Of all the medicines...

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Of all the medicines in the world Myriad and various There is none like the medicine of Truth Therefore, O followers, drink of this. - Dhammpada

A man long absent...

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	A man long absent comes home safe from afar. His kin, his friends, his companions, delight in his return. In just the same way, when you've done good & gone from this world to the world beyond, your good deeds receive you-- as kin, someone dear come home. - Dhammapada, 16, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

...three roots of evil...

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Monks, there are these three roots of evil. What three? Lust is a root of evil, hate is a root of evil, delusion is a root of evil. These are the three roots of evil. - Itivuttaka

Dhammapada, 391

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Whoever does no wrong in body, speech, heart; is restrained in these three ways: he's what I call a brahmin. - Dhammapada, 391, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Ananda said to the Lord...

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Sitting there the venerable Ananda said to the Lord, "Half of this holy life, Lord, is good and noble friends, companionship with the good, association with the good." "Do not say that, Ananda. Do not say that, Ananda. It is the whole of this holy life, this friendship, companionship and association with the good." - Samyutta Nikaya

Even a strong wind is empty...

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Even a strong wind is empty by nature. Even a great wave is just ocean itself. Even thick southern clouds are insubstantial as sky. Even the dense mind is naturally birthless. - Milarepa, "Drinking The Fountain Stream"

A blessing...

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	A blessing: the arising of Awakened Ones. A blessing: the teaching of true Dhamma. A blessing: the concord of the Sangha. The austerity of those in concord is a blessing. - Dhammapada, 14, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

If, in your course...

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	If, in your course, you dont meet your equal, your better, then continue your course firmly, alone. Theres no fellowship with fools. - Dhammapada, 6, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

WAVES ARE WATER ~ Thay

WAVES ARE WATER

 

“When you look at the surface of the ocean, you can see waves coming up and going down. You can describe these waves in terms of high or low, big or small, more vigorous, more beautiful or less beautiful. You can describe a... wave in terms of beginning and end, birth and death. That can be compared to the historical dimension. In the historical dimension, we are concerned with birth and death, more powerful, less powerful, more beautiful, less beautiful, beginning and end and so on.

Looking deeply, we can also see that the waves are at the same time water. A wave may like to seek its own true nature. The wave might suffer from fear, from complexes. A wave may say, “I am not as big as the other waves,” “I am oppressed,” “I am not as beautiful as the other waves,” “I have been born and I have to die.” The wave may suffer from these things, these ideas. But if the wave bends down and touches her true nature she will realize that she is water. Then her fear and complexes will disappear.

Water is free from the birth and death of a wave. Water is free from high and low, more beautiful and less beautiful. You can talk in terms of more beautiful and less beautiful, high or low, only in terms of waves. As far as water is concerned, all these concepts are invalid.

Our true nature is the nature of no birth and no death. We do not have to go anywhere in order to touch our true nature. The wave does not have to look for water because she is water. We do not have to look for God, we do not have to look for our ultimate dimension or nirvana, because we are nirvana, we are God.

You are what you area looking for. You are already what you want to become. You can say to the wave, “My dearest wave, you are water. You don’t have to go and seek water. Your nature is the nature of nondiscrimination, of no birth, of no death, of no being and of no non-being.”

Practice like a wave. Take the time to look deeply into yourself and recognize that your nature is the nature of no-birth and no-death. You can break through to freedom and fearlessness this way. This method of practice will help us to live without fear, and it will help us to die peacefully without regret.”

- THICH NHAT HANH -

One of the major aims...

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	One of the major aims and purposes of religious practice for the individual is an inner transformation from an undisciplined, untamed, and unfocused state of mind towards one that is disciplined, tamed and balanced. - His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Just as the footprints of any creature...

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Just as the footprints of any creature that walks the earth can be placed in the elephants footprint, which is the largest of all --even so mindful attention is the one quality that ensures ease of mind at all times. Mindful attention causes beneficial thoughts that have not yet arisen to arise. It also causes harmful thoughts that have already arisen to vanish. In the one who is mindful, the good that is to be will be realized. - Anguttara Nikaya

If this doctrine is not understood thoroughly...

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	If this doctrine is not understood thoroughly, The conception of an I prevails, Hence come virtuous and non-virtuous actions Which give rise to good and bad rebirths. Therefore, as long as the doctrine removing The conception of I is not known, Take heed of the practices Of giving, ethics, and patience. - Nagajuna, Precious Garland

All beings are...

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	All beings are by nature Buddha, as ice by nature is water. Apart from water there is no ice; apart from beings, no Buddha. - Hakuin Zenji, "Song of Zazen"

Having enjoyed a sweet...

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Having enjoyed a sweet delicious taste, And having sometimes tasted what is bitter, Do not greedily enjoy the sweet taste, Do not feel aversion toward the bitter. When touched by pleasant contact, do not be enthralled, Do not tremble when touched by pain. Look evenly on both the pleasant and painful, Not drawn or repelled by anything. - Buddha, "The Connected Discourses of the Buddha"

A devata said: "One who has...

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	A devata said: "One who has sons delights in sons, One with cattle delights in cattle. Acquisitions truly are a man's delight; Without acquisitions one does not delight." The Buddha answered: "One who has sons sorrows over sons. One with cattle sorrows over cattle. Acquisitions truly are a man's sorrows; Without acquisitions one does not sorrow."

Goodness, concentration, wisdom, and liberation.

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	It is through not understanding, not penetrating four things that we have run so erratically, wandered on so long in this round of existence, both you and I. What are the four? Goodness, concentration, wisdom, and liberation. When these four things are understood and penetrated, craving for superficial existence is rooted out and that which leads to continued return to the same conditions is ended. There is no more constant journeying. - Digha Nikaya

There is no specifiable difference...

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	There is no specifiable difference whatever between nirvana and the everyday world; there is no specifiable difference whatever between the everyday world and nirvana. - Nagarjuna, "Mulamadhyamaka-Karika"

Dhammapada 21...

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	The man of conviction endowed with virtue, glory, & wealth: wherever he goes he is honored. - Dhammapada 21, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Inner refuge is...

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Inner refuge is refuge in ourselves, in our ultimate potential. When we recognize and nourish this potential, we have found the real meaning of refuge. - Kathleen McDonald, "How to Meditate"

People who do not know...

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	People who do not know how to practice the way therefore want to get rid of afflictions. Afflictions are originally void and null; you are trying to use the way to seek the way beyond. - Pao-chih

What, now is the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering?

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	What, now is the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering? It is craving, which gives rise to fresh rebirth, and, bound up with pleasure and lust, now here, now there, finds ever-fresh delight. But where does this craving arise and take root? Wherever in the world there are delightful and pleasurable things, there this craving rises and takes root. Eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind are delightful and pleasurable: there this craving arises and takes root. - The Four Nobel Truths (from the Samyutta Nikaya, translated by Nyanatiloka)

What now is the Noble Truth of Suffering...

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	What now is the Noble Truth of Suffering? Birth is suffering; decay is suffering; death is suffering; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair are suffering; not to get what one desires is suffering; in short the five groups of existence are suffering. - Samyutta Nikaya

Daily Buddhist Wisdom 12/10/11

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	When you are thinking about an object, it sometimes occurs that evil, unwholesome thoughts connected with hate and delusion come into your mind. The way to get rid of them is to concentrate on another object that is wholesome and good. Just as a skilled carpenter knocks out a coarse peg with a fine one, so the evil thoughts will disappear. With their departure, the mind will become calm, unified, and concentrated once more. - Majjhima Nikaya

T.D.D. --- Practice Conscientious Compassion ~ Bhikkhu Bodhi

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 5, 2011

Practice Conscientious Compassion

Each of us has some task, some way to practice conscientious compassion. The question is: How do we find that task? To find it, a specific method can be prescribed. At the outset, practice the usual meditation on compassion, perhaps for 20 or 30 minutes. Then focus your attention on several of the formidable problems that loom before humanity today: futile and self-destructive wars, rampant military spending, global warming, violations of human rights, poverty and global hunger, the exploitation of women, our treatment of animals, the abuse of the environment, or any other concern that comes to mind. Reflect briefly on these problems, one by one, aware of how you respond to them. At some point, you will start to recognize that one of these problems, more than the others, tugs at the strings of your heart. These inner pangs suggest that this is the particular issue to which you should dedicate your time and energy.
 
- Bhikkhu Bodhi, "The Need of the Hour"

T.D.D. --- This is Reality ~ Kaz Suzuki

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 4, 2011

This is Reality

Other religions suggest there may be a miracle, or you may go to heaven. But it is strangely comforting to hear from Buddha’s teaching that there is no such thing. This is what it is. This is reality. The Buddha’s teaching says that hope is just the flip side of fear, and fear the flip side of hope. The best thing is just to stay awake and watch it, watch yourself, and feel everything as it is right now.
 
- Kaz Suzuki, "A Caregiver's Story"

T.D.D. --- How Prayer Works ~ Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 3, 2011

How Prayer Works

To understand how prayer works, consider the sun, which shines everywhere without hesitation or hindrance. Like God or Buddha, it continuously radiates all its power, warmth, and light without differentiation. When the earth turns, it appears to us that the sun no longer shines. But that has nothing to do with the sun; it’s due to our own position on the shadow side of the earth. If we inhabit a deep, dark mine shaft, it’s not the sun’s fault that we feel cold. Or if we live on the earth’s surface but keep our eyes closed, it’s not the sun’s fault that we don’t see light. The sun’s blessings are all-pervasive, whether we are open to them or not. Through prayer, we come out of the mine shaft, open our eyes, become receptive to enlightened presence, the omnipotent love and compassion that exist for all beings.
 
- Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, "Prayer"

T.D.D. --- Living and Breathing ~ Marilyn Buck

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 2, 2011

Living and Breathing



Freedom of breath cannot be measured, contained, or punished—as I breathe, my aliveness asserts itself, even laughs at its constraints. Yes, in this place it is an elusive joy, but I feel it now, as surely as I feel the knots of anxiety loosen in my shoulders.
 
- Marilyn Buck, "The Freedom to Breathe"

T.D.D. --- Joy Has Many Flavors ~ James Baraz

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 1, 2011

Joy Has Many Flavors

Joy has many different flavors. It might overflow from us in song or dance, or it might gently arise as a smile or a sense of inner fullness. Joy is not something we have to manufacture. It is already in us when we come into the world, as we can see in the natural delight and exuberance of a healthy baby. We need only release the layers of contraction and fear that keep us from it.
 
- James Baraz, "Lighten Up!"