The royal chariots surely come to rot,
just as the body, too, comes to decay.
But the shining truth and loving kindness live on
—so say the virtuous to the virtuous.
—Buddha Shakyamuni, Dhammapada
Enlightenment mind
From loving kindness and compassion, enlightenment mind arises. Enlightenment mind, again, is defined as the resolution to attain ultimate enlightenment so that one may be of greatest benefit of all sentient beings, just like Shakyamuni Buddha himself. The Buddha also first generated enlightenment mind, then accumulated wisdom and merit, and eventually attained enlightenment, through which he benefited countless sentient beings.
We are followers of the Buddha, and particularly we are Mahayanists. We must cultivate not only the abandonment of non-virtuous deeds and defilements but also the accumulation of loving kindness, compassion, and enlightenment mind. In this way, we will be able to attain enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings.
– Sakya Trizin
We are quite predatory creatures ourselves; we think we are civilized but we have a really bloody history
We are quite predatory creatures ourselves; we think we are civilized but we have a really bloody history – literally. It is just filled with endless slaughters and justification for all kinds of iniquities against other human beings – not to mention animals – and it is all because of this basic ignorance, this unreflecting human mind that tells us to annihilate what is in our way.
However, with reflection we are changing that; we are transcending that basic instinctual, animal pattern. We are not just being law-abiding puppets of society, afraid to kill because we are afraid of being punished. Now we are really taking on responsibility. We respect the lives of other creatures, even the lives of insects and creatures we do not like. Nobody is ever going to like mosquitoes or ants, but we can reflect on the fact that they have a right to live. That is a reflection of the mind; it is not just a reaction: ‘Where’s the insecticide spray?’ I also don’t like to see ants crawling over my floor; my first reaction is, ‘Where’s the insecticide spray?’ But then the reflective mind shows me that even though these creatures are annoying me and I would rather they went away, they have a right to exist. That is a reflection of the human mind.
The same applies to unpleasant mind states. So when you are experiencing anger, rather than saying, ‘Oh, here I go – angry again!’ we reflect: ‘There is anger.’ Just like with fear – if you start seeing it as my mother’s fear or my father’s fear or the dog’s fear or my fear, then it all becomes a sticky web of different creatures related in some ways, unrelated in others; and it becomes difficult to have any real understanding. And yet, the fear in this being and the fear in that mangy dog is the same thing. ‘There is fear.’ It is just that. The fear that I have experienced is no different from the fear others have. So this is where we have compassion even for mangy old dogs. We understand that fear is as horrible for mangy dogs as it is for us. When a dog is kicked with a heavy boot and you are kicked with a heavy boot, that feeling of pain is the same. Pain is just pain, cold is just cold, anger is just anger. It is not mine but rather: ‘There is pain.’ This is a skillful use of thinking that helps us to see things more clearly rather than reinforcing the personal view.
Ausok Aditta
With thanks to THE WAY OF ZEN -Peace Love and Compassion.
If you practice compassion
If you practice compassion, whether you believe in a religion or not, you will come to realize the value of compassion for your own peace of mind. The very atmosphere of your own life becomes happier, which promotes good health, perhaps even a longer life. By developing a warm heart, we can also transform others. As we become nicer human beings, our neighbors, friends, parents, spouses, and children experience less anger. They will become more warmhearted, compassionate, and harmonious. You will see the world around you change little by little. Even a small act of compassion grants meaning and purpose to our lives.
42 Ideals of Ma’at
Long before the 10 Commandments, or Buddhism, ever existed were the 42 Laws of Ma’at from Ancient Egypt.
They represent the essential blueprints for our growth and refinement as a person.
Loving-kindness and compassion should first be sent to ourselves
As the Buddha recommended, loving-kindness and compassion should first be sent to ourselves. A lot of our anger that is directed toward others stems from our initial anger toward ourselves. First, we have to cultivate peace within ourselves, forgive ourselves, and appreciate that despite all our faults and problems, essentially we are good. We do have Buddha nature, so there is definite hope that we can improve, and we must be friends with ourselves.
Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo
Loving-kindness and compassion should first be sent to ourselves
As the Buddha recommended, loving-kindness and compassion should first be sent to ourselves. A lot of our anger that is directed toward others stems from our initial anger toward ourselves. First, we have to cultivate peace within ourselves, forgive ourselves, and appreciate that despite all our faults and problems, essentially we are good. We do have Buddha nature, so there is definite hope that we can improve, and we must be friends with ourselves.
– Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo
Enlightenment is a destructive process
“Enlightenment is a destructive process, the crumbling away of untruth. It’s seeing through the facade of pretence. It’s the complete eradication of everything we imagined to be true…
All that is necessary to awaken to yourself as the radiant emptiness of spirit is to stop seeking something more or better or different, and to turn your attention inward to the awake silence that you are. The truth is that you already are what you are seeking.”― Adyashanti ―
Each one of us is responsible for other living beings’ happiness
Each one of us is responsible for other living beings’ happiness, besides our own. As a result, your loving kindness is the most wish-fulfilling thing in life, more precious than anything else in this world. That makes for a most satisfying, fulfilling life.
~Lama Zopa Rinpoche~
Building inner strength
You build inner strength through embracing the totality of your experience, both the delightful parts and the difficult parts. Embracing the totality of your experience is one definition of having loving-kindness for yourself. Loving-kindness does not mean making sure you’re feeling good all the time – trying to set up your life so that you’re comfortable every moment. Rather, it means setting up your life so that you have time for meditation and self-reflection, for kindhearted, compassionate self-honesty. In this way, you become more attuned to seeing when you’re biting the hook, when you’re getting caught in the undertow of emotions, when you’re grasping and when you’re letting go. This is the way you become a true friend to yourself just as you are, with both your laziness and your bravery. There is no step more important than this.
– Pema Chödron
from the book “Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change”
With thanks to Just Dharma Quotes
The roots of Buddhist practice
Humans are set apart from other types of sentient beings by their ability to naturally connect with sharp intelligence and with nonviolence, loving-kindness, and compassion. From the moment we are born, we are constantly chasing after happiness, thinking of ways we can become happy and free from suffering, and we actively try to bring those desires to fruition. The propensities toward loving-kindness, compassion, and nonviolence we display in following this quest for happiness demonstrate what makes human beings unique.
For any species of sentient being to continue existing, the members of that species must have affection for each other and they must support each other. In order for our human community to survive, we must nurture and sustain connections of love, compassion, nonviolence, and altruism. These connections are what will allow us not only to survive, but to make our lives meaningful. If we concentrate on ensuring that these connections are present, that in itself will be enough.
All of the Buddha’s teachings are based on refraining from harming others and engaging in helping others. It is therefore of great importance for Buddhists to have these two principles as the ground of their practice. The roots of Buddhist practice are the attitudes of altruism and non-harm. In other words, the roots of Buddhist practice are loving-kindness and compassion.
– 17th Karmapa
source: http://bit.ly/2GG2rG1
Practicing loving kindness meditation
Practicing loving kindness meditation is like digging deep into the ground until we reach the purest water. We look deeply into ourselves until insight arises and our love flows to the surface. Joy and happiness radiate from our eyes, and everyone around us benefits from our smile and our presence. If we take good care of ourselves, we help everyone. We stop being a source of suffering to the world, and we become a reservoir of joy and freshness. Here and there are people who know how to take good care of themselves, who live joyfully and happily. They are our strongest support. Whatever they do, they do for everyone.
– Thich Nhat Hanh, in “How to Love”.
Photo: © Raj Singh Arora
Spiritual discipline
If you meditate earnestly, pure in mind and kind in deeds, leading a disciplined life in harmony with the dharma, you will grow in glory. If you meditate earnestly, through spiritual disciplines you can make an island that no flood can overcome.
– Dhammapada vs.24, 25
– Dhammapada vs.24, 25
What Endures
Source: What Endures | Great Middle Way
July 15, 2017
Be kind to others
“Be kind to others, so that you may learn the secret art of being kind to yourself.”
~Paramahansa Yogananda
Source: Tao & Zen
Loving-Kindness Practice
Source: Loving-Kindness Practice | Great Middle Way
The original name of this practice is maitri bhavana (Sanskrit) or metta bhavana (Pali). Maitri means love, friendliness, or kindness, and bhavana means development or cultivation. A common form of the practice consists of five stages:
- Cultivate loving kindness for yourself, reciting: “May I be free from suffering and the causes of suffering. May I embrace happiness and the causes of happiness. May I abide on peace, free from self-grasping. May I attain the union of wisdom and compassion.”
- Cultivate loving kindness for a friend or loved one, reciting: “May s/he be free from suffering and the causes of suffering. May s/he embrace happiness and the causes of happiness. May s/he abide on peace, free from self-grasping. May s/he attain the union of wisdom and compassion.”
- Cultivate loving kindness for a specific person you neither like nor dislike, reciting: “May s/he be free from suffering and the causes of suffering. May s/he embrace happiness and the causes of happiness. May s/he abide on peace, free from self-grasping. May s/he attain the union of wisdom and compassion.”
- Cultivate loving kindness for a specific person whom you dislike, reciting: “May s/he be free from suffering and the causes of suffering. May s/he embrace happiness and the causes of happiness. May s/he abide on peace, free from self-grasping. May s/he attain the union of wisdom and compassion.”
- Cultivate loving kindness for all four persons at once, reciting: “May we be free from suffering and the causes of suffering. May we embrace happiness and the causes of happiness. May we abide in peace, free from self-grasping. May we attain the union of wisdom and compassion.”
Watching flowers bloom all around us
When we see the Beloved in each person, it’s like walking through a garden, watching flowers bloom all around us.
~ Ram Dass ~
Source: Sojourners Path
Expansion
greatmiddleway.wordpress.com
When a drop falls on the surface of still waters, concentric waves are formed. These waves always travel from the center toward the periphery —never in the opposite direction.
Similarly, when we cultivate spirituality, we start our practice of loving kindness and compassion with those beings closest to us.
If we can help to reduce the suffering and increase the happiness of our neighbor (in the strict sense of the word), gradually the circle of love and compassion will expand to encompass all beings.
Source: Expansion | Great Middle Way
Zen Flash 
Recent Comments