The worldly admired tend to be more imperfect than hoped upon a closer look [because defilements are there], yet more perfect than expected upon a deeper look [because Buddha-nature is there too].
Paradox of Perfection
By Shen Shi'an under Odds & Ends |
Your Comment | Tags: Buddha-nature, paradox, perfection
Never Underestimate Anyone
By Shen Shi'an under Comics & Graphic Novels, Quotations |
Your Comment | Tags: Bodhisattva, Buddha, Buddha-nature
我不敢轻于汝等, 汝等皆当作佛。 – 常不轻菩萨 (法华经) ‘I do not dare to belittle you all, for you all will become Buddhas.’ – The Bodhisattva ‘Never Underestimate’ (Lotus Sutra) Who Became Shakyamuni Buddha Related Articles: The Bodhisattva Who ‘Cried’ Truth http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thedailyenlightenment-realisation/message/157 The Story in Comics http://mahaati.blog.163.com/blog/static/1763504562010111211133702
You Got The Love
By Shen Shi'an under Music |
Your Comment | Tags: Amituofo, Buddha-nature, compassion, love, loving-kindness, Pure Land
I’m interpreting ‘You’ve Got The Love’ by Florence + the Machine my way, with ‘Lord’ standing for Lord Buddha, and even Amitabha Buddha (Amituofo). Electric ‘spiritual’ beginning to the song at the concert in the video above! In a way, the ‘You’ sung about can refer to yourself, your own Buddha-nature, which ‘got the love’ [...]
Rationalisations for Eating Animals
By jianxie under Vegetarianism & Veganism |
Your Comment | Tags: Buddha-nature, compassion, karma, Vegetarianism & Veganism
I came across two strange sentiments about eating animals: 1. ‘As long as the Buddha is in my heart, eating animals is okay.’ 2. ‘I think it’s my karma to eat animals.’ What’s wrong with the above? 1. If one truly keeps the Buddha in one’s heart, as in being attuned to one’s Buddha-nature, and [...]
Is Jealousy Natural?
By Shen Shi'an under Comics & Graphic Novels, Quotations |
Your Comment | Tags: Buddha-nature, jealousy
From Chester Brown’s ‘Paying for It’: Jealousy is natural, but that doesn’t mean that not feeling jealous is not natural. It’s probably better to frame the matter in relation to maturity. It’s immature to be jealous, it’s mature to not feel jealous. Likewise, while it is ‘natural’ for us spiritually immature beings to have greed, [...]
Constant With Constant
By Shen Shi'an under Odds & Ends |
Your Comment | Tags: Buddha-nature
S: Otto von Bismarck said, ‘When you say that you agree to a thing in principle, you mean that you have not the slightest intention of carrying it out.’ Let’s agree with our convictions in action too! N: If I agree to something in principle, it must mean that certain conditions have been met. [...]
Zen Elephant of Joy
By Shen Shi'an under Comics & Graphic Novels, Photojournal |
Your Comment | Tags: Buddha-nature, mindfulness, Zen
Here, Edward Monkton gets his ‘Zen’ right, though he doesn’t use the word ‘Zen. But Zen is Zen whether you call it so or not! Zen is indeed about living truly and happily in the moment, from moment to moment, with a sense of joy and wonder, taking nothing for granted, even when it comes [...]
To Align & Awaken
By Shen Shi'an under Odds & Ends |
Your Comment | Tags: Amituofo, Buddha-nature, evil, good
Amituofo! I chant this for you to hear, not to condemn you for the evil you do, but to urge you to awaken to your Buddha-nature. Amituofo! I chant this for you to hear, not to flatter you for the good you do, but to urge you to align it to your Buddha-nature.
Is Collective Unconscious Buddhist?
By Shen Shi'an under Odds & Ends |
1 Comment | Tags: Anatta, Anicca, Buddha-nature, consciousness, Dharmakaya, perception
Question: How does the concept of the Collective Unconscious (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_unconscious) fit in Buddhist philosophy? Answer: Commenting based on the definition of ‘collective unconscious’ in the Wikipedia link, Buddhism would see that the collective unconscious is actually based on the personal unconscious. Because of the existence of past lives with similar experiences for many individuals, they [...]
Who is Mindful of Buddha?
By Shen Shi'an under Odds & Ends |
Your Comment | Tags: Amitabha Buddha, Buddha-nature, mindfulness, Pure Land, Zen
One of the methods to ‘combine’ Pure Land and Zen practice is that the one who practise mindfulness of Amituofo’s (Amitabha Buddha) name also asks oneself ’Who is the one mindful of Amituofo?’ Who is the one who practises mindfulness of Buddha? One who is truly mindful would realise that the one mindful of Buddha is one’s Buddha-nature. [...]
The Hidden Moon
By Shen Shi'an under Quotations |
Your Comment | Tags: Buddha-nature
Below is a passage I helped to translate to Chinese for Buddhist Library’s newsletter: Brightly shining, luminous is this mind, but it is defiled by the stains which visit it. This the unlearned common folk do not really understand; so for them there is no development of the mind. Brightly shining, luminous is this mind, [...]
To Empathise is to Civilise
By jianxie under Odds & Ends |
1 Comment | Tags: Buddha-nature, empathy, existential crisis, goodness, heaven, karma, merits, Pure Land, rebirth, rejoice, self, True Happiness
To empathise is to civilise. To civilise is to empathise. – Jeremy Rifkin As mentioned in the video, ‘We are soft-wired to experience another’s plight [or joy] as if we are experiencing it for ourselves.’ Interesting. The monkey experiment illustrates the power of empathy and rejoice. Some Dharma teachers teach that rejoice in a good [...]
Are We Mad?
By Shen Shi'an under Odds & Ends |
Your Comment | Tags: anger, Buddha-nature, madness, mindfulness, violence
A friend sent an old news link about how a girl killed and cut her parents into pieces due to both frustration and fear. The news reported on investigation into whether she was mentally ill or not. But of course she was ill! Even if she was proven not ill in the conventional medical sense, [...]
Towards Equanimous Sobriety
By Shen Shi'an under Odds & Ends |
Your Comment | Tags: Amitabha Buddha, attachment, blessings, Buddha-nature, equanimity, self
A bipolar student wasn’t sure he liked being his more ‘sober’ self. Perhaps he is used to swinging between highs and lows? I advised that there is no need to cling to any self… Since there is no fixed self that stays high or low, especially in mundane way. Good to chant ‘Amituofo’ more, to [...]
Why Balance Good and Evil?
By zyrius under Odds & Ends |
6 Comments | Tags: Bodhisattva, Buddha, Buddha-nature, evil, good
A Buddhist friend whom I did not know too well commented during a group chat that just as the universe has balanced energies of the Yin and the Yang, it is necessary for individuals to have balanced positive and negative aspects too, in terms of character. I think he is one of those who clings [...]
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