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Issue #1311 - Monday, January 6, 2003 - Editor: Jerry
The Sacred Sites: http://www.sacredsites.com/index.htm
from The Way Station
A wise man and a novice crossed paths in a forest. The wise man said, “Knock, knock.”
Startled, the novice asked, “Who’s there?”
After a silence the wise man said, “You.”
Not comprehending, the novice asked,“You who?”
The wise man pulled a bottle from his robe and said:“YooHoo, the delicious chocolate beverage.”
The novice suddenly understood the value of product placement and celebrity endorsement in an overall marketing strategy.
...and other Fractured Koans: http://www.buddhajones.com/Humor/FracturedKoans.html
from The Other Sytnax
"Why do you dislike men so much,
Delia?" I asked in my most
cynical tone.
"I don't dislike them," she assured
me. "What I passionately
object to is our reluctance to examine how thoroughly
indoctrinated
we are. The pressure put upon us is so fierce and
self-righteous
that we have become willing accomplices. Whoever dares to
differ is
dismissed and mocked as a man-hater or as a freak."
Blushing, I glanced at her surreptitiously. I
decided that she
could talk so disparagingly about sex and love because she was,
after
all, old. Physical desires were all behind her.
Chuckling softly, Delia put her hands behind her
head, "My
physical desires are not behind me because I'm old," she
confided, "but because I've been given a chance to use my
energy and
imagination to become something different than the slave I was
raised
to be."
Page 10
BEING-IN-DREAMING
Florinda Donner
Nitin G.
HarshaSatsangh
The Buddhist Wheel of Life: Aesthetics of Suffering and Salvation
Conclusion/Summary:
The Buddhist Wheel of Life symbolically
represents how all
sentient beings, who have not practiced the Dharma and liberated
themselves, are bound in a cycle of existences whose very nature
is suffering. The symbolism is depicted through a series of
pictograms that are meant to act as a powerful mnemonic device
for both the serious practitioner and the layman. The Old Masters
prescribe that one should think about this diagram and focus on
it day and night so as to never forget its meaning. According to
Shri Dharmakirti "One should intently and seriously
contemplate
the meaning of this wheel. If possible, one should put up a
pictorial representation of it, if necessary in solitary retreat,
until its significance sinks in. Once this happens, the wish to
be free of this mindless suffering is spontaneous and constant.
An apt comparison would be with a sick man, who while suffering
from a chronic painful ailment, discovers after a thorough
medical examination that the reason for his illness is some
regular component of his diet. Such a person would immediately
try to remedy the defect.
The full article with illustrations may be viewed at http://www.exoticindia.com/article/wheeloflife/
from Daily Dharma
"ZAZEN WASAN
THE SONG OF ZAZEN
Sentient beings are primarily all Buddhas.
It is like ice and water,
Apart from water no ice can exist;
Outside sentient beings, where do we find the Buddhas?
Not knowing how near the Truth is,
We seek it far away-what a pity!
We are like a man who, in the midst of water,
Cries in thirst so imploringly;
We are like the son of a rich man
Who wandered away among the poor.
The reason why we transmigrate through the six worlds
Is that we are lost in the darkness of ignorance;
Going astray further and further in the darkness,
When are we able to be free from birth-and-death?
As for Zazen practice in the Mahayana,
We have no words to praise it fully.
The virtues of perfection such as charity, morality,
And the invocation of the Buddha's name,
Confession, and ascetic discipline,
And many other good deeds of merit- All these return into THIS!
Even those who have practiced it for just one sitting
Will see all their evil karma erased;
Nowhere will they find evil paths,
But the Pure Land will be near at hand.
With a reverential heart, if we listen to this Truth even once
And praise it, and gladly embrace it,
We will surely be blessed most infinitely.
But, if we concentrate within,
And testify to the truth that Self-Nature is no-nature,
We have really gone beyond foolish talk.
The gate of the oneness of cause and effect is opened; The path
of
non-duality and non-trinity runs straight ahead.
To regard the form of no-form as form,
Whether going or returning, we cannot be any place else;
To regard the thought of no-thought as thought,
Whether singing or dancing, we are the voice of the Dharma.
How boundless the cleared sky of Samadhi!
How transparent the perfect moonlight of the Fourfold Wisdom!
At this moment what more need we seek?
As the Truth eternally reveals itself,
This very place is the Lotus Land of Purity,
This very body is the Body of the Buddha."
~Hakuin Ekaku Zenji
From the web site, Digital Zendo,
http://www.digitalzendo.com/library/song_of_zazen.htm
from NDS News Service
| Roads less
taken Po Bronson profiles 50 people who changed their lives Reviewed by Stephen J. Lyons |
Sunday, January 5, 2003  |
|
| What Should I Do With
My Life? The True Story of People Who Answered the Ultimate Question By Po Bronson |
"I'd like to suggest an alternative 'success' story, one where, with each next, the protagonist is closer to finding that spot where he's no longer held back by his heart, and he explodes with talent, and his character blossoms, and the gift he has to offer the world is apparent." http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/01/05/RV189860.DTL
Tim Gerchmez
NDS
Amazing sound recordings.
Broadband recommended (for the higher quality recordings)...
http://www.quietamerican.org
Mt. Iztacihuatal from Mt. Popocatepetl
http://www.sacredsites.com/1st30/mt.html