The Five Aggregates
Filed Under Buddhadharma | Posted on May 5, 2008
The five aggregates (Sk. skandha), in Buddhist thought, are the components that make up the imputed “self”. While we have a tendency to view the self, as well as other selves and external phenomena, as a cohesive and self-existent whole, in reality what we call “I”, “me”, “you”, “it”, etc. are simply impermanent […]
Checking Anger
Filed Under Buddhadharma | Posted on March 17, 2008
I need a break from violence and politics.
Dhammapada 17
One should give up anger, renounce pride, and overcome all fetters. Suffering never befalls him who clings not to mind and body and is detached.
He who checks rising anger as a charioteer checks a rolling chariot, him I call a true charioteer. Others only hold […]
Lo-Jong (Mind-Training) Proverbs
Filed Under Buddhadharma | Posted on March 7, 2008
Lojong (often translated into English as Mind Training) is a practice in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition based on a set of proverbs formulated in Tibet in the 12th century by Chekawa. Practitioners undertake to connect with the world in an unconditionally positive way, and also to take full responsibility for their experience of it. […]
Recalling the Kindness of Others: Beating the Blame Game
Filed Under Buddhadharma | Posted on February 23, 2008
In Lama {en:Je Tsongkhapa}’s meditative technique for generating compassion for all sentient beings, the meditator begins by recalling the selfless and unconditional love received from his or her mother. Recalling that love, the
meditator naturally develops the wish to repay that kindness. Because all sentient beings have been trapped in the cycle of […]
Yesterday’s You
Filed Under Buddhadharma | Posted on February 15, 2008
Yesterday I had the privelege of accompanying venerable Tibetan monks Geshe Thupten Dorjee and Rinzin Dorjee to the local Northwest Arkansas Community College for a sand mandala presentation. Hanging around with the monks is always a unique and marvelous experience, but throw in a public sand mandala demonstration, and especially wonderful experiences will […]
Shantideva’s Prayer
Filed Under Buddhadharma | Posted on August 2, 2007
May I be a protector to those without protection,
A leader for those who journey,
And a boat, a bridge, a passage
For those desiring the further shore.
May the pain of every living creature
Be completely cleared away.
May I be the doctor and the medicine
And may I be the nurse
For all sick beings in the world
Until everyone is […]
The Parable of Kisa Gotami and the Mustard Seed
Filed Under Buddhadharma | Posted on August 2, 2007
There was a rich man who found his gold suddenly transformed into ashes; and he took to his bed and refused all food. A friend, hearing of his sickness, visited the rich man and learned the cause of his grief. And the friend said: “Thou didst not make good use of thy wealth. When […]
Sariputra’s Elaboration of the Truth of Suffering
Filed Under Buddhadharma | Posted on June 22, 2007
As we have seen, in the Dhammakakkappavattana Sutta, the Buddha first laid out the first noble truth as:
Now this, O Bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning suffering.
Birth is attended with pain, decay is painful, disease is painful, death is painful. Union with the unpleasant is painful, painful is separation from the pleasant; and any […]
The Three Marks of Existence
Filed Under Buddhadharma | Posted on June 7, 2007
The previous post made reference to the Three Marks of Existence. Here’s a more complete explication.
The Three Marks are first defined in verses 277 - 279 of the Dhammapada:
277. “All conditioned things are impermanent” [anicca]– when one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering. This is the path to purification.
278. […]
Walking on the Path of the Awakened State of Mind
Filed Under Commentary, Buddhadharma | Posted on June 7, 2007
In February of 2004, I was involved in establishing the Unitarian Universalist Buddhist Fellowship of Fayettteville. My primary motivation for creating the group arose out of 1) an intense interest in Buddhism, 2) an almost complete lack of any fundamental knowledge about Buddhism, and 3) the absence of a qualified teacher in the […]
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