If the only prayer you said in your whole life was ‘thank you,’
that would suffice.
Meister Eckhart ~ German Christian Mystic
A Christian Prayer December 29, 2006
A Quote from Bhante Henepola Gunaratana December 27, 2006
There is a difference between watching the mind and controlling the mind. Watching the mind with a gentle, open attitude allows the mind to settle down and come to rest. Trying to control the mind, or trying to control the way one’s spiritual practice will unfold, just stirs up more agitation and suffering.
-Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, “Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness”
Buddhist Quote of the Day December 19, 2006
Many people are afraid to empty their minds lest they may plunge into the Void. They do not know that their own Mind is the Void. The ignorant eschew phenomena but not thought; the wise eschew thought but not phenomena.
-Huang Po, “Zen Teaching of Huang Po” From “365 Buddha: Daily Meditations,” edited by Jeff Schmidt. Reprinted by arrangement with Tarcher/Putnam, a division of Penguin Putnam Inc.
Buddhist Enycyclopedia Online Now! December 18, 2006
http://buddhism. 2be.net/ is a Buddhist Enycyclopedia which uses the same software as Wikipedia, thus permitting contibutions and editing by the users.
While not specifically a SGI-oriented site, I encourage you to explore it.
Buddha Thoughts December 13, 2006
Subhuti asked: “Is perfect wisdom beyond thinking? Is it unimaginable and totally unique but nevertheless reaching the unreachable and attaining the unattainable?”
The Buddha replied: “Yes, Subhuti, it is exactly so. And why is perfect wisdom beyond thinking? It is because all its points of reference cannot be thought about but can be apprehended. One is the disappearance of the self-conscious person into pure presence. Another is the knowing of the essenceless essence of all things in the world. And another is luminous knowledge that knows without a knower. None of these points can sustain ordinary thought because they are not objects or subjects. They can’t be imagined or touched or approached in any way by any ordinary mode of consciousness, therefore they are beyond thinking.”
-Prajnaparamita
From “The Pocket Buddha Reader,” edited by Anne Bancroft, 2000. Reprinted by arrangement with Shambhala Publications, Boston, www.shambhala.com.
Buddhism of Nichiren Website December 12, 2006
Today, I found an informative website that details the work of Nichiren Daishonin, including:
· The Goshos
· The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings
· The Practice of Gongyo
· The Liturgy of Nichiren Daishonin
· The Meaning of Gongyo
· The Origins of Gongyo
· About the Object of Worship – The Gohonzon
The site may be found at http://www.nichiren.info/.
Power of Positive Thought December 11, 2006
At the core of Nichiren Buddhism is the belief that positive thinking leads to positive actions. This belief is often illustrated with the lotus flower metaphor. The lotus flower seeds and blooms at the same time thereby illustrating the simultaneity of cause and effect.
Today, I came across an episode of the TV show Ellen, which featured “The Secret Law of Attraction.” It is based on the same principle of law of cause and effect espoused in Nichiren Buddhism. Click the links below to learn about “The Secret Law of Attraction”:
Part 1
(http://progressive.stream.aol.com/aol/us/highspeed/extratv/ellen/secretpt1_dl.mov)Part 2
(http://progressive.stream.aol.com/aol/us/highspeed/extratv/ellen/secretpt2_dl.mov)
Enjoy!
What is a Buddha? December 11, 2006
I am reading The Essential Lotus, a text originally written in Sanskrit by Shakyamuni Buddha who lived in the 5th-6th century, and later translated into Chinese in 406 by the Central Asian scholar-monk Kumarajiva. Burton Watson translated this version of the sacred text, published in 2002, into English at the suggestion of Soka Gakkai International’s President Daisaku Ikeda. The text explains the not only translates the Lotus Sutra, it also provides insight on the historical context of the sacred text and offers questions and statements for further consideration.
The introduction and translator’s notes are easy to read and provide a rather short, but detailed explanation of the Sutra’s history and how it came to be presented in its current form. The second chapter translates the “Expedient Means” chapter of the Lotus Sutra. The third chapter covers the “Simile and Parable” chapter of the Sutra.
An excerpt from chapter 2 explains one aspect of the nature of Buddhahood:
These World-Honored Ones
have all preached the doctrine of the single vehicle,
converting countless living beings
and causing them to enter the Buddha way.
And these great sage lords, knowing what is desired deep in the minds
of the heavenly and human beings and the other living things
throughout al the worlds,
have employed still other expedient means
to help illuminate the highest truth.
If there are living beings
who have encountered these past Buddhas, and if they have listened to their Law, presented alms,
or kept the precepts, shown forbearance,
been assiduous, practiced meditation and wisdom, and so forth,
cultivating various kinds of merit and virtue,
them persons such as these
all have attained the Buddha way.
After the Buddhas have passed into extinction,
if persons are of good and gentle mind,
then living beings such as these
have all attained the Buddha way.
“Single vehicle” pertains to the one method of achieving a state of enlightenment. In the SGI branch of Buddhism, we advocate the chanting of the invocation of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, which was established by Nichiren on 28 April 1253. To translate, the words mean:
Nam=Derives from Sanskrit, it means, “to devote oneself”
Myoho=the Mystic Law
Renge=lotus flower, which blooms and seeds at the same time. It represents the simultaneity of cause and effect.
Kyo=sutra, the voice or teaching of a Buddha
Chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the primary practice of SGI members. We chant this phrase repeatedly once in the morning, and once at night, along with the two chapters of the Lotus Sutra mentioned above.
The process of becoming a Buddha is not a finite one. It is a high standard that one hopes to achieve and maintain over time. Buddhahood is placed at the highest state of enlightenment above nine other states of being which include the following from the lowest to the highest: hell, hunger/craving, animality, angry warfare, human beings, gods–these six lower worlds tend to take place in an ever-changing, fluctuating way within individuals, and also the world at large. Continuing upward, the last four holy states include: the voice hearers (shravakas) who hear the Buddha’s teachings, self-enlightened ones (they learn on their own, but they do not teach the knowledge), the bodhisattvas (or people with great compassion, they support the Buddhas), and finally, the Buddha, or Buddhas.
More thoughts and notes about Watson’s translation of the Lotus Sutra to come in the days ahead.
