Yielding
I recently met someone who’s considering to donate a Guan Yin statue, a 12 foot tall Guan Yin statue to our temple. And it’s interesting because of her unique situation. When I asked her why was she thinking of doing this, she said, “I prayed to Guan Yin when I was in trouble. I received her help so now I want to donate a statue to show my gratitude.” I often hear people advocate that one must learn to “live in the moment”, “live in the here and now,” “live in the present” or similar expressions. Usually, it’s in the context of meditation. I have heard many interpretations of these phrases but have not been satisfied with any, so I would like to give you my thoughts from the Mahayana perspective.
Once upon a time the Buddha was born into a wealthy family. As he became of age, he saw how from passion springs pain and how true bliss comes by the abandonment of passion. So he decided to distance himself from desires: He left the home life and went to the Himalayas to become a hermit.
Last month, we had our annual year-end Chan Meditation Retreat (Chan Qi). We decided to hold it for a month’s time instead of the usual one-week retreat as in prior years. We particularly welcomed the opportunity to participate and work on our gongfu after a very busy 2012.
One very effective way to lose weight is to meditate, but not with just any kind of meditation! Meditate with the expressed purpose of increasing your self-awareness. You are overweight because you eat excessively. You eat excessively because you have triggers that compel you to consume food and drink. Recognize those triggers and then half of the problem will be solved.
Today, my disciple stopped by before going to school, saying that he is starting First Grade. I told him that I was very proud of him (I knew him since he was four and he became my disciple at the age of four or five). I asked him to be a good boy: listen and be respectful to his teachers and not fight with his classmates. Once upon a time, a long time ago, the Buddha was a merchant of pots and pans. There was also another dealer in the same trade who was a very greedy fellow. They had a friendly agreement: dividing the streets between the two of them, each would set about hawking his wares round the streets of his appointed district.
Once on a time a Brahmin, who was versed in the Three Vedas and world-famed as a teacher, was requested to host a Feast for the Dead. He arranged to have a goat purchased and told his pupils: "Take this goat down to bathe it in the river. Then feed it with grain, groom it, hang a garland round its neck and bring it back."
In a previous lifetime, Ananda was once a newly appointed king who had so many people in his court asking favors of him, that he came and asked a wise cultivator, who was a previous incarnation of the Buddha, “How can I recognize whether someone is a friend or a foe?” Once upon a time in India, in a prior life, the Buddha was born into the royal chaplain’s household on the same day as the king’s son. When the king asked his ministers if any child had been born on the same day as his son, they said, “Yes, Sire, a son of your family priest.”
Long ago in India, a king had four sons. One day they sent for the charioteer and said to him, “We want to see a Judas tree. Show us one!”
"Very well!” The charioteer replied. But he took his time to show them. He took the eldest prince to the forest in the chariot, and showed him the tree at the time when the buds were just sprouting from the stem. Bowing is very beneficial. Even for those who are not Buddhists, you should bow because bowing is one of the best exercises you can do. Bowing is one of the Yoga techniques. Qi Gong and Tai Ji have bowing techniques too. It’s also one of the advanced martial arts techniques. Once, the Buddha was born as a bull. When he was still a tiny calf, he was given by his owners to a Brahmin as an offering. The Brahmin treated it like his own child, feeding the young creature on rice-gruel and rice.
In ancient China, there used to be a very wise prime minister. Originally, he passed the Imperial Examination ranking at the top and was eventually promoted to prime minister. He helped the king rule the country effectively and was fond of getting inspiration from the ancients’ words of wisdom. Naturally, he took a keen interest to Mahayana and became quite well read on Buddhism.
The French have a saying: “Dis moi qui est ton ami, je te dirai qui tu es” which can be translated as “Tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you who you are”.
There was a cultivator in the Himalayas who came to the city during the rainy season for salt and vinegar. Some feedback from participants to our Dharma Assemblies
First, let me share with you some very encouraging words from people who came to our modest Dharma Assemblies this year. One of the Buddha’s great Dharma protectors, Anāthapiṇḍika, had a nephew. This young man had squandered an inheritance of forty thousand pieces of gold. Then he visited his uncle, who gave him a thousand pieces, and bade him trade with it.
A well-educated Brahmin got married at the request of his parents. After his parents passed away, his wife also died. He gave away his family possessions and brought his young son to the mountain. They built a hut and lived as recluses.
There was a man who was born into a wealthy family. He had a young brother. After their father died, they did some business that took them to a village, where they were paid a thousand pieces of money.
[In response to one of the questions in Vietnamese] Thank you for your kind words. I definitely feel unworthy of such praises.
I will try to give you some brief answers to some of your questions where I feel I can offer my humble opinion. First of all, I am very glad to hear of left home people who have aspirations to cultivate the BuddhaDharma. We’d like to cordially invite you to come and participate in a Chan Qi that will be held at the end of this month during the Memorial Day weekend (5/28/11-6/4/11). More details can be found on our English and Vietnamese web sites: www.chanpureland.com and www.TinhDoDaiThua.org. Long ago in India, a king had four sons. One day they sent for the charioteer and said to him, “We want to see a Judas tree. Show us one!”
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