Lord, Help me to be worthy |
Lord, Help me to be worthy |
Thus have I heard. One morning, when the Buddha was staying near Shravasti in the jeta grove of Anathapindika's estate, He and His company of twelve hundred and fifty monks went into the city to beg for their breakfast; and after they returned and finished their meal, they put away their robes and bowls and washed their feet. Then the Buddha took His seat and the others sat down before Him.
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There is a teaching (dharma) which can awaken in us the root of faith in the Mahayana, and it should therefore be explained. The explanation is divided into five parts. They are (1) the Reasons for Writing; (2) the Outline; (3) the Interpretation; (4) on Faith and Practice; (5) the Encouragement of Practice and the Benefits Thereof. Someone may ask the reasons why I was led to write this ...
This is what should be done By one who is skilled in goodness, And who knows the path of peace: Let them be able and upright, Straightforward and gentle in speech. Humble and not conceited, Contented and easily satisfied. Unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways. Peaceful and calm, and wise and skilful, Not proud and demanding in nature.
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The Platform Sutra of Hui Neng became a pivotal treatise in the history of Chan, often used as a distinguishing mark of Souther School Chán. An important resource for anyone interested in the historical devolopment of Chán Buddhism in China. The Master Hui-neng ascended the high seat at the lecture hall of the Ta-fan Temple and expounded the Dharma of the Great Perfection of Wisdom, and ...
The Heart Sutra -- "The Heart of the Perfection of Great Wisdom" Sutra
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Sayings of the Buddha
Speak not harshly to anyone; those thus spoken to will retort. Vindictive speech begets sorrow, and retaliatory blows may bruise you.
-- Canto X.5
Even though a man be richly attired, if he should live in peace, calm, controlled, assured, leading a holy life, abstaining from inflicting injury upon all creatures, he is truly a brahmana, a recluse, a bhikkhu.
-- Canto X.14
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One, on a wandering tour among the Kosalans with a large community of monks, arrived at Kesaputta, a town of the Kalamas. The Kalamas of Kesaputta heard it said, "Gotama the contemplative — the son of the Sakyans, having gone forth from the Sakyan clan — has arrived at Kesaputta. And of that Master Gotama this fine reputation has spread: 'He ...
When we recognize that the ego doesn't exist in any real sense but only as an artifice of the mind, there's nothing that needs explaining anymore: the notion of reincarnation is seen as nothing more than an intellectual game. The person, like the raindrop, merges into the sea of the Dharmakaya, a sea where individuality, in any mode of conception, is totally obliterated. Does one molecule of ...
My first encounter with a Zen teacher happened when I was in my late twenties. Zen had been an interest of mine for nearly a decade before this chance encounter with a person of Zen. I had never thought seriously about actually DOING Zen, but I liked reading the philosophies that came from Zen literature. Doing Zen was, well, something I thought I would never be able to do: it required detaching ...