365 Buddha PA - Jeff Schmidt [2]
The path described by the Buddha is difficult and, by nature, clouded in confusion. This compilation is intended to help keep many of the truths, tricks, and traps, presented in the Buddhist tradition, in our minds throughout our waking day. This is a day book with one quotation to be read and ruminated on throughout the day for each day of the year. Of course, you may read it all the way through or thumb through it at random; indeed, the quotations are arranged in a random order. Each passage stands on its own and needs no further commentary, though some passages may require more thought than others to be understood. They are worthwhile statements of Buddhist doctrine, and I have included them because I consider them useful for practice and as good sources leading to further reading.
Buddhism is a diverse field of study, and I could not hope to present a balanced representation of the vast wealth of Buddhist writings. I have tried to provide selections that will offer the reader an opportunity to explore some new areas of interest. There are passages on morality, on meditation, and on the subtle and sometimes contradictory philosophies of different Buddhist traditions. I have chosen quotations from different schools of Buddhism, from different times and places, and have selected passages that are of different levels of accessibility. I have included a glossary at the end of the book for words and names not found in standard dictionaries.
In editing these quotations, I have taken the liberty of Americanizing the spellings of words that have British spellings in the original texts. For words that are not in English, I have left the spellings in the languages of the original quotations (e.g., nibbāna in Pali, nirvāṇa in Sanskrit, etc.), but have standardized the transliterations of the letters in each language (e.g., nirvāṇa rather than nirvana or nirvāna); I have not changed the transliterations in titles. The way in which words are used is the artistic expression of each author and translator; I have left the letter case as in the original, and I have retained the gender of translations, though it is not necessarily the gender of the original text or the gender-neutral standard that we have come to expect in current writing. Parentheses ( ) are from the original passages, words in brackets [ ] are my additions.
I would like to thank Joel Fotinos for his encouragement to compile this collection. I would also like to thank Brad Bohland for the use of his notes on some of the works cited. My patient and supportive wife, Allison Sylvest, has made many useful suggestions and has been a tireless sounding board throughout this process; I am glad to have this opportunity to thank her publicly.
1 .
This mind is an uncertain thing. This body is uncertain. Together they are impermanent. Together they are a source of suffering. Together they are devoid of self. These, the Buddha pointed out, are neither a being, nor a person, nor a self, nor a soul, nor us, nor they. They are merely elements: earth, water, fire and wind. Elements only!
When the mind sees this, it will rid itself of attachment which holds that ‘I’ am beautiful, ‘I’ am good, ‘I’ am evil, ‘I’ am suffering, ‘I’ have, ‘I’ this or ‘I’ that. You will experience a state of unity, for you’ll have seen that all of mankind is basically the same. There is no ‘I’. There are only elements.
AJAHN CHAH; BODHINYĀNA
2 .
A fool is happy
Until his mischief turns against him.
And a good man may suffer
Until his goodness flowers.
DHAMMAPADA 119-120
3 .
In the same way that someone in the midst of a rough crowd guards a wound with great care, so in the midst of bad company should one always guard the wound that is