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#1787 - Tuesday, May 4, 2004 - Editor: Jerry
Daily Dharma
"It is said in Atisha's biography that every day he saw a
woman who was
at times crying and at others laughing. Finally he asked her,
'Why is it
that for no apparent reason you sometimes cry and sometimes
laugh? Are
you in any way mentally distressed?
'No. I am not. You people are and so I cry.'
'Why?'
'The Tathagata essence, one's own mind, has been a Buddha from
beginningless time. By not knowing this, great complications
follow from
such a small base of error for hundreds of thousands of sentient
beings.
Although their own minds are Buddha, they are in such great
confusion.
Not being able to bear the suffering of so many beings, I cry.
And
then, I laugh because when this small basis of error is known -
when one
knows one's own mind - one is freed. Enjoying the fact that
sentient
beings can so easily be released from suffering, I laugh, knowing
they
are ready to be liberated.'
~Khetsun Sangpo Rinpoche
From the book, "Tantric Practice of Nyingma,"
translated by Jeffrey
Hopkins, published by Snow Lion.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0937938149/angelinc
Daily Dharma
"Kind speech means that when you see sentient beings you
arouse the mind
of compassion and offer words of loving care. It is contrary to
cruel or
violent speech.
In the secular world, there is the custom of asking after
someone's
health. In Buddhism there is the phrase, 'Please treasure
yourself,' and
the respectful address to seniors, 'May I ask how you are?' It is
kind
speech to speak to sentient beings as you would to a baby.
If kind speech is offered, little by little virtue will
grow...You
should be willing to practice it for this entire present life; do
not
give up, world after world, life after life. Kind speech is the
basis
for reconciling rulers and subduing enemies.
Those who hear kind speech from you have a delighted expression
and a
joyful mind. Those who hear of your kind speech will be deeply
touched---they will never forget it.
You should know that kind speech arises from kind mind, and kind
mind
from the seed of compassionate mind. You should ponder the fact
that
kind speech is not just praising the merit of others; it has the
power
to turn the destiny of the nation."
~Dogen
"The power to turn the destiny of the nation..." Can
you imagine what
would happen if politicians started saying to each other,
"Please
treasure yourself?" ,^))
Quote from the BuddhistL Academic Discussion Forum
Daily Dharma
"Happy in the morning
I open my cottage door;
A clear breeze blowing
Comes straight in.
The first sun
Lights the leafy trees;
The shadows it casts
Are crystal clear.
Serene,
In accord with my heart,
Everything merges
In one harmony.
Gain and loss
Are not my concern;
This way is enough
To the end of my days."
~Wen-siang
From the book, "Sleepless Nights, Verses For The
Wakeful," translated by
Thomas Cleary, published by North Atlantic Books.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1556432003/angelinc
from This American Life
"Everything I identified as being ME, my ambition, my
interest in things, my sense of humor, the inflection in my voice
-- I mean the quality of my speech even changed -- in the time
that I was without a lot of the (testosterone). So, yes, the
introduction of testosterone returned EVERYTHING.
There were things that I find offensive about my own personality
that were disconnected then, and it was nice to be without them:
envy, the desire to judge. I approached people with a humility
that I had never displayed before. I grew up in a culture, like
all of us, that divides the soul from the body, and that that is
your singleness, that is your uniqueness, and nothing can touch
that.
And then I go through this experience where I have small amounts
of a bodily chemical removed and then re-introduced, and it
changes everything I know as my self. And it violates
the sanctity of that understanding that who you are exists
independent of any other forces in the universe. And that's
humbling. And it's terrifying. ...
When you have no testosterone you have no desire. And when you
have no desire you don't have any content in your mind. You don't
think about anything. ... It's not that I was
behaving (differently), it's that I was not behaving at
all. When I was awake, literally sitting in bed and staring at
the wall with neither interest nor disinterest for three, four
hours at a time. If you had a camera in the room you would have
thought I was comatose.
I would go out. I would buy some groceries early in the morning
and that would be it. My day had no content. I had no interest in
even watching tv, much less reading the newspaper or a book.
Food; I didn't want my food to taste good or interesting, and
when you're blessed with that lack of desire you could eat a loaf
of Wonder bread with mayonnaise and that would be your day."
The above quote gets A LOT better as the speaker goes into depth
about how he freshly saw and perceived that which came to his
attention. After listening to this audio you might think that
Buddhism and all spiritual practices could be called ways of
managing the influence of testosterone.
In case you haven't yet, take 15 minutes and listen to the radio
show mentioned by Gloria in the previous highlights. Here's the
info:
"This American Life" on Public Radio International
(PRI)
Testosterone
http://207.70.82.73/pages/descriptions/02/220.html
It's an hour long show, but the first 15 minutes would be of particular interest to the nondually inclined.
Petros Truth
"Sentient beings are not other than Buddha, and Buddha is
not other than
sentient beings. When mind unmanifest takes on the form of
sentient beings,
it has experienced no limitation. When mind again becomes Buddha,
it has not
increased itself."
-- Huang Po
Daily Dharma
"And those who have no mental vigilance,
Though they may hear the teachings, ponder them or meditate,
With minds like water seeping from a leaking jug,
Their learning will not settle in their memories."
~Sāntideva
From the book, "365 Buddha: Daily Meditations,"
published by
Penguin Putnam.