365 Buddha PA - Jeff Schmidt [28]
SHUNRYU SUZUKI; ZEN MIND, BEGINNER’S MIND
318.
Where neither water nor yet earth
Nor fire nor air gain a foothold,
There gleam no stars, no sun sheds light,
There shines no moon, yet there no darkness reigns.
When a sage, a brahmin, has come to know this
For himself through his own experience,
Then he is freed from form and formlessness,
Freed from pleasure and from pain.
UDĀNA 1.10
319.
Due to having faith one relies on the practices,
Due to having wisdom one truly knows.
Of these two wisdom is the chief,
Faith is its prerequisite.
NĀGĀRJUNA; PRECIOUS GARLAND 5
320.
Trivial thoughts, insignificant thoughts,
When followed they distract the mind.
Not understanding those thoughts
The roaming mind runs back and forth.
But by understanding those thoughts
One ardent and mindful restrains the mind.
An awakened one has overcome them completely
So they do not arise to distract the mind.
UDĀNA 4.1
321.
For one who is in the habit of constantly honoring and respecting the elders, four blessings increase—age, beauty, bliss, and strength.
DHAMMAPADA 109
322.
Monks, in giving a meal, a giver gives five things to an almsman. What five?
He gives life, beauty, ease, strength and wit; but in giving these he becomes a partaker in each quality, in heaven and among men.
ANGUTTARA-NIKĀYA iii.42
323.
Walking the spiritual path properly is a very subtle process; it is not something to jump into naively. There are numerous sidetracks which lead to a distorted, ego-centered version of spirituality; we can deceive ourselves into thinking we are developing spiritually when instead we are strengthening our egocentricity through spiritual techniques. This fundamental distortion may be referred to as spiritual materialism.
CHÖGYAM TRUNGPA; CUTTING THROUGH
SPIRITUAL MATERIALISM
324.
Just as, O Bhikkhus, the Great Ocean has but one taste, the taste of salt, even so, O Bhikkhus, this doctrine has but one taste, the taste of Deliverance.
UDĀNA 5.5
325.
Mindfulness is the path to immortality.
Negligence is the path to death.
The vigilant never die,
Whereas the negligent are the living dead.
With this understanding,
The wise, having developed a high degree of mindfulness,
Rejoice in mindfulness,
Paying heed to each step on the path.
These awakened ones,
Dedicated to meditation,
Striving actively and vigorously,
Attain nirvāṇa, the ultimate security.
DHAMMAPADA 21-23
326.
It is easy for the good person to do good deeds, but for the evil one it is difficult to do good deeds. It is easy for the evil person to do bad deeds, but it is difficult for the good one to do bad deeds.
UDĀNA 5.8
327.
How to cope with wavering thoughts?
Versatile are flying clouds,
Yet from the sky they’re not apart.
Mighty are the ocean’s waves,
Yet they are not separate from the sea.
Heavy and thick are banks of fog,
Yet from the air they’re not apart.
Frantic runs the mind in voidness,
Yet from the Void it never separates.
HUNDRED THOUSAND SONGS OF MILAREPA
328.
There is pleasure when a sore is scratched,
But to be without sores is more pleasurable still.
Just so, there are pleasures in worldly desires,
But to be without desires is more pleasurable still.
NĀGĀRJUNA; PRECIOUS GARLAND 169
329.
As the fish, taken out of its watery home and thrown on land, thrashes around, so does the mind tremble, while freeing itself from the dominion of Māra (the Evil One).
DHAMMAPADA 34
330.
Mind cannot see itself—
Subject and object cannot be dual;
Therefore, to see the mind
You must look and probe with the eye of wisdom.
When probed and examined analytically
With such analytic investigation
The mind is like the wick of a lamp
Illumined only through its own radiance.
DRINKING THE MOUNTAIN STREAM: SONGS OF
TIBET’S BELOVED SAINT, MILAREPA
331.
Experiencing emptiness is also experiencing peace, and the potential