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Tag Archives: merit
Single Action Samādhi
At that time, Mañjuśrī addressed the Buddha, saying, “Bhagavān, I contemplate the true Dharma which is unconditioned and without characteristics, without obtaining and without benefit, without birth and without death, without coming and without going, without one who knows, without one who perceives, and without one who acts. There is no perceiving Prajñāpāramitā, nor perceiving a realm of Prajñāpāramitā, being neither realization nor non-realization. It is not composing conceptual elaborations, and is without discrimination. All dharmas are endless and apart from any end. There is no Ordinary Person Dharma, Śrāvaka Dharma, Pratyekabuddha Dharma, or Buddha Dharma. There is neither attainment nor non-attainment, neither abandoning birth and death, nor realizing Nirvāṇa. There is neither conceivable nor inconceivable, neither doing nor nondoing. Such being the characteristic of the Dharma, how then should one learn Prajñāpāramitā?” At that time, the Buddha said to Mañjuśrī, “If one is able to thusly know the characteristics of the Dharma, then this is what is called learning Prajñāpāramitā. Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who wish to learn the Bodhi Sovereign Samādhi, and having attained this samādhi, illuminate all extremely profound Buddha dharmas, as well as know the names of all buddhas, and in each case thoroughly understand the various buddha world realms without obstruction, should learn this Prajñāpāramitā spoken by Mañjuśrī.”
The True Liberation of the Tathāgatas
At that time, the Bhagavān spoke to Mañjuśrī, saying, “When you say I am the Tathāgata, do you mean that I have come from suchness?” Mañjuśrī said, “No, Bhagavān, I would not say that the Tathāgata is the one who has come from suchness. Why? There is no appearance of suchness which may be called suchness, and no Tathāgata wisdom which is able to know suchness. Why? The Tathāgata and wisdom are without characteristics of duality. Emptiness is the Tathāgata, only existing as a name, so what should I say is the meaning of Tathāgata?” The Buddha spoke to Mañjuśrī, saying, “Do you doubt the Tathāgata?” Mañjuśrī said, “No, Bhagavān. I contemplate the Tathāgata as being without fixed nature, without birth and without death, and for this reason there is no doubt.”
This Little Light of Mine
“It is said that when the Little Buddha is imprinted on the void and on the fragrance, one will receive unlimited merit. What does this mean?”
Posted in Mud and Water: Bassui Zen
Tagged Dharma, intelligence, Little Buddha, merit, Nirmanakaya, One Dharma
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Sweet Anointing From Above
Upon hearing the Blessed One expound on his eternal-lifespan, the Lotus Sutra goes on to explain in the ensuing chapters how immeasurable sentient beings may draw merit from this realization.
Posted in The Lotus Sutra
Tagged anointing, auspicious mark, bodhisattva mahāsattvas, Dharma, Lotus Sutra, merit, Śākyamuni’s lifespan
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(19) Like an Eagle
Relaxed…
But focused…
Like an eagle in the sky…
With its clear and observant eye…
The light-trainee walks the earth and does not allow her mind to depend on anything which is subject to birth and death…
Very few, if any, situations affect her…
Her keen, sharp dharma-eye can detect the tiniest of demons crossing her way…
Revealing their foul nature by observing their petty actions…
With a calm, detached and unshakable mind, she continues her life…
Calmly and joyfully in whatever she does…
The Gods bow down to her for wisdom…
For they know how once foolish they were…
When they became gods of pure desire through creating an abundance of good merit…
This light-trainee, the forthcoming blazing light-bringer, does not cling to a good or bad deed…
His outflows are tightly shut….
No hate is there…
Nor does one find passion or fear…
Yet, he is most compassionate in his silence…
So full of life and light…
He doesn’t speak and yet everyone understands his silent words and enjoys and reveres his presence…
To her…
The world slowly becomes a world of true spiritual reality…
Where her true nature abides…
Unmovable and unshakable…
Yet lightning fast when needed…
For it is said…
Where one’s true spirit walks..
Is indeed a most blissful and liberated single point…
Where neither demons…
Nor gods…
Dare enter…
Posted in The Dragon Mind of Zen Tarot
Tagged demons, desire, light-trainee, merit, passion
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The Hermit’s Den
Combined with my daily Eremitical Dhyani Buddha Meditations, I’ve been developing a personal breviary of sorts—encompassing daily reflections from Zen Masters as well as passages from both Mahayana and Vajrayana sources, from the Sutrayana and Suttayana. This perpetual series will offer selective passages as well as a brief commentary. First up—from the Mangala-sutta (translated from a work entitled, The Path of Light, by Śāntideva Jan 1, 1909)
Posted in The Hermit's Den
Tagged Buddhadharma, celibacy, desire, merit, Noble Truths, The Path of Light
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A Tozen Parable: The sage and the money changer
Once a great Zen Master stopped by a money changers shop and asked for a good deal on some foreign coins. The money changer eager to make a fast profit by acts of deceit, regretted his first impulse and bowed deeply. He asked;
Posted in Tozen Teaching
Tagged merit, money changer, parable, sage, seeking, Tozen, Tozen Parable
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No Merit
Eight: No Merit
“Subhūti, what do you think? If a person were to fill the three thousand chiliocosms with the seven kinds of jewels and give them away charitably, wouldn’t the merit attained by this person be great?”