional implication that we honour our sexual undertakings. If we have taken a vow of celibacy we should abstain from sex so long as the vow is on foot. If we have contracted into a monogamous relationship, we only have sex within that relationship. Anything else would be deceitful.

But the precept's ambit, especially today, is obviously much wider and covers violating behaviours that the women's movement among others has rightly politicised. An important example is sexual harassment, so prevalent these days when women and men share public space - workplaces, universities etc. Where power relations are prevalent, the power relations themselves have a gender component, and opportunities and cultural encouragement for abuse are ubiquitous. Among other things, sexual harassment is harming and involves taking the non-given, based on a deep-seated presumption - and delusion - in male conditioning about the constant sexual availability of women.

Rape in marriage is strikingly similar. Also violent and misogynist pornography which creates a hostile and unsafe environment for women and induces moronic and demonic mindstates in men, including delusions about the nature of women and what they want. So both sexes suffer harm. Publication or use of pornography which eroticises women's subordination thus plainly contravenes the third precept. But by no mean all pornography does so, and other sexually explicit material might be equally innocent.

Ethnic Religion and Social Engineering

So far in this account I don't think Buddhism in practice comes to startlingly different conclusions about sexual conduct from those of balanced versions of other major religions. But the other religions also have lists of no-no's, of forbidden sexual practices. Some object to partial or total nudity, or masturbation, or cross-dressing, or sado-masochism, or homosexuality, or fetishism, or premarital sex, or oral, anal or group sex, or contracepted sex. Buddhism is notorious for its habit of putting points of practice and doctrine into lists. So where is Buddhism's list of naughty sexual practices?

The answer is short and sweet. Buddhism doesn't (for once!) have a list. The reason it doesn't have a list is significant. There are two 'pure types' of religion - ethnic ones and universal ones. Ethnic religion seeks to regulate many civic aspects of a particular tribe or people, and especially to regulate the biological and cultural reproduction of the tribe. It thus stipulates all sorts of rules to do with marriage, family, sex roles, bringing up children, etc. Judaism could well stand as a sophisticated example of an ethnic religion.
A universal religion, by contrast, is indifferent to ethnic civic life, transcends cultural particularism, and stands aloof from issues to do with the reproduction of the tribe. One is born into an ethnic religion, but the only real way into a universal religion like Buddhism is by personal conversion. You can convert to a universal religion from any ethnic starting point whatsoever.

Any ethnic religion contains what we might call - in our secular modern mode - a social engineering element. Social engineers, both the religious and the secular ones, make it their business to regulate relations between the sexes so that plenty of babies are born to reproduce and even expand the tribe, and to see that the children are looked after and properly inducted into the folkways and traditional (gender and other) roles of the tribe. Social engineers want to manipulate people so that their sexual energies are channelled into babymaking, and not frittered away on non-procreative sexual activity (what today's media calls 'recreational sex'). A social engineering God or state tends to promulgate laws that criminalise, stigmatise and pathologise non-procreative sex.

Christianity, for instance, is a universal religion in the new testament, but has attached to it many of social engineering elements of an ethnic religion contained in the old testament, which abominates (I gather) such non-procreative activities as adultery, masturbation, sodomy and so on. So Christianity offers a split perspective. Some old testamentarians make careers as the scourges of all non-baby-making sex, its pleasures and its practitioners. At the same time other Christian leaders openly live in lesbian or gay relationships and courageously fly the flag of tolerance. Buddhism is a pure case of universal religion, with no social engineering element. So much so that it does not even have a marriage service. Marriage is a civil matter in Buddhist countries, it has nothing to do with spiritual practice as such. Nor does the Buddhist canon contain a 'holy family' with prescribed sex roles that subordinate women.

If you want to get married in a Buddhist country, the civil authorities provide the appropriate official celebration. Afterwards the bridal couple can go, as many do, to a monastic and ask for her or his blessing, which usually consists in a relaxed word of advice about how to make the match actually work. Ajahn Chah, the great Buddhist meditation master of modern Thailand, had a stream of newly-weds come to his monastery for this purpose. He would tell them: 'You have given your hand in marriage. Your hand has five fingers. Think of them as the five precepts. Practice the precepts in your marriage, and it will be a happy one. That is all you need.'

The Buddha was in fact a social engineer's worst nightmare. Not only did he not waste a word of condemnation on non-procreative sex (hence no list of no-no's), but he inspired thousands to ordain into celibate monasticism and so leave babymaking behind altogether. This was not because he disapproved of sex or babies, but in an era when a non-celibate usually ended up with many children to feed, clothe and house and so had little freedom or time for spiritual pursuits, celibacy made a lot of practical sense for many people with a spiritual urge. Needless to say, the choice is not nearly as stark in developed countries today, where contraception is available and earning a living is a good deal easier.

Buddhism and Tolerance

Buddhism has nothing against sex as such. Practised skilfully in the spirit of the precepts, it can bring a lot of happiness. As one of my favourite meditation teachers sums it up, there's nothing wrong with dancing lightly with your desires, so long as both can hear the music and all hearts are open. Indeed, I think Buddhism probably improves our sex life in meditation training, where we learn the core skill of mindfulness - of keeping our heart, mind and body in the same place at the same time. So when your body is having a wonderful time with a cuddly friend, your mind is not having a miserable time obsessing about the details of your tax return, for instance - it is free to come to the party too.

Over the years I have gained some familiarity with a number of English-speaking Dhamma centres in western countries, and I'm struck by the unproblematic presence of gays and lesbians in them. In keeping with tradition their sexuality is not an issue and this aspect of their identity is affirmed as straightforwardly as anyone else's. Everyone's structure of sexual desire is unique, and when we leave social engineering considerations behind, there is no warrant for setting one structure of desire above the rest, so long as all can be lived out within the spirit of the precepts.

The appropriate Buddhist attitude to other sexual minorities is just the same. I tested this by visiting the website of Salon Kitty, a very fastidious local establishment which describes itself as 'one of the world's leading BDSM houses.' BDSM stands for bondage, discipline and sado-masochism. On Salon Kitty's main menu is a statement of ethics, which the duty of care and overall responsibility ' the dominant' owes 'the submissive,' not least around the obviously crucial issue of consent. In part the statement of ethics says: Implied in consent is the responsibility of the dominant partner in any BDSM scene to monitor the wellbeing of the submissive to ensure that the submissive is stable and that the consent is still operative.

It is also the responsibility of the dominant to ensure that the submissive is not consenting to an act that is not in his or her best longterm interests.Neither party should indulge in heavy drinking or drug taking as this can impair judgement…
A description follows of the mechanism for instantly withdrawing consent - the uttering of a pre-agreed 'safe word' - which immediately brings the procedure in question to an end.

Then the statement of ethics resumes: In order to enjoy the possibilities that the world of BDSM offers, one must first discover respect and trust both of oneself and of others. Elements of all five precepts are there, including the last. On the basis of this statement we can conclude that Salon Kitty comes closer to Dhamma than fundamentalist, social engineering killjoys of various religious persuasions!

Conclusion

Buddhism does have a strong sexual ethic, but not a repressive one. The main point of this ethic is non-harming in an area of life where we can do a lot of damage by acting violently, manipulatively or deceitfully. These and breaches of the other precepts - ill will, taking the non-given, lying and stupefaction - are the Buddhist no-no's in sexual practice. Because of its universalistic character, Buddhism as such certainly does not buy into prejudices and inhibitions associated with social engineering, the reproduction of the tribe.

Of course, one can meet Buddhists from traditional backgrounds that do have a problem with non-procreative sex like homosexuality, just as we run into ones that are still challenged by gender equality. But this sort of inhibition or prejudice comes from a particular ethnic culture or national tradition only. You can confidently tell anyone who expresses these sorts of attitudes that they have nothing to do with Dhamma as such.

At the same time each of us has to exercise a personal judgement about how much energy and time we should give over to sex, however skilful our sexual practice. Where does it rank in the inevitably tight order of priorities we have to apply in our busy lives when most of us are struggling to find time to sit daily, get to a regular weekly group sit and to go on retreat? Part of the answer will depend on the moral significance of our commitment to our so-called sexual partner(s). Many people strive to make these commitments and relationships central focuses of moral meaning in their lives, as Ajahn Chah suggests we should. This seems to be the best way to lead an integrated life as a spiritual practitioner and a sexual being.

Winton Higgins

(A talk given to Unibuds, Queer Dharma, The Macquarie University Buddhist Society and the Friends of the Wat).

Buddhism means many things to many people. To some, it offers wise and compassionate advice on how to lessen the suffering of modern lay life. To others, it is the path to Enlightenment which ends all suffering. Mr Higgins' article in the November issue of Bodhi Leaf refers to the former kind of Buddhism only. The Buddhism which leads to Enlightenment is somewhat different, as we will now show.
The place of sexuality in Buddhism is made manifestly clear in the Buddha's First Sermon in which the Great Teacher proclaimed the famous Middle Way:

"One should not pursue sensual pleasure (KÂMA-SUKHA), which is low vulgar, coarse, ignoble and unbeneficial; and one should not pursue self-mortification, which is painful, ignoble and unbeneficial. So it was said. And with reference to what was this said? The pursuit of the enjoyment of one whose pleasure is linked to sensual desire - low, vulgar, coarse, ignoble and unbeneficial - is a state beset by suffering, vexation, despair and fever, and it is the wrong way. Disengage from the pursuit of the enjoyment of one whose pleasure is linked to sensual desire - low, vulgar, coarse, ignoble and unbeneficial - is a state without suffering, vexation despair and fever, and it is the right way. The pursuit of self-mortification… is the wrong way. Disengagement from the pursuit of self-mortification… is the right way… The Middle Way discovered by the Tathàgata avoids both these extremes… it leads… to Nibbàna."

(Ven Bhikkhu Bodhi's translation of the Buddha's words in The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, p.1080f)

The Buddha's declaration that the pursuit of sensual pleasures, which include sex, lies outside the Middle Way is reinforced many times in the Suttapitaka. For example, in the Simile of the Quail, Sutta No 66 of the Majjhima Nikàya, the Buddha declares:

"Now, Udàyin, the pleasure and joy that arises dependent on these five cords of sensual pleasure are called sensual pleasures - a filthy pleasure, a coarse pleasure, an ignoble pleasure. I say of this kind of pleasure that it should not be pursued, that it should not be developed, that it should not be cultivated, that it should be feared… (whereas the pleasure of the Four Jhànas). This is called the bliss of renunciation, the bliss of enlightenment. I say of this kind of pleasure that it should be pursued, that it should be developed, that it should be cultivated, that it should not be feared." (ibid p.557)

Even in the time of the Buddha, some misguided people went around saying that sexual practice was not an obstruction to Enlightenment. The Buddha rebuked them strongly with the well known simile of the snake, comparing their wrong grasp of the Teachings to a man who grasps a venomous snake by the tail, out of stupidity, and suffers accordingly:

"Misguided man, in many discourses have I not stated how obstructive things are obstructive, and how they are able to obstruct one who engages in them? I have stated how sensual pleasures provide little gratification, much suffering, and much despair, and how great is the danger in them. With the simile of skeleton… with the simile of the piece of meat… with the simile of the grasstorch… with the simile of the pit of coals… with the simile of the dream… with the simile of the borrowed goods… with the simile of the tree laden with fruit… with the simile of the slaughterhouse… with the simile of the sword stake… with the simile of the snake's head, I have stated how sensual pleasures provide little gratification, much suffering, and much despair, and how great is the danger in them. But you, misguided man, have misrepresented us by your wrong grasp and injured yourself and stored up much demerit; for this will lead to your harm and suffering for a long time." (The Buddha in the simile of the Snake; ibid p.225f)

Indeed, the Buddha taught that sexual practises not only lie outside the Middle Way, but also that they are part of craving (KÂMA-TANHA, the craving for sensual pleasure) described in the Second Noble Truth as the cause of suffering, they are attachments (KÂM' UPÂDÂNA, 'the attachment to sensual pleasure'), they are a hindrance to meditation (KÂMA-CCHANDA, the first of the 5 NIVARANA), they are defilement (KILESA) of the mind, they are a fetter obstructing liberation (the fourth fetter, SAMYOJANA, is KÂMARÂGA 'lust') and they have no part in the behaviour an Enlightened being is capable of).

The Buddha realised that such Teachings would hardly be received enthusiastically by most, for He said shortly after the Enlightenment:
"The world, however, is given to pleasure, delighted with pleasure, enchanted with pleasure. Truly, such beings will hardly understand the law of conditionality, the Dependent Origination. (PATICCA-SAMUPPÂDA) of everything; incomprehensible to them will be the end of all formations, the forsaking of every substratum of rebirth, the fading away of craving, detachment, extinction, Nibbàna." (Ven. Nànatiloka's translation in the Word of the Buddha, p.2)

But then, it is better to be true than to be popular.

Ven. Ajahn Chah, the teacher under whom we both trained for many years, similarly taught that sexual practises had to be given up if one aspired for Enlightenment. For example, I remember a Westerner coming to see Ajahn Chah once and saying that he was sexually active but without being attached to the sex. Ajahn Chah completely ridiculed the statement as an impossibility, saying something like "Bah! that's like saying there can be salt which isn't salty!" Ajahn Chah taught all who came to him, monastic and lay, that sexual desire is KILESA (defilement of the mind), it is a hindrance to success in meditation and an obstruction to Enlightenment. He taught that sexual activity should be abandoned if one wants to end suffering. He would never speak in praise of sex. He would only speak in praise of letting go.

by Ajahn Brahmavamso
and
Ajahn Nanadhammo

Excuses

2005-09-20T12:03:00.000+08:00

in one remote part of this huge world, there are minority of people devoting their time, effort and aspirations for the safety, well-being and future of other fellow humans... they may be seen as people suffering in this world... in fact, they are the most spiritually rich living beings in this world...

in most civilised part of this huge world, there are majority of people devoting their time, effort and aspirations for the safety, well-being and future of their own... they may be seen as great achievers possessing great wealth and fame... in fact, they are the most spiritually hollow beings in this world...

why the difference? ask yourselves... and you would always ended up with some reasons for being the majority... look deeper... these reasons are actually excuses... not reasons... because, we can make decisions and choices...

What it means to be Lucky

2005-08-02T18:16:00.000+08:00

The Excellent Path Laid With Precious Gems

E ma ho!

Now you have got what's so hard to get
The precious freedoms and advantages
This one life alone means so little
So why be so obsessed with it?
If to do some good for yourself and others too
You listen to Dharma, and then reflect
Then you are so fortunate–
This is what it means to be lucky.

This life is quite impermanent
It will definitely disappear
You think everything will stay just as it is–
How to come out from this confusion into the clear?
Cut the root of samsara's confused appearances
By meditating on the meaning of what you've heard
If you do this, you are so fortunate--
This is what it means to be lucky.

If you do good, you'll be happy
If you do bad, you'll suffer pain.
Think well about how karma works
And you'll gain certainty that it's an unfailing law.
If then you act in a rightful way
Doing what you should do and giving up the rest
Then you are so fortunate–
This is what it means to be lucky.

The nature of samsara is the three sufferings
When you know this in your heart, and it's not just something you say
And so you can free yourself and others from samsara's ocean
You cut off suffering right at the root
If you can do that, then you are so fortunate–
This is what it means to be lucky.

Meditating on impermanence
Cuts off attachment to this life
Thinking over and over of samsara's suffering
Makes you realize how worthless samsara is
This gives you the determination
To strive for nirvana's liberation
If you do that, you are so fortunate--
This is what it means to be lucky.

Knowing samsara's cause is belief in 'I'
You know its remedy to be selflessness
So if you apply scripture and reasoning
To gain certainty that there is no self
And if you meditate on selflessness, you're so fortunate–
This is what it means to be lucky.

All beings have been your father and mother
Knowing this you train your mind in love and compassion
This makes you stop worrying so much
About your own comfort and happiness
When you give rise to supreme bodhicitta–
This is what it means to be lucky.

Everything in samsara and nirvana,
Without exception, is neither one nor many
So all phenomena are empty of essence
And knowing that, if you meditate on profound emptiness
Then you are so fortunate–
This is what it means to be lucky.

Meditating on emptiness cuts the root of existence
Love and compassion free you from the extreme of peace
When you bring together wisdom and means
That are stuck in neither existence nor peace's extremes
Then you are so fortunate–
This is what it means to be lucky.

When you've made the Mahayana path your sturdy base
And you know so excellently
The way that the totality of appearance
Is an infinite expanse of purity
Then the four empowerments
Will ripen your continuum
When you practice profound creation and completion–
This is what it means to be lucky.

The fruit of this creation and completion
Must ripen at the appropriate time
This depends on your pure vision
Of your vajra brothers and sisters--it must increase!
So if pure vision dawns in your mind–
This is what it means to be lucky.

Another reason you might be lucky–
The freedoms and resources, this excellent base
Is hard to find, and what's harder than that
Is using it to practice Dharma correctly
So if you are on the path of correct practice–
This is what it means to be lucky.

Knowing what it means to be lucky
Day and night, without distraction
In order to accomplish great benefit
For the teachings and for all beings
May all of us practice
The Dharma of the lucky ones.

On December 27, 1997, in the Garden of Translation near the Great Stupa of Boudhanath, Nepal, this was spoken extemporaneously by the one only called "Khenpo," Tsultrim Gyamtso. Translated by Ari Goldfield.

i am indeed very lucky...

Heart of a Buddha 010

2005-07-25T00:29:00.000+08:00

thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened.

happiness never decreases by being shared.

Heart of a Buddha 009

2005-07-25T00:28:00.000+08:00

if a man's mind becomes pure, his surroundings will also become pure.

Heart of a Buddha 008

2005-07-25T00:26:00.000+08:00

if we fail to look after others when they need help, who will look after us?

indifference brings indifference; lovingkindness brings lovingkindness.

Heart of a Buddha 007

2005-07-25T00:23:00.000+08:00

the rule of friendship means there should be mutual sympathy between them, each supplying what the other lacks and trying to benefit the other, always using friendly and sincere words.

Heart of a Buddha 006

2005-07-07T00:58:00.000+08:00

there is nothing more dreadful than the habit of doubt. doubt separates people. it is a poison that disintegrates friendships and breaks up pleasant relations. it is a thorn that irritates and hurts; it is a sword that kills.

there is nothing more worthy than the virtue of selflessness. selflessness unites people. it is a healing herb that unifies strangers and brings families together. it is the love for others that is higher than self-love; it is our only hope.

Deep Thinking I

2005-07-07T00:42:00.000+08:00

whatever joy there is in this world, all comes from desiring others to be happy, and whatever suffering there is in this world all comes from desiring oneself to be happy.

if you try to subdue your selfish motives --- anger and so forth --- and develop more kindness and compassion for others, ultimately you yourself will benefit more than you would otherwise. so sometimes the wise selfish person should practice this way. foolish selfish people are always thinking of themselves, and the result is negative. wise selfish people think of others, help others as much as they can, and the result is that they too receive benefit.

whenever we act negatively, it leads to pain and suffering; whenever we act positively, it eventually results in happiness.

a human being is part of a whole, called by us the "universe", a part limited in time and space. he experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest --- a kind of optical delusion of his conciousness. this delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.

Death

2005-07-06T10:03:00.000+08:00

death is the beginning of a new life at another phase... nothing is lost...

Purpose

2005-07-06T09:57:00.000+08:00

tibetan buddhism has opened my heart and vision...

i want to share with the world the good things that i read... the good experiences that i came across... this is my responsibility... this is the purpose of my life... to help fellow setient beings and liberate them from samsara...

Friendship

2005-07-06T09:43:00.000+08:00

friendship is not just fun, games, outings, happiness... to be able to become friends is a destiny... your life could change for the better or worst depending on whom you have befriended...

if u ate a bad apple, you would get stomache...

if u ate a good apple, you would be healthy...

good friends do not play games with you or share the fun of outings or share the happiness of this life with you... these are just the insignificant part of this life... good friends share their responsibilities and spiritual experience with you... so that you too could be relieved from the sufferings of this life... good friends can be for eternal... good friends can also be only for a second... they are still your good friends...

Preparation

2005-07-03T08:43:00.000+08:00

in this life, we are always busy preparing ourselves for almost everything, from daily activities and programmes, to future goals and ambitions, and for our descendents... we have even prepared ourselves for birth...but we overlooked in preparing ourselves for death...

Birth

2005-07-03T08:42:00.000+08:00

birth is the starting process of death.

Heart of a Buddha 005

2005-07-02T11:23:00.000+08:00

everything changes, nothing remains without change.

Heart of a Buddha 004

2005-07-02T11:21:00.000+08:00

just as water cools both good and bad and washes away all impurity and dust, in the same way you should develop thoughts of love for friend and foe alike, and having reached perfection in love, you will attain enlightenment.

Heart of a Buddha 003

2005-07-02T11:18:00.000+08:00

even if everyone else is not doing good, i alone will.

even if everyone else is doing wrong, i alone will not.

Heaven or Hell

2005-06-29T13:50:00.000+08:00

every human want to be good and want to go to heaven after their deaths. nobody want to go to hell and suffer again. easier said than done. heaven or hell. there is no difference. u still have to suffer and face the torment of cyclic existence in the ocean of samsara. heaven is at the upper realm; hell is at the lower realm. the quality of life in heaven is, of course, much better than hell due to the good karma seeds you sowed during your time as a human life. when the karma seeds are finished, you have to be reborn again depending on the quality of the karma seeds you reaped. in hell, you suffer, because of the bad karma seeds you sowed during your time as human life. after you have paid for the bad karma seeds sowed, you will be reborn again and the quality of rebirth also depends on the quality of the karma seeds you reaped. this is you reap what you sow.

to avoid rebirth and be liberated from the torment of cyclic existence, we aim for ultimate enlightenment and be reborn in the purelands.

Quality or Quantity

2005-06-29T13:44:00.000+08:00

eveyone of us would like to have a long life. but for what purpose. to enjoy the poisons of samsara and be critically attached to material enjoyment and waste the precious human life? we are then no different from vampires. or to make full use of the precious human life to pursue the teachings leading to ultimate enlightenment? we are then on our way to buddhahood.

Journey

2005-06-29T11:56:00.000+08:00

the spiritual journey is an amazing experience that nobody can share with you, or walk the journey with you, or experience the same effect as you, or give the same committment as you. taking the spiritual journey is a lonesome yet enriching path you would ever have and would never forget in this life as a living human.

Origin of the Eight Treasures or Auspicious Symbols

2005-06-28T16:02:00.000+08:00

The eight Buddhist auspicious symbols consist of - a parasol, pair of golden fish, the great treasure vase, a lotus, the right turning conch, the endless knot, the banner of victory and the wheel of dharma. These originated from a group of early Indian symbols of royalty which were presented at special ceremonies such as the coronation of a king. The symbols differed between different groups, for example the Jains and Newar Buddhists.

In Buddhism these symbols of good fortune represent the offerings that were made by the gods to Shakyamuni Buddha immediately after he attained enlightenment. Brahma appeared offering the thousand spoked golden wheel as a request to Shakyamuni to turn the teaching wheel of dharma. Indra appeared presenting the right spiraling conch shell as a symbol of the proclamation of the dharma and Sthavara presented the golden vase full of the nectar of immortality.

The Protection Parasol

The parasol or umbrella is an Indian symbol of both protection and royalty. The shadow protects from the heat and sun, and the coolness of the shade represents protection from the heat of suffering, desire, obstacles and illness. Different traditions have developed many designs of the parasol. The parasol dome can symbolise wisdom and the hanging skirt, compassion.

The Golden Fish

The golden fish symbolise happiness, due to their freedom in water, and fertility and abundance, due to their ability to multiply quickly.. The symbol is a common auspicious symbol in the Hindu, Jain and Buddhist traditions, which originated as being a symbol of the two main sacred rivers the Yamuna and Ganges in India, which represent the lunar and solar channels. In Egypt the pair of fishes symbolised the River Nile, and early Christianity adopted the symbol as an emblem of Christ.

The Great Treasure Vase

The Treasure Vase is modeled on the traditional Indian clay water pot. The Tibetan design is very ornate with lotus petal designs. The scarf is a silk cloth from the god realm and the upper opening is sealed with a wish granting tree, with the roots retaining the water of longevity to create all the treasures. The 'inexhaustible treasures' possess special qualities, so that however much is removed from the vase, it will always remain full. Therefore it symbolises long life and prosperity.

The White Lotus

The lotus is the symbol of purity. It is able to grow and blossom from the muddy water, and therefore is a symbol of divine generation. The lotus is used to depict this purity in different forms. The lotus on the throne implies immaculate conception and therefore the being is innately divine. Deities are often depicted holding a lotus as a symbol of their purity, compassion, renunciation and perfection of qualities.

The Right-Turning Conch

The conch shell is derived from ancient Indian stories that describe how heroes of mythical warfare carried a large while conch shell. It is a symbol of power and sovereignty, the sound believed to banish evil spirits, scare away harmful creatures and avert natural disasters. Buddhism adopted it as a symbol of religious sovereignty and an emblem that spreads the truth of dharma.

The Endless Knot

The endless knot overlaps without a beginning or an end, symbolising the Buddha's endless wisdom and compassion. It indicates continuity as the underlying reality of existence.

The Banner of Victory

The victory banner originates from the victory banner that was a military standard carried in Indian warfare. It was adopted as the symbol of Buddha's enlightenment. In Tibetan Buddhism it is said to symbolise the methods for overcoming the defilements-the development of knowledge, wisdom, compassion, meditation, and ethical vows.

The Wheel of Dharma

The wheel is an ancient Indian symbol of creation, sovereignty, and protection which represents motion, and change. Buddhism adopted the wheel to symbolise the Budhha's teachings, the wheel being identified as 'dharmachakra' or wheel of law. In Tibetan this means 'the wheel of transformation' or spiritual change, and can represent the overcoming of all obstacles and illusions.

Dead Walking

2005-06-28T12:32:00.000+08:00

everyone of us fear the dead, a human carcass without soul or mind. a living human body with soul and mind critically attached to samsara and without understanding the purpose and the goal of a human life, it is no different from the dead walking. they are like vampires living on the blood of samsara. come and go, come and go, rebirth in this ocean of existence without getting liberated from the poisons. a living body with soul and mind and fully unerstanding the purpose and the goal of a human life, attempting to be liberated from the effects of the poisons of samsara and yearning to attain ultimate enlightenment to break from rebirth from the ocean of existence, is a true living human.

therefore, in this advanced society, where material enjoyment has been deemed a priority of a human life, we are the dead walking. unless we aspire to attain ultimate enlightenment and aim to liberate fellow humans from samsara thru our compassion and wisdom from the dharam we receieved then are we living humans.