Tag Archives: suffering

Why Suffer?

Posted on February 5, 2019 by Vajragoni

Abandoning punishment for all living beings,
not hurting even a single one of them,
one should not wish for a son, not to mention a companion!
one should live alone, like the horn of a rhinoceros. read more

Posted in The Khaggavisāṇa Sutta: A Rhinoceros Horn | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

This is the destiny of most sentient minds…

Posted on August 25, 2017 by Tozen

Desire-Thought-Function. The creation of one enables the latter, ad-infinitum. From the first to the last and from the last back to the first. read more

Posted in Spirituality, Tozen Teaching, Zen | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Cutting down the tree of birth, death and rebirth

Posted on January 31, 2016 by Tozen

Unless you are completely disenchanted with the cycle of birth, death and rebirth at the deepest level of your subconsciousness, the sublime and liberating light of the Buddhadharma will be lost on you. read more

Posted in Tozen Teaching | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The mind of 84,000 hooks.

Posted on March 14, 2015 by Tozen

This is the sole gospel of Mara, the Evil One, so pay careful attention;

Within each seed granted your self,
there is a promise of a beautiful flower. read more

Posted in Spirituality, Tozen Teaching, Zen | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

To Tell the Truth

Posted on January 13, 2015 by Vajragoni

For Baby-Boomers the old TV Game-Show, To Tell the Truth, has some fond memories, in particular during its Black & White heydays from the mid-50’s into the mid-60’s. Its inception runs as follows: read more

Posted in Spirituality, The Lion's Roar of Queen Śrīmālā | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Supplication and Vowed Fidelity

Posted on January 4, 2015 by Vajragoni

Thus have I heard. Once the Buddha was dwelling in the garden of Anāthapindada, in the Jeta Grove, near Śrāvastī. At that time, King Prasenajit and Queen Mallikā of Kosala had just had an initial realization of the Dharma. They said to each other, “Our daughter, Srīmālā, is kind, intelligent, learned, and wise. If she could see the Tathāgata, she would be quick to understand the profound Dharma and would have no doubt about it whatsoever. We should now send an eloquent messenger to her to rouse her sincere faith.”  read more

Posted in The Lion's Roar of Queen Śrīmālā | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Praxis: Part II

Posted on December 20, 2014 by Vajragoni

(Hakeda)

The Practice of Cessation

Should there be a man who desires to practice “cessation,” he should stay in a quiet place and sit erect in an even temper. [His attention should be focused] neither on breathing nor on any form or color, nor on empty space, earth, water, fire, wind, nor even on what has been seen, heard, remembered, or conceived. All thoughts, as soon as they are conjured up, are to be discarded, and even the thought of discarding them is to be put away, for all things are essentially [in the state of] transcending thoughts, and are not to be created from moment to moment nor to be extinguished from moment to moment; [thus one is to conform to the essential nature of Reality (dharmatā) through this practice of cessation]. And it is not that he should first meditate on the objects of the senses in the external world and then negate them with his mind, the mind that has meditated on them. If the mind wanders away, it should be brought back and fixed in “correct thought.” It should be understood that this “correct thought” is [the thought that] whatever is, is mind only and that there is no external world of objects [as conceived]; even this mind is devoid of any marks of its own [which would indicate its substantiality] and therefore is not substantially conceivable as such at any moment.  read more

Posted in The Awakening of Faith | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Praxis: Part I

Posted on December 20, 2014 by Vajragoni

(Hakeda)

Part 4 

On Faith and Practice 

Having already discussed interpretation, we will now present a discussion of faith and practice. This discussion is intended for those who have not yet joined the group of beings who are determined to attain enlightenment.  read more

Posted in The Awakening of Faith | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

raison d’être

Posted on December 11, 2014 by Vajragoni

(Hakeda)

  1. The Characteristics of Beings in Saṃsāra 

In analyzing the characteristics of beings in saṃāra, two categories may be distinguished. The one is “crude,” for [those who belong to this category are] united with the [crude activities of the defiled] mind; the other is “subtle,” for [those who belong to this category are] disunited from the [subtle activities of the defiled] mind. [Again, each category may in turn be subdivided into the cruder and the subtler.] The cruder of the crude belongs to the range of mental activity of ordinary men; the subtler of the crude and the cruder of the subtle belong to that of bodhisattvas; and the subtler of the subtle belongs to that of buddhas.  read more

Posted in The Awakening of Faith | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Universal Gateway of the Bodhisattva Who Hears the Cries of the Poor

Posted on March 23, 2014 by Vajragoni

Those reading this title from Chapter 25 from translations that don’t utilize the sanskrit might not realize this refers to non-other than our own beloved Avalokiteśvara. This entire chapter is in honor of the Greatest (in our own saha-realm) Bodhisattva of Compassion, the Universal-Gateway that invites all the “spiritually” poor, all the lost and forsaken, those stricken with vile diseases and addictions—yea all who are in desperate need of spiritual healing, to come and find spiritual refuge. Yes, Avalokiteśvara is the one who hears and comforts all those who are in physical, mental, or spiritual bondage. Avalokiteśvara is the one who hears the cries of the poor! read more

Posted in The Lotus Sutra | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments