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

Paranirvana

If you want to
Know Buddha, it's pointless
To seek him in the temple;
The Buddha is simply you
Wishing to see Buddha.

The mind seeking

Buddha outside

Is the worst

Illusion of all.

Translated by Soiku Shigematsu
A Zen Harvest : Japanese Folk Zen Sayings (Haiku, Dodoitsu, and Waka)

Lewis deSoto: Paranirvana (Self-Portrait) | Santa Barbara Museum of Art 2016

Buddha's Teachings  
Lecture by Swami Sarvadevananda

Give up anger, give up pride, and free yourself from all bondage. No sorrow can be fall those who never try to possess people and things as their own. Those who hold back rising anger like a rolling chariot are real charioteers. Others merely hold the reins. Conquer anger through gentleness, unkindness through kindness, greed through generosity, and falsehood by truth. Be truthful; do not yield to anger; give freely, even if you have but little: by these three steps you will come near the gods. More than those who hate you, more than all your enemies, an undisciplined mind does greater harm. More than your mother, more than your father, more than all your family, a well disciplined mind does greater good. 

-Dhammapada, 221-225, 42-43

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 -

Sacred Art

This week the Gomang Monks have been visiting Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, CA. They are busy working on a world peace sand mandala which they will sweep away just hours after completion. My son and I have gone three times to watch their progress and sit with their peaceful focused energy. Not surprising front row access to this event has been easy to get as Buddhist are few and far between in this neck of the woods. To me this mandala crafting process was a reminder of life's inevitable changes and the impermanence of our daily sufferings. Even beautiful, time consuming, hard earned, endeavors pass away. Whoosh!!!... they are gone... blown away by the wind! 

The Paradox of Our Age

We have bigger houses but smaller families

More conveniences but less time

We have more degrees but less sense

More knowledge but less judgement

More experts but more problems

More medicines but less healthiness

We've been all the way to the moon and back

But have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor

We built more computers to hold more information

To produce more copies than ever, but have less communication

We have become long on quantity, but short on quality

These are times of fast foods, but slow digestion

Tall man but short character

Steep profits but shallow relationships

It's a time when there is much in the window

But nothing in the room.

-- His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama --

www.drepunggomangusa.com

www.dalailama.com

Buddha and Vedanta

All that we are is the result of what we have thought;

It is founded on our thoughts,

It is made up of our thoughts.

If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought,

Happiness follows him,

Like a shadow that never leaves him.

- Buddha : The Dhammapada

The Buddha and Vedanta 

An Example of Religious Harmony

Lecture by Dr. Jeffrey Long

What the Buddha Taught
Lecture by Swami Tyagananda

The Arts of Yoga 

L.A. Review of Books by A. L. Bardach

Bloom Where You are Planted

Flower Fresh. Breathing in, I see myself as a flower. Breathing out, I feel fresh and I smile. The whole body of a child is a flower. Today, I saw my son Luke as a poppy flower, blooming tall and strong on his 23rd birthday. We are all flowers in the garden of humanity. With meditation, we can keep our flowerness for a long time. Mindfulness is the energy of being aware and awake to the present moment. It is the continuous practice of touching life deeply in every moment of daily life. To be mindful is to be truly alive, present and at one with those around you and with what you are doing. Conscious breathing is the key to uniting body and mind and bringing the energy of mindfulness into each moment of our life. Our breathing is a stable solid ground that we can take refuge in. Regardless of our internal weather- our thoughts, emotions and perceptions- our breathing is always with us like a faithful friend. Whenever we feel carried away, or sunken in a deep emotion, or scattered in worries and projects, we return to our breathing to collect and anchor our mind. We feel the flow of air coming in and going out, we feel how light and natural, how calm and peaceful our breathing functions. At any time, while we are walking, gardening, or typing, we can return to this peaceful source of life.

The Cloud in the Tea

by Thich Nhat Hanh

Buddhism & Hinduism

Please Call Me By My True Name
by Thich Nhat Hanh

Don't say that I will depart tomorrow -- 

even today I am still arriving.

Look deeply: every second I am arriving

to be a bud on a Spring branch, 

to be a tiny bird, with still-fragile wings,

learning to sing in my new nest,

to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower,

to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone.

I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry,

to fear and to hope.The rhythm of my heart 
is the birth and death of all that is alive.

I am the mayfly metamorphosing

on the surface of the river.

And I am the bird 

that swoops down to swallow the mayfly.

I am the frog swimming happily

in the clear water of a pond.

And I am the grass-snake

that silently feeds itself on the frog.

I am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones,

my legs as thin as bamboo sticks.

And I am the arms merchant,

selling deadly weapons to Uganda.

I am the twelve-year-old girl,

refugee on a small boat,

who throws herself into the ocean

after being raped by a sea pirate.

And I am the pirate,

my heart not yet capable

of seeing and loving.

I am a member of the politburo,

with plenty of power in my hands.

And I am the man who has to pay

his "debt of blood" to my people

dying slowly in a forced-labor camp.

My joy is like Spring, so warm

it makes flowers bloom all over the Earth.

My pain is like a river of tears,

so vast it fills the four oceans.

Please call me by my true names,

so I can hear all my cries and my laughter at once,

so I can see that my joy and pain are one.
Please call me by my true names,

so I can wake up, and so the door of my heart

can be left open, the door of compassion.

Buddha, Shankaracharya and Swami Vivekananda Lecture by Swami Tattwamayananda

Training in Mindfulness - Deer Park Monastery

The Ego is Crumbling

I am That

Guided Meditation - Swami Yogatmananda

34min



Me and My I
Lecture by Swami Tyagananda

Harmony of Religions

• row 1: Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism   • row 2: Islam, Buddhism, Shinto  

 • row 3: Sikhism, Bahá'í Faith, Jainism

The oldest religious sentiment ever expressed on religious harmony found in the ancient Sanskrit Vedas is: "Ekam sat, vipra bahudha vadanti" Truth is one, sages call It by various names.

God is Real.

God can be Realized.

The Goal of Human Birth is to Realize God.

All Paths that lead to God Realization are True Religions.

http://www.dalailama.com/messages/religious-harmony