Monthly Archives: March 2013

How to Be a Householder-Bodhisattva

This affair is a matter of people of sharp faculties and superior wisdom who do not consider it difficult to understand a thousand when hearing one. It requires a stand that is solid and true and faith that is thoroughgoing. read more

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The Surangama Mantra

“Ananda bowed at the Buddha’s feet and said, “After I left the home-life, I relied on the Buddha’s affectionate regard. Because I sought erudition, I still have not been certified to the unconditioned. read more

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Dharma Tools for Silencing the Skandhic Demons

Of course the most meritorious means for dispelling the effects of the Skandhic Demons is The Heart Sutra. Chanted daily by millions in the Buddhist milieu it serves as a mantra that diurnally reminds one of the efficaciousness of the very heart of Noble Wisdom: read more

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The Demons of Mortal Consciousness

“Ananda, when that good person, in cultivating samadhi, has put an end to the formations skandha, the subtle, fleeting fluctuations – the deep, imperceptible, pivotal source and the common foundation from which all life in the world springs – are suddenly obliterated. In the submerged network of the retributive karma of the pudgala, the karmic resonances are interrupted. read more

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The Demons of Volition

“Ananda, when the good person who is cultivating samadhi has put an end to the thinking skandha, he is ordinarily free of dreaming and idle thinking, so he stays the same whether in wakefulness or in sleep. His mind is aware, clear, empty, and still, like a cloudless sky, devoid of any coarse sense impressions. He contemplates everything in the world – the mountains, the rivers, and the earth – as reflections in a mirror, appearing without attachment and vanishing without any trace; they are simply received and reflected. He does away with all his old habits, and only the essential truth remains. read more

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Tozen: The great mystery of the everlasting

The great mystery of the everlasting

What is everlasting is healing to the soul.
Nothing made by sentient beings
or offered by sentient beings,
has an everlasting value.
Pursuing, what is not everlasting,
is a cause to great suffering.
The mind seeking the everlasting,
should turn completely into itself
as One and not two.
It is after all its birthright which no-one,
Demon or god can claim.
If this happens for even a split second,
there is the samadhic bliss of right view.
In this profound split second milieu of pure spirit
That lasts a seeming eternity,
we are beyond space and time,
form or emptiness,
We have shattered any ghost known as
thought, concept or ideation.
The latter being mind attached
to what is empty of truth,
which is thought.
Thus the necessity to once breakthrough
the evil ones distorting field of corruption with
the unborn mind of one and not two.
In Its core and pure essence,
there is the sublime body of Mind Only.
One not of flesh or even the ethereal
But of instantaneous everlasting suchness.
At first this awakening is like a heavenly nectar,
poured into the soul from seemingly nowhere,
but with a clear and disciplined approach,
A pure suchness beyond the fickle consciousness field
of heaven and hell marks its thundering presence
beyond any shred of a doubt.
When done right, a great light emerges
within the seeking self, dispersing the darkness of pain
engulfing the seeker like a cool blanket,
By killing the noise and influence of all
passions and dreams.
It does thus as to mark the profoundly
immaculate presence of its own true self
and supreme Mind.
The false light of the corrupting consciousness
now defeated, allows the cleansing presence of
this everlasting super consciousness – cittamatra.
To speak of anything beyond this truth is not Zen,
only empty rantings from a withering fool,
In the realm of hungry ghosts, sentient goblins and gods.
Yet I choose to raise my stick and beat
joshu´s flea infested dog,
that with its single bark,
dared reveal the everlasting body
of the shining one. read more

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The Demons of Thought

“Ananda, when the good person who is cultivating samadhi has put an end to the feeling skandha, although he has not achieved freedom from outflows, his mind can leave his body the way a bird escapes from a cage. From within his ordinary body, he already has the potential for ascending through the Bodhisattvas’ sixty levels of sagehood. He is now able to use his mind to create a spiritual-body and can roam freely without obstruction. read more

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The Demons of Sensation

“Ananda, when the good person who is cultivating samadhi and shamatha has put an end to the form skandha, he can see the mind of all Buddhas as if seeing an image reflected in a clear mirror. read more

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The Demons of Form

 

“Ananda, you should know that as a cultivator sits in the Bodhimanda, he is doing away with all thoughts. When his thoughts come to an end, there will be nothing on his mind. This state of pure clarity will stay the same whether in movement or stillness, in remembrance or forgetfulness. read more

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They’re Here….

At that time, the Tathagata was preparing to leave the Dharma seat. From the lion throne, he extended his hand and placed it on a small table wrought of the seven precious things. But then he turned his body, which was the color of purple golden mountains, and leaned back, saying to everyone in the assembly and to Ananda: “Those of you with More to Learn, those Enlightened by Conditions, and those who are Hearers have now turned your minds to pursue the attainment of supreme Bodhi the unsurpassed, wonderful enlightenment. I have already taught you the true method of cultivation. read more

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