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181 LESSON 27 02 2011 Mahahatthipadopama Sutta The Great Elephant Footprint Simile FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY to VOTE for BSP ELEPHANT for Social Transformation and Economic Emancipation to attain Ultimate Bliss-THE GREENING OF BUDDHIST PRACTICE
181 LESSON 27 02 2011 Mahahatthipadopama Sutta The Great Elephant Footprint Simile FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY to VOTE for BSP ELEPHANT for Social Transformation and Economic Emancipation to attain Ultimate Bliss
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Traditionally the are 84,000 Dharma Doors - 84,000 ways to get Awakeness. Maybe so; certainly the Buddha taught a large number of practices that lead to Awakeness. This web page attempts to catalogue those found in the Pali Suttas (DN, MN, SN, AN, Ud & Sn 1). There are 3 sections: |
The discourses of Buddha are divided into 84,000, as to separate addresses. The division includes all that was spoken by Buddha.”I received from Buddha,” said Ananda, “82,000 Khandas, and from the priests 2000; these are 84,000 Khandas maintained by me.” They are divided into 275,250, as to the stanzas of the original text, and into 361,550, as to the stanzas of the commentary. All the discourses including both those of Buddha and those of the commentator, are divided into 2,547 banawaras, containing 737,000 stanzas, and 29,368,000 separate letters.
Course Programs:
LESSON 181
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.028.than.html
MN 28
PTS: M i 184
Maha-hatthipadopama Sutta: The Great Elephant Footprint Simile
translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Savatthi in Jeta’s Grove, Anathapindika’s monastery. There Ven. Sariputta addressed the monks, saying, “Friend monks!”
“Yes, friend,” the monks responded.
Ven. Sariputta said: “Friends, just as the footprints of all legged animals are encompassed by the footprint of the elephant, and the elephant’s footprint is reckoned the foremost among them in terms of size; in the same way, all skillful qualities are gathered under the four noble truths. Under which four? Under the noble truth of stress, under the noble truth of the origination of stress, under the noble truth of the cessation of stress, and under the noble truth of the path of practice leading to the cessation of stress.
“And what is the noble truth of stress? Birth is stressful, aging is stressful, death is stressful; sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair are stressful; not getting what is wanted is stressful.[1] In short, the five clinging-aggregates are stressful. And which are the five clinging-aggregates? The form clinging-aggregate, the feeling clinging-aggregate, the perception clinging-aggregate, the fabrication clinging-aggregate, & the consciousness clinging-aggregate.
“And what is the form clinging-aggregate? The four great existents and the form derived from them. And what are the four great existents? The earth property, the liquid property, the fire property, & the wind property.
“And what is the earth property? The earth property can be either internal or external. Which is the internal earth property? Whatever internal, within oneself, is hard, solid, & sustained [by craving]: head hairs, body hairs, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, tendons, bones, bone marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, pleura, spleen, lungs, large intestines, small intestines, contents of the stomach, feces, or whatever else internal, within oneself, is hard, solid, & sustained: This is called the internal earth property. Now both the internal earth property and the external earth property are simply earth property. And that should be seen as it actually is with right discernment: ‘This is not mine, this is not me, this is not my self.’ When one sees it thus as it actually is with right discernment, one becomes disenchanted with the earth property and makes the mind dispassionate toward the earth property.
“Now there comes a time, friends, when the external liquid property is provoked,[2] and at that time the external earth property vanishes. So when even in the external earth property — so vast — inconstancy will be discerned, destructibility will be discerned, a tendency to decay will be discerned, changeability will be discerned, then what in this short-lasting body, sustained by clinging, is ‘I’ or ‘mine’ or ‘what I am’? It has here only a ‘no.’
“Now if other people insult, malign, exasperate, & harass a monk [who has discerned this], he discerns that ‘A painful feeling, born of ear-contact, has arisen within me. And that is dependent, not independent. Dependent on what? Dependent on contact.’ And he sees that contact is inconstant, feeling is inconstant, perception is inconstant, consciousness is inconstant. His mind, with the [earth] property as its object/support, leaps up, grows confident, steadfast, & released.
“And if other people attack the monk in ways that are undesirable, displeasing, & disagreeable — through contact with fists, contact with stones, contact with sticks, or contact with knives — the monk discerns that ‘This body is of such a nature that contacts with fists come, contacts with stones come, contacts with sticks come, & contacts with knives come. Now the Blessed One has said, in his exhortation of the simile of the saw [MN 21], “Monks, even if bandits were to carve you up savagely, limb by limb, with a two-handled saw, he among you who let his heart get angered even at that would not be doing my bidding.” So my persistence will be aroused & untiring, my mindfulness established & unconfused, my body calm & unaroused, my mind centered & unified. And now let contact with fists come to this body, let contact with stones, with sticks, with knives come to this body, for this is how the Buddha’s bidding is done.’
“And if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha in this way, equanimity based on what is skillful is not established, he feels apprehensive at that and gives rise to a sense of urgency: ‘It is a loss for me, not a gain; ill-gotten for me, not well-gotten, that when I recollect the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha in this way, equanimity based on what is skillful is not established within me.’ Just as when a daughter-in-law, on seeing her father-in-law, feels apprehensive and gives rise to a sense of urgency [to please him], in the same way, if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha in this way, equanimity based on what is skillful is not established, he feels apprehensive at that and gives rise to a sense of urgency: ‘It is a loss for me, not a gain; ill-gotten for me, not well-gotten, that when I recollect the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha in this way, equanimity based on what is skillful is not established within me.’
“But if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha in this way, equanimity based on what is skillful is established, then he is gratified at that. And even to this extent, friends, the monk has accomplished a great deal.
“And what is the liquid property? The liquid property may be either internal or external. What is the internal liquid property? Whatever internal, belonging to oneself, is liquid, watery, & sustained: bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tears, skin-oil, saliva, mucus, fluid in the joints, urine, or whatever else internal, within oneself, is liquid, watery, & sustained: This is called the internal liquid property. Now both the internal liquid property and the external liquid property are simply liquid property. And that should be seen as it actually is present with right discernment: ‘This is not mine, this is not me, this is not my self.’ When one sees it thus as it actually is present with right discernment, one becomes disenchanted with the liquid property and makes the mind dispassionate toward the liquid property.
“Now there comes a time, friends, when the external liquid property is provoked and washes away village, town, city, district, & country. There comes a time when the water in the great ocean drops down one hundred leagues, two hundred… three hundred… four hundred… five hundred… six hundred… seven hundred leagues. There comes a time when the water in the great ocean stands seven palm-trees deep, six… five… four… three… two palm-trees deep, one palm-tree deep. There comes a time when the water in the great ocean stands seven fathoms deep, six… five… four… three… two fathoms deep, one fathom deep. There comes a time when the water in the great ocean stands half a fathom deep, hip-deep, knee-deep, ankle deep. There comes a time when the water in the great ocean is not even the depth of the first joint of a finger.
“So when even in the external liquid property — so vast — inconstancy will be discerned, destructibility will be discerned, a tendency to decay will be discerned, changeability will be discerned, then what in this short-lasting body, sustained by clinging, is ‘I’ or ‘mine’ or ‘what I am’? It has here only a ‘no.’
“Now if other people insult, malign, exasperate, & harass a monk [who has discerned this], he discerns that ‘A painful feeling, born of ear-contact, has arisen within me. And that is dependent, not independent. Dependent on what? Dependent on contact.’ And he sees that contact is inconstant, feeling is inconstant, perception is inconstant, consciousness is inconstant. His mind, with the [liquid] property as its object/support, leaps up, grows confident, steadfast, & released.
“And if other people attack the monk in ways that are undesirable, displeasing, & disagreeable — through contact with fists, contact with stones, contact with sticks, or contact with knives — the monk discerns that ‘This body is of such a nature that contacts with fists come, contacts with stones come, contacts with sticks come, & contacts with knives come. Now the Blessed One has said, in his exhortation of the simile of the saw, “Monks, even if bandits were to carve you up savagely, limb by limb, with a two-handled saw, he among you who let his heart get angered even at that would not be doing my bidding.” So my persistence will be aroused & untiring, my mindfulness established & unconfused, my body calm & unaroused, my mind centered & unified. And now let contact with fists come to this body, let contact with stones, with sticks, with knives come to this body, for this is how the Buddha’s bidding is done.’
“And if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha in this way, equanimity based on what is skillful is not established, he feels apprehensive at that and gives rise to a sense of urgency: ‘It is a loss for me, not a gain; ill-gotten for me, not well-gotten, that when I recollect the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha in this way, equanimity based on what is skillful is not established within me.’ Just as when a daughter-in-law, on seeing her father-in-law, feels apprehensive and gives rise to a sense of urgency [to please him], in the same way, if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha in this way, equanimity based on what is skillful is not established, he feels apprehensive at that and gives rise to a sense of urgency: ‘It is a loss for me, not a gain; ill-gotten for me, not well-gotten, that when I recollect the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha in this way, equanimity based on what is skillful is not established within me.’
“But if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha in this way, equanimity based on what is skillful is established, then he is gratified at that. And even to this extent, friends, the monk has accomplished a great deal.
“And what is the fire property? The fire property may be either internal or external. What is the internal fire property? Whatever internal, belonging to oneself, is fire, fiery, & sustained: that by which [the body] is warmed, aged, & consumed with fever; and that by which what is eaten, drunk, chewed, & savored gets properly digested, or whatever else internal, within oneself, is fire, fiery, & sustained: This is called the internal fire property. Now both the internal fire property and the external fire property are simply fire property. And that should be seen as it actually is present with right discernment: ‘This is not mine, this is not me, this is not my self.’ When one sees it thus as it actually is present with right discernment, one becomes disenchanted with the fire property and makes the mind dispassionate toward the fire property.
“Now there comes a time, friends, when the external fire property is provoked and consumes village, town, city, district, & country; and then, coming to the edge of a green district, the edge of a road, the edge of a rocky district, to the water’s edge, or to a lush, well-watered area, goes out from lack of sustenance. There comes a time when people try to make fire using a wing-bone & tendon parings.[3]
“So when even in the external fire property — so vast — inconstancy will be discerned, destructibility will be discerned, a tendency to decay will be discerned, changeability will be discerned, then what in this short-lasting body, sustained by clinging, is ‘I’ or ‘mine’ or ‘what I am’? It has here only a ‘no.’
“Now if other people insult, malign, exasperate, & harass a monk [who has discerned this], he discerns that ‘A painful feeling, born of ear-contact, has arisen within me. And that is dependent, not independent. Dependent on what? Dependent on contact.’ And he sees that contact is inconstant, feeling is inconstant, perception is inconstant, consciousness is inconstant. His mind, with the [fire] property as its object/support, leaps up, grows confident, steadfast, & released.
“And if other people attack the monk in ways that are undesirable, displeasing, & disagreeable — through contact with fists, contact with stones, contact with sticks, or contact with knives — the monk discerns that ‘This body is of such a nature that contacts with fists come, contacts with stones come, contacts with sticks come, & contacts with knives come. Now the Blessed One has said, in his exhortation of the simile of the saw, “Monks, even if bandits were to carve you up savagely, limb by limb, with a two-handled saw, he among you who let his heart get angered even at that would not be doing my bidding.” So my persistence will be aroused & untiring, my mindfulness established & unconfused, my body calm & unaroused, my mind centered & unified. And now let contact with fists come to this body, let contact with stones, with sticks, with knives come to this body, for this is how the Buddha’s bidding is done.’
“And if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha in this way, equanimity based on what is skillful is not established, he feels apprehensive at that and gives rise to a sense of urgency: ‘It is a loss for me, not a gain; ill-gotten for me, not well-gotten, that when I recollect the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha in this way, equanimity based on what is skillful is not established within me.’ Just as when a daughter-in-law, on seeing her father-in-law, feels apprehensive and gives rise to a sense of urgency [to please him], in the same way, if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha in this way, equanimity based on what is skillful is not established, he feels apprehensive at that and gives rise to a sense of urgency: ‘It is a loss for me, not a gain; ill-gotten for me, not well-gotten, that when I recollect the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha in this way, equanimity based on what is skillful is not established within me.’
“But if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha in this way, equanimity based on what is skillful is established, then he is gratified at that. And even to this extent, friends, the monk has accomplished a great deal.
“And what is the wind property? The wind property may be either internal or external. What is the internal wind property? Whatever internal, belonging to oneself, is wind, windy, & sustained: up-going winds, down-going winds, winds in the stomach, winds in the intestines, winds that course through the body, in-&-out breathing, or whatever else internal, within oneself, is wind, windy, & sustained: This is called the internal wind property. Now both the internal wind property and the external wind property are simply wind property. And that should be seen as it actually is present with right discernment: ‘This is not mine, this is not me, this is not my self.’ When one sees it thus as it actually is present with right discernment, one becomes disenchanted with the wind property and makes the mind dispassionate toward the wind property.
“Now there comes a time, friends, when the external wind property is provoked and blows away village, town, city, district, & country. There comes a time when, in the last month of the hot season, people try to start a breeze with a fan or bellows, and even the grass at the fringe of a thatch roof doesn’t stir.
“So when even in the external wind property — so vast — inconstancy will be discerned, destructibility will be discerned, a tendency to decay will be discerned, changeability will be discerned, then what in this short-lasting body, sustained by clinging, is ‘I’ or ‘mine’ or ‘what I am’? It has here only a ‘no.’
“Now if other people insult, malign, exasperate, & harass a monk [who has discerned this], he discerns that ‘A painful feeling, born of ear-contact, has arisen within me. And that is dependent, not independent. Dependent on what? Dependent on contact.’ And he sees that contact is inconstant, feeling is inconstant, perception is inconstant, consciousness is inconstant. His mind, with the [wind] property as its object/support, leaps up, grows confident, steadfast, & released.
“And if other people attack the monk in ways that are undesirable, displeasing, & disagreeable — through contact with fists, contact with stones, contact with sticks, or contact with knives — the monk discerns that ‘This body is of such a nature that contacts with fists come, contacts with stones come, contacts with sticks come, & contacts with knives come. Now the Blessed One has said, in his exhortation of the simile of the saw, “Monks, even if bandits were to carve you up savagely, limb by limb, with a two-handled saw, he among you who let his heart get angered even at that would not be doing my bidding.” So my persistence will be aroused & untiring, my mindfulness established & unconfused, my body calm & unaroused, my mind centered & unified. And now let contact with fists come to this body, let contact with stones, with sticks, with knives come to this body, for this is how the Buddha’s bidding is done.’
“And if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha in this way, equanimity based on what is skillful is not established, he feels apprehensive at that and gives rise to a sense of urgency: ‘It is a loss for me, not a gain; ill-gotten for me, not well-gotten, that when I recollect the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha in this way, equanimity based on what is skillful is not established within me.’ Just as when a daughter-in-law, on seeing her father-in-law, feels apprehensive and gives rise to a sense of urgency [to please him], in the same way, if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha in this way, equanimity based on what is skillful is not established, he feels apprehensive at that and gives rise to a sense of urgency: ‘It is a loss for me, not a gain; ill-gotten for me, not well-gotten, that when I recollect the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha in this way, equanimity based on what is skillful is not established within me.’
“But if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha in this way, equanimity based on what is skillful is established, then he is gratified at that. And even to this extent, friends, the monk has accomplished a great deal.
“Friends, just as when — in dependence on timber, vines, grass, & clay — space is enclosed and is gathered under the term ‘house,’ in the same way, when space is enclosed in dependence on bones, tendons, muscle, & skin, it is gathered under the term, ‘form.’
“Now if internally the eye is intact but externally forms do not come into range, nor is there a corresponding engagement, then there is no appearing of the corresponding type of consciousness. If internally the eye is intact and externally forms come into range, but there is no corresponding engagement, then there is no appearing of the corresponding type of consciousness. But when internally the eye is intact and externally forms come into range, and there is a corresponding engagement, then there is the appearing of the corresponding type of consciousness.
“The form of what has thus come into being is gathered under the form clinging-aggregate. The feeling of what has thus come into being is gathered under the feeling clinging-aggregate. The perception of what has thus come into being is gathered under the perception clinging-aggregate. The fabrications of what has thus come into being are gathered under the fabrication clinging-aggregate. The consciousness of what has thus come into being is gathered under the consciousness clinging-aggregate. One discerns, ‘This, it seems, is how there is the gathering, meeting, & convergence of these five clinging-aggregates. Now, the Blessed One has said, “Whoever sees dependent co-arising sees the Dhamma; whoever sees the Dhamma sees dependent co-arising.”[4] And these things — the five clinging-aggregates — are dependently co-arisen.[5] Any desire, embracing, grasping, & holding-on to these five clinging-aggregates is the origination of stress. Any subduing of desire & passion, any abandoning of desire & passion for these five clinging-aggregates is the cessation of stress.’ [6] And even to this extent, friends, the monk has accomplished a great deal.
“Now if internally the ear is intact…
“Now if internally the nose is intact…
“Now if internally the tongue is intact…
“Now if internally the body is intact…
“Now if internally the intellect is intact but externally ideas do not come into range, nor is there a corresponding engagement, then there is no appearing of the corresponding type of consciousness. If internally the intellect is intact and externally ideas come into range, but there is no corresponding engagement, then there is no appearing of the corresponding type of consciousness. But when internally the intellect is intact and externally ideas come into range, and there is a corresponding engagement, then there is the appearing of the corresponding type of consciousness.
“The form of what has thus come into being is gathered under the form clinging-aggregate. The feeling of what has thus come into being is gathered under the feeling clinging-aggregate. The perception of what has thus come into being is gathered under the perception clinging-aggregate. The fabrications of what has thus come into being are gathered under the fabrication clinging-aggregate. The consciousness of what has thus come into being is gathered under the consciousness clinging-aggregate. One discerns, ‘This, it seems, is how there is the gathering, meeting, & convergence of these five clinging-aggregates. Now, the Blessed One has said, “Whoever sees dependent co-arising sees the Dhamma; whoever sees the Dhamma sees dependent co-arising.” And these things — the five clinging-aggregates — are dependently co-arisen. Any desire, embracing, grasping, & holding-on to these five clinging-aggregates is the origination of stress. Any subduing of desire & passion, any abandoning of desire & passion for these five clinging-aggregates is the cessation of stress.’ And even to this extent, friends, the monk has accomplished a great deal.”
That is what Ven. Sariputta said. Gratified, the monks delighted in Ven. Sariputta’s words.
1.
In passages where the Buddha defines stress, (e.g., SN 56.11, DN 22), he includes the statements, “association with the unbeloved is stressful; separation from the loved is stressful,” prior to “not getting what one wants is stressful.” For some reason, in passages where Ven. Sariputta defines stress (here and at MN 9and MN 141), he drops these statements from the definition.
2.
The compilers of the Pali canon used a common theory to explain the physics of heat & motion, meteorology, and the etiology of diseases. That theory centered on the concept of ‘dhatu’: property or potential. The physical properties presented in this theory were four: those of earth (solidity), liquid, fire, & wind (motion). Three of them — liquid, fire, & wind — were viewed as potentially active. When they were aggravated, agitated or provoked — the Pali term here, ‘pakuppati,’ was used also on the psychological level, where it meant angered or upset — they acted as the underlying cause for activity in nature. For more on this topic, see The Mind Like Fire Unbound, Chapter 2.
3.
AN 7.46 (quoted in The Mind Like Fire Unbound) cites a wing bone and tendon parings as examples of items that will not catch fire. Perhaps the passage was meant as a comical parody of someone who, having seen another person start fire with a fire stick, tried to imitate that person without understanding the basic principle involved. If you used a fire stick and wood shavings, you would get fire. If you used a wing bone instead of a fire stick, and tendon parings instead of wood shavings, you wouldn’t.
4.
This statement has not been traced in any other part of the extant Pali canon.
5.
See SN 12.2.
6.
Although the fourth noble truth — the path of practice leading to the cessation of stress — is not explicitly mentioned in this discussion, it is implicit as the path of practice leading to the subduing of desire & passion, the abandoning of desire & passion for the five clinging-aggregates.
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The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have…Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion.
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches
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http://www.crosscurrents.org/greening.htm
Can the traditional Buddhist contemplative retreat into nature
become an active engagement with its salvation?
KENNETH KRAFT is associate professor of Asian religions at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. He is the author of Eloquent Zen: Daito and Early Japanese Zen (University of Hawaii Press, 1992) and the editor, most recently, of Inner Peace, World Peace: Essays on Buddhism and Nonviolence (State University of New York Press, 1992). This essay was originally presented at the Kyoto Seminar for Religious Philosophy, in Kyoto, Japan.
On January 5, 1993, a Japanese ship called the Akatsuki Maru returned to port with a controversial cargo: an estimated 1.5 metric tons of plutonium. Its 134-day voyage was the first step in a Japanese plan to send spent nuclear fuel to Europe to be reprocessed as plutonium, which will then be reused as fuel in nuclear reactors. However, the Akatsuki Maru’s 20,000-mile round trip provoked expressions of concern in more than forty countries, including public demonstrations in France and Japan. Experts charged that such voyages could not adequately be shielded from the risks of a nuclear accident or a terrorist attack. Editorial writers questioned Japan’s commitment to its own nonnuclear principles (reactor-grade plutonium can also be used to make nuclear weapons). Pointing to the nuclear aspirations of North Korea and other countries, some observers called for a worldwide halt in the recovery of plutonium from spent fuel.
Plutonium (named after Pluto, the Greek god of the underworld) is one of the deadliest substances known to humankind. A single speck ingested through the lungs or stomach is fatal. Plutonium-239 has a half-life of 24,400 years, but it continues to be dangerous for a quarter of a million years. If we think in terms of human generations, about twenty-five years, we are speaking of 10,000 generations that will be vulnerable unless the radioactivity is safely contained. In Buddhism, the number 10,000 is a concrete way of indicating something infinite. That may also be the unpleasant truth about plutonium: it is going to be with us forever.
The American scholar-activist Joanna Macy has suggested that our most enduring legacy to future generations may be the decisions we make about the production and disposal of radioactive materials. Our buildings and books may not survive us, but we will be held accountable for what we do with the toxic substances (nuclear and nonnuclear) that we continue to generate in such great quantities. Buddhists have long believed that the present, the past, and the future are inextricably linked and ultimately inseparable. “Just consider whether or not there are any conceivable beings or any conceivable worlds which are not included in this present time,” a thirteenth-century master asserted.(1) For human beings at least, to sabotage the future is also to ravage the past and undermine the present. Although the threat of nuclear holocaust appears to have abated, we are beginning to see that the ongoing degradation of the environment poses a threat of comparable danger. As the Akatsuki Maru ships plutonium to Japan, it is also carrying a radioactive cargo, a “poison fire,” into our common future.
I am reminded of a Zen koan still used in the training of monks. The master says to the student: “See that boat moving way out there on the water? How do you stop it?” To give a proper answer the student must be able to demonstrate that he has “become one” with the boat. Just as one must penetrate deeply into a koan to solve it, Buddhists around the world have begun to immerse themselves in environmental issues, attempting to approach urgent problems from the inside as well as the outside. An increasing number of practitioner-activists believe that the only way to stop the boat of ecological disaster is to deepen our relationship to the planet and all life within it.
In this essay I would like to survey some of the ways in which Buddhists are responding to the environmental issues faced by so many countries today. I will concentrate on spiritual/religious practices and forms of activism that take place in a spiritual context. Although many Buddhists in Asia and elsewhere are becoming increasingly aware of ecology, I focus principally on North American Buddhists, who seem to be taking the lead in the “greening” of Buddhism. Of course, what we need most are human responses to the environmental crisis rather than “Buddhist” ones; when the Buddhist label is used here, it is almost always used in that spirit.
A list of individual practices must begin with traditional forms of Buddhist meditation (and closely related practices such as chanting). Meditation can serve as a vehicle for advancing several ends prized by environmentalists: it is supposed to reduce egoism, deepen appreciation of one’s surroundings, foster empathy with other beings, clarify intention, prevent what is now called burnout, and ultimately lead to a profound sense of oneness with the entire universe. “I came to realize clearly,” said a Japanese Zen master upon attaining enlightenment, “that Mind is not other than mountains and rivers and the great wide earth, the sun and the moon and the stars.”(2)
For some Buddhists, meditation alone is regarded as a sufficient expression of ecological awareness. Others supplement time-honored forms of meditation with new meditative practices that incorporate nature imagery or environmental themes. For example, the following verse by the Vietnamese Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh is widely used by his American students, who recite it mentally in seated meditation:
Breathing in, I know that I am breathing in.
Breathing out, I know that I am breathing out.
Breathing in, I see myself as a flower.
Breathing out, I feel fresh.
Breathing in, I see myself as a mountain.
Breathing out, I feel solid.
Breathing in, I see myself as still water.
Breathing out, I reflect things as they are.
Breathing in, I see myself as space.
Breathing out, I feel free.(3)
Thich Nhat Hanh has helped to popularize another method of individual practice — short poems (gatha) that can prompt us to maintain awareness in daily life. Many of these “mindfulness verses” also function as reminders of our interconnectedness with the earth. The verses may be memorized or posted in appropriate locations. For example, when turning on a water faucet, a person following this practice will mentally recite:
Water flows from high in the mountains.
Water runs deep in the Earth.
Miraculously, water comes to us,
and sustains all life.
Washing one’s hands can become an occasion for renewing one’s dedication to the environment:
Water flows over these hands.
May I use them skillfully
to preserve our precious planet.(4)
The following verse, meant to be used when getting into a car, again evokes a twofold mindfulness — for the moment and for interrelatedness:
Entering this powerful car,
I buckle my seatbelt
and vow to protect all beings.(5)
The cultivation of intimacy with nature is a central aim for many Buddhist environmentalists. Buddhist activist Stephanie Kaza, who has written about her “conversations” with trees, suggests other ways to develop empathy with the natural environment:
One may engage in relationship with the moon, observing its waxing and waning cycle, position in the sky, and effect on one’s moods and energy. One may cultivate relationships with migrating shorebirds, hatching dragonflies, or ancient redwoods. One may learn the topography of local rivers and mountains. These relations are not one-time encounters; rather they are ongoing friendships.(6)
The deepening sense of connectedness with our surroundings sometimes acquires an emotional intensity comparable to that of love or marriage. One practitioner writes, “This kind of in-love-ness — passionate, joyful — stimulates action in service to our imperiled planet. Walking in the world as if it were our lover leads inevitably to deep ecology.”(7)
When we turn our attention to group practices, we find that new and diverse forms are being created at a rapid rate. For American Buddhists, the family has become fertile ground for the potential elaboration of spiritual practice in daily life, and environmental concerns are often addressed in this setting. A parent from Colorado treats recycling as a “family ecological ritual,” using it “to bring out the meaning of interbeing.”(8) At most American Buddhist centers, conservation of resources and reduction of waste is a conscious part of communal practice. The responsibilities of the “ecological officer” at one center include: “educating workers and management about waste, recycling, conservation, etc.; evaluating operational procedures in terms of waste and efficiency; and investigating ecologically correct product lines.”(9)
The Zen Center of Rochester, New York, conducts an “earth relief ceremony” that includes chanting, circumambulation, devotional offerings, prostrations, and monetary donations. Buddhist rituals traditionally end with a chant that “transfers the merit” of the event to a designated recipient. The earth relief ceremony ends with the following invocation:
Tonight we have offered candles, incense, fruit, and tea,
Chanted sutras and dharani.
Whatever merit comes to us from these offerings
We now return to the earth, sea, and sky.
May our air be left pure!
May our waters be clean!
May our earth be restored!
May all beings attain Buddhahood!(10)
The Rochester Zen Center also sponsors rites specifically on behalf of animals. Ducks and other animals are purchased from pet stores or breeders and released in their natural habitats, and relief ceremonies for endangered species are held.
In northern California the Ring of Bone Zendo has found ways to integrate backpacking, pilgrimage, and sesshin, the intensive meditation retreat that undergirds formal Zen training. First conceived by poet and Zen pioneer Gary Snyder in the 1970s, this “mountains and rivers sesshin” emphasizes long hours of silent, concentrated walking in the foothills of the Sierra Mountains. “The wilderness pilgrim’s step-by-step breath-by-breath walk up a trail,” writes Snyder, “is so ancient a set of gestures as to bring a profound sense of body-mind joy.”(11) The daily schedule also includes morning and evening periods of seated meditation and a morning lecture by the teacher, who expounds on the “Mountains and Rivers Sutra” chapter of The Treasury of the True Dharma Eye, by Zen master Dogen. This text includes the following passage:
It is not just that there is water in the world; there are worlds in the realm of water. And this is so not only in water — there are also worlds of sentient beings in clouds, there are worlds of sentient beings in wind, there are worlds of sentient beings in fire, there are worlds of sentient beings in earth. . . Where there are worlds of sentient beings, there must be the world of Buddhas and Zen adepts.(12)
The Ring of Bone Zendo conducts weeklong backpacking sesshins twice a year, and the practice has spread to other West Coast Zen groups.
In March 1991, Thich Nhat Hanh inaugurated another kind of group practice in a six-day meditation retreat specifically for environmentalists. The two hundred people who traveled to Malibu, California, for the event included members of Greenpeace, Earth First!, Earth Island Institute, Rainforest Action Network, Natural Resources Defense Council, and other environmental organizations. Some were practicing Buddhists; others had little previous exposure to Buddhism or meditation. The retreat interposed periods of meditation with lectures by Nhat Hanh, silent walks through the Malibu hills, and gentle singing. In his talks, Nhat Hanh stressed the value of “deep, inner peace” for environmental activists: “The best way to take care of the environment is to take care of the environmentalist.”(13)
One of the sites administered by the San Francisco Zen Center is Green Gulch Farm, a sizeable tract of land in scenic Marin County, California. Green Gulch functions as a semi-rural Zen center, complete with a large meditation hall, guest rooms, an abbot’s cottage, and a Japanese-style tea house. But Green Gulch is best known for its extensive organic garden, which has been lovingly cultivated for two decades by numerous Zen practitioners, newcomers and veterans alike. On Earth Day, April 22, 1990, over a hundred friends of Green Gulch participated in special celebratory rituals that concluded with a dedication to the animals and plants that had died in the garden. The text read in part:
Plants and Animals in the Garden,
We welcome you — we invite you in — we ask your forgiveness and your understanding. Listen as we invoke your names, as we also listen for you:
Little sparrows, quail, robins, and house finches who have died in our strawberry nets;
Young Cooper’s hawk who flew into our sweet pea trellis and broke your neck;
Numerous orange-bellied newts who died in our shears, in our irrigation pipes, by our cars, and by our feet. . . .;
Gophers and moles, trapped and scorned by us, and also watched with love, admiration, and awe for your one-mindedness. . . .;
And all plants we have shunned: poison hemlock, pigweed, bindweed, stinging nettle, bull thistle;
We call up plants we have removed by dividing you and separating you, and by deciding you no longer grow well here.
We invoke you and thank you and continue to learn from you. We dedicate this ceremony to you. We will continue to practice with you and for you.(14)
This dedication follows ritual conventions that are found not only in Buddhism but also in other traditions. It directly addresses unseen beings or spirits, invites them into a sacred space, expresses sentiments ranging from grief to gratitude to awe, and concludes with a pledge of continued spiritual striving. The admission that many animals and plants had to be sacrificed for the garden to flourish should not be construed as hypocrisy; rather, the passage acknowledges the mystery of life and death, and it affirms — realistically, amid complexity — the cardinal precept not to kill. In the complete text, the detailed naming of animals and plants recreates a rich natural realm, elicits renewed attentiveness to that realm, and generates the cumulative power that ritual invocations require.
Another consciously created group ritual that illustrates the greening of Buddhist practice is called the Council of All Beings. It began in 1985 as a collaboration between Joanna Macy and John Seed, an Australian who embraced Buddhism and then became a passionate advocate of rainforest preservation. According to Seed, the Council of All Beings helps people to move “from having ecological ideas to having ecological identity, ecological self. . . In the end, what we want to do is to turn people into activists.”(15) The Council is usually presented as a daylong workshop or longer retreat in a setting with access to the outdoors; participants vary from a dozen to a hundred.
The ritual begins with shared mourning. Participants are encouraged to express their sense of grief and loss in response to the degradation of the earth. “One by one, people bring forward a stone or twig or flower, and laying it in the center, name what it represents for them. . . In the ritual naming of these losses, we retrieve our capacity to care.”(16) The premise is that we ordinarily refrain from expressing our anguish about the planet because we fear that we may be overwhelmed by sadness, or because we assume that such feelings are socially unacceptable. In the second phase of a Council, called “remembering,” participants are led through exercises that reinforce their sense of connectedness with the earth. Methods include guided meditations and visualizations, body movement, drumming, and “sounding” — imitating the voices of animals or other natural sounds. Macy once had an opportunity to demonstrate part of a “remembering” exercise to the Dalai Lama. Taking his hand in hers, she said:
Each atom in each cell in this hand goes back to the beginning of time, to the first explosion of light and energy, to the formation of the galaxies and solar systems, to the fires and rains that bathed our planet, and the life-forms that issued from its primordial seas. . . We have met and been together many times.
“Yes, of course,” said the Dalai Lama. “Very good.”(17)
For the culmination of the ritual, each participant chooses a nonhuman life-form, imaginatively identifies with it, and then speaks on its behalf before the group. The form chosen may be an animal, a plant, a river, or a mountain. Circumstances permitting, the participants make masks or breastplates to reinforce their adopted identity. Gathering to form the Council of All Beings, the recreated life-forms describe their plight, how they have been affected by humans, and their chances of survival. At a signal from the leader, some of the participants shed their selected identities to become human listeners inside the circle. Each of the life-forms is then asked what strengths it has to offer human beings in this time of planetary crisis. Here are some typical responses, as paraphrased by Macy:
“I, lichen, work slowly, very slowly. Time is my friend. This is what I give you: patience for the long haul and perseverance.”
“It is a dark time. As deep-diving trout I offer you my fearlessness of the dark.”
“I, lion, give you my roar, the voice to speak out and be heard.”(18)
The Council of All Beings expresses in modern terms the trans-species compassion that has long been a Buddhist ideal. Council participants not only mourn the loss of animals and plants (as at Green Gulch); they also strive to listen to other beings and imaginatively become them. In a ritual context, this crossing of human/nonhuman boundaries is not meant to answer complex questions about the relative value of species; its thrust is to enable participants to reconnect with an ecocentric (nonanthropocentric) world. Although the Council’s format is still being modified, and its dissemination seems to have been hampered by a dearth of talented facilitators, it offers a foretaste of what Gary Snyder once called “a kind of ultimate democracy,” in which “plants and animals. . . . are given a place and a voice in the political discussions of the humans.”(19)
With increased communication and cooperation among Buddhists around the globe, Buddhist-inspired environmentalism is also becoming manifest in national and international arenas. Thailand, for example, has been the source of several influential projects. The Buddhist Perception of Nature Project, founded in 1985, uses traditional Buddhist doctrines and practices to teach environmental principles to ordinary villagers and city-dwellers. The International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB), established in 1989 by Nobel Peace Prize nominee Sulak Sivaraksa, puts environmental concerns high on its agenda, with special emphasis on Third-World issues. In rural Thailand, environmentally conscious monks have helped protect endangered forests and watersheds by “ordaining” trees: villagers are loath to chop down trees that have been symbolically accepted into the Buddhist monastic order.
An unusual example of a Buddhist program with global repercussions is found in a successful baking business run by the Zen Community of Yonkers, New York. Since the late 1980s the Zen Community has cooperated with Ben and Jerry’s ice cream company to produce Rainforest Crunch cookies. The product uses certain nuts and nut flour in an ecologically sustainable way, so it helps to protect Amazonian rainforests and support Brazilian farming cooperatives. A percentage of profits is donated to groups like the Rainforest Action Network. With $1.6 million in annual sales (1991), the bakery has also provided employment to about two hundred local residents, some of them formerly homeless. The advertising slogan for this popular product is a cheerful reminder of interconnectedness: “Eat a Cookie. Save a Tree.”
The best-known international spokesperson for Buddhism, the Dalai Lama, has made many statements in support of environmental responsibility on a global scale. Strictly speaking, the Dalai Lama’s teachings may not qualify as environmental “activism,” but his ideas and his example are important sources of inspiration for socially engaged Buddhists. With his usual directness, he says, “The Earth, our Mother, is telling us to behave.”(20) The Dalai Lama has proposed a five-point peace plan for Tibet that extends the notion of peace to the entire Tibetan ecosystem. He first presented his peace plan in 1987, speaking before the United States Congress, and he restated it in his 1989 Nobel Peace Prize address and again at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio. On these occasions he has said, in part:
Prior to the Chinese invasion, Tibet was an unspoiled wilderness sanctuary in a unique natural environment. Sadly, in the past decades the wildlife and the forests of Tibet have been almost totally destroyed by the Chinese. The effects on Tibet’s delicate environment have been devastating. . .
It is my dream that the entire Tibetan plateau should become a free refuge where humanity and nature can live in peace and in harmonious balance. . . The Tibetan plateau would be transformed into the world’s largest park or biosphere. Strict laws would be enforced to protect wildlife and plant life; the exploitation of natural resources would be carefully regulated so as not to damage relevant ecosystems; and a policy of sustainable development would be adopted in populated areas.(21)
A decade ago the Dalai Lama supported nuclear power as a possible way to improve living conditions for the world’s poor, but since then his thinking has changed. As part of his peace plan, he now rejects any use of nuclear energy in Tibet, not to mention “China’s use of Tibet for the production of nuclear weapons and the dumping of nuclear waste.”(22)
Even if the Dalai Lama’s ambitious plan seems unrealistic by the standards of realpolitik, his proposal has exposed a worldwide audience to a Buddhist vision of a desirable society. Central to that vision is the attempt to extend the ideal of nonviolence (ahimsa) to all forms of life. Some people come to embrace environmentalism as an extension of their commitment to nonviolence, just as others come to embrace nonviolence via their commitment to the environment.
A final example of Buddhist-inspired environmental activity that is finding expression on a national and international scale is called the Nuclear Guardianship Project (NGP). Its targeted problem is radioactive waste, which brings us back to the Akatsuki Maru and its 1.5 metric tons of dangerous cargo. The concept of nuclear guardianship, advocated most forcefully by Joanna Macy, begins with the premise that current technological expertise does not offer a certifiably safe method for the disposal of nuclear waste: plans to bury the waste underground overlook known risks; transmutation and glassification schemes have not yet been perfected; and other proposals (such as shooting the waste into space) are even less realistic. From these assumptions, Macy and other project participants argue that nuclear waste should be stored in an accessible manner using the best available technology, monitored with great care, and recontained in new ways as technology advances.
But the thinking of NGP strategists is not limited to scientific and political calculations. If we are to succeed in protecting future generations from lethal radioactivity, they claim, people must also be inspired mythically and spiritually. Without a grander vision and deeper motivation, we might not even be able to implement whatever technical solutions become available. For Macy, one possible way to foster new attitudes would be to turn each nuclear site into a center of activity related to guardianship. She describes the genesis of this idea:
It started with a kind of vision I had in England in 1983, when I visited the peace camps that had spontaneously arisen around nuclear bases. . . I sensed that I was on sacred ground. I had a feeling of déjà vu. I thought, “Oh, maybe I’m being reminded of the monasteries that kept the flame of learning alive in the Middle Ages.” People made pilgrimages to those places too. But then I realized, “No, this is about the future. This is how the radioactive remains are going to be guarded for the sake of future beings.”(23)
Because such sites would require unwavering vigilance, they would entail a social version of the mindfulness practice that is so central to Buddhism. “We can contain the radioactivity if we pay attention to it,” writes Macy. “That act of attention may be the last thing we want to do, but it is the one act that is required.”(24) She goes on to suggest that surveillance communities built around today’s nuclear facilities could also become centers for various activities beyond the technical process of containment: pilgrimage, meditation retreats, rituals “of acceptance and forgiveness,” even a kind of monastic training. One hopeful NGP participant declares, “Let us build beautiful shrines, life-affirming shrines, with gardens and rooms for meditation.”(25)
Not content merely to outline the possibilities, Macy and others are experimenting with ritual forms to be used in study groups and public workshops. They are even willing to modify the traditional four vows taken by Mahayana Buddhists, by adding a fifth vow:
Sentient beings are numberless; I’ll do the best I can to save them.
Desires are inexhaustible; I’ll do the best I can to put an end to them.
The Dharmas are boundless; I’ll do the best I can to master them.
The Poison Fire lasts forever; I’ll do the best I can to contain it.
The Buddha way is unsurpassable; I’ll do the best I can to attain it.(26)
An NGP event often begins with an invocation to beings of the past, present, and future, welcoming them as companions and allies in a time of need. Future beings are summoned with these words:
All you who will come after us on this Earth, be with us now. All you who are waiting to be born in the ages to come, it is for your sakes too that we work to heal our world. We cannot picture your faces or say your names — you have none yet — but we would feel the reality of your claim on life.(27)
During a three-day NGP retreat in Mendocino County, California, seventy-five participants enacted a future pilgrimage to a guardian site, half of them playing the role of pilgrims, the rest posing as resident guardians. Some of the texts that are used in these NGP exercises look back at the present from an imagined future. One passage reads in part:
Pilgrims, Guardians, we are gathered here at the Great Guardian Site of Rancho Seco a brief two hundred years since the turning from the Times of Nuclear Peril. Here in the Silkwood Pavilion we are engaged in the essential practice of Remembering. We must remember, because we cannot uninvent the nuclear technology that almost killed our planet. . .
Oh, what power it unleashed! Yes, the poison fire was first used for weapons, against great cities of a great people. And we know the names, and you can say them in your heart — we shall not forget them: Hiroshima, Nagasaki. A quarter of a million people burned at once, then many more sickened slowly, for that is how it destroys — slowly, hidden. Yet still our ancestors built bombs with the poison fire, scores of thousands more, and called them “war heads.”
And then our ancestors of that time — this is also painful to remember — they took that poison fire to make electricity. We know how easy it is to share the power of the sun and the wind. But they took the poison fire and used it to boil water. And the signs of sickening grew. . .
And the Governments tried to bury it. There were places called Carlsbad, Yucca Mountain: deep holes half a mile down. They wanted to bury it as if the Earth were not alive. . .
Yet among our ancestors in those dark times were those whose practice of mindfulness allowed them to look directly at the poison fire. They looked into their hearts and thought: “We can guard the poison fire. We can overcome our fear of guarding it and be mindful. Only in that way can the beings of the future be protected.” They remembered us!(28)
Chapters of the Nuclear Guardianship Project have been formed in Germany, Switzerland, and Russia. The NGP has also been introduced to Japan, where one cannot help but note that major reactors have already been given religious names that would fit a guardian site perfectly: “Monju” — bodhisattva of wisdom, “Fugen” — bodhisattva of compassionate action, and “Joyo” — eternal light.
The Nuclear Guardianship Project is difficult to assess. It has not yet made inroads among nuclear engineers, much less been tested in the public domain. To some observers it seems wildly fanciful, because it expects to transform deep-seated psychological responses to nuclear waste: denial of responsibility (”not in my backyard”) and denial of danger (”it’s not making us sick”). The NGP must contend with lingering disagreement among scientists on technical issues, and it must deal with the economic realities of implementing accessible containment on a massive scale. However, the greatest source of resistance may be our apparent unwillingness to reduce our material standard of living voluntarily. The best way to limit future nuclear waste is simply to stop producing it, but that course would call for radical social changes that few citizens anywhere are willing to contemplate. It is one thing to recognize the risks of nuclear energy, but quite another to change the systems and personal habits that currently demand it.
Regardless of the NGP’s potential to influence affairs in the political realm, the concept of nuclear guardianship is certainly intriguing as a religious vision. This is not the first time that Buddhists have believed that the world is coming to an end in some significant way, and that an unprecedented response is required. In past eras, predictions about the imminent disappearance of the Buddha’s teachings led to a revitalization of religion and sometimes to major shifts in society. By directing attention to the distant future, Macy invites us to “reinhabit” a deep, mythological sense of time; such a perspective is a welcome antidote to the impoverished, constricted sense of time that prevails in industrial societies. In a similar manner, the NGP calls for a dramatic extension of our sense of ethical responsibility. The notion of guardianship begins with plutonium but goes on to embrace numberless unborn beings and the planet as a whole.
It is clear that an ecologically sensitive Buddhism exhibits significant continuities with traditional Buddhism, continuities that can be demonstrated textually, doctrinally, historically, and by other means. Sustained inquiry by scholars and practitioners will continue to elucidate those links. It is also instructive to consider the ways in which today’s green Buddhism may depart from Buddhism’s past. The individual and group activities surveyed here are not only innovative on the level of practice; in many cases they also embody consequential shifts in Buddhists’ perceptions of nature and society.
In several contexts we have seen ecobuddhists struggling to think and act globally; that breadth of commitment is itself a trait that distinguishes today’s activists from most of their Buddhist predecessors. Just as current environmental problems are planetary as well as local, present-day Buddhism has become international as well as regional. For centuries, classic Buddhist texts have depicted the universe as one interdependent whole, and elegant doctrines have laid the conceptual foundation for a “cosmic ecology.”(29) Contemporary Buddhist environmentalists are seeking to actualize that vision with a concreteness that seems unprecedented in the history of Buddhism.
The increased awareness of the sociopolitical implications of spiritual practice is another feature that might qualify as a departure from earlier forms of Buddhism. Socially engaged Buddhism is one of the notable developments in late twentieth-century Buddhism, and environmental Buddhism is an important stream within this larger movement. There is a well-known Zen story in which a master rebukes a monk for discarding a single chopstick. The original point is that even if the chopstick’s mate is lost, it still has intrinsic value and can be put to use in some other way. In today’s world, the widespread use of disposable chopsticks might suggest other lessons about the far-reaching environmental impact of daily actions.(30) Green Buddhists no longer assume that spiritual practice can take place in a social or environmental vacuum. Moreover, they believe that an overly individualistic model of practice may actually impede cooperative efforts to improve social conditions.
The importance of women and of women’s perspectives is another characteristic of ecobuddhism that distinguishes it from more traditional forms of Buddhism. Today’s environmentally sensitive Buddhists want to free themselves and others from sexist patterns of thought, behavior, and language. Women, no less than men, are the leaders, creative thinkers, and grassroots activists of green Buddhism. The influence of women also manifests itself in an aversion to hierarchy, an appreciation of the full range of experience, and an emphasis on the richness of relationships (human and nonhuman). Out of this milieu, the notion of the world “as lover” has emerged as a model for a new bond between humanity and nature. The ancient Greek goddess Gaia, who has been reclaimed by many people as a symbol of the earth, is also embraced by Buddhist environmentalists, men and women alike. Even the Buddha is sometimes feminized, as in the following gatha by Thich Nhat Hanh:
I entrust myself to Earth;
Earth entrusts herself to me.
I entrust myself to Buddha;
Buddha entrusts herself to me.(31)
Shifting perceptions of nature denote another area in which past Buddhism and present Buddhism diverge. Buddhists have long been sensitive to the transitory nature of things. In Japan, for example, generations of poets have “grieved” over the falling of cherry blossoms. Yet according to the premodern Buddhist view, nature’s impermanence is also natural, part of the way things are, so the process of extinction (in a paradoxical way) is also reassuring. The grief of Buddhist environmentalists is prompted not by falling cherry blossoms but by the actual loss of entire species of living beings, and by the continuing devastation of the planet. A new dimension of meaning has been added to the time-honored Buddhist notion of impermanence. Gary Snyder writes:
The extinction of a species, each one a pilgrim of four billion years of evolution, is an irreversible loss. The ending of the lines of so many creatures with whom we have traveled this far is an occasion for profound sorrow and grief. . . Some quote a Buddhist teaching back at us: “all is impermanent.” Indeed. All the more reason to move gently and cause less harm.(32)
Perennial assumptions about nature’s power to harm human beings have been augmented by a fresh appreciation of humans’ power to harm nature. In an early text the Buddha gives his monks a prayer which reads in part:
My love to the footless, my love to the twofooted, my love to the fourfooted, my love to the manyfooted. Let not the footless harm me, let not the twofooted harm me, let not the fourfooted harm me, let not the manyfooted harm me. All sentient beings, all breathing things, creatures without exception, let them all see good things, may no evil befall them.(33)
This passage expresses generous concern for other beings, yet it also serves as a protective charm against dangerous animals (especially poisonous snakes) — if I don’t harm them, they won’t harm me. In contrast, the ceremonial texts from Green Gulch Farm or the Nuclear Guardianship Project are most concerned about human threats to nature. Religious power is invoked in each case, but in the new texts that power is summoned to protect the environment from us and to atone for our depredations.
In many Buddhist cultures, nature has functioned as the ideal setting in which to seek salvation. Traditionally, movement toward nature was regarded as a type of withdrawal: one retreated to the mountains or the jungle to be free of society’s defilements and distractions. But for contemporary Buddhists a deepening relation with nature is usually associated with a spirit of engagement. Even if the experience of heightened intimacy with nature is private and contemplative, that experience is commonly interpreted as a call to action. In this new context nature nonetheless retains its potential soteric power. For many Buddhist activists, preservation of the environment doubles as a spiritual path to personal and planetary salvation.
Critics and supporters of contemporary Buddhist environmentalism have already raised a number of provocative questions. Seasoned Buddhist practitioners suspect that the comparisons between “ecological awakening” and a true enlightenment experience are too facile. Buddhist scholars in North America and Japan ask if there a point at which the distance from traditional Buddhism becomes so great that the Buddhist label is no longer appropriate. Others express concern about the New Age elements that seem to be part of ecobuddhism (such as NGP rituals evoking the future), and they are not sure how to assess such elements. Buddhist environmentalists take these issues seriously and raise further questions. In daily life, how can traditional Buddhist practices and new ecologically oriented practices be meaningfully integrated? To what degree can a modern environmental ethic be extrapolated from these individual and group practices? What is the relation of green Buddhism to other forms of environmentalism, including deep ecology? Such questions will continue to generate discussion and reflection as the various forms of socially engaged Buddhism evolve and mature.
From certain perspectives it may seem that Buddhist environmentalism is marginal, especially in the United States. After all, “green politics” has appealed only to a minority in the culture at large; Buddhism captures only a percentage point or two in the national religious census; and even within American Buddhist communities, not everyone is interested in environmental issues or their relation to practice. If there is a way to communicate the key ideas and basic practices of green Buddhism to a wider public, it has not yet been found. Granted, Buddhists may have affected the outcome in a number of local campaigns, saving an old-growth forest in Oregon, protecting a watershed in northern California, blocking a proposed nuclear dump in a California desert. In such cases, however, it is hard to isolate distinctively “Buddhist” influences.
The potential significance of green Buddhism can also be considered from a religious standpoint. Even if there is little visible evidence of impact, Buddhism may nonetheless be contributing to a shift in the lives of individuals or the conduct of certain groups. Some would argue that if only one person’s life is changed through an ecological awakening, the repercussions of that transformation have important and continuing effects in realms seen and unseen. An abiding faith in the fundamental interconnectedness of all existence provides many individual activists with the energy and focus that enable them to stay the course. Simply to return to a unitive experience is often enough: “We don’t need to call it Buddhism — or Dharma or Gaia. We need only to be still and open our senses to the world that presents itself to us moment to moment to moment.”(34)
1. [Back to text] Dogen, in Philip Kapleau, The Three Pillars of Zen, rev. ed. (New York: Doubleday, 1989), 310.
2. [Back to text] Quoted in Kapleau, The Three Pillars of Zen, 215.
3. [Back to text] Thich Nhat Hanh, Touching Peace: Practicing the Art of Mindful Living (Berkeley: Parallax Press, 1992), 11-12.
4. [Back to text] Thich Nhat Hanh, Present Moment, Wonderful Moment: Mindfulness Verses for Daily Living (Berkeley: Parallax Press, 1990), 9, 10.
5. [Back to text] The Mindfulness Bell 1:3 (Autumn 1990): 16.
6. [Back to text] Stephanie Kaza, “Planting Seeds of Joy” (unpublished paper, 1992), 13.
7. [Back to text] Lenore Friedman, “Book Reviews,” Turning Wheel (Fall 1991): 39.
8. [Back to text] The Mindfulness Bell 4 (Spring 1991): 17.
9. [Back to text] The Ten Directions 11:1 (Spring/Summer 1990): 15.
10. [Back to text] Rochester Zen Center, “Earth Relief Ceremony” (unpublished manual, 1992).
11. [Back to text] Gary Snyder, The Practice of the Wild (San Francisco: North Point Press, 1990), 94.
12. [Back to text] Thomas Cleary, trans., Shobogenzo: Zen Essays by Dogen (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1986), 98.
13. [Back to text] The Mindfulness Bell 7 (Summer/Fall 1992): 6.
14. [Back to text] “Earth Day Ceremony at Green Gulch Zen Center,” Buddhist Peace Fellowship Newsletter (Summer 1990): 32-33.
15. [Back to text] Rik Scarce, Eco-Warriors: Understanding the Radical Environmental Movement (Chicago: Noble Press, 1990), 227.
16. [Back to text] Joanna Macy, World as Lover, World as Self (Berkeley: Parallax Press, 1991), 200.
17. [Back to text] Ibid., 202.
18. [Back to text] Ibid., 205.
19. [Back to text] Gary Snyder, Turtle Island (New York: New Directions, 1974), 104.
20. [Back to text] Allan Hunt Badiner, Dharma Gaia: A Harvest of Essays in Buddhism and Ecology (Berkeley: Parallax Press, 1990), v.
21. [Back to text] The Dalai Lama, “Five-Point Peace Plan for Tibet,” in Petra K. Kelly, Gert Bastian, and Pat Aiello, eds., The Anguish of Tibet (Berkeley: Parallax Press, 1991), 291; the Dalai Lama, “A Zone of Peace,” in Martine Batchelor and Kerry Brown, eds., Buddhism and Ecology (London: Cassell, 1992), 112-13.
22. [Back to text] Kelly, Bastian, and Aiello, The Anguish of Tibet, 288.
23. [Back to text] “Guardians of the Future,” In Context 28 (Spring 1991): 20.
24. [Back to text] “Technology and Mindfulness,” Nuclear Guardianship Forum 1 (Spring 1992): 3.
25. [Back to text] N. Llyn Peabody, “A Summary of the Council Discussion,” Buddhist Peace Fellowship Newsletter 10:3/4 (Fall 1988): 23.
26. [Back to text] “Buddhist Vows for Guardianship,” Nuclear Guardianship Forum 1 (Spring 1992): 2.
27. [Back to text] Macy, World as Lover, World as Self, 207.
28. [Back to text] The Fire Group, “Remembering at a Future Guardian Site,” Buddhist Peace Fellowship Newsletter (Winter 1991): 18-19.
29. [Back to text] Francis H. Cook, Hua-yen Buddhism: The Jewel Net of Indra (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1977), 2.
30. [Back to text] Even if disposable chopsticks do not contribute to the destruction of rainforests (experts disagree), comparable examples are abundant.
31. [Back to text] Nhat Hanh, Present Moment, Wonderful Moment, 59.
32. [Back to text] Snyder, The Practice of the Wild, 176.
33. [Back to text] Anguttara Nikaya, Pali Text Society Publications 2, 72-73.
34. [Back to text] Nina Wise, “Thâystock at Spirit Rock,” The Mindfulness Bell 5 (Autumn 1991): 19.
Copyright of Cross Currents is the property of Association for Religion & Intellectual Life and its content may not be copied without the copyright holder’s express written permission except for the print or download capabilities of the retrieval software used for access. This content is intended solely for the use of the individual user.
Cross Currents, Summer94, Vol. 44 Issue 2, p163, 17p
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180 LESSON 26 02 2011 Cula Rahulovada Sutta The Shorter Exposition to Rahula FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY to VOTE for BSP ELEPHANT for Social Transformation and Economic Emancipation to attain Ultimate Bliss-The Buddhist Perception of Environmental Responsibility
180 LESSON 26 02 2011 Cula Rahulovada Sutta The Shorter Exposition to Rahula FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY to VOTE for BSP ELEPHANT for Social Transformation and Economic Emancipation to attain Ultimate Bliss
through
http://www.orgsites.com/oh/awakenedone/
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Traditionally the are 84,000 Dharma Doors - 84,000 ways to get Awakeness. Maybe so; certainly the Buddha taught a large number of practices that lead to Awakeness. This web page attempts to catalogue those found in the Pali Suttas (DN, MN, SN, AN, Ud & Sn 1). There are 3 sections: |
The discourses of Buddha are divided into 84,000, as to separate addresses. The division includes all that was spoken by Buddha.”I received from Buddha,” said Ananda, “82,000 Khandas, and from the priests 2000; these are 84,000 Khandas maintained by me.” They are divided into 275,250, as to the stanzas of the original text, and into 361,550, as to the stanzas of the commentary. All the discourses including both those of Buddha and those of the commentator, are divided into 2,547 banawaras, containing 737,000 stanzas, and 29,368,000 separate letters.
Course Programs:
LESSON 180
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.147.than.html
MN 147
PTS: M iii 277
Cula-Rahulovada Sutta: The Shorter Exposition to Rahula
translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying at Savatthi, in Jeta’s Grove, Anathapindika’s Monastery. Then, as he was alone in seclusion, this line of thinking arose in the Blessed One’s awareness: “The mental qualities that ripen in release have ripened in Rahula. What if I were to lead Rahula further to the ending of the mental fermentations?”
Then the Blessed One, early in the morning, put on his robes and, carrying his bowl & outer robe, went into Savatthi for alms. Having gone for alms in Savatthi, after the meal, returning from his alms round, he said to Ven. Rahula, “Fetch your sitting cloth, Rahula. We will go to the Grove of the Blind to spend the day.”
Responding, “As you say, lord,” to the Blessed One, Ven. Rahula, carrying his sitting cloth, followed behind the Blessed One. Now at that time, many thousands of devas were following behind the Blessed One, [thinking,] “Today the Blessed One will lead Ven. Rahula further to the ending of the mental fermentations.”
Then the Blessed One, having plunged into the Grove of the Blind, sat down on a seat made ready at the foot of a tree. Ven. Rahula, having bowed down to the Blessed One, sat to one side.
As he was sitting there, the Blessed One said to him, “What do you think, Rahula — is the eye constant or inconstant?”
“Inconstant, lord.”
“And is that which is inconstant easeful or stressful?”
“Stressful, lord.”
“And is it fitting to regard what is inconstant, stressful, subject to change as: ‘This is mine. This is my self. This is what I am’?”
“No, lord.”
“What do you think — are forms constant or inconstant?”
“Inconstant, lord.”
“And is that which is inconstant easeful or stressful?”
“Stressful, lord.”
“And is it fitting to regard what is inconstant, stressful, subject to change as: ‘This is mine. This is my self. This is what I am’?”
“No, lord.”
“What do you think — is consciousness at the eye constant or inconstant?”
“Inconstant, lord.”
“And is that which is inconstant easeful or stressful?”
“Stressful, lord.”
“And is it fitting to regard what is inconstant, stressful, subject to change as: ‘This is mine. This is my self. This is what I am’?”
“No, lord.”
“What do you think — is contact at the eye constant or inconstant?”
“Inconstant, lord.”
“And is that which is inconstant easeful or stressful?”
“Stressful, lord.”
“And is it fitting to regard what is inconstant, stressful, subject to change as: ‘This is mine. This is my self. This is what I am’?”
“No, lord.”
“What do you think — whatever there is that arises in dependence on contact at the eye as a mode of feeling, a mode of perception, a mode of fabrication, or a mode of consciousness:[1]Is it constant or inconstant?”
“Inconstant, lord.”
“And is that which is inconstant easeful or stressful?”
“Stressful, lord.”
“And is it fitting to regard what is inconstant, stressful, subject to change as: ‘This is mine. This is my self. This is what I am’?”
“No, lord.”
“What do you think, Rahula — is the ear constant or inconstant?”
“Inconstant, lord” …
“What do you think, Rahula — is the nose constant or inconstant?”
“Inconstant, lord” …
“What do you think, Rahula — is the tongue constant or inconstant?”
“Inconstant, lord” …
“What do you think, Rahula — is the body constant or inconstant?”
“Inconstant, lord” …
“What do you think, Rahula — is the intellect constant or inconstant?”
“Inconstant, lord.”
“And is that which is inconstant easeful or stressful?”
“Stressful, lord.”
“And is it fitting to regard what is inconstant, stressful, subject to change as: ‘This is mine. This is my self. This is what I am’?”
“No, lord.”
“What do you think — are ideas constant or inconstant?”
“Inconstant, lord.”
“And is that which is inconstant easeful or stressful?”
“Stressful, lord.”
“And is it fitting to regard what is inconstant, stressful, subject to change as: ‘This is mine. This is my self. This is what I am’?”
“No, lord.”
“What do you think — is consciousness at the intellect constant or inconstant?”
“Inconstant, lord.”
“And is that which is inconstant easeful or stressful?”
“Stressful, lord.”
“And is it fitting to regard what is inconstant, stressful, subject to change as: ‘This is mine. This is my self. This is what I am’?”
“No, lord.”
“What do you think — is contact at the intellect constant or inconstant?”
“Inconstant, lord.”
“And is that which is inconstant easeful or stressful?”
“Stressful, lord.”
“And is it fitting to regard what is inconstant, stressful, subject to change as: ‘This is mine. This is my self. This is what I am’?”
“No, lord.”
“What do you think — whatever there is that arises in dependence on contact at the intellect as a mode of feeling, a mode of perception, a mode of fabrication, or a mode of consciousness: Is it constant or inconstant?”
“Inconstant, lord.”
“And is that which is inconstant easeful or stressful?”
“Stressful, lord.”
“And is it fitting to regard what is inconstant, stressful, subject to change as: ‘This is mine. This is my self. This is what I am’?”
“No, lord.”
“Seeing thus, Rahula, the instructed disciple of the noble ones grows disenchanted with the eye, disenchanted with forms, disenchanted with consciousness at the eye, disenchanted with contact at the eye. And whatever there is that arises in dependence on contact at the eye as a mode of feeling, a mode of perception, a mode of fabrication, or a mode of consciousness: With that, too, he grows disenchanted.
“He grows disenchanted with the ear…
“He grows disenchanted with the nose…
“He grows disenchanted with the tongue…
“He grows disenchanted with the body…
“He grows disenchanted with the intellect, disenchanted with ideas, disenchanted with consciousness at the intellect, disenchanted with contact at the intellect. And whatever there is that arises in dependence on contact at the intellect as a mode of feeling, a mode of perception, a mode of fa
brication, or a mode of consciousness: With that, too, he grows disenchanted. Disenchanted, he becomes dispassionate. Through dispassion, he is fully released. With full release, there is the knowledge, ‘Fully released.’ He discerns that ‘Birth is depleted, the holy life fulfilled, the task done. There is nothing further for this world.’”
That is what the Blessed One said. Gratified, Ven. Rahula delighted in the Blessed One’s words. And while this explanation was being given, Ven. Rahula’s mind, through no clinging (not being sustained), was fully released from fermentations. And to those many thousands of devas there arose the dustless, stainless Dhamma eye: “Whatever is subject to origination is all subject to cessation.”
1.
The Buddha’s basic approach in this discourse is to take a line of questioning that he usually applies to the five aggregates (see SN 22.59) and to apply it to the framework of the six sense media as given in SN 35.28. This phrase, however, is the one point where this sutta deviates from that framework. The corresponding phrase in SN 35.28 focuses exclusively on feelings. The passage here —vedanagatam, saññagatam, sankharagatam, viññanagatam — focuses on all four mental aggregates. For another example of translating –gatam as “mode,” see the phrase “mode of perception” (saññagatam) in MN 121.
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The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have…Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion.
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http://www.purifymind.com/BuddPerception.htm
The Buddhist Perception of Environmental Responsibility
Emerson said that the term “Transcendentalism” was a synonym for Idealism. As when he differentiates between “reason” as rationality and “Reason” as the synchronicity of heart and mind, he uses the upper case “I” with intent; what he refers to is not goodhearted but somewhat naive optimism; it is a complete and rather complex philosophy which, he said, borrows from the best of the oldest ideas, including Buddhism. So it would not be surprising to find that modern Buddhism appears to reflect the 19th century Transcendentalist environmental point of view; originally, it was the early American Transcendentalism that mirrored Buddhist thought.
It occurs to me that Emerson’s idea of the divine spark within each being could stem from the Buddhist concept that each person contains many different “seeds” that represent every possible human emotion or potentiality such as love, anger, sadness, greed or compassion. Which of the seeds comes to fruition depends upon how the individual’s life is lived. The selection of what seeds will “sprout” is a conscious choice guided by intuition. There is no doubt that selection is an individual’s decision, nor is there any doubt that the decision has impact on the rest of the world. In effect, the individual is the world in microcosm: he or she is also a “seed” in the world population at large. The concept recalls Emerson’s theory of balance, outlined in Nature, the essay “Circles,” and other works; he, in turn, was likely influenced by Eastern thought, the idea of yin and yang.
Perhaps most importantly, Buddhism is a questioning process. In his Editor’s Introduction to Sivaraksa’s Seeds of Peace, Tom Ginsburg sums up the philosophy in words that could easily fit Emerson’s “Self-Reliance” or Nature: “Question everything, look deeply, and then act from that insight” (xiv).
Sivaraksa indicates strongly that this maxim applies to environmental responsibility. First, the “religion of consumerism” that erodes spiritual strength is also what is most damaging to the environment. Air and water pollution, the depletion of species, destructive forestry and land management practices can all be traced to avid consumerism. Perhaps Sivaraksa goes a step beyond Emerson here: the facts of the natural world at present are not merely symbolic of the spiritual decay; they are a direct result of it.
Buddhism magnifies traditional Asian cultural values, which Sivaraksa says are “always related to social well-being.” This includes respect for animal and plant as well as human life; personal achievement may be sought but not at another’s expense, and always “exploitation, confrontation, and competition are to be avoided” (5). Ideally, the temple and its grounds are “not only the center of social and spiritual life” but perfect ecological models as well (7).
Presently there is a huge disparity between the ideals of Buddhism and the realities of the Asian cultures from which it developed. Sikvaraksa cites many of the same problems that plague Western culture: food production is no longer driven by the local population–those directly associated with that particular land–but by large market need. Chemically and mechanically-based modern agriculture and fishing techniques pollute and deplete resources at the same time they force small landowners off hereditary property and into the already crowded cities. The small farmer loses his livelihood because he cannot compete with agribusiness; this is a moot point, however, because by now he believes his former life on the land was not sufficient anyway–he must go seek the things that the pervasive consumer culture insists he obtain to make life worth living (30 - 33). Of all the countless “things” a consumer culture creates, its survival mandates dissatisfaction as its primary product. In that regard it has been most successful in diluting the traditional concepts of all the religions discussed in these pages; the effect on Buddhism is perhaps more noticeable because consumerism is at such variance with its precepts.
Sikvaraksa acknowledges that turning back the clock to a largely rural, agrarian setting is neither possible nor especially desirable. Nostalgia has no place in Buddhist “mindfulness.” Instead, the Dalai Lama has set forth “a practical ethic of caring for our home” which reflects the Buddhist idea of interdependence in the modern world; compassion is the outstanding characteristic.
The Dalai Lama says that understanding nature requires four avenues of thought. First is the “natural” avenue: the laws of the universe and the fact that things do exist, and that matter differs from consciousness. “Relational” is the interdependence between the entities existing in the world, between cause and condition, and between parts and whole. “Functional” applies to the properties arising as a consequence of interdependence; the fourth avenue, the “logical,” is not the process of human reasoning but is the understanding that process and the analysis which is its result (114). In this last is seen the Emersonian distinction between “reason” and “Reason.”
The Dalai Lama addresses the matter of balance in much the manner of Emerson. The state of the environment–the outer world–reflects the state of the inner world; his main concern is “the purification of the inner world” (116). Nature is valuable in itself, yes–for beauty, serenity, even life, generally speaking–but its true importance lies in its symbolism: the outward signs of Nature represent inner harmony and spiritual well-being. (This is where our two most famous 19th century Transcendentalists, Thoreau and Emerson, part company; toward the ends of their respective lives, Emerson becomes even more ethereal in his approach to Nature, preferring the metaphysical over the physical reality; Thoreau seems to be increasingly convinced that Nature’s beauty is not only symbolic of, but is our well-being–or not–manifested).
Like the Transcendentalists, the Dalai Lama believes there is an exchange between the human spirit and Nature. He notes specific Buddhist practices that recognize this link and aim to regenerate “the vitality of the earth, [to purify] . . . certain precious minerals are buried . . . consecration rituals are performed’ (116). But while ritual ceremony may be complex, the remedy is astonishingly simple: “Taking care of the planet is nothing special . . . .It’s just like taking care of our own house” (117). This recalls Thoreau’s exhortation to “be at home everywhere” in his essay “Walking.”
Practically speaking, and like the other belief systems discussed in these pages, the Dalai Lama looks to science and education to make us aware of safe and unsafe environmental processes; we should make a special effort “to introduce ecology into the school curriculum” (118). But the primary factor in the resolution is our human compassion, love laced with responsibility and care. The Dalai Lama’s reminder that “each of us is an individual, naturally a part of humanity. So human effort must begin with our individual initiatives” sounds very much like Emerson’s idea of the connected Oversoul and his statement that “the one thing in the world of value is the active soul.”
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179 LESSON 25 02 2011 MahaRahulovada Sutta The Greater Exhortation to Rahula FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY to VOTE for BSP ELEPHANT for Social Transformation and Economic Emancipation to attain Ultimate Bliss-Buddhist perception of Business Management in Relation to Public Policy and Development and Ecology and Environment-MBA Projects, Notes, Presentaions-Corporate Social Responsibility-Bahujan Samaj Party’s Dara Singh Chauhan is a member of JPC
179 LESSON 25 02 2011 MahaRahulovada Sutta The Greater Exhortation to Rahula FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY to VOTE for BSP ELEPHANT for Social Transformation and Economic Emancipation to attain Ultimate Bliss
through
http://www.orgsites.com/oh/awakenedone/
|
Traditionally the are 84,000 Dharma Doors - 84,000 ways to get Awakeness. Maybe so; certainly the Buddha taught a large number of practices that lead to Awakeness. This web page attempts to catalogue those found in the Pali Suttas (DN, MN, SN, AN, Ud & Sn 1). There are 3 sections: |
The discourses of Buddha are divided into 84,000, as to separate addresses. The division includes all that was spoken by Buddha.”I received from Buddha,” said Ananda, “82,000 Khandas, and from the priests 2000; these are 84,000 Khandas maintained by me.” They are divided into 275,250, as to the stanzas of the original text, and into 361,550, as to the stanzas of the commentary. All the discourses including both those of Buddha and those of the commentator, are divided into 2,547 banawaras, containing 737,000 stanzas, and 29,368,000 separate letters.
Course Programs:
LESSON 179
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.062.than.html
MN 62
PTS: M i 420
Maha-Rahulovada Sutta: The Greater Exhortation to Rahula
translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying at Savatthi, in Jeta’s Grove,Anathapindika’s Monastery. Then the Blessed One, early in the morning, put on his robes and, carrying his bowl and outer robe, went into Savatthi for alms. And Ven. Rahula, early in the morning, put on his robes and, carrying his bowl and outer robe, went into Savatthi for alms following right behind the Blessed One.[1] Then the Blessed One, looking back at Rahula, addressed him: “Rahula, any form whatsoever that is past, future, or present; internal or external; blatant or subtle; common or sublime; far or near: every form is to be seen as it actually is with right discernment as: ‘This is not mine. This is not myself. This is not what I am.’”
“Just form, O Blessed One? Just form, O One Well-gone?”
“Form, Rahula, & feeling & perception & fabrications & consciousness.”
Then the thought occurred to Ven. Rahula, “Who, having been exhorted face-to-face by the Blessed One, would go into the town for alms today?” So he turned back and sat down at the foot of a tree, folding his legs crosswise, holding his body erect, & setting mindfulness to the fore.
Ven. Sariputta saw Ven. Rahula sitting at the foot of a tree, his legs folded crosswise, his body held erect, & with mindfulness set to the fore. On seeing him, he said to him, “Rahula, develop the meditation[2] of mindfulness of in-&-out breathing. The meditation of mindfulness of in-&-out breathing, when developed & pursued, is of great fruit, of great benefit.”
Then Ven. Rahula, emerging from his seclusion in the late afternoon, went to the Blessed One and, having bowed down, sat to one side. As he was sitting there he said to him, “How, lord, is mindfulness of in-&-out breathing to be developed & pursued so as to be of great fruit, of great benefit?”
“Rahula, {any form whatsoever that is past, future, or present; internal or external; blatant or subtle; common or sublime; far or near: every form is to be seen as it actually is with right discernment as: ‘This is not mine. This is not my self. This is not what I am.’ There are these five properties, Rahula. Which five? The earth property, the water property, the fire property, the wind property, & the space property.
“And what is the earth property? The earth property can be either internal or external. What is the internal earth property?}[3] Anything internal, within oneself, that’s hard, solid, & sustained [by craving]: head hairs, body hairs, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, tendons, bones, bone marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, membranes, spleen, lungs, large intestines, small intestines, contents of the stomach, faeces, or anything else internal, within oneself, that’s hard, solid, and sustained: This is called the internal earth property. Now both the internal earth property & the external earth property are simply earth property. And that should be seen as it actually is present with right discernment: ‘This is not mine, this is not me, this is not my self.’ When one sees it thus as it actually is present with right discernment, one becomes disenchanted with the earth property and makes the earth property fade from the mind.
“And what is the water property? The water property may be either internal or external. What is the internal water property? Anything internal, belonging to oneself, that’s water, watery, & sustained: bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tears, oil, saliva, mucus, oil-of-the-joints, urine, or anything else internal, within oneself, that’s water, watery, & sustained: This is called the internal water property. Now both the internal water property & the external water property are simply water property. And that should be seen as it actually is present with right discernment: ‘This is not mine, this is not me, this is not my self.’ When one sees it thus as it actually is present with right discernment, one becomes disenchanted with the water property and makes the water property fade from the mind.
“And what is the fire property? The fire property may be either internal or external. What is the internal fire property? Anything internal, belonging to oneself, that’s fire, fiery, & sustained: that by which [the body] is warmed, aged, & consumed with fever; and that by which what is eaten, drunk, chewed, & savoured gets properly digested; or anything else internal, within oneself, that’s fire, fiery, & sustained: This is called the internal fire property. Now both the internal fire property & the external fire property are simply fire property. And that should be seen as it actually is present with right discernment: ‘This is not mine, this is not me, this is not my self.’ When one sees it thus as it actually is present with right discernment, one becomes disenchanted with the fire property and makes the fire property fade from the mind.
“And what is the wind property? The wind property may be either internal or external. What is the internal wind property? Anything internal, belonging to oneself, that’s wind, windy, & sustained: up-going winds, down-going winds, winds in the stomach, winds in the intestines, winds that course through the body, in-and-out breathing, or anything else internal, within oneself, that’s wind, windy, & sustained: This is called the internal wind property. Now both the internal wind property & the external wind property are simply wind property. And that should be seen as it actually is present with right discernment: ‘This is not mine, this is not me, this is not my self.’ When one sees it thus as it actually is present with right discernment, one becomes disenchanted with the wind property and makes the wind property fade from the mind.
“And what is the space property? The space property may be either internal or external. What is the internal space property? Anything internal, belonging to oneself, that’s space, spatial, & sustained: the holes of the ears, the nostrils, the mouth, the [passage] whereby what is eaten, drunk, consumed, & tasted gets swallowed, and where it collects, and whereby it is excreted from below, or anything else internal, within oneself, that’s space, spatial, & sustained: This is called the internal space property. Now both the internal space property & the external space property are simply space property. And that should be seen as it actually is present with right discernment: ‘This is not mine, this is not me, this is not my self.’ When one sees it thus as it actually is present with right discernment, one becomes disenchanted with the space property and makes the space property fade from the mind.
“Rahula, develop the meditation in tune with earth. For when you are developing the meditation in tune with earth, agreeable & disagreeable sensory impressions that have arisen will not stay in charge of your mind. Just as when people throw what is clean or unclean on the earth — feces, urine, saliva, pus, or blood — the earth is not horrified, humiliated, or disgusted by it; in the same way, when you are developing the meditation in tune with earth, agreeable & disagreeable sensory impressions that have arisen will not stay in charge of your mind.
“Develop the meditation in tune with water. For when you are developing the meditation in tune with water, agreeable & disagreeable sensory impressions that have arisen will not stay in charge of your mind. Just as when people wash what is clean or unclean in water — feces, urine, saliva, pus, or blood — the water is not horrified, humiliated, or disgusted by it; in the same way, when you are developing the meditation in tune with water, agreeable & disagreeable sensory impressions that have arisen will not stay in charge of your mind.
“Develop the meditation in tune with fire. For when you are developing the meditation in tune with fire, agreeable & disagreeable sensory impressions that have arisen will not stay in charge of your mind. Just as when fire burns what is clean or unclean — feces, urine, saliva, pus, or blood — it is not horrified, humiliated, or disgusted by it; in the same way, when you are developing the meditation in tune with fire, agreeable & disagreeable sensory impressions that have arisen will not stay in charge of your mind.
“Develop the meditation in tune with wind. For when you are developing the meditation in tune with wind, agreeable & disagreeable sensory impressions that have arisen will not stay in charge of your mind. Just as when wind blows what is clean or unclean — feces, urine, saliva, pus, or blood — it is not horrified, humiliated, or disgusted by it; in the same way, when you are developing the meditation in tune with wind, agreeable & disagreeable sensory impressions that have arisen will not stay in charge of your mind.
“Develop the meditation in tune with space. For when you are developing the meditation in tune with space, agreeable & disagreeable sensory impressions that have arisen will not stay in charge of your mind. Just as space is not established anywhere, in the same way, when you are developing the meditation in tune with space, agreeable & disagreeable sensory impressions that have arisen will not stay in charge of your mind.
“Develop the meditation of good will. For when you are developing the meditation of good will, ill-will will be abandoned.
“Develop the meditation of compassion. For when you are developing the meditation of compassion, cruelty will be abandoned.
“Develop the meditation of appreciation. For when you are developing the meditation of appreciation, resentment will be abandoned.
“Develop the meditation of equanimity. For when you are developing the meditation of equanimity, irritation will be abandoned.
“Develop the meditation of the unattractive. For when you are developing the meditation of the unattractive, passion will be abandoned.
“Develop the meditation of the perception of inconstancy. For when you are developing the meditation of the perception of inconstancy, the conceit ‘I am’ will be abandoned.
“Develop the meditation of mindfulness of in-&-out breathing. Mindfulness of in-&-out breathing, when developed & pursued, is of great fruit, of great benefit.
“And how, Rahula, is mindfulness of in-&-out breathing developed & pursued so as to be of great fruit, of great benefit?
“There is the case where a monk, having gone to the wilderness, to the shade of a tree, or to an empty building, sits down folding his legs crosswise, holding his body erect, and setting mindfulness to the fore.[4] Always mindful, he breathes in; mindful he breathes out.
“[1] Breathing in long, he discerns, ‘I am breathing in long’; or breathing out long, he discerns, ‘I am breathing out long.’ [2] Or breathing in short, he discerns, ‘I am breathing in short’; or breathing out short, he discerns, ‘I am breathing out short.’ [3] He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in sensitive to the entire body.’ He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out sensitive to the entire body.’ [4] He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in calming bodily fabrication.’ He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out calming bodily fabrication.’
“[5] He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in sensitive to rapture.’ He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out sensitive to rapture.’ [6] He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in sensitive to pleasure.’ He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out sensitive to pleasure.’ [7] He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in sensitive to mental fabrication.’ He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out sensitive to mental fabrication.’ [8] He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in calming mental fabrication.’ He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out calming mental fabrication.’
“[9] He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in sensitive to the mind.’ He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out sensitive to the mind.’ [10] He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in satisfying the mind.’ He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out satisfying the mind.’ [11] He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in steadying the mind.’ He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out steadying the mind.’ [12] He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in releasing the mind.’ He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out releasing the mind.’
“[13] He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in focusing on inconstancy.’ He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out focusing on inconstancy.’ [14] He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in focusing on dispassion.’[5] He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out focusing on dispassion.’ [15] He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in focusing on cessation.’ He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out focusing on cessation.’ [16] He trains himself, ‘I will breathe in focusing on relinquishment.’ He trains himself, ‘I will breathe out focusing on relinquishment.’
“This, Rahula, is how mindfulness of in-&-out breathing is developed & pursued so as to be of great fruit, of great benefit.
“When mindfulness of in-&-out breathing is developed & pursued in this way, even one’s final in-breaths & out-breaths are known as they cease, not unknown.”[6]
That is what the Blessed One said. Gratified, Ven. Rahula delighted in the Blessed One’s words.
1.
According to the Commentary, Ven. Rahula was 18 years old when this discourse took place.
2.
Bhavana.
3.
The preceding passage in braces is missing from the editions on which both The Middle Length Sayings and The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha are based.
4.
For notes on these sixteen steps, see MN 118.
5.
Literally, “fading.”
6.
I.e., one dies fully alert.
BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!
WISDOM IS POWER
Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Eternal Bliss
Using such an instrument
The Free ONLINE e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :
Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit
As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.
The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have…Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion.
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches
IKAMMA,REBIRTH,AWAKEN-NESS,BUDDHA,THUS COME ONE,DHAMMA II.ARHA ,FOUR HOLY TRUTHS,EIGHTFOLD PATH,TWELVEFOLD CONDITIONED ARISING,BODHISATTVA,PARAMITA,SIX PARAMITAS III.SIX SPIRITUAL POWERS,SIX PATHS OF REBIRTH,TEN DHARMA REALMS,FIVE SKANDHAS,EIGHTEEN REALMS,FIVE MORAL PRECEPTS IV. MEDITATION,MINDFULNESS,FOUR APPLICATIONS OF MINDFULNESS,LOTUS POSTURE,SAMADHI,CHAN SCHOOL,FOUR JHANAS,FOUR FORMLESS REALMS V. FIVE TYPES OF BUDDHIST STUDY AND PRACTICE,MAHAYANA AND HINAYANA COMPARED,PURE LAND,BUDDHA RECITATION,EIGHT CONSCIOUSNESSES,ONE HUNDRED DHARMAS,EMPTINESS VI. DEMON,LINEAGE
with
Level I: Introduction to Buddhism,Level II: Buddhist Studies,
TO ATTAIN
Level III: Stream-Enterer,Level IV: Once – Returner,Level V: Non-Returner,Level VI: Arhat
Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in
mathematics,astronomy,alchemy,andanatomy
Philosophy and Comparative Religions;Historical Studies;International Relations and Peace Studies;Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies;Languages and Literature;and Ecology and Environmental Studies
Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in
Mathematics
Astronomy
Alchemy
And Andanatomy
Buddhist perception of humanity
Buddhism and Information Technology
Buddhist perception of Business Management in Relation to Public Policy and Development and Ecology and Environment,
http://allmbastuff.blogspot.com/2009/11/corporate-social-responsibility.html
Society gets upset when the social cost of or for that matter any business exceeds the social benefit derived from the business. Over the years since the dawn of industrial revolution and particularly after the 1950s, the activities of the corporations have been increasingly affecting the society by way of environmental pollution which include air, water and sound, ozone depletion and overcrowding on account of unplanned industrialization society expect corporation to limit activities which produce harmful effects and correct the problem that are a result of their previous actions. Social reaction to mindless industrial activity gave rise to the concept of corporate social responsibility. Over the years, it has become obvious that the desire to make a fortune must be executed within the laws of the society. During the 1960s, social activists and environmental groups campaigned for a broader notion of corporate social responsibility. The clash between the economic operation of businesses and the changing social values brought questions of social responsibility to the fore-front. The economic performance of business and the social aspects of business behavior were found to be divergent. In order to enforce corporate social responsibility, in the United State government bodies such as the Protection Agency, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission were set-up. These bodies saw to it that national public policy recognized the environment, employees, and consumer to be significant and legitimate stakeholders of business. Corporate should help solve some of the social problem because businesses are influenced by the society through government policy and business thrive or starve along with the society.
DEFINITIONS OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY:
It refers to corporate actions that protect and improve the welfare of society along with the corporation’s own interests. According to Rogene Bucholz, “a private corporation has a social responsibility to society that goes beyond the production of goods and services at a profit and that a corporation has a broader constituency to serve than that of stockholders alone.”
SOCIAL AUDIT :–
A social audit identifies social issues in which a corporation should be involved, examine what an organization is actually doing with regard to social issues and determine the performance of the organization in the realisation of social work. Social audit is a statutory requirement in European countries like Germany, France, Spain & Norway. However, it is voluntary in the United States. The measurement of social performance of corporation was first attempted by Theodore Kreps. However, Clark Abt used the term ‘social audit’ for the first time in his work ‘Audit for Management’. Any project or programme implemented for generating social benefits can be subjected to social audit. The following social are the benefits of social audit:-
1. It helps to ascertain the usefulness of the corporation to the community with reference to community’s needs & requirements.
2. It helps to inform & convince opinion makers and influential institutions such as consumer forums, financial institutions, non-government organizations, and the government itself, about the social involvement of the corporation.
3. It helps to establish good corporate image and identify & generate goodwill for the corporation.
4. It helps to make a cooperative study of the efficacy of social work with that of non-government organizations and social or extension work undertaken by the government, universities & colleges.
5. It has huge publicity value and implicit or qualitative benefits to the corporation.
Corporations should strive for higher levels of social responsibility and make their presence felt to all concerned at least in the area surrounding their locations. A code of social service ethics should be developed & implemented by all well-meaning corporations. Corporations should also have an interface with other socially involved institutions such as the NGO’s, universities, colleges & extension departments of the government and financial institutions. A helping hand by the corporates in the event of natural calamities like earthquakes & floods and in drought or drought like situations would only integrate corporations with the society in which it operates. On going corporate social work can be done in the areas of adult literacy, education, health care, wildlife & environmental conservation.
MANAGER’S ROLE IN SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY:
The manager is the primary link between the corporation and the society. Managerial decisions must reflect the values and expectations of all the stakeholders of the society. Managers must interact with a number of clients both within and without the corporation. Every client or group of people approaches a situation with different values, perceptions & expectation and hence managers must be flexible in their approach. The traditional role of the manager was limited to the internal organization of the corporation. Now with the widespread acceptance of the concept of corporate social responsibility, the role of the manager has increased in its scope and dimension. Now managers must ensure that the corporation works in harmony with the environment and with the society’s expectations. Managers must recognize the social and economic dimension of business operations. Managers must treat employees with respect and provide a better quality work of life. The manager must adopt a more participative approach with regard to employee needs. Managers are expert to set goals which are in harmony with the personal goals of the employees. Thus, participation of all concerned in pursuit of organizational goals in the new management credo and while this is being done each one of the employer is given the freedom to decide upon his way of achieving the organizational goals. Mangers are also expected to be effective in social relationships that are external to the organization. The managers are must be conversant with micro and macro sociological aspects of the society. In a micro-social system i.e. the organization, the manager deals with others from a position of authority while in the macro-social system which is external, the managers must learn to deal with equality. The managers must be equipped with problem solving abilities to be successful in the macro-social system.
ARGUEMENTS IN FAVOUR OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES :-
The arguments made to emphasize the social responsibility of business deals with the mutual benefits that both the society and the business enterprise are likely to enjoy as a result of involvement of businesses in social activities. There are implicit economic returns for explicit social responsiveness by the firms. The following five arguments in favour of social responsibility made to emphasize the social responsibility on business:-
1. An important argument is that businesses exist because they satisfy important needs of society and therefore businesses should change along with the changes in society. They should both cater to the needs of the society and also create new needs. Thus, while being responsive, businesses should also be pro-active.
2. The second argument made to emphasize social responsibility is that if the results are beneficial to both the society and business, social responsiveness should be encouraged. On account of social responsiveness, businesses may benefit in terms of employer loyalty, improved QWL and increased public support for the operations.
3. Thirdly, Business can avoid additional government regulation, which curtails business freedom, adds economic cost and reduce flexibility in decision making.
4. Fourthly, a socially responsive business organization will have a good public image.
5. Lastly, it is the moral obligation of business to solve social problems and help both the society & the government.
Arguments against corporate social responsibility:-
The most important economic argument made against corporate social responsibility is that of the economic doctrine of profit maximization. When business maximizes profit by improving efficiency and reducing the cost, it is the society which benefits in the ultimate analysis. Thus, the society will benefit much more if business is left to do its own business. The topmost priority of business must be economic efficiency and mixing up the economic function with the social function will only reduce the economic efficiency of business for there is an opportunity cost involved in social involvement and the return on social involvement cannot be cardinally measured or explicitly accounted. Hence, economic criteria can only be the criteria to measure the success of business.
MILTON RRIEDMAN says, if business followed a socially responsive course, their actions would raise the price for customers or reduce the wages of employees and hence the only responsibility of business is to maximize profit. Business person should therefore concentrate on shareholders demands and expectation. According to Friedman, the four basic obligations of business to society are:
(1) Obey the law,
(2) Provide goods and services,
(3) Employ resources efficiently and
(4) Pay resources owners fairly in accordance with the market.
Following Friedman’s argument, it can be concluded that the result of social involvement will be a net economic loss to the business. Another argument made against social responsibility is that as a result of social involvement, business will become weak and defunct. A more charitable view on corporate social responsibilities is that business could spend small amount of its resources in social obligations and that business cannot afford major commitments for social involvement unless the cost is born by another institutions. Excessive social involvement would increase the economics costs and reduce the competitiveness of business. Some thinkers vies that business is a powerful organization and social involvement of business will only enhance the power of business which is not a very desirable idea. Further, business people are found wanting in skills and perceptions to effectively deal with social issues.
Business has no direct responsibility to both employees and society and here there is no valid reason for social involvement of business. Business should therefore keep away from social involvement and pursue the sole goal of profit maximization until society develops rules that establish social accountability of business. Finally, it is argued that social involvement of business lacks support from all quarters of the society. Social involvement of business would encourage stockholders dissent and would adversely affect the pursuit of economic objectives.
Bahujan Samaj Party’s Dara Singh Chauhan is a member of JPC
The JPC will consist of 30 members out of which 15 will be from the UPA and 15 from the Opposition. The Committee will have 20 members from the Lok Sabha and 10 Rajya Sabha MPs.
List of JPC members: PC Chacko, Manish Tewari, Jai Prakash Agarwal, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, V Kishore Chandra Deo, Deependra Singh Hooda, Nirmal Khatri and Praban Singh Ghatowar (all Congress).
Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha, Harin Pathak and Gopinath Munde (all BJP).
The other members are DMK’s TR Baalu, Kalyan Banerjee of Trinamool Congress, Janata Dal-United’s Sharad Yadav, Bahujan Samaj Party’s Dara Singh Chauhan, Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav, Communist Party of India’s Gurudas Dasgupta, Biju Janata Dal’s Arjun Charan Sethi and AIADMK’s M Thambi Durai.
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178 LESSON 24 02 2011 Ambalatthika rahulovada Sutta Instructions to Rahula at Mango Stone FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY to VOTE for BSP ELEPHANT for Social Transformation and Economic Emancipation to attain Ultimate Bliss-Buddhism and Information Technology
178 LESSON 24 02 2011 Ambalatthika rahulovada Sutta Instructions to Rahula at Mango Stone FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY to VOTE for BSP ELEPHANT for Social Transformation and Economic Emancipation to attain Ultimate Bliss
through
http://www.orgsites.com/oh/awakenedone/
|
Traditionally the are 84,000 Dharma Doors - 84,000 ways to get Awakeness. Maybe so; certainly the Buddha taught a large number of practices that lead to Awakeness. This web page attempts to catalogue those found in the Pali Suttas (DN, MN, SN, AN, Ud & Sn 1). There are 3 sections: |
The discourses of Buddha are divided into 84,000, as to separate addresses. The division includes all that was spoken by Buddha.”I received from Buddha,” said Ananda, “82,000 Khandas, and from the priests 2000; these are 84,000 Khandas maintained by me.” They are divided into 275,250, as to the stanzas of the original text, and into 361,550, as to the stanzas of the commentary. All the discourses including both those of Buddha and those of the commentator, are divided into 2,547 banawaras, containing 737,000 stanzas, and 29,368,000 separate letters.
Course Programs:
LESSON 178
Ambalatthika-rahulovada Sutta (Canonical)
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.061.than.html
MN 61
PTS: M i 414
Ambalatthika-rahulovada Sutta: Instructions to Rahula at Mango Stone
translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Rajagaha, at the Bamboo Grove, the Squirrels’ Feeding Ground.
At that time Ven. Rahula[1] was staying at the Mango Stone. Then the Blessed One, arising from his seclusion in the late afternoon, went to where Ven. Rahula was staying at the Mango Stone. Ven. Rahula saw him coming from afar and, on seeing him, set out a seat & water for washing the feet. The Blessed One sat down on the seat set out and, having sat down, washed his feet. Ven. Rahula, bowing down to the Blessed One, sat to one side.
Then the Blessed One, having left a little bit of water in the water dipper, said to Ven. Rahula, “Rahula, do you see this little bit of left-over water remaining in the water dipper?”
“Yes, sir.”
“That’s how little of a contemplative[2] there is in anyone who feels no shame at telling a deliberate lie.”
Having tossed away the little bit of left-over water, the Blessed One said to Ven. Rahula, “Rahula, do you see how this little bit of left-over water is tossed away?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Rahula, whatever there is of a contemplative in anyone who feels no shame at telling a deliberate lie is tossed away just like that.”
Having turned the water dipper upside down, the Blessed One said to Ven. Rahula, “Rahula, do you see how this water dipper is turned upside down?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Rahula, whatever there is of a contemplative in anyone who feels no shame at telling a deliberate lie is turned upside down just like that.”
Having turned the water dipper right-side up, the Blessed One said to Ven. Rahula, “Rahula, do you see how empty & hollow this water dipper is?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Rahula, whatever there is of a contemplative in anyone who feels no shame at telling a deliberate lie is empty & hollow just like that.
“Rahula, it’s like a royal elephant: immense, pedigreed, accustomed to battles, its tusks like chariot poles. Having gone into battle, it uses its forefeet & hindfeet, its forequarters & hindquarters, its head & ears & tusks & tail, but keeps protecting its trunk. The elephant trainer notices that and thinks, ‘This royal elephant has not given up its life to the king.’ But when the royal elephant… having gone into battle, uses its forefeet & hindfeet, its forequarters & hindquarters, its head & ears & tusks & tail & his trunk, the trainer notices that and thinks, ‘This royal elephant has given up its life to the king. There is nothing it will not do.’
“In the same way, Rahula, when anyone feels no shame in telling a deliberate lie, there is no evil, I tell you, he will not do. Thus, Rahula, you should train yourself, ‘I will not tell a deliberate lie even in jest.’
“What do you think, Rahula: What is a mirror for?”
“For reflection, sir.”
“In the same way, Rahula, bodily actions, verbal actions, & mental actions are to be done with repeated reflection.
“Whenever you want to do a bodily action, you should reflect on it: ‘This bodily action I want to do — would it lead to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both? Would it be an unskillful bodily action, with painful consequences, painful results?’ If, on reflection, you know that it would lead to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both; it would be an unskillful bodily action with painful consequences, painful results, then any bodily action of that sort is absolutely unfit for you to do. But if on reflection you know that it would not cause affliction… it would be a skillful bodily action with pleasant consequences, pleasant results, then any bodily action of that sort is fit for you to do.
“While you are doing a bodily action, you should reflect on it: ‘This bodily action I am doing — is it leading to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both? Is it an unskillful bodily action, with painful consequences, painful results?’ If, on reflection, you know that it is leading to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both… you should give it up. But if on reflection you know that it is not… you may continue with it.
“Having done a bodily action, you should reflect on it: ‘This bodily action I have done — did it lead to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both? Was it an unskillful bodily action, with painful consequences, painful results?’ If, on reflection, you know that it led to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both; it was an unskillful bodily action with painful consequences, painful results, then you should confess it, reveal it, lay it open to the Teacher or to a knowledgeable companion in the holy life. Having confessed it… you should exercise restraint in the future. But if on reflection you know that it did not lead to affliction… it was a skillful bodily action with pleasant consequences, pleasant results, then you should stay mentally refreshed & joyful, training day & night in skillful mental qualities.
“Whenever you want to do a verbal action, you should reflect on it: ‘This verbal action I want to do — would it lead to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both? Would it be an unskillful verbal action, with painful consequences, painful results?’ If, on reflection, you know that it would lead to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both; it would be an unskillful verbal action with painful consequences, painful results, then any verbal action of that sort is absolutely unfit for you to do. But if on reflection you know that it would not cause affliction… it would be a skillful verbal action with pleasant consequences, pleasant results, then any verbal action of that sort is fit for you to do.
“While you are doing a verbal action, you should reflect on it: ‘This verbal action I am doing — is it leading to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both? Is it an unskillful verbal action, with painful consequences, painful results?’ If, on reflection, you know that it is leading to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both… you should give it up. But if on reflection you know that it is not… you may continue with it.
“Having done a verbal action, you should reflect on it: ‘This verbal action I have done — did it lead to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both? Was it an unskillful verbal action, with painful consequences, painful results?’ If, on reflection, you know that it led to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both; it was an unskillful verbal action with painful consequences, painful results, then you should confess it, reveal it, lay it open to the Teacher or to a knowledgeable companion in the holy life. Having confessed it… you should exercise restraint in the future. But if on reflection you know that it did not lead to affliction… it was a skillful verbal action with pleasant consequences, pleasant results, then you should stay mentally refreshed & joyful, training day & night in skillful mental qualities.
“Whenever you want to do a mental action, you should reflect on it: ‘This mental action I want to do — would it lead to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both? Would it be an unskillful mental action, with painful consequences, painful results?’ If, on reflection, you know that it would lead to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both; it would be an unskillful mental action with painful consequences, painful results, then any mental action of that sort is absolutely unfit for you to do. But if on reflection you know that it would not cause affliction… it would be a skillful mental action with pleasant consequences, pleasant results, then any mental action of that sort is fit for you to do.
“While you are doing a mental action, you should reflect on it: ‘This mental action I am doing — is it leading to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both? Is it an unskillful mental action, with painful consequences, painful results?’ If, on reflection, you know that it is leading to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both… you should give it up. But if on reflection you know that it is not… you may continue with it.
“Having done a mental action, you should reflect on it: ‘This mental action I have done — did it lead to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both? Was it an unskillful mental action, with painful consequences, painful results?’ If, on reflection, you know that it led to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both; it was an unskillful mental action with painful consequences, painful results, then you should feel distressed, ashamed, & disgusted with it. Feeling distressed, ashamed, & disgusted with it, you should exercise restraint in the future. But if on reflection you know that it did not lead to affliction… it was a skillful mental action with pleasant consequences, pleasant results, then you should stay mentally refreshed & joyful, training day & night in skillful mental qualities.
“Rahula, all those brahmans & contemplatives in the course of the past who purified their bodily actions, verbal actions, & mental actions, did it through repeated reflection on their bodily actions, verbal actions, & mental actions in just this way.
“All those brahmans & contemplatives in the course of the future who will purify their bodily actions, verbal actions, & mental actions, will do it through repeated reflection on their bodily actions, verbal actions, & mental actions in just this way.
“All those brahmans & contemplatives at present who purify their bodily actions, verbal actions, & mental actions, do it through repeated reflection on their bodily actions, verbal actions, & mental actions in just this way.
“Thus, Rahula, you should train yourself: ‘I will purify my bodily actions through repeated reflection. I will purify my verbal actions through repeated reflection. I will purify my mental actions through repeated reflection.’ That’s how you should train yourself.”
That is what the Blessed One said. Gratified, Ven. Rahula delighted in the Blessed One’s words.
1.
Rahula: the Buddha’s son, who according to the Commentary was seven years old when this discourse was delivered to him.
2.
Samañña. Throughout ancient cultures, the terminology of music was used to describe the moral quality of people and actions. Discordant intervals or poorly-tuned musical instruments were metaphors for evil; harmonious intervals and well-tuned instruments, metaphors for good. In Pali, the term sama — “even” — described an instrument tuned on-pitch. There is a famous passage (in AN 6.55) where the Buddha reminds Sona Kolivisa — who had been over-exerting himself in the practice — that a lute sounds appealing only if the strings are neither too taut or too lax, but “evenly” tuned. This image would have special resonances with the Buddha’s teaching on the middle way. It also adds meaning to the term samana — monk or contemplative — which the texts frequently mention as being derived fromsama. The word samañña — “evenness,” the quality of being in tune — also means the quality of being a contemplative: The true contemplative is always in tune with what is proper and good.
BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!
WISDOM IS POWER
Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Eternal Bliss
Using such an instrument
The Free ONLINE e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :
Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit
As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.
The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have…Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion.
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches
IKAMMA,REBIRTH,AWAKEN-NESS,BUDDHA,THUS COME ONE,DHAMMA II.ARHA ,FOUR HOLY TRUTHS,EIGHTFOLD PATH,TWELVEFOLD CONDITIONED ARISING,BODHISATTVA,PARAMITA,SIX PARAMITAS III.SIX SPIRITUAL POWERS,SIX PATHS OF REBIRTH,TEN DHARMA REALMS,FIVE SKANDHAS,EIGHTEEN REALMS,FIVE MORAL PRECEPTS IV. MEDITATION,MINDFULNESS,FOUR APPLICATIONS OF MINDFULNESS,LOTUS POSTURE,SAMADHI,CHAN SCHOOL,FOUR JHANAS,FOUR FORMLESS REALMS V. FIVE TYPES OF BUDDHIST STUDY AND PRACTICE,MAHAYANA AND HINAYANA COMPARED,PURE LAND,BUDDHA RECITATION,EIGHT CONSCIOUSNESSES,ONE HUNDRED DHARMAS,EMPTINESS VI. DEMON,LINEAGE
with
Level I: Introduction to Buddhism,Level II: Buddhist Studies,
TO ATTAIN
Level III: Stream-Enterer,Level IV: Once – Returner,Level V: Non-Returner,Level VI: Arhat
Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in
mathematics,astronomy,alchemy,andanatomy
Philosophy and Comparative Religions;Historical Studies;International Relations and Peace Studies;Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies;Languages and Literature;and Ecology and Environmental Studies
Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in
Mathematics
Astronomy
Alchemy
And Andanatomy
Buddhist perception of humanity
Buddhism and Information Technology
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PNG |
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An illustration of Adam7 interlacing over a 16×16 image.
15 medias
Loudspeaker
Loudspeaker: principles underlying its functioning
Loudspeaker: an invention more than a century old
Loudspeaker: sound wave
Microphones
Dynamic microphone
Piezoelectric microphone
Moore’s law
Amplitude Modulation (AM)
Amplitude modulation
AM demodulation
Amplitude demodulation
Digital Analog Converter
Analog Digital Converter
Chappe TelegraphBuddhism and Information Technology
Axiological Ethical Issues
· Axiological Ethical Issues
· Social impacts of IT
· Related to “On the Internet”
· Loss of the ability to recognise relevance
· Acquiring skill
· Loss of sense of reality of people and things
· Anonymity and nihilism
· Colonisation of consciousness through IT
Information Technology and Buddhism
· BACKGROUND: PETER HERSHOCK
Reinventing the Wheel: A Buddhist Response to the Information Age
· Medium is the message” Marshall McLuhan’s Statement (1964).
· Media has significant moral valance regardless of content.
· Hershock concludes the fundamental task of ethics related to information exchange (media) is not a critique the “content” (although that may the logical critique), but to evaluate and provide alternatives to the history of progress through which the media have come about and which the media have, in turn, both sustained and deepened.
We may be debating question concerning freedom of speech and the limits of privacy rights, however, it may be that we can’t answer these questions within any framework of linear, one-directional sequences and causes and effects. And, we may be asking the wrong questions.
· COLONISATION OF CONSCIOUSNESS
o 30 hours of TV per week/22,00 commercials per year.
o Internet use-90% Americans expected to be online 12-15 hrs per week online.
o Americans average 60% of their waking life online taking attention away from families and communities?
o “vegging” out versus “getting conscious.”
o Exportation of these practices is what Hershock means by Colonisation.
o Material colonialism involved extraction of natural resources and breakdown of local economy and indigenous value system. English extracted raw materials, brought to England and then sold cloth back to Indians).
o Colonisation of consciousness (exporting our ideas and practices and extracting the attention of the people in our direction)-leads to breakdown of their local communities and cultures.
o Consider the possibility that all of the above is an attempt to end some kind of “existential discontent” and that we are looking outside ourselves and in the wrong place to resolve.
· Buddhist response:
· Four Noble Truths
Please visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arDPPvbmU0Y for Buddhism: Four Noble Truths
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· All is trouble or suffering (dukkha);
· Cause of Dukkha is “desire for private fulfilment-craving and aversion”
· There is a means by which a resolution is possible overcoming craving and aversion gives rise to freedom from suffering
· 8 fold path leads to this freedom
· The means by which such a resolution is possible in the practice of the Eight Fold Path-we can dissolve the patterns of conditioning that bring about suffering by developing right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration
· In sum, the root of Buddhism lies in developing skilful insight into the interdependent origination of all things, and through this, redirecting the movement of our situationfrom cycles of chronic trouble and suffering toward release from those cycles.
Buddhism
Ethical Norms characteristics of Buddhism are similar to other religions:
· Upholds having harmonious relations between people.
· Compassionate care for other beings.
· Self restraint.
· Economic justice.
· Non-violence.
Buddhism is different than other religions with respect to ethics in the following ways:
- No supreme authority.
- Radical relativity.
- Interdependence of phenomena.
- Dependant co-arising and knowing.
- Everything arises and ceases in continuous flux.
- Endless flux and co-dependence where everything is interrelated and inter-influencing. To understand this phenomena is itself is wisdom and will give rise to ethical behaviour.
- Wisdom and Sila (ethical behaviour) are like two hands washing eath other – ways of behaviour inform wisdom and visa versa.
· Two views of reality around the time of Buddha – pre-Socratic
- Parmenides-world made up of discrete material “stuff” versus
- Heralltus-the world is in constant flux
“Characteristics of Power” provide information about our underlying worldview.
Western Notion of Power
· Power “over”— property or others (something you can win or loose) giving rise to:
· Defenses.
· Fear (life forms need defenses but if you want something to grow those same defenses need to be able to break apart)
· Defenses:
· Nothing wrong with defences. They are absolutely necessary to protect living things. However, if we want to grow it is necessary to “peel off the old.”
Buddhist Notion of Power
Instead of seeing ourselves as separate things, see flows revealing patterns that self-organise power “with.”
- Power is an emergent (property) as we act together
- Power results from synergy
- To create connectivity
- Sangha
· Radical inter-connectivity
· Power with…
· Sharing
· Fundamental generosity-making sure everyone has enough
- Suffering
- Delusion-(ignorance)
Ø Is thinking that you are separate and hold yourself apart and aloof from web of life.
Ø Only see the parts and can’t see the whole.
Ø We feel weak and vulnerable and we try to shore ourselves up with “things” and defense.
Ø Mutual reinforcing mistake about life.
- Greed-the mistake to think that we need things for ourselves rather than for all of us
Ø Craving the need to pull things toward us and hold on to it for ourselves at the exclusion of others.
- Aversion-strong defense and gives rise to hatred
Causes—power over+ lack of wisdom (can’t see interconnectivity)
- Delusion- (ignorance) is thinking that you are separate and hold yourself apart from web life-only see the parts and can’t see the whole – mutually reinforcing mistake about life
- Greed-need to hold on to what’s mine
- Aversion-strong defenseand gives rise to hatred
· Wisdom-Experience and Understanding Dependant Co-Arising or Interconnectivity
· Biology and system thing change of the lens with which we see reality. Instead of seeing things as separate we now began to see things as flows of matter and energy and information and what appeared to be separate entities we began to see as nodes and patterns that self organize thanks to these flows.
· Open systems because they sustain themselves through the flow of matter, energy and information.
· Systems thinkers fascinated analyzing the principles and properties by which the flows generated these open systems.
· Example of the neural net
· Following the 8 Fold Path leads to freedom from delusion, greed and aversion and to wisdom (mind) and compassion (heart) and the experience of radical interconnectivity.
· Eight Fold Path suggests a way to behave that provides the optimal conditions to shift our thinking and resolve the Four Noble Truths.
Information Technology and Buddhism
· Content and right speech-basis of this type of communication is compassion-literally, a relationship of shared feeling or emotion (is that possible in one way direction and/or online when the conversation is disembodied?)
· Studies show how when you put TV into community the behavior of children changes.
· Children don’t learn to resolve trouble in liberating fashion.
· Rather, they may be learning to solve problems in ways that compound problems and increase sum total of suffering.
· Debate whether violence is indicator of what is inside versus causal connection.
· Buddha said “what is and what is-not are twine barbs on which all human kind is impaled” Then the question of what came first the chicken or the egg keeps us locked in suffering when the truth may be that neither is correct.
· Right View-leads to seeing our situation as interdependently arisen, as irreducibly dynamic, and as to some degree troubled and yet always open to revision (practice of three marks-Anicca (impermanence)
Please visit: http://wn.com/anicca_animal for Anicca Animal
Anatta (absence of permanent identity) and Dukkha (suffering)-i.e. while media arises out of local and global conditions, they also influence these very conditions – mutual causation
Please visit:http://wn.com/anatta for Anatta
· Impermanence-the emptiness-shows that nothing ultimate primacy or status of an original cause-so the notion has media-as-cause and media-as-mirror-can be seen as independently existing things only because of the temporal, spatial, and conceptual horizons that we impose on the emptiness or interdependence of all things.
· Advertising-primary focus of advertising is to foster sense of lack and wanting-craving-root of suffering often singled out by Buddha as root condition of suffering (along with lack of awareness of interdependent nature of all things) And it isn’t WHAT we are conditioned to WANT but rather the ACT OF WANTING.
· CONTEXT:MEDIA AS A TOOL VERSUS AS A TECHNOLOGY—although we can turn off our computer or TV we can’t put the media away like we can a hammer. Media will shape how we speak, what’s popular, notions of good, how we work and live.
1. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AS A COMPLEX SYSTEM OF TECHNOLOGIES AND EMERGE AS PATTERNS OF RELATIONSHIP OR HISTORICAL PROCESSES THAT INSTITUTIONALISE VALUES ACROSS A WIDE RANGE OF HUMAN ACTIVITIES AND MORAL VALANCE.
2. Merely focusing on the UTILITY of the tool, we ignore the tendency of it to deeply alter and institutionalize our core values.
· Central idea of Buddhism is to be able to be in accord with any situation whatsoever and to respond as needed (notice this is central idea of Taoism as well).
- A steady diet of mass media does not and cannot permit developing such virtuosity.
· Idea of “technotopia” world in which no galling hardship, agonizing disappointments, shortages, and no sense of loss. End to trouble, as we know it. Also the end of the compelling dramatic tensions, collapse of all differences that make a difference. Infinite variety would be possible but no compelling reason to choose on over the other.
Three leaders of the Janata Dal (Secular) of Bijapur on Wednesday formally joined the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) here.
The leaders — Bande Nawaz Mahabari, Jaffer Inamdar and Shabir Jahagirdar — were welcomed into the BSP fold by its party president Marasandra Muniyappa.
Mr. Muniyappa garlanded the leaders and said the Bijapur unit would gain strength with the induction of these leaders. — Staff Reporter
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177 LESSON 23 02 2011 Subhasita jaya Sutta Victory Through What is Well Spoken FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY to VOTE for BSP ELEPHANT for Social Transformation and Economic Emancipation to attain Ultimate Bliss-What is Buddhist perception of humanity?
177 LESSON 23 02 2011 Subhasita jaya Sutta Victory Through What is Well Spoken FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY to VOTE for BSP ELEPHANT for Social Transformation and Economic Emancipation to attain Ultimate Bliss
through
http://www.orgsites.com/oh/awakenedone/
|
Traditionally the are 84,000 Dharma Doors - 84,000 ways to get Awakeness. Maybe so; certainly the Buddha taught a large number of practices that lead to Awakeness. This web page attempts to catalogue those found in the Pali Suttas (DN, MN, SN, AN, Ud & Sn 1). There are 3 sections: |
The discourses of Buddha are divided into 84,000, as to separate addresses. The division includes all that was spoken by Buddha.”I received from Buddha,” said Ananda, “82,000 Khandas, and from the priests 2000; these are 84,000 Khandas maintained by me.” They are divided into 275,250, as to the stanzas of the original text, and into 361,550, as to the stanzas of the commentary. All the discourses including both those of Buddha and those of the commentator, are divided into 2,547 banawaras, containing 737,000 stanzas, and 29,368,000 separate letters.
Course Programs:
LESSON 177
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn11/sn11.005.than.html
SN 11.5
PTS: S i 222
CDB i 323
Subhasita-jaya Sutta: Victory Through What is Well Spoken
translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
On one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Savatthi at Jeta’s Grove, Anathapindika’s monastery. There he addressed the monks, “Monks!”
“Yes, lord,” the monks responded.
The Blessed One said, “Once in the past the devas & asuras[1] were arrayed for battle. ThenVepacitti the asura-king said to Sakka the deva-king: ‘Let there be victory through what is well spoken.’
“‘Yes, Vepacitti, let there be victory through what is well spoken.’
“So the devas & asuras appointed a panel of judges, [thinking,] ‘These will decide for us what is well spoken & poorly spoken.’
“Then Vepacitti the asura-king said to Sakka the deva-king, ‘Say a verse, deva-king!’
“When this was said, Sakka the deva-king said to Vepacitti the asura-king, ‘But you are the senior deity here, Vepacitti. You say a verse.’
“When this was said, Vepacitti recited this verse:
‘Fools would flare up even more
if there were no constraints.
Thus an awakened one
should restrain the fool
with a heavy stick.’
“When Vepacitti had said this verse, the asuras applauded but the devas were silent. So Vepacitti said to Sakka, ‘Say a verse, deva-king!’
“When this was said, Sakka recited this verse:
‘This, I think,
is the only constraint for a fool:
When, knowing the other’s provoked,
you mindfully grow calm.’
“When Sakka had said this verse, the devas applauded but the asuras were silent. So Sakka said to Vepacitti, ‘Say a verse, Vepacitti!’
“When this was said, Vepacitti recited this verse:
‘Vasava,[2] I see a fault
in this very forbearance:
When the fool thinks,
“He’s forbearing
out of fear of me,”
the idiot pursues you even more —
as a cow, someone who runs away.’
“When Vepacitti had said this verse, the asuras applauded but the devas were silent. So Vepacitti said to Sakka, ‘Say a verse, deva-king!’
“When this was said, Sakka recited this verse:
‘It doesn’t matter
whether he thinks,
“He’s forbearing
out of fear of me.”
One’s own true good
is the foremost good.
Nothing better
than patience
is found.
Whoever, when strong,
is forbearing
to one who is weak:
that’s the foremost patience.
The weak must constantly endure.
They call that strength
no strength at all:
whoever’s strength
is the strength of a fool.
There’s no reproach
for one who is strong,
guarding — guarded by — Dhamma.
You make things worse
when you flare up
at someone who’s angry.
Whoever doesn’t flare up
at someone who’s angry
wins a battle
hard to win.
You live for the good of both
— your own, the other’s —
when, knowing the other’s provoked,
you mindfully grow calm.
When you work the cure of both
— your own, the other’s —
those who think you a fool
know nothing of Dhamma.’
“When Sakka had said this verse, the devas applauded but the asuras were silent. Then the deva & asura panel of judges said, ‘The verses said by Vepacitti the asura-king lie in the sphere of swords & weapons — thence arguments, quarrels, & strife. Whereas the verses said by Sakka the deva-king lies outside the sphere of swords & weapons — thence no arguments, no quarrels, no strife. The victory through what is well spoken goes to Sakka the deva-king.’
“And that, monks, is how the victory through what was well spoken went to Sakka the deva-king.”
1.
The devas & asuras were two groups of deities who fought for control of heaven (like the gods & titans in Greek mythology). The devas eventually won. The asuras, known for their fierce anger, later became classed as angry demons and, in some Buddhist cosmologies, are regarded as a class of being lower than human.
2.
Vasava — “Powerful” — is one of Sakka’s epithets.
BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!
WISDOM IS POWER
Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Eternal Bliss
Using such an instrument
The Free ONLINE e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :
Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit
As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.
The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have…Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion.
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches
IKAMMA,REBIRTH,AWAKEN-NESS,BUDDHA,THUS COME ONE,DHAMMA II.ARHA ,FOUR HOLY TRUTHS,EIGHTFOLD PATH,TWELVEFOLD CONDITIONED ARISING,BODHISATTVA,PARAMITA,SIX PARAMITAS III.SIX SPIRITUAL POWERS,SIX PATHS OF REBIRTH,TEN DHARMA REALMS,FIVE SKANDHAS,EIGHTEEN REALMS,FIVE MORAL PRECEPTS IV. MEDITATION,MINDFULNESS,FOUR APPLICATIONS OF MINDFULNESS,LOTUS POSTURE,SAMADHI,CHAN SCHOOL,FOUR JHANAS,FOUR FORMLESS REALMS V. FIVE TYPES OF BUDDHIST STUDY AND PRACTICE,MAHAYANA AND HINAYANA COMPARED,PURE LAND,BUDDHA RECITATION,EIGHT CONSCIOUSNESSES,ONE HUNDRED DHARMAS,EMPTINESS VI. DEMON,LINEAGE
with
Level I: Introduction to Buddhism,Level II: Buddhist Studies,
TO ATTAIN
Level III: Stream-Enterer,Level IV: Once – Returner,Level V: Non-Returner,Level VI: Arhat
Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in
mathematics,astronomy,alchemy,andanatomy
Philosophy and Comparative Religions;Historical Studies;International Relations and Peace Studies;Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies;Languages and Literature;and Ecology and Environmental Studies
Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in
Mathematics
Astronomy
Alchemy
And Andanatomy
What is Buddhist perception of humanity?
http://www.daisakuikeda.org/main/philos/buddhist/buddh-05.html
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“Buddhism teaches that all people are inherently Buddhas. I believe that this Buddhist view of humanity embodies a key and fundamental principle for world peace.” 1–Daisaku Ikeda
The phrase that Ikeda often uses to characterize his philosophical stance is “Buddhist humanism.” It is a philosophical perspective that reflects the core spirit of the Lotus Sutra, one founded on faith in the inherent dignity of human beings and profound confidence in people’s capacity for positive transformation.
From the perspective of Buddhist humanism it is human beings themselves, rather than a higher power, who possess the ultimate wisdom about their condition. This view regards the individual as the pivotal force of change within the interdependent network of phenomena that comprises life. A fundamental change in the life of an individual, in other words, will affect the entire web of life.
One of the distinguishing features of Buddhist humanism is this consciousness of and respect for the interdependence and interrelatedness of all life. While Buddhist humanism focuses on the human being, it does not polarize human beings and the environment or other forms of life. Rather it seeks to create human happiness through a harmonization of these interdependent relationships. “The essence of Buddhist humanism,” says Ikeda, “is mutual respect.” 2 Buddhism is grounded in a fundamental belief in the inherent dignity of all life.
A Life-Sized Paradigm
Ikeda’s concept of a “life-sized paradigm” helps shed light on another aspect of his Buddhist humanism. One consequence of the process of globalization has been that, while we are now more conscious of ourselves as part of a broader world-community, we find ourselves in a vast world of competing global forces over which we, apparently, have no control. The result is one of disempowerment–a sense of our inability to have any meaningful impact on the world, a feeling that our individual lives matter little in the face of larger realities.
The effects of this are a social tendency toward dehumanization. In response, Ikeda proposes the need for people to develop a “life-sized paradigm by which to understand our world and where we stand in it.” He explains this as “a way of thinking that never deviates from the human scale. It is simultaneously a humane sensitivity to life as a whole and also to the details of everyday human existence.” 3
This requires that all choices and decisions–from those of daily life to those that shape global policies–must first be evaluated in terms of their impact on the real lives of people. Seen in this light, we gain a renewed appreciation for the very real value of our own local, everyday actions and interactions, and of our ultimate ability to impact upon history on a global scale.
http://www.daisakuikeda.org/main/philos/buddhist/buddh-01.html
Buddhism in Action: Overview
“A great human revolution in just a single individual will help achieve a change in the destiny of a nation and, further, will enable a change in the destiny of humankind. “ 1–Daisaku Ikeda
The significance of Daisaku Ikeda’s contributions as a Buddhist philosopher can most readily be gauged in the dramatic growth of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) organization that he leads, and in the broad diversity that characterizes the movement. The SGI is perhaps the largest, fastest-growing and most diverse association of lay Buddhists in the world today.
Indeed, Buddhism came into being some 2,500 years ago as a teaching to liberate people from life’s inevitable sufferings. Despite its universal concerns and long history, for the most part Buddhism has remained, in Western perception, an Asian religion tightly bound up in Asian culture. Ikeda has been noted for his success in recasting and expanding the cultural context in which Buddhism functions as a living faith. Certainly, among members of the SGI, Buddhism is practiced and applied today in a wide variety of cultural settings by people from all walks of life.
An SGI meeting in Togo
Ikeda’s philosophy is inseparable from the teachings of the thirteenth-century Buddhist sage Nichiren (1222-82) and the Lotus Sutra from which Nichiren’s teachings are derived. His achievement has been his ability to understand and express the essence of these teachings as a philosophy of human development and social engagement in a way that offers a vigorous response to the challenges of contemporary society. There are three prominent characteristics of this philosophy: an approach that has been called Buddhist Humanism; a belief in the importance of dialogue; and a commitment to personal transformation as the driving force for social change, referred to as “human revolution.” It finds expression not simply as a set of ideas but as a basis for actively engaging with life and social realities. The basic core of this philosophy is the utmost value it places on each individual life.
More than anywhere, Ikeda’s philosophy has been embodied in his own actions: As an impassioned advocate of dialogue for peace, Ikeda has engaged in dialogue with an astonishingly wide range of thinkers. He has sought to build bridges of understanding among people of different nations and cultures, from diverse philosophical and faith traditions. These efforts are deeply rooted in the Buddhist belief that the most valuable way of life is one committed to the alleviation of human suffering.
Ikeda has published an extensive body of works exploring his ideas on various subjects. Many of these are dialogues with experts in particular fields. They all, however, are driven by an urgent desire to find creative paths forward out of the quandaries in which humankind is enmeshed. Information on those available works that have been translated into English can be found in the books section of this site.
POLITICS IS SACRED With GOOD GOVERNANCE
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176 LESSON 22 02 2011 Maha Kassapa FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY to VOTE for BSP ELEPHANT for Social Transformation and Economic Emancipation to attain Ultimate Bliss-Road map for Nalanda University discussed
176 LESSON 22 02 2011 Maha Kassapa FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY to VOTE for BSP ELEPHANT for Social Transformation and Economic Emancipation to attain Ultimate Bliss
hrough
http://www.orgsites.com/oh/awakenedone/
|
Traditionally the are 84,000 Dharma Doors - 84,000 ways to get Awakeness. Maybe so; certainly the Buddha taught a large number of practices that lead to Awakeness. This web page attempts to catalogue those found in the Pali Suttas (DN, MN, SN, AN, Ud & Sn 1). There are 3 sections: |
The discourses of Buddha are divided into 84,000, as to separate addresses. The division includes all that was spoken by Buddha.”I received from Buddha,” said Ananda, “82,000 Khandas, and from the priests 2000; these are 84,000 Khandas maintained by me.” They are divided into 275,250, as to the stanzas of the original text, and into 361,550, as to the stanzas of the commentary. All the discourses including both those of Buddha and those of the commentator, are divided into 2,547 banawaras, containing 737,000 stanzas, and 29,368,000 separate letters.
Course Programs:
LESSON 176
Please visit:http://wn.com/buddha__who_destroyed_buddha?orderby=published
http://sites.google.com/site/begintosee/bhantevideos
http://nalanda-onthemove.blogspot.com/2011/01/rediscovery-of-silao-maha-kassapa.html
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/thag/thag.18.00.than.html
Thag 18
PTS: Thag 1051-90
Maha Kassapa
translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Alternate translation: Olendzki (excerpt)
One shouldn’t go about
surrounded, revered
by a company:
one gets distracted;
concentration
is hard to gain.
Fellowship with many people
is painful.
Seeing this,
one shouldn’t approve
of a company.
A sage shouldn’t visit families:
one gets distracted;
concentration
is hard to gain.
He’s eager & greedy for flavors,
whoever misses the goal
that brings bliss.
They know it’s a bog —
the reverence & veneration
of families —
a subtle arrow, hard to extract.
Offerings are hard for a worthless man
to let go.
* * *
Coming down from my dwelling place,
I entered the city for alms,
stood courteously next to a leper
eating his meal.
He, with his rotting hand,
tossed me a morsel of food,
and as the morsel was dropping,
a finger fell off
right there.
Sitting next to a wall,
I ate that morsel of food,
and neither while eating it,
nor having eaten,
did I feel
any disgust.
Whoever has mastered
left-over scraps for food,
smelly urine for medicine,
the foot of a tree for a dwelling,
cast-off rags for robes:
He is a man
of the four directions.
* * *
Where some are exhausted
climbing the mountain,
there
the Awakened One’s heir
— mindful, alert,
buoyed by his psychic power —
Kassapa climbs.
Returning from his alms round,
climbing the peak,
Kassapa does jhana
with no sustenance/clinging,
having abandoned terror
& fear.
Returning from his alms round,
climbing the peak,
Kassapa does jhana
with no sustenance/clinging,
unbound
among those who burn.
Returning from his alms round,
climbing the peak,
Kassapa does jhana
with no sustenance/clinging,
free of fermentation,
his duty
done.
Spread with garlands of vines,
places delighting the mind,
resounding with elephants,
appealing:
those rocky crags
refresh me.
The color of blue-dark clouds,
glistening,
cooled with the waters
of clear-flowing streams
covered with ladybugs:
those rocky crags
refresh me.
Like the peaks of blue-dark clouds,
like excellent peaked-roof buildings,
resounding with tuskers,
appealing:
those rocky crags
refresh me.
Their lovely surfaces wet with rain,
mountains frequented
by seers
& echoing
with peacocks:
those rocky crags
refresh me.
This is enough for me —
desiring to do jhana,
resolute, mindful;
enough for me —
desiring the goal,
resolute,
a monk;
enough for me —
desiring comfort,
resolute,
in training;
enough for me —
desiring my duty,
resolute,
Such.
Flax-flower blue,
like the sky
covered over with clouds;
filled with flocks
of various birds:
those rocky crags
refresh me.
Uncrowded
by householders,
frequented
by herds of deer
filled with flocks
of various birds:
those rocky crags
refresh me.
With clear waters &
massive boulders,
frequented by monkeys &
deer,
covered with moss &
water weeds:
those rocky crags
refresh me.
There is no such pleasure for me
in the music of a five-piece band
as there is when my mind
is at one,
seeing the Dhamma
aright.
* * *
One shouldn’t do lots of work,
should avoid people,
shouldn’t busy oneself.
He’s eager & greedy for flavors,
whoever misses the goal
that brings bliss.
One shouldn’t do lots of work,
should avoid
what doesn’t lead to the goal.
The body gets wearied,
fatigued.
Aching, one finds
no tranquillity.
* * *
Simply by flapping the mouth
one doesn’t see
even oneself.
One goes around stiff-
necked,
thinking, ‘I’m better
than they.’
Not better,
he thinks himself better,
the fool:
the wise don’t praise him,
the stiff-necked man.
But whoever isn’t stirred
by the modes of
‘I’m better,
not better.
I’m worse.
I’m like that’;
one who’s discerning,
who acts as he says,
well-centered
in virtues,
committed to
tranquillity of awareness, he
is the one
the wise
would praise.
One with no respect
for his fellows in the holy life,
is as far
from the true Dhamma
as the earth
is from the sky.
But those whose conscience
& fear of evil
are always rightly established: they
have flourished in the holy life.
For them
there’s no further becoming.
A monk conceited & vain,
even though clad
in a robe of cast-off rags,
like a monkey in a lion’s skin,
doesn’t shine because of it.
But a monk not conceited
or vain,
masterful,
his faculties restrained, shines
because of his robe of cast-off rags,
like a lion
in the cleft of a mountain.
* * *
These many devas,
powerful, prestigious
— 10,000 devas —
all of Brahma’s retinue,
stand with their hands over their hearts,
paying homage to Sariputta,
the Dhamma-general,
enlightened,
centered,
great master of jhana,
[saying:]
‘Homage to you, O thoroughbred man.
Homage to you, O superlative man —
of whom we have no direct knowledge
even of that
in dependence on which
you do jhana.
‘How very amazing:
the awakened ones’
very own deep range —
of which we have no direct knowledge,
though we have come
as hair-splitting archers.’
Seeing Sariputta,
a man worthy of worship,
worshipped by deva retinues,
Kappina
smiled.
* * *
As far as this buddha-field extends
— except for the great sage himself —
I’m the one
outstanding
in ascetic qualities.
There’s no one else
like me.
The Teacher has been served by me;
the Awakened One’s bidding,
done;
the heavy load, laid down;
the guide to becoming, uprooted.
Neither to robe,
nor dwelling,
nor food
does he cling:
Gotama,
like a lotus unspotted
by water, inclining
to renunciation, detached
from the three planes of becoming.[1]
He,
the great sage,
has the frames of reference
as his neck,
conviction
as hands,
discernment
as head.
The great master of jhana
he goes about
always unbound.
BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!
WISDOM IS POWER
Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Eternal Bliss
Using such an instrument
The Free ONLINE e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :
Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit
As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.
The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have…Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion.
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches
IKAMMA,REBIRTH,AWAKEN-NESS,BUDDHA,THUS COME ONE,DHAMMA II.ARHA ,FOUR HOLY TRUTHS,EIGHTFOLD PATH,TWELVEFOLD CONDITIONED ARISING,BODHISATTVA,PARAMITA,SIX PARAMITAS III.SIX SPIRITUAL POWERS,SIX PATHS OF REBIRTH,TEN DHARMA REALMS,FIVE SKANDHAS,EIGHTEEN REALMS,FIVE MORAL PRECEPTS IV. MEDITATION,MINDFULNESS,FOUR APPLICATIONS OF MINDFULNESS,LOTUS POSTURE,SAMADHI,CHAN SCHOOL,FOUR JHANAS,FOUR FORMLESS REALMS V. FIVE TYPES OF BUDDHIST STUDY AND PRACTICE,MAHAYANA AND HINAYANA COMPARED,PURE LAND,BUDDHA RECITATION,EIGHT CONSCIOUSNESSES,ONE HUNDRED DHARMAS,EMPTINESS VI. DEMON,LINEAGE
with
Level I: Introduction to Buddhism,Level II: Buddhist Studies,
TO ATTAIN
Level III: Stream-Enterer,Level IV: Once – Returner,Level V: Non-Returner,Level VI: Arhat
Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in
mathematics,astronomy,alchemy,andanatomy
Philosophy and Comparative Religions;Historical Studies;International Relations and Peace Studies;Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies;Languages and Literature;and Ecology and Environmental Studies
Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in
Mathematics
Astronomy
Alchemy
And Andanatomy
University will start with seven schools, primarily in humanities
The Governing Board of the new Nalanda University on Monday laid down a road map to make the institution functional tentatively by 2013. The recruitment of faculty would be done one or two semesters before the first batch is enrolled so that they have a role in finalising the course structure.
The University will start with seven schools, primarily in humanities, but will include departments of Information Sciences and Technology, Business Management in Relation to Public Policy and Development and Ecology and Environment, in addition to Languages and Literature; Religion and Philosophy; Historical Studies, International Relations and Peace Studies; and Buddhist Studies.
This was the first meeting of the Governing Board, which was earlier functioning as the Nalanda Mentor Group, and was attended by Gopa Sabharwal, who has just been appointed as the first Vice-Chancellor of the Nalanda University, to be set up just about 10 km away from the historic location of the Nalanda university in Bihar.
“We will try and enrol the students as soon as possible and as soon as infrastructure comes up at the site,'’ Amartya Sen, chairperson of the Governing Board told journalists after the meeting. The meeting also discussed the statutes that would govern the University and the institutions relations with other universities. He said the focus at the beginning would be only on humanities due to the less cost involved. As we expand, we will include other subjects as well, he explained.
“In keeping with the extraordinary traditions of the historic University, we will develop the University as only as a secular institution but where religion will also be included,'’ Professor Sen said clarifying that the university was an academic venture and not a diplomatic exercise just because several Asian countries had contributed for its development.
Foreign Minister of Singapore George Yeo – who is also on the Governing Board – said the entire issue of setting up the University is an “exciting exercise” and the institution would help in the over all development of the region which is backward. He also sought an international airport near Nalanda and said the Buddhist tourist circuit would get a boost once the institution became functional.
Announcing that the Governing Board had decided to go for global tenders, Dr. Sabharwal said 446 acres of land for the project had been acquired for the purpose. “Our aim would be to develop a state-of-the-art university,'’ she explained adding that history showed that 200 villages around the old Nalanda University supported the institution and now was the time to do the reverse as the University would help in the development of these villages that would be traced and identified during the process of “interaction'’ with the region.
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175 LESSON 21 02 2011 Alavika Sutta Sister Alavika FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY to VOTE for BSP ELEPHANT for Social Transformation and Economic Emancipation to attain Ultimate Bliss-POLITICS IS SACRED With GOOD GOVERNANCE-BSP will return to power by winning still more seats in the next Vidhan Sabha elections.-Justification of Change in the State Guest Manual VOICE of SARVAJAN HONEYLEAKS-–USED vs. LOVED
175 LESSON 21 02 2011 Alavika Sutta Sister Alavika FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY to VOTE for BSP ELEPHANT for Social Transformation and Economic Emancipation to attain Ultimate Bliss
through
http://www.orgsites.com/oh/awakenedone/
|
Traditionally the are 84,000 Dharma Doors - 84,000 ways to get Awakeness. Maybe so; certainly the Buddha taught a large number of practices that lead to Awakeness. This web page attempts to catalogue those found in the Pali Suttas (DN, MN, SN, AN, Ud & Sn 1). There are 3 sections: |
The discourses of Buddha are divided into 84,000, as to separate addresses. The division includes all that was spoken by Buddha.”I received from Buddha,” said Ananda, “82,000 Khandas, and from the priests 2000; these are 84,000 Khandas maintained by me.” They are divided into 275,250, as to the stanzas of the original text, and into 361,550, as to the stanzas of the commentary. All the discourses including both those of Buddha and those of the commentator, are divided into 2,547 banawaras, containing 737,000 stanzas, and 29,368,000 separate letters.
Course Programs:
LESSON 175
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn05/sn05.001.than.html
SN 5.1
PTS: S i 128
CDB i 221
Alavika Sutta: Sister Alavika
translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Alternate translation: Bodhi
At Savatthi. Then, early in the morning, Alavika the nun put on her robes and, taking her bowl & outer robe, went into Savatthi for alms. When she had gone for alms in Savatthi and had returned from her alms round, after her meal she went to the Grove of the Blind to spend the day. Having gone deep into the Grove of the Blind, she sat down at the foot of a tree for the day’s abiding.
Then Mara the Evil One, wanting to arouse fear, horripilation, & terror in her, wanting to make her fall away from seclusion, approached her & addressed her in verse:
There’s no
escape
in the world,
so what are you trying to do
with solitude?
Enjoy sensual delights.
Don’t be someone
who later regrets.
Then the thought occurred to Alavika the nun: “Now who has recited this verse — a human being or a non-human one?” Then it occurred to her: “This is Mara the Evil One, who has recited this verse wanting to arouse fear, horripilation, & terror in me, wanting to make me fall away from seclusion.”
Then, having understood that “This is Mara the Evil One,” she replied to him in verses:
There is
an escape in the world,
well touched by me
with discernment —
something that you,
you Evil One,
kinsman of the heedless,
don’t know.
Sensual pleasures
are like swords & spears;
the aggregates,
their executioner’s block.
What you call sensual delight
is no delight for me.
Then Mara the Evil One — sad & dejected at realizing, “Alavika the nun knows me” — vanished right there.
BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!
WISDOM IS POWER
Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Eternal Bliss
Using such an instrument
The Free ONLINE e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :
Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit
As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.
The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have…Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion.
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches
IKAMMA,REBIRTH,AWAKEN-NESS,BUDDHA,THUS COME ONE,DHAMMA II.ARHA ,FOUR HOLY TRUTHS,EIGHTFOLD PATH,TWELVEFOLD CONDITIONED ARISING,BODHISATTVA,PARAMITA,SIX PARAMITAS III.SIX SPIRITUAL POWERS,SIX PATHS OF REBIRTH,TEN DHARMA REALMS,FIVE SKANDHAS,EIGHTEEN REALMS,FIVE MORAL PRECEPTS IV. MEDITATION,MINDFULNESS,FOUR APPLICATIONS OF MINDFULNESS,LOTUS POSTURE,SAMADHI,CHAN SCHOOL,FOUR JHANAS,FOUR FORMLESS REALMS V. FIVE TYPES OF BUDDHIST STUDY AND PRACTICE,MAHAYANA AND HINAYANA COMPARED,PURE LAND,BUDDHA RECITATION,EIGHT CONSCIOUSNESSES,ONE HUNDRED DHARMAS,EMPTINESS VI. DEMON,LINEAGE
with
Level I: Introduction to Buddhism,Level II: Buddhist Studies,
TO ATTAIN
Level III: Stream-Enterer,Level IV: Once – Returner,Level V: Non-Returner,Level VI: Arhat
Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in
mathematics,astronomy,alchemy,andanatomy
Philosophy and Comparative Religions;Historical Studies;International Relations and Peace Studies;Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies;Languages and Literature;and Ecology and Environmental Studies
Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in
Mathematics
Astronomy
Alchemy
And Andanatomy
POLITICS IS SACRED With GOOD GOVERNANCE
Vote BSP Elephant for Change offering the MASTER KEY for the peace, happiness and Welfare of Entire People.
BSP will return to power by winning still more seats in the next Vidhan Sabha elections.
Justification of Change in the State Guest Manual –
Regarding certain amendments introduced in the state guext manual that the matter has been under consideration for a long time. Different states have adopted different policies in this regard, in the process of amendments to the UP guest manual, perusal of manuals of other states was undertaken including those of Kerala and Karnataka, only after which amendments were finalised which had been overdue. It appears that hon’ble members of the opposition have not gone through the manuals attentively of other states as wel as the amendments incorporated in the state manual else, they would have not have raised such objections.
A program for inspection by visiting every district in the state have been formulated with effect from 1st February, to review the status of law and order, development and public welfare works to maximise benefits to the people. Instead of appreciating this, the opposite parties are insinuating and engaging in abominable politics. With nothing more to say, now they have come to the level of Chief Minister’s sandals. Through the press/media the answer has already been given to them by the Chief Minister. Some of the members of the media, newspapers and channels with castiest mentality, unhappy with BSP and govt. have greatly exaggerated the issue to be quits. Even before this, when the Chief Minister was in her review tour of Aligarh and Mahamayanagar districts, all antagonists went, hammer and tongs after tow of her ministers, namely Thakur Jaiveer Singh form Aligarh and Sri Jaiveer Singh from Mainpuri even as the allegations against both these Ministers, according to reports till date, have been found devoid of facts and baseless. Actually, the allegations against BSP’s two ministers appear to be a conspiracy by the opposition to defame BSP and govt.
Conspiracies of these kind prove that the opposition has been left with nothing tangible to say against the govt. Perhaps, the opposition parties do not realise that whenever opposition has attempted to pull down BSP it has, emerged more invigorated at the grass roots.
The leader of the main opposition party, while speaking on the motion of thanks to the address of the Governer had said something about the presence of the leader of the house in order to maintain the tradition. To this, the response is that instead of dishing out advice to others, he had better learn to follow the advice himself. It would have suited him well that when the budget was presented in the house he had been present in the house keeping with the tradition. It is guessed his answer would be : if he could be away to do some work why couldn’t the Chief Minister have some important govt. work to do ! Her advice to the leader of the opposition would be : before complaining of dust on other’s shoes look at his own unclean doorsteps.
Among other things, criticism of BSP’s govt. by the opposition parties during the motion of thanks to the address of the Governor in the hon’ble house has been fully answered and rebutted on all important issues point by point in order to enlighten the people of the state about the reality. Before conclusion, Chief Minister appealed all the hon’ble members of the opposition parties to desist from levelling fictitious and baseless charges against the government’s goal of speeding up the rate of development and offering to the people better law and order.
Finally, The Chief Minister welcomed the motion of thanks to the address of the Governor and prayed to the Nature that the heinous act by the opposition parties of violating parliamentary dignity, this time and before, is not repeated and may the Elements bestow wisdom on them, for the future with this, now it is stopped.
Thanks
VOICE of SARVAJAN HONEYLEAKS
Mon, 21 February, 2011 10:08:43 AM
[The Buddhist Circle] Fw:Used Vs Loved
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From: |
vinaya rakkhita View Contact |
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To: |
buddhistcircle@yahoogroups.com |
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Cc: |
bodhisattva group |
In anger, the man took the child ‘ s hand When the child saw his father….. Devastated by his own actions…… Anger and Love have no limits; Let ‘ s try always to keep this thought in mind: with metta, Bhanteji |
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174 LESSON 20 02 2011 Bhutamidam Sutta This Has Come Into Being FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY to VOTE for BSP ELEPHANT for Social Transformation and Economic Emancipation to attain Ultimate Bliss-POLITICS IS SACRED With GOOD GOVERNANCE-Quality of Construction Works-Special Component Plan (SC sub-plan) –VOICE of SARVAJAN HONEYLEAKS-Ambedkar spread awareness on Buddhism in India-On 20-02-2011 Mahatma Jotiba Phule was remembered by Bahujan Samaj Party in Karnataka Head Office
174 LESSON 20 02 2011 Bhutamidam Sutta This Has Come Into Being FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY to VOTE for BSP ELEPHANT for Social Transformation and Economic Emancipation to attain Ultimate Bliss
through
http://www.orgsites.com/oh/awakenedone/
|
Traditionally the are 84,000 Dharma Doors - 84,000 ways to get Awakeness. Maybe so; certainly the Buddha taught a large number of practices that lead to Awakeness. This web page attempts to catalogue those found in the Pali Suttas (DN, MN, SN, AN, Ud & Sn 1). There are 3 sections: |
The discourses of Buddha are divided into 84,000, as to separate addresses. The division includes all that was spoken by Buddha.”I received from Buddha,” said Ananda, “82,000 Khandas, and from the priests 2000; these are 84,000 Khandas maintained by me.” They are divided into 275,250, as to the stanzas of the original text, and into 361,550, as to the stanzas of the commentary. All the discourses including both those of Buddha and those of the commentator, are divided into 2,547 banawaras, containing 737,000 stanzas, and 29,368,000 separate letters.
Course Programs:
LESSON 174
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn12/sn12.031.than.html
SN 12.31
PTS: S ii 47
CDB i 566
Bhutamidam Sutta: This Has Come Into Being
translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Alternate translation: Nyanaponika
On one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Savatthi in Jeta’s Grove, Anathapindika’s monastery. There he addressed Ven. Sariputta, “Sariputta, it is said in Ajita’s Question in the Way to the Further Shore:[1]
Those here who have fathomed the Dhamma,
those who are learners,
those who are run-of-the-mill:
When you, dear sir, astute,
are asked this,
tell me their manner of life.
“How is the detailed meaning of this brief statement to be understood?”
When this was said, Ven. Sariputta remained silent.
A second time… A third time the Blessed One addressed Ven. Sariputta, “Sariputta, it is said in Ajita’s Question in the Way to the Further Shore:
Those here who have fathomed the Dhamma,
those who are learners,
those who are run-of-the-mill:
When you, dear sir, astute,
are asked this,
tell me their manner of life.
“How is the detailed meaning of this brief statement to be understood?”
A third time, Ven. Sariputta remained silent.
“Do you see, Sariputta, that ‘this has come into being’?”
“One sees with right discernment, lord, that ‘this has come into being.’ Seeing with right discernment that ‘this has come into being,’ one practices for disenchantment with, for dispassion toward, for the cessation of what has come into being. One sees with right discernment that ‘it has come into being from this nutriment.’ Seeing with right discernment that ‘it has come into being from this nutriment,’ one practices for disenchantment with, for dispassion toward, for the cessation of the nutriment by which it has come into being. One sees with right discernment that ‘from the cessation of this nutriment, what has come into being is subject to cessation.’ Seeing with right discernment that ‘from the cessation of this nutriment, what has come into being is subject to cessation,’ one practices for disenchantment with, for dispassion toward, for the cessation of what is subject to cessation. This is how one is a learner.
“And how, lord, is one a person who has fathomed the Dhamma?
“One sees with right discernment, lord, that ‘this has come into being.’ Seeing with right discernment that ‘this has come into being,’ one is — through disenchantment, dispassion, cessation, through lack of clinging/sustenance — released from what has come into being. One sees with right discernment that ‘it has come into being from this nutriment.’ Seeing with right discernment that ‘it has come into being from this nutriment,’ one is — through disenchantment, dispassion, cessation, through lack of clinging/sustenance — released from the nutriment by which it has come into being. One sees with right discernment that ‘from the cessation of this nutriment, what has come into being is subject to cessation.’ Seeing with right discernment that ‘from the cessation of this nutriment, what has come into being is subject to cessation,’ one is — through disenchantment, dispassion, cessation, through lack of clinging/sustenance — released from what is subject to cessation. This is how one is a person who has fathomed the Dhamma.
“It is in this way, lord, that I understand the detailed meaning of the brief statement in Ajita’s Question in the Way to the Further Shore:
Those here who have fathomed the Dhamma,
those who are learners,
those who are run-of-the-mill:
When you, dear sir, astute,
are asked this,
tell me their manner of life.”
“Excellent, Sariputta. Excellent. One sees with right discernment that ‘this has come into being.’ Seeing with right discernment that ‘this has come into being,’ one practices for disenchantment with, for dispassion toward, for the cessation of what has come into being. One sees with right discernment that ‘it has come into being from this nutriment.’ Seeing with right discernment that ‘it has come into being from this nutriment,’ one practices for disenchantment with, for dispassion toward, for the cessation of the nutriment by which it has come into being. One sees with right discernment that ‘from the cessation of this nutriment, what has come into being is subject to cessation.’ Seeing with right discernment that ‘from the cessation of this nutriment, what has come into being is subject to cessation,’ one practices for disenchantment with, for dispassion toward, for the cessation of what is subject to cessation. This is how one is a learner.
“And how is one a person who has fathomed the Dhamma?
“One sees with right discernment that ‘this has come into being.’ Seeing with right discernment that ‘this has come into being,’ one is — through disenchantment, dispassion, cessation, through lack of clinging/sustenance — released from what has come into being. One sees with right discernment that ‘it has come into being from this nutriment.’ Seeing with right discernment that ‘it has come into being from this nutriment,’ one is — through disenchantment, dispassion, cessation, through lack of clinging/sustenance — released from the nutriment by which it has come into being. One sees with right discernment that ‘from the cessation of this nutriment, what has come into being is subject to cessation.’ Seeing with right discernment that ‘from the cessation of this nutriment, what has come into being is subject to cessation,’ one is — through disenchantment, dispassion, cessation, through lack of clinging/sustenance — released from what is subject to cessation. This is how one is a person who has fathomed the Dhamma.
“It is in this way that the detailed meaning of the brief statement in Ajita’s Question in the Way to the Further Shore is to be understood:
Those here who have fathomed the Dhamma,
those who are learners,
those who are run-of-the-mill:
When you, dear sir, astute,
are asked this,
tell me their manner of life.”
SN 5.1