Buddha Mind

Sentient beings are in essence Buddhas.

It is like water and ice.

There is no ice without water.

There are no Buddhas outside sentient beings.

What a shame, sentient beings seek afar, not knowing what is at hand.

It is like wailing from thirst in the midst of water,

Or wandering lost among the poor

Although born a rich man's child.

The cause of rebirth in the six realms

Is the darkness of our delusion.

Treading dark path after dark path

When can we escape birth and death?

Mahayana Zen meditation goes beyond all praise.

Giving, keeping precepts, and the other perfections,

Chanting Buddha's name, repentance, training and many

Other kinds of wholesome deeds

All find their source in zazen.

When you sit even once,

The merit obliterates countless wrongdoings.

How can there be evil realms?

The Pure Land is not far.

If by good fortune you have the occasion

To hear this teaching,

Admire it and rejoice in it.

You will attain boundless happiness

How much more if you dedicate yourself

And realize your own nature directly.

This "own nature" is no nature.

You are already apart from useless discussions.

The gate opens where cause and effect are inseparable.

The road of not-two, not-three goes straight ahead.

Make the form formless form,

Going and returning, not anywhere else.

Make the thought thoughtless thought,

Singing and dancing, the Dharma voice.

How vast the sky of unobstructed concentration!

How brilliant the full moon of fourfold wisdom!

At this very moment, what can be sought?

Nirvana is immediate.

This place is the lotus land.

This body is the Buddha body.

-Hakuin

(1685-1769)

The Story of Buddha 

Lecture by Swami Tyagananda

Zen is the meditation school of Japanese Buddhism,
Zen is a transliteration of the Chinese word chan,
Which is itself an abbreviation of chan-na, 
From the Sanskrit word dhyana,
Meaning meditation, or absolute stillness of the mind.

Buddha's Message to the World

Article by Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda said of Lord Buddha...

Surely he was the greatest man who ever lived. 

He never drew a breath for himself. 

Above all, he never claimed worship. 

He said, "Buddha is not a man, but a state. 

I have found the door. 

Enter, all of you!"

Buddha and His Beliefs

Lecture by Swami Bhaskarananda





If the heart is in accord with what is,
All single strivings have ceased,
All doubts are cleared up,
True faith is confirmed;
Nothing remains,
Nothing need be remembered.
Empty, clear, self-illuminating,
The heart does not waste its energy.

- Sosan 
The Third Zen Patriarch

Buckle Up! Buddha

Peacefully sitting in a hidden corner of the discount department store, he waited for me. Unhurried and with a dignified sweet smile he humbly sat, waiting patiently until I eventually found him. I was thrilled! He was the one. And the price was right! The perfect finishing touch to my Zen garden. :) Today I had found a Buddha statue that wanted to come home with me. With my new meditation buddy safely buckled in my car we made the short journey home. Instantly the perfect garden spot revealed itself. I gently placed him in position surrounded by passion fruit vines and flowers. I breathed a sigh of relief and lit a candle offering a prayer of gratitude to the divine consciousness for bringing us together.

I've discovered that creating a serene Zen-ish environment is paramount to my progress in spiritual life. A quiet sacred space where my mind can relax and focus on God. Some days the weight of the world seems to be clouding my mind and it becomes restless. By committing to a daily sitting practice in a peaceful sunlit garden, the divine seems more easily revealed through nature. Surrounded by sacred art, birds chirping, bees humming, leaves fluttering, and clouds effortlessly floating on a fragrant orange blossom breeze, I momentarily transcend... bliss.

We are told... One day, after much practice, if we do not grasp at enlightenment or run away
from it, realization will catch up to us. Blissfully shining the great "I Am" sits as witness to all... as if to say, "I knew you would finally remember who you really are!"

Song of Zazen

By Hakuin Zenji

All beings by nature are Buddha,

As ice by nature is water.

Apart from water there is no ice;

Apart from beings, no Buddha.

How sad that people ignore the near

And search for truth afar:

Like someone in the midst of water

Crying out in thirst;

Like a child of a wealthy home

Wandering among the poor.

Lost on dark paths of ignorance,

We wander through the Six Worlds;

From dark path to dark path

When shall we be freed from birth and death?

Oh, the Zen meditation of the Mahayana!

To this the highest praise!

Devotion, repentance, training,

The many perfections

All have their source in Zen meditation.

Those who try Zen meditation even once

Wipe away beginning less crimes.

Where are all the dark paths then?

The Pure Land itself is near.

Those who hear this truth even once

And listen with a grateful heart,

Treasuring it, revering it,

Gain blessings without end.

Much more, those who turn about

And bear witness to self-nature,

Self-nature that is no-nature,

Go far beyond mere doctrine.

Here effect and cause are the same;

The Way is neither two nor three.

With form that is no-form,

Going and coming, we are never astray;

With thought that is no-thought,

Even singing and dancing are the voice of the Law.

How boundless and free is the sky of Awareness!

How bright the full moon of wisdom!

Truly, is anything missing now?

Nirvana is right here, before our eyes;

This very place is the Lotus Land;

This very body, the Buddha.

*Translation by Robert Aitken

The Story of Buddha

Lecture by Swami Tyagananda

I have arrived.

I am home.

In the here.

In the now.

I am solid.

I am free.

In the ultimate I dwell.

-Thich Nhat Hanh

Sitting with Our Father and Mother

Guided 10min meditation by Thich Nhat Hanh

Breathing in, I invite the Buddha to breathe with my lungs.

Breathing out, I invited the Buddha to sit with my back.

Buddha is breathing, Buddha is sitting.

I enjoy breathing, I enjoy sitting.

I know that the quality of the breathing, in the Buddha breath, is excellent.

I know the quality of his sitting is excellent.

I enjoy breathing. I enjoy sitting.

I am aware that my father is fully present in every cell of my body.

I invite my father to breathe in with me. Breathe out with me.

I would like to invite my father in me to sit with my back 

– this is my back, but it is also his back.

Father and son. Father and daughter. Breathing together.

Breathing in, I feel so light. Breathing out, I feel so free.

Daddy, do you feel as light as I do? Do you feel as free as I do?

I know that my mother is fully present in every cell of my body.

I invite my mother to breathe with my lungs, to sit with my back.

This is my back, but it is also hers.

Mother and son breathing in together. 

Mother and daughter breathing in together.

Mother and son breathing out together. 

Mother and daughter breathing out together.

Breathing in, I feel so light.

Mother, do you feel as light as I do?

Breathing out, I feel so free.

Mother, do you feel as free as I do?

- Thich Nhat Hanh

Buddha's Spiritual Humanism
Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda

Do you have the patience to wait

Till your mud settles

And the water is clear?

Can you remain unmoving

Till the right action arises by itself?

-Tao Te Ching

Awaken to Wisdom

Wake up! It is time to wake up!

You are young, strong, why do you waver,

why are you lazy and irresolute?

This is not the way to wisdom.

Be strict with speech, control your mind,

let not the body do evil.

This is the way to wisdom,

these the three roads leading to it.

Meditation brings wisdom,

lack of meditation is folly.

These are the two roads,

one leading forward, one backwards.

Choose the right one,

the one that leads to wisdom.

Not one tree – cut down the whole forest!

There is danger in the forest.

Cut down the forest of desires, O man,

and discover the road to liberation.

Take the ego like an autumn lily-

and snap it with your fingers!

Proceed then on the path to Nirvana

with one who has reached as your guide.

“This I choose for my winter home;

this for the monsoon, this for summer.”

-The words of a fool.

He fails to see his final destination.

Like floods that come and sweep away 
a sleeping village, death descends on the drowsy 
mind greedy for children and cattle.

Nothing saves!

Not father, not sons, not kinsmen.

They cannot save a man from death.

Therefore, think deeply.

Like the wide and virtuous man,

stay on the path that leads to liberation.

Impurity:

Be a lamp to yourself,

Be like an island.

Struggle hard, be wise.

Cleansed of weakness, you will find heaven,

The land which few find.

Life is over, and you stand

In Death’s presence.

O unprepared for the journey,

There is no rest on this road!

Be a lamp to yourself,

Be like an island.

Struggle hard, be wise.

Cleansed of weakness, you will find freedom,

From birth and old age.

As a smith removes flaws in silver,

A wise man removes flaws in himself,

Slowly, one by one, carefully.

Iron breeds rust, and rust devours iron,

So ill deeds devour their doer.

As a house unrepaired decays,

Goodness unrepeated declines.

Neglect of one’s appearance decays it,

Neglected, the mind stagnates.

Impure the calculating giver;

Impure are all evil deeds

Now and forever.

But nothing is more impure, 
O man, Than ignorance.

Cast aside ignorance, and all becomes pure.

Life is easy for the shameless crow-strutter,

The mischief-maker, the minder of other people’s business,

The insolent and the evil-minded.

Hard is life for the humble man,

Hard for the pure, the clear-thinking,

The disinterested, and the gentle person.

Who takes life, tells a lie,

Covets others’ wealth, commits adultery,

And surrenders himself to strong liquors,

Even in this world, digs his own grave.

Listen, O man!

Indiscipline begets evil.

Avarice and ill deed bring long misery.

No fire like passion, no jailer like hate,

no snare like delusion, no torrent like craving.

How easy to see the faults of others–

we winnow them like chaff.
How hard to see one’s own!–

We hide them, like cheating at dice.

How will he destroy his own passions,

who rouses them by watching others’ faults,

who is forever finding something to condemn?

There is no path in the sky,

there is no refuge anywhere!

All is of the world, worldly–

only the Buddhas are free of the world.

There is no path in the sky,

there is no refuge anywhere!

Nothing in the changing world is unchanging–

only the Buddhas are free from change.

Of paths, the best is the Eightfold,

the Four Truths are the best truths;

the best virtue is detachment,

best among men he who follows Dhamma.

This is the path.

It leads to insight. It liberates.

Follow it.

Mara the temptress is helpless before it.

End your suffering. Follow it.

This is my path, preached

after the arrows fell away from me.

Work out your Nirvana with diligence.

The Buddhas only set examples.

Those who follow Dhamma and practice meditation

are freed from the traps of Maya the temptress.

Whatever consists of component parts must perish.

It is wisdom to know this.
This knowledge destroys grief and leads to liberation.

Whatever consists of component parts is not the real self.

It is wisdom to know this.

This knowledge destroys grief and leads to liberation.

- Excerpt from Dhammapada

Spiritual Spelunking

Lecture by Swami Chidbrahmananda

Religion is the manifestation of the Divinity already in man.

-  Swami Vivekananda -

Sri Ramana Maharshi

With blazing bright, unwinking eyes
He gazed and drunk in my whole Being.
Swept off by such enchanting beauty
His utter slave I have become.
-By Sri Muruganar from "The Garland of Guru's Sayings"

Lecture on Sri Ramana Maharshi

By Swami Yogeshananda

Take refuge in silence. 
You can be here or there or anywhere. 

Fixed in silence, established in the inner ‘I’ 

You can be as you are. 

The world will never perturb you,

If you are well founded upon the tranquility within. 

Gather your thoughts within. 

Find out the thought center and discover your self equipoise. 

In storm and turmoil be calm and silent. 

Watch the events around as a witness. 

The world is a drama. 

Be a witness, in turned and introspective.

-Sri Ramana Maharshi

Who Am I? | Society of Abidance in Truth | Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi

Visit Sri Ramana Maharshi.org

Inner Light

"You are the light of the world."
Matthew 5:14 

Illumination cannot be described in words, it must be experienced. There are many glimpses of smaller awakenings on the way towards spiritual enlightenment. The awakening of the self depends on the ripening of the perfect conditions. The seed will not sprout until the ground is prepared. Repeat your given mantra and fertilize the ground of your mind and heart. Go on repeating until you take your last breath. It may take many, many, lifetimes of being reincarnated before we experience freedom. The Vedanta Society Swami's tell us everyone will awaken one day at their own destined time into a greater consciousness. Wake up... drop all desires and experience a moment when the veil of ignorance is dissolved and suddenly the love of infinite oneness presents itself... as the breath of the Eternal.

Inner Light 
Article by Swami Shraddhananda

Waking Up

Lecture by Swami Mahayogananda

The Light Within
Lecture by Swami Tyagananda

Bring all light into the world; light, bring light! 

Let light come unto everyone; the tasks will not be finished 

Till everyone has reached the Lord. 

Bring light to the poor, and bring more light to the rich, 

For they require it more than the poor; 

Bring light to the ignorant and more light to the educated 

For the vanities of the education of our time are tremendous! 

Thus bring light to all and leave the rest unto the Lord.

– Swami Vivekananda

Outside is Inside

As clouds are blown away by the wind, 

the thirst for material pleasures will be driven away 

by the utterance of the Lord's name.

- Sarada Devi

Life Above the Clouds

Lecture by Swami Tyagananda

High above the clouds things aren't always what they seem. The sufferings of life appear non existent here... if only for a few moments. Up here... it is absolutely quiet and peaceful. A state of brightness, stillness and light temporarily transcends time and space. We seem to be softly floating, weightless and without worries. Suddenly a moment of clarity and the audible hum of OM tranquility, or maybe that's the planes engines. Our ears seem to be plugged and we swallow to equalize them. Much too soon our time above the clouds is over and the airplane begins to descend. Looking out the window we say goodbye to the peaceful heavenly cloud display. Back to earth, back to our daily responsibilities and material pleasures. The three levels of our personality: gross (material body), subtle (mind, intellect, ego) and the causal body are essentially cloud coverings that separate us from the divine. The seat of pure consciousness is present in all the waking, sleeping and dreaming states we experience in this life. Learning to open up our awareness to the divine and lift the clouds of life requires a daily practice of centering ourselves in God's love and wisdom. The highest creed is Oneness. I am so-and-so is a limited idea, not true of the real ‘I’. I am the universal; stand upon that and ever worship the Highest through the highest form, for God is Spirit and should be worshipped in spirit and in truth.

The sky can accommodate anything

Birds cut through the sky

Or a plane

The sky comes back

It is as it is

Effortless, whole

Volcanoes erupt

Forests burn

The sky is not burned

Nothing added

Taken away

Boundless and vast

Tornados, hurricanes, typhoons

Planets collide

The sky accommodates

Sun and moon

The countless stars

Bodhisattva of the great earth!

Bodhisattva of sky!

Widen our reach

To embrace and put our arms around.

- Chan Master Guo Jun

Strength Verses Self-Realization 

Lecture by Bramachari Satchaitanya