No.163 - Buddhahood

“Those of us who consider ourselves Buddhists should practice the Dharma sincerely and not be contented merely with the intellectual level. Implement it in daily life with constant effort; time is a very important and major factor. If we expect great things right in the beginning, great spiritual change in the mind within a short period, it is not a healthy sign. We must count aeons. It really gives us inner strength. Our scriptures tell us that in three years we can achieve Buddhahood. I think this is impractical. Sometimes there is a bit of exaggeration here and there, but even if we truly believe, I don’t think we can achieve Buddhahood in three years even if we are like Milarepa who was such a strong and determined person with an indestructible heart. Of all our great yogis, saints and practitioners, I haven’t heard of anyone who has achieved Buddhahood within three years.

So, asking for three years is not enough. We must plan well, not only for this year, not only for this life, but for life after life, centuries and aeons. When I think about aeons, great, countless aeons, it really makes me genuinely calm, and I get real inner strength.

-  His Holiness The Dalai Lama – The Transformed Mind/Compassion and Non-Violence.

No.162 - Buddha Nature.

"If you use your mind to look for a Buddha, you won't see the Buddha. As long as you look for a Buddha somewhere else, you'll never see that your own mind is the Buddha. Don't use a Buddha to worship a Buddha. And don't use the mind to invoke a Buddha. Buddhas don't recite sutras. Buddhas don't keep precepts. And Buddhas don't break precepts. Buddhas don't keep or break anything. Buddhas don't do good or evil. To find a Buddha, you have to see your nature."

In the words of Bodhidharma.

No.160 - The essence of religion

"Although someone may say there is Buddhism, Christianity, Islam,etc..
when he has penetrated to the essential nature of his religion, he will
regard all religions as being the same.

-Buddhadasa Bhikkhu

No.159 - The Gift of Dust.

The Gift of Dust by  Pradip Bhattacharya. It was in the days when Buddha, the Blessed One, was living at Kalandakanivaapa in the forest near Rajagriha (today’s Rajgir in Bihar) that one morning he put on his triple robe, took his begging bowl and, accompanied by monks, proceeded to Rajagriha for alms. As he set foot on the threshold stone of the city-gate, wondrous things began to happen. You see, whenever a Buddha, a fully enlightened soul, sets his foot on the indra-keela of a city with a firm purpose in mind, miracles occur, it is said: A ship rolls to the wind’s force; so too the mountain-ranged earth begirt with the ocean and adorned with towns and villages, sways at the touch of the Sage’s foot. The ground becomes level; the earth becomes faultless, free of stones and thorns by the Buddha’s power. The blind, the dumb, and the dull all regain their senses and musical instruments play though untouched, delighting all. The citizens cheered the marvels with a roar like that of a storm-tossed sea with its crashing waves as the city was filled with the radiance of his presence. Coming to the main road, the Buddha saw two little boys playing at building mud houses. One of them came from a well-to-do family and was named Jaya. The other’s name was Vijaya. Jaya and Vijaya saw the Buddha, and were deeply impressed with the resplendent appearance, his body adorned with the thirty-two marks of the Mahatma. Jaya thought to himself, “ I will give him some ground meal” and threw a handful of dust into the Buddha’s begging bowl. Vijaya bowed low, making an Anjali with hands folded. This gift of a handful of dust is renowned thus: He saw the supremely compassionate self Existent Lord whose body radiated a halo a fathom wide; resolutely, with firm faith he offered a handful of dust to Him who abolishes birth and old age. Having made this offering, Jaya formulated a pranidhaana, a firm resolve: “By virtue of this offering, may I become kind and rule as a chakravarti over the earth and thus worship the Buddha.” The Buddha, understanding Jaya’s character and resolve and recognizing the sincerity of his aspiration, accepted the proffered fistful of dirt and smiled. The smile of the Buddha was, as always, followed by rays of light--blue, yellow, red, white, scarlet, crystal and silver—that spread the message of liberation from rebirth and suffering throughout the cosmos and re-entered his body. The spot at which they vanish into his body indicates an important event in the future. On this occasion, the rays circled the Buddha thrice and vanished into his left palm. Then spoke Ananda, his faithful disciple, “It is never without reason that Tathaagatas smile. Dispel our doubts, O foremost of men whose speech is like thunder, and reveal what will be the fruit of the gift of dust.” The Buddha replied, A hundred years after my death there will be an emperor named Ashoka in Pataliputra. He will rule one of the four continents and adorn Jambudvipa with my relics building eighty four thousand stupas for the welfare of people. He will have them honored by gods and men. His fame will be widespread. His meritorious gift was just this: Jaya threw a handful of dust into the Tathaagata’s bowl.

No.158 - Bodhichitta

Bodhichitta

At such a point, when the habit has been acquired and we are free from all attachment, we will be able to consider our bodies as of no greater moment than a plant. We will then experience no difficulty in giving away our flesh and blood. For when we have realized the natural equality of all phenomena, gold and clods of earth will be of equal value for us, space and the palm of our hands will be the same. The pleasure of being anointed with water of sandalwood on our right side and the pain of being cut with a knife on our left will be all the same. All will be equal, both good and bad. We will fully understand the dream like quality of all phenomena, and we will be free from every fear. As it is said in the Sutralankara:

For those who know that all is like a mirage –

That birth is like the entrance to a garden paradise –

In times of plenty and in times of dearth,

No fear of pain is there, no dread of the afflictions.

No.157 - Mother and Child.

(A Nepalese mother and child in the country side).

The kindness of both parents is profound and deep,

Their care and devotion never cease.

Never resting, the mother saves the sweet for the child,

And without complain she swallows the bitter herself.

Her love is weighty and her emotion difficult to bear;

Her kindness is deep and so is her compassion.

Only wanting the child to get its fill,

The compassionate mother doesn't speak of her own hunger.

No.156 - Three blessings

Let him be generous, be calm,

And cultivate the doing of good.

By practicing these three,

These three bliss-bringing things,

The wise one lives without regret

His world infused with happiness.

 - Itivuttaka Sutta

No.155 - The Teachings.

As long as the sun and the moon have not come to be, there is no shining forth of great light, no great radiance; only darkness and non-seeing prevail. There is no day or night; no months, half months or seasons are distinguishable. But when the sun and the moon have come to be, there is a shining forth of great light, great radiance; darkness and non-seeing are no more. Days, nights, months, half months and seasons come to be distinguishable.
In the same way, as long as the Tathagata, the Noble One, the fully enlightened Buddha has not come to be, there is no shining forth of great light, no great radiance; only darkness and non-seeing prevail. There is no proclaiming, no teaching, no explaining, no setting forth, no opening up, no analysis, no illuminating of the Four Noble Truths.
But when the Tathagata, the Noble One, the fully enlightened Buddha has come to be, there is a shining forth of a great light, a great radiance; darkness and non-seeing are no more. There is a proclaiming, a teaching, an explaining, a setting forth, an opening up, an analysis, an illuminating of the Four Noble Truths.

Samyutta Nikaya V.442

No.154 - Safe Refuge

To sacred hills, woods and groves,
To sacred trees and shrines
Do people go, gripped by fear.

But they are not safe refuges,
Not the best refuge.
Not by going there
Is one freed from all suffering.

But whoever takes refuge
In the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha
Will understand with wisdom
The Four Noble Truths:

Suffering, its cause, its overcoming,
And the Noble Eightfold Path
Leading to its overcoming.

And this is a safe refuge,
The best refuge.
Having taken refuge here,
One is freed from all suffering.

Dhammapada 1

No.153 - Reflections

"What do you think about this?" said the Lord. "What is the purpose of a mirror?"
"It is for the purpose of reflection, sir," replied Rahula.
"Even so, an action to be done by body, speech or mind should only be done after careful reflection."

Majjhima Nikaya I.415

No.152 - Proper conduct.

Unsurpassed is the Lord's way of teaching the Dhamma concerning one's proper conduct in virtue.
One should be honest and faithful, without deception, chatter, hinting or belittling, not always ready to add gain to gain, but with the sense-doors guarded, moderate in food, a maker of peace, observant, active and strenuous in effort, a meditator, mindful, with proper conversation, steady-going, resolute and sensible, not hankering after sense pleasures, but mindful and prudent. This is the unsurpassed teaching concerning a person's proper ethical conduct.
This the Lord fully comprehends and beyond it nothing lies to be further comprehended. And in such matters there is no other recluse or Brahmin who is greater or more enlightened than the Lord concerning ethical conduct.

Digha Nikaya III.107

No.151 - Profound knowledge.

For a disciple who has faith in the Teacher's instruction and who lives in harmony with it, his idea is: "The Teacher is the Lord; I am the disciple. The Lord knows; I do not." 

For a disciple who has faith in the Teacher's instruction and who lives in harmony with it, the Teacher's instruction is furthering in growth, strength-giving. The idea is: "Gladly would I have my skin, bone and sinews wither and my flesh dry up, if only I can struggle until I win that which can be won by human effort." 

For a disciple who has faith in the Teacher's instruction and who lives in harmony with it, one of two results are to be expected - profound knowledge here and now, or if there is any basis for rebirth remaining, the state of Non-Returning. 

No.150 - True Peace -Renunciation.

To attain the bliss of renunciation one has to understand what renunciation is. Becoming a monk and leading an ascetic life in  the forest is one form of renunciation. Another way to practice renunciation is by intentionally dissociating oneself from the trap of all sensual pleasures. Renunciation can be practiced by anyone, at anytime. who sincerely wishes to be free from suffering. Through the practice of renunciation, one is finally able to dispel the fog of defilement once and for all.

Let me explain with the following example:

There are two trees. One is fruitless. The other is fruitful. The latter is heavy with ripe juicy fruit, which is the object of human sensuality. Such a tree attracts those desirous of its fruits. It is true that the fruit of sensuality is indeed beautiful to behold. People will do almost anything to get at it. They will pick the tree bare and ruthlessly throw sticks and stones at it, in an attempt to get at the fruits that are out of reach. Soon enough that tree is stripped of its beauty.

The simple beauty of a tree without fruit, however, becomes more apparent when the fruit-bearing tree gets damaged. When one begins to trust that a life with nothing is a worthy life, then true peace is at hand. This is the life of one who is practicing renunciation.