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Buddhist Cosmology in the Aggañña Sutta: A brief introduction
By: Monad Mantis
Tags: Buddhism

This Sutta is, in some respects, something like a Buddhist equivalent to the Genesis creation account (although its account of the origins of the world and of humans is quite different!). “Agga” means “highest,” and so the Sutta, delivered to the two brahmins Vāseṭṭha and Bhāradvāja, refers to the “highest knowledge” about the world. The Buddha teaches them that all living beings on this planet have their origins in the Brahma realms at the beginning of the creation of the Earth, meaning that every currently living human was once a Brahma.

Brahma-loka, in Hinduism and Buddhism, the realm of the universe in which pious celestial spirits dwell. Theravada Buddhists believe that the the brahma-loka consists of 20 separate heavens, with the lower 16 being material (rūpa-brahma-loka) and each realm being progressively more subtle and approaching immateriality. Such Buddhists believe that rebirth in the brahma-loka results from a great deal of accomplishment in meditation and virtue, as well as his understanding of the formlessness of the universe. This realm, however, no less than any other, is in a continual cycle of change, destruction and re-creation.

This Sutta teaches that the universe is eternal and has no beginning and that it consists of clusters of stars, of which ours is one of “10,000.” Every few billion years, a star in the vicinity of these worlds explodes and devours the physical worlds and inhabitants in that vicinity. Although these physical worlds are destroyed, the subtler Brahma worlds survive, as they are of a subtler or finer density that is not as subject to destruction from physical matter in the way that bodies of the coarser realms are. Inhabitable planets eventually reform, resulting in humans reborn as very light, Brahma bodies.

As the Sutta details, prior to our incarnation as human beings, we were immaterial, purely spiritual beings who only later became stuck in physical bodies after becoming inordinately attached to the pleasures of the physical world over a period of time. When this happened, we lost memory of the Brahma bodies by which we had been constituted. These ideas are similar to Ken Wilber’s writing on consciousness beginning in an immaterial or subtle plane that begins an “involution” from spirit to matter, which consists of an “outward arc” where the spirit is lost in the material world of illusion, to progress through an evolution by which it gradually returns to the spirit world through an “inward arc”; a process he refers to as the “pre/trans” cycle.
wrestling with Mara haiku
By: Nicholas Petrone
Tags: Otherdoors, Haiku, Ego, Buddhism, Poetry

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Buddhism Day by Day: A Society That has Sacrificed so Much to Material Wealth …
By: Adam, Diabetic Cyborg
Tags: Prose, Prose Poem, Buddhism, Poetry, Puppies

Buddhism Day by Day: A Society That has Sacrificed so Much to Material Wealth … Adam, Diabetic Cyborg ·Dec 16, 2020

“A society that has sacrificed so much to material wealth that it has forgotten the human heart and the better human aspirations degenerates into something compassionless, doctrine, ignorant and ultraconservative. When this happens, fundamental solutions to calamities become impossible. If we protect the truth and are resolute, we are capable of creating peace and prosperity. And the truth we must protect ought to be high and great.

Our great truth — the thing we must protect to the utmost — involves ethics and the best of human nature. But more basic than anything else is our duty to guard the truth of life, the truth that we and the universe are one, and that a single ordinary human thought contain the entirety of universal life.”

Credit Daisaku Ikeda for the quote.
The Strict Buddha
By: William B. Turner
Tags: Enlightenment, Buddha, Strict, Buddhism, Meditation

The Buddha

It is usually the case that the most strict teachers are the most popular at the time and the ones we remember mostly fondly. My high school had a fearsome English teacher named Mrs. Tuck who described herself as having the temperament of a Prussian drillmaster, which was not wrong. She is still the stuff of legends among students who endured her classes.

Although we seem mostly to have the image of the Buddha as being a really nice guy, which he mostly was, apparently, he could still be very strict in explaining what he had discovered in his awakening. He famously referred to anyone who failed to cultivate the seven factors of awakening as an “unwise dolt.” At the same time, his primary assistant and companion, Sariputra, is said to have wailed repeatedly after the historical Buddha died, “He who was so kind.”

The seven factors of enlightenment, to refresh our memories, are:

Minfulness Investigation of dharma, or truth Energy Rapture or happiness Calm or tranquility Concentration Equanimity

These two propositions are not much in tension. One who has realized a world historical truth of human existence would be sorely lacking in kindness were they to fail to bruit that truth as loudly and widely as possible. That is what the Buddha spent nearly his every waking moment from the time of his awakening to the moment of his death doing.

He was thus both strict and kind.

Part of our meditation practice is to cultivate compassion for all sentient beings, prominently including ourselves, of course, as we work towards awakening.

But we may also find moments on our paths when we need to be strict with ourselves. Buddhist teachers will tell us that there are points on the path where it is possible to get stuck. Two of the factors of enlightenment are happiness and tranquility, both of which are enjoyable by themselves, but are not awakening. We need to take care not to let the happiness and tranquility we will experience on the path become our end points when the goal is enlightenment.

So, be kind and compassionate with everyone, including yourself, but also be strict, mostly with yourself.

And, as always, keep meditating.

We have a book.

Please help spread the word.
Sallatha Sutta: The Buddha on Pain
By: Monad Mantis
Tags: Buddhism

Buddhism not only teaches us how to free ourselves from suffering that results from attachment to the pleasure resulting from mental and physical contact, it also teaches us how to deal with pain. Those with a more Epicurean mindset may be susceptible to despair when confronted with serious pain, but the Buddhist scriptures teach us how to deal with intense pain and even to live a happy life in the midst of such pain. The Buddha distinguishes between the response to pain that characterizes those not trained in the Dhamma vs. those not skilled in the teaching, by describing the non-Buddhist as one who is hit by one dart, the physical pain, and then experiences intense mental suffering suffering due to his bondage to mental and physical contact and his dependence upon pleasant contact for happiness.

This intense mental suffering resulting from despair over the experience of physical pain is characterized as a second dart that only compounds suffering. On the other hand, the Buddhist, who knows that belief in a self is an illusion and that both pleasure and pain are temporary, is able to endure this pain through mindfulness meditation and is not dependent upon pleasant contact for happiness. Because he has broken the fetter of dependence upon pleasant physical and mental contact for happiness, he is able to endure the pain.
Adittapariyaya Sutta: Buddhist Phenomenology of Suffering
By: Monad Mantis
Tags: Buddhism

This Sutta has helped me develop a simple, therapeutic method based on Theravada Buddhism:

There is contact that causes pleasure, pain or neutral sensation (it is helpful to use the 8 failings of the world articulated in my previous article as the encompassing the sum total of all possible experiences of pain or pleasure). The bondage that is enforced through failure to be mindful of the conditions that generate pleasure and pain results from belief that this pleasure or pain will endure (failure to appreciate anicca or impermanence) and false belief in a self subtending the agency that pursues pleasure and avoids pain (anatta or no-self).

So, to put it more simply for use as a therapeutic method:

Contact causes pleasure, pain or neutral feeling. Be mindful that it is temporary (anicca). Be mindful that there is no self (anatta).

The Buddha teaches in this Sutta that everything is “Aflame with the fire of passion, the fire of aversion, the fire of delusion. Aflame, I tell you, with birth, aging & death, with sorrows, lamentations, pains, distresses, & despairs.” All contact is flammable. That is, all contact, even that which results immediately in pleasure, ends in pain if Buddhist methods of mindfulness and insight are not properly applied to it. In philosophy, what the Buddha is articulating is an example of what we call phenomenology. Phenomenology, in philosophy, is merely the study of the directedness of the subjective towards its object, whether mental or physical.

Dealing properly with contact (Phassa) results in disenchantment (Nibbida), which, when pursued to its end through Buddhist methods of meditation and mindfulness, end in the eradication of suffering. We come into contact with something pleasurable or painful and we either become attached to it or averse to it, and we do one or the other because we have an improper understanding or ignorance of the conditions of bondage to dependence upon contact as our means of enjoyment, by seeking out pleasant contact and avoiding unpleasant contact. These conditions that generate dependence upon contact as our means for escaping suffering and seeking pleasure, ironically, perpetuate suffering because they neglect the impermanence of pleasure and the bondage to pleasure-through-contact which such negligence perpetuates, and they presuppose a self that acquires such pleasure or avoids such pain, that does not actually exist at all. By cultivating the habits recommended by Buddhism, we progressively become disenchanted with contact and our dependence upon it weakens until it eventually dissolves completely.
Upajjhatthana Sutta: Some devotional thoughts
By: Monad Mantis
Tags: Buddhism

This Sutta details five subjects for frequent contemplation: The inevitability of aging, illness, death, separation from what is appealing to me, and the fact that I am the owner, heir and product of my actions. The reason it is important to meditate on the inevitability of these things is because of how prone we are to become intoxicated with health, youth and life, despite how fleeting they are, and the misery to which we will become subject if when our health fails and our youth fades. Our looks and faculties are always susceptible to unanticipated damage and deterioration and as the owner and product of our actions, we must exercise our will to be mindful of the inevitability of these things, and of the consequent necessity to not be attached to them or cling to them. Indeed, everything that is dear to us, beyond health and youth, is perishable and it is for this reason that we must train ourselves to be liberated from attachment to them by understanding the conditions that generate the delusion that we require them for happiness.

The conditions that generate the delusion that we require them for happiness (namely, the deluded belief in a self and failure to be mindful of the temporariness of all pleasure and pain, and of the objects of our pleasure and pain), ironically, necessarily results in misery because we continually fear their potential loss and, if this fear comes to pass, grieve their actual loss. We suffer what may come to pass, and thereby already suffer from that very fear, and then our suffering is compounded by grief if the feared event does indeed come to pass. As we reflect on these realities, attachment to these things and the misery-producing dependence upon them for happiness weakens, and true happiness begins to arise.

Failure to understand the conditions that perpetuate suffering in this world lead us to perpetuate and compound our misery in pursuit of happiness, but the Buddhist who is properly instructed in the Dhamma can use “samveda” to achieve “pasada.” Samvega is horror and grief at the realization that we have been living in a way that is conducive to the very misery we are trying to avoid and counterproductive in the pursuit of the very happiness we are trying to acquire, and “pasada” is the sense of contentment and well-being we experience once we mend our ways and begin to use the teachings of the Dhamma to free ourselves from bondage to the attachment to mental and physical contact that perpetuates our suffering.
Buddha Quotes that might change you, a bit, if you rread them then take it to heart but otherwise…
By: Shaun Chawanmushi
Tags: Osmosis, Productivity, Buddhism, Writing

Buddha Quotes that might change you, a bit, if you rread them then take it to heart but otherwise not

1. No-one saves us but ourselves. No-one can and no-one may. We ourselves must walk the path. Gautama Buddha, Sayings of the buddha

2. If the problem can be solved, why worry? If the problem cannot be solved worrying will do you no good shantideva

3.There is no fire like passion, there is not shark like hatred, there is no snare like folly, there is no torrent like greed. Siddharta Gautama

4.Purity and impurity depends on oneself, no-one can purify another. Tipitaka. Suttapitaka. Kuddhakanikaya. Dhammapada. English & Pali

5. Just as a snake sheds its skin, we must shed our past over and over again.

Gautama Buddha
Alternative History 0.22 — Different Worlds
By: Natalia Belova
Tags: Different World, Alternative History, Elements, Buddhism, Frequency

One of the interesting topic Korol is talking about is a deference in the world’s (frequencies) that people are living in…

In short — everything that surrounds us — people, things, places, music, food — everything is affecting us and is part of our “frequency”… And each one if them has pluses and minuses…

Let’s say a world where you are traveling all the time in the forest, and the world where you go out in clubs are completely different…

And one more element that he mentioned recently was the country… it’s like on his theory the language, the currency, the calendar, the main religion — it all puts people in that specific world, in that specific frequency — and since Alexander is really invested into this idea, he collects these elements…

And it almost works like magic — if you start going to these places, start eating this food, start wearing this clothes — you will become super successful, or you will start falling in love and others will do the same towards you…

At the same time it could be used to harm people as well and that us how curses are made — you just give a person all the elements of the world/frequency where there are only problems and life threatening situations and that is the end — that person will sir on the plane that will crush…

And he has these lists of elements…

But the most interesting thing that he always tries to prove that these actually work…

And the interesting example for it was the story of how Buddhism started…there was a man who decided to live hoe his heart tells him — eating what he liked, listening to what he liked, taking actions only the ones he thought were worthwhile…and he got people who did the same as he advised…

So all of them kind of tuned into the same frequency…and even now after his death this world — his world still exists…
Cats Are Enlightened Monks
By: Jeremy Rodgers
Tags: Poem, Otherdoors, Cats, Buddhism, Poetry

From haiku to hefty memoirs - poems, stories and essays that break through the bullshit. Looking for pieces that go far beyond cliché to uncover a new realm of possibilities. Other Doors features writing that leaves the reader with genuine congenital reactions.
What is the Buddhist idea of the “Middle Way”?
By: Eiji Suhara Phd
Tags: Middle Way, Wisdom, Emptiness, Buddhism, Meditation

Another Interpretation of the Middle Way — Emptiness

However, the Buddhist doctrine of the middle way has at least one other significant meaning. It is said that the Buddha realized the middle way when he took gruel offered by a village girl. What he realized was that even if you follow extreme hedonism or asceticism, you have the same attachment to different ideals. When the Buddha realized this fact, he naturally detached from the two poles and obtained wisdom.

The Buddha’s insightful attitude I mentioned above is the way to interpret the middle way in the context of the idea of “emptiness” emphasized by Nāgārjuna, who is regarded as the “founder” of the Middle Way (Mādhyamaka) School. Nāgārjuna demonstrated the “insubstantiality” of things and thus insisted that every “thing” is actually emptiness. In other words, for him, every “thing” is just a name, arbitrarily labeled by the whims of language.

For example, he argues that there is no such thing as “time.” He shows that the temporalities of “past,” “present,” and “future” are just semantic meanings unrelated to their specific referents and can be defined only in the context of others.

In other words, when we “understand” the meaning of “past,” it is some time already passed before the present. Future is some time that will come after the present, and so on. Yet, by their own definition, they can’t exist “at the same time.” Therefore, Nāgārjuna concludes that these three different tenses of temporality don’t actually exist.

Does it sound like sophistry? Maybe this type of argument works for abstract ideas. What is “love”? We can’t refer to any substantial object called “love,” can we? We can understand “love” only through metaphors — love is something sweet like chocolate, warm like a mother, and so on.

But how about this “desk” in front of me? It certainly exists, since I see and touch “it,” doesn’t it? Functionally speaking, yes, it appears like it exists. You can remove the desk as a single object separated from space, move it, and use it.

However, does this mean that the desk exists while being separated from everything else in my sight? I experience “many things” in a single picture. The legs and drawers of the desk — are these distinct existences?

When I look at a forest, is a single “tree” a separate existence? Is that “cedar” different from the “pine” tree? Trunks, stems, branches, leaves, flowers — are these trees?

Photo of Daishōin Temple taken by author

Also, why do we have to call it a “desk”? Without a chair, notebook, and pencils, do we still have to call it a desk? Without learning the words, isn’t it just a uniquely shaped piece of wood? Why do I have to call it “wood”?

What about “petrified wood”? Is it wood or rock? I don’t know the answers to these questions. At least now I am more skeptical about saying that these things, which are labeled with specific names, “exist.”
Buddhism Day by Day: Life’s a Chain, all Things are Related.
By: Adam, Diabetic Cyborg
Tags: Poems On Medium, Prose, Prose Poem, Buddhism, Puppies

“Life is a chain. All things are related. When a link is disturbed, the other links will be affected. We should think of the environment as our mothers–Mother Soil, Mother Sea, Mother Earth. There is no crime worse than harming one’s mother.”

Credit Daisaku Ikeda for the quote.
Is Being Human Better Than Being in Heaven?
By: Eiji Suhara Phd
Tags: Awareness, Reincarnation, Mindfulness, Karma, Buddhism

Photo by Yanajin33 via Wikimedia Commons

The Buddhist Theory of Six Realms of Existence

This law of karma is a principle that relates to relationships among and between lives. According to Buddhist metaphysics, we reincarnate after dying in one of the six realms of existence: the realm of heavenly beings, the realm of fighting spirits (asura), the realm of human beings, the realm of animals, the realm of hungry spirits (preta), and the realm of beings in hell.

How is it determined which realm we will be born in?

It depends on the quality and quantity of karma we have accumulated in our past and current lives.

Let me give the example of my friend who is always getting angry. He negatively interprets all his experiences, and it causes him stress. We don’t know why he formed such a habitual cognitive scheme — maybe because of the environment he was raised in, or the “nature” he inherited from a previous life. Nonetheless, if he doesn’t correct his hot-tempered nature, he may be born in the realm of fighting spirits after death.

My son keeps demanding me to do things for him. The more toys he gets, the more he expects me to buy. He will learn how to control his desire later in his life, but if he is unable to do so (as many adults do), he may be reborn in the realm of hungry spirits.

This existential model of the Buddhist theory of transmigration can be interpreted differently, e.g., from a psychological perspective. My friend I mentioned above is always frustrated with psychological conflicts caused by internal and external factors. He lives in the realm of fighting spirit in his current life.

Even though he has gotten hundreds of toys, my son is never satisfied, with an insatiable greed like a hungry spirit. It is interesting to note that the Japanese word “gaki” refers to both children and hungry spirits.

Photo by サトチ on photoAC

When I read about disasters in the news, I sometimes feel as if this world is like hell. When I do something wrong, I feel like I am in hell, tormented by the fire of guilt, and so on.

These psychological and existential interpretations of transmigration theory are mutually related. From the perspective of depth psychology, the contents of dreams we see are influenced by our psychological states, based on what we experience when we are awake.

The existential version of transmigration theory extends such a notion — our psychological states are preserved even after death. In other words, habitual mental tendencies continue from one life to another life according to the universal law of inertia.
The Headache of Enlightenment
By: William B. Turner
Tags: Enlightenment, Buddha, Headache, Buddhism, Meditation

Esteemed Buddhist teacher Joseph Goldstein tells of being in an Indian chai shop with his teacher, the famous Munindra Ji, and telling the teacher that he had a splitting headache. Munindra Ji replied, “I hope you are enjoying it.” Goldstein doesn’t talk about enlightenment much at all, certainly not his own, and he does not in any way connect this headache to any putative enlightenment he may have achieved, but it is still an interesting sign post on the path.

Lots of Buddhism is, um, counterintuitive. Whether you get to the point of enjoying them, you may experience headaches, or intense pressure inside your head as you mediatate. Learning changes the structure as well as the content of the brain. The brain feels no pain, but the basic changes to your perspective on the world that meditation will bring about can still be uncomfortable, if not painful. Awakening is an experience, not an intellectual exercise, but it still involves learning necessarily.

We hear incessantly about “leaving your comfort zone.” Doing so can be painful, but the message in our culture is always that the benefits of the movement outweigh any discomfort or pain.

Certainly complete awakening is well worth the occasional headache. Fully absorbing not self means that you will not even experience the pain as your own.

So, keep on meditating, through the headache as necessary.

We have a book.

Please help spread the word.
This Mantra Kicks the Ass of All Other Mantras
By: Ryan Dejonghe
Tags: Prayer, Love, Mantra, Buddhism, Meditation

The Story of Om Mani Padme Hum

In ancient [country redacted], there lived a holy and revered monk. He would spend his days and nights in a cave on an island outside of the village. For miles around, people had heard stories of this monk’s wisdom.

One day, a young apprentice crossed the water and entered the cave to seek the master monk’s guidance. The apprentice heard the master reciting the ancient mantra: Om Mani Padme Hum.

The apprentice said to the master, “pardon me, your holiness, but I’ve noticed you are saying the mantra in an unusual pronunciation.”

“Oh, thank you, my loved child,” said the master. “How then is this revered mantra enunciated?”

The apprentice instructed the master on the correct way to say Om Mani Padme Hum and then left on his way via his rowboat across the water.

Before the youngster could finish paddling his way home, the master had caught up to him, walking across the water.

The master asked the student, “How again should I be reciting Om Mani Padme Hum? I’m afraid I’ve been saying it incorrectly and want to make sure it is right.”
Buddhism Day by Day: Transplanted Trees Will not Topple if it has a Firm Stake to Hold it up Against Fierce Winds
By: Adam, Diabetic Cyborg
Tags: Poems On Medium, Prose Poetry, Prose, Buddhism, Poetry

Buddhism Day by Day: Transplanted Trees Will not Topple if it has a Firm Stake to Hold it up Against Fierce Winds Adam, Diabetic Cyborg ·Dec 11, 2020

“When a tree has been transplanted, though fierce winds may blow, it will not topple if it has a firm stake to hold it up. But even a true that has grown up in a place may fall over if those roots are weak. Even a feeble person will not stumble if those supporting him are strong, but a person of considerable strength, when alone, may fall down on an uneven path.” –Nichiren

Credit Daisaku Ikeda for the quote.
This is the truth of all living things — Day 11 of Simplicity
By: Mike Rusert
Tags: Advent, Buddhism, Notice, Meditation, Spirituality

Photo by Jeanette Mayo

Day Eleven — Notice — 25 Days of Simplicity

Breathing deeply, I lovingly bow

to the mystery and wonder of this one, brief human life.

Like a flash of lightning or drop of dew.

Death is certain, it comes without warning.

This body is of the nature to grow old,

experience illness, and die.

This body will become a corpse, break apart, and transform.

This is the truth of all living beings.



The universe is lawful.

Cause and effect cannot be escaped.

I am the owner of my Karma.

My thoughts, words and actions alone

determine the quality of my inner and outer life,

not anyone’s wishes for me.



Compulsively seeking pleasant

and avoiding that which is unpleasant

is an unendurable ocean of suffering.

All phenomena are fabricated and impermanent.



Everyone I love and everything I cherish

will change

and be separated from me.

May I meet each moment with friendliness and wisdom,

and see all beings with eyes of compassion.



— A meditation written by David Jones (Intertwiner, husband & father, lover of poetry). David said these words were inspired by the Four (or Five) Remembrances of the Buddha. David practices several times a day while “waking, walking, waiting, washing dishes, etc.”

Photograph by Jeanette Mayo.
Daowu’s Moon
By: Jesse Heller
Tags: LGBTQ, Haiku, Buddhism, Poetry, China

Exploring my reality. “But from recognizing sadness you can put it aside and be happy and enjoy the happy side of life” — Townes Van Zandt
Buddhism Day by Day: The Civilizers of Humankind are Women
By: Adam, Diabetic Cyborg
Tags: Women, Prose, Poetry In Form, Buddhism, Puppies

“Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote: ‘Women are, by their power of conversation and their social influence, the civilizers of humankind. What is civilization? I answer, the power of good women.’ The solidarity of wise, good women will be the great power to guide the world toward peace and happiness.”

Credit Daisaku Ikeda for the quote.
Horse Thief
By: Anthony David Vernon
Tags: Flash Fiction, Zen, Taoism, Fable, Buddhism

photo by Hector Ramon Perez on Unsplash

A sage was traveling on a country road by horseback. Hiding in a bush along the road was a thief armed with a bow and arrows.

When the sage came to the thief’s bush, the thief jumped out of the bush, aiming his bow and an arrow at the sage.

Without concern or care, the sage got off his horse and surrendered his horse to the thief. The sage then continued to walk down the country road as if nothing had occurred.

This confused the thief so much so that the thief unthreateningly approached the sage and asked, “How come you seem not to care that I took your horse?”

The sage answered, “I would have lost my horse one day anyway; perhaps someone else would have stolen it, maybe it would have eventually runaway, and even if it stayed with me the rest of its day, it will certainly die on its last day.”
The Universe as Narcissus
By: Ren Powell - Mad Orphan Lit.
Tags: Poem, Mindfulness, Buddhism, Poetry, Meditation

Considering the Incomprehensible in a Sink Full of Dirty Dishes

Photo: Ren Powell

I’m trying to make sense of every little thing. Every book on the shelf, every spoon in the drawer, and every must-do on my to-do list. I’ve been using new software at work to sort through the information I share with students, and for the tasks I need to do. I’ve done the same thing with my writing projects.

It’s (probably deceptively) satisfying to get everything organized this way. Having an overview only gives me an illusion of control, I suppose. But it does stop my muppet mind from fretting. I can tease apart every concern and spread it over the computer screen as separate entities. With a space between each. Nothing in its own shape seems worth fretting over. Nothing in-and-of-itself seems vital.

What I’m still searching for is a way to do this kind of thing with all of the thoughts in my head. I want to — lovingly — sedate every little moth-like idea and pin it to a kind of bulletin board.

I suppose in some ways that is exactly what it is to write in the mornings.

This dawning space: where the contents of my time

spreads thinly, shallow as the sea

flowing over the sand — where

every gasp for breath becomes visible —

this moment of pause before

the day’s rush and the slower ebb

into the dark and the deep

chaos of dreams.

It is exactly what it is to sit on the cushion and let every thought wash up, and pass by.

Without drowning in the process.

May we have the attention to hear when something changes, the perceptiveness to know when things aren’t working, and the wisdom to try something different. (Adapted from a prayer on a Unitarian Universalist website.) -jobe

The first of the four seals of Buddhist thought is that all compound entities are impermanent. Everything falls apart. And when they do: when they scatter as fragments, as potentials, over the nothingness.

I envision it as a depth of black felt, not cold space. And though this nothingness isn’t really nothingness, since it can itself still be teased apart, it is as far as my mind can see.

It’s here, against this incomprehensible nothingness that every temporary constellation might be perceived and admired, seen and heard. Maybe synesthesia is the beginning of understanding? Maybe it is the universe recognizing itself at play?

In the Christian tradition, God created the world in his own image. This morning I’m thinking that every coming-together, every illusion of form is just the universes’ joyful shadow play for itself. I’m some bit player: both insignificant and indispensable. My presence is vital, my role is not.

But it is so easy to get caught up in the drama. We forget we are looking at our own mind from inside our own mind: just fragments- just potentials.
Buddhism Day by Day: Florence Nightingale
By: Adam, Diabetic Cyborg
Tags: Prose, Prose Poem, Buddhism, Poetry, Puppies

“Florence Nightingale, the founder of the modern nursing profession, proudly declared: ‘Let us be anxious to do well, not for selfish praise but to honor and advance the cause, the work we have taken up.’ The spirit to fulfill a noble mission is pure, strong and beautiful, It is a spirit that we all should.

Credit Daisaku Ikeda for the quote.
The Four Stages of Knowing: The Lotus in The Mind.
By: Kerry Jane Rider
Tags: Transformation, Mind, Buddhism, Poetry, Dharma

Photo by Martin Woortman on Unsplash

Cultivating strength,

becoming wiser day by day,

we avoid suffocation in the dark muddy depths:

‘the one who knows’ is silently being born.

Suspended in silent stillness, we sit:

knowing develops within,

the risk of breaking is great, but

trust brings our first experience of peace beyond doubt.

So close now to the surface

we can feel the sun’s gentle warmth on our face.

We push on, ever upwards towards the light

gaining strength through the path — liberation is close.

Finally, we break through

but, oh so gracefully,

to really see the vastness of the sky

and breathe fresh air for the first time.

We unfurl our petals one by one

and share the gift of our inherent beauty with the world.
Notes on Buddhism and Modern Psychology
By: Rowena Chang
Tags: Personal, Psychology, Notes, Buddhism, Meditation

Learn more. Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more

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Seems meta modernism and especially dividual rests on the Buddhist concept of interdependent…
By: Fredrik Lyhagen
Tags: Interdependence, Buddhism

Ready to become who you could be? I’m an Executive Coach and Leadership Consultant writing about Leading Self & Others from a lens of Integral, Jung and Zen.
What Can You Learn From One of The Fastest Growing Religion — Buddhism?
By: Chirag Garg
Tags: Spiritual Growth, Self-awareness, Buddhism, Personal Growth, Coaching

Buddhism is not a religion based on theism, there is no worship of a God or Gods or deification of the Buddha. It was founded by Gautam Buddha. The teachings of the Buddha are directed only at liberating sentient beings from suffering.

Buddha was born in a royal family. He enjoyed all the comforts and luxuries of life. But, he was somehow not satisfied with all that. He one day came across a sick man, an old man, and a dead body. He quickly realized that life is full of suffering. He went on a quest to find a solution to this human condition. After six years of intense investigation, reflection, and meditation, he became enlightened and created a very practical philosophy that had almost nothing to do with God, metaphysics, etc.

He described four noble truths -

Life is full of sufferings.

The cause of sufferings is desire.

The solution to sufferings is detachment.

The eightfold path leads to a cessation of all sufferings.

, an eightfold path to go beyond suffering -

Understanding The Right View

Setting The Right Intensions

Developing The Right Speech

Doing The Right Actions

Designing The Right Livelihood

Putting The Right Efforts

Having The Right Mindfulness

Developing The Right Concentration

and three jewels for a seeker’s support -

Always Take Refuge In The Buddha.

Always Take Refuge In The Dharma Teachings.

Always Take Refuge In The Spiritual Community.

He also introduced five precepts (or ethical guidelines) to build the character of all seekers -

Refrain From Killing

Refrain From Stealing

Refrain From False Speech

Refrain From Sexual Misconduct

Refrain From Using Intoxicants

The Buddhist way of life is referred to as “The Middle Way” where He discourages the student to take part in any sort of extreme practice. Although, the Buddhist way itself might seem extreme to most of the modern generation. But, that is what He suggested. Greed, hatred, and delusion were called — the three poisons, which damage both the individual and others. 😋

Buddhists focus on realizing the #impermanence of all things and freeing oneself from all attachments. They usually practice #compassion and #meditation on emptiness (#shunyata). They believe in the law of causation (#Karma) and the cycle of rebirth (#Samsara). Their ultimate goal is to gather good karma and attain a state of liberation from life & death (#Nirvana). The individual who attains that state is called a #Buddha, who has recognized the real self and is beyond all dualities. 📿

The Buddhas develop 10 perfections which include generosity, morality, renunciation, wisdom, energy, patience, truthfulness, determination, loving-kindness, & equanimity. 😇
Words
By: Ulf Wolf
Tags: Language, Zazen, Words, Buddhism, Meditation

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Shi Heng Yi (释恒義) on Self-Mastery
By: Bremer Acosta
Tags: Mastery, Self Mastery, Growth, Buddhism, Kung Fu

Always take the perspective of a student, a beginner, even when you are skilled in one area of your life. There is always something to learn. Stay humble in the grand mystery of this universe.

Seek answers, but remain open to what you don’t know.
As Americans, our lesson for 2021 is “How to deal with loss without becoming insecure and hateful.”
Tags: Love, Loss, God, Buddhism, Moving On

I think the lesson going into 2021 is “How to deal with loss without becoming insecure and hateful.” I say this because I think Americans are going to lose a lot financially next year. The forms of life like Bank Accounts and Nice Cars and Nice Houses are transitory and fleeting.

When we encounter loss, we can go mad trying to make the form reappear after the metaphorical tower falls down. Or we can see the destruction of forms as a liberating event that allows us to break from past expectations and become new. I’m not saying to live without any attachments. But our egos can become flexible to the changing rhythms of our life.

I’ve experienced massive losses in my life. It’s easy for me to turn to resentment and jealousy as a result. But I’ve found a way of honoring the message when something dies in my life. Life is trying to get us to grow. Loss is fertilizer that gives our inner spiritual tree strong roots and thick foliage.

In many ways, we are instructed to feel ashamed when we experience loss. It is optional. That is just programming. However, our egos love when we overreact to loss. It gives the ego purpose because we then turn to our egos to recreate the lost item. In Eastern philosophical models, detachment from loss is a virtue that brings us closer to the divine.

Can you experience deep loss and not emotionally react? This is likely something that needs to be practiced; it was for me. As we move toward God, we focus more on the formless and less on the forms of this world. And with each step up the ladder, our trust in our fate grows, and our life becomes more and more peaceful. But we have to stop freaking out about loss. Them’s the rules. lol.

I wrote this piece because I accidentally lost a lot of my music files on my hard drive, and I’ve been going through more loss than usual lately. But I see how it is freeing me to change my approach to music and evolve as an artist of the divine.

Be well this week friends.
if you can think, wait and fast, you can get everything you need in life.
By: René Junge
Tags: Self, Thinking, Self-awareness, Buddhism, Philosophy

if you can think, wait and fast, you can get everything you need in life.

Especially in our fast-moving, hectic times, the three abilities of the Siddharta are particularly valuable. Those who possess them cannot be put under pressure to go in a direction in which they do not want to go.

If we want to take our life into our own hands, we need these abilities. Thinking, waiting and fasting do not make us slow and weak but independent and unstoppable.
Buddhism Day by Day: Education Allows us to be Truly Human
By: Adam, Diabetic Cyborg
Tags: Poems On Medium, Prose Poetry, Prose, Buddhism, Puppies

“Education allows us to be truly human. It deepens us and enables us to build a better society and a brighter future. The profundity of culture, the nature of society and the firmness of peace. Education plays a major role in the creating deep solidarity, mutual understanding and trust.”

Credit Daisaku Ikeda for the quote.
Dear Guru
By: Ulf Wolf
Tags: Guru, Zazen, Buddhism, Meditation, Teachings

Learn more. Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more

Make Medium yours. Follow the writers, publications, and topics that matter to you, and you’ll see them on your homepage and in your inbox. Explore
Anime reviews part 1 -the disastrous life of saiki k
Tags: Review, Anime, Anime Recommendation

Anime reviews part 1 -the disastrous life of saiki k

This show is a comedy about a high school teen with psychic powers.The concept for this anime is good and the anime can pretty much be picked up from any episode having watched the first episode .It’s not got much of a story line but more like mini stories of events which happen.The relationship between saiki and the other characters are hilarious which keeps the audience interested .Saiki as a character overall is a very sarcastic ,pessimistic view point which makes the comparison of the other characters in the series great combinations.The struggles that saiki goes through because of his Psychic powers are quite real if they were to exist leaving the audience wanting some powers but displaying the reality of having them and why you wouldn’t.Although it does make for a good anime.They have used many anime tropes and exaggerated them for comedic purposes like tendou the dumb best friend of saiki wether he likes it or not ,terohasi the assumed love interest for saiki which he isn’t too keen on either.If you want an good comedy to watch 10/10 recommend this anime it has an English dub if subtitles aren’t your thing well good bye ✌️✨✨
Top 10 Best Anime 2020 You Must Watch
Tags: Animé, Animê, Anime

Top 10 Best Anime 2020 You Must Watch

Top 10 Best Anime 2020 You Must Watch – Hey guys!. In this post, I’ll be discussing a list of Top 10 Best Anime 2020 You Must Watch. Since 2020 is about to end, this time I present a summary of the best anime 2020 that you must watch at home, not only anime that gets new sequels, also new anime release in 2020 which are still fresh. So, let’s get started.

10. Re:Zero 2nd Season

After about 4 years of waiting, season 2 of the anime Re:Zero that has been awaited finally appears, although the number of episodes is not as many as in the first season. The main character is still centered on Natsuki Subaru, a game-playing NEET who suddenly enters Isekai, where in that world Subaru is cursed to be immortal, as well as Elf Emilia and the sisters Ram and Rem. In season 2, it tells and introduces a new character, a white-haired witch.

9. Kaguya-sama: Love is War Season 2

“Whoever confesses their love first they lose”, is the principle of the two main characters in this anime. Still the same as the previous sequels, with Shirogane Miyuki being the student council president in an elite Japanese high school, while the student council vice president was Shinomiya Kaguya. However, in their love journey there is no progress because they are hindered by the prestige and dignity of being an elite member of the Student Council.

8. The God of High School

The God of High School, adapted from Manhwa (Korean version of manga comic). Focused on the ‘God Of High School’ martial arts tournament which consists of 3 different racial entities. Including humans is the weakest race, there are also the devil races and angels. Although the weakest, the human race has the power borrowed from the god in the form of ‘Charyeok’, with this power humans are able to match other races. And as a prize the winner, any wish will be granted. The journey started with a 17 year old boy named Jin Mo-Ri who specializes in taekwondo martial arts, where he comes from Korea. During the fight he met Han Dae-Wi the karate expert and Yu Mi-Ra the swordsman, who in the end became a team. Besides the action anime which is very thick, don’t forget the anime also includes comedy spices in it.

Originally published at https://www.animesoulking.com on December 25, 2020.
Self talk #1
By: Think Wicked
Tags: Self Talk, Storyofmylife, Anime

Self talk #1

What To do now ? Restricted all the triggers that can distract me now I have free time and nothing to do…

I can feel this urge to use different apps or watch anime to avoid contact with reality, in different way to run from reality…

I have stopped all the triggers since two days and new plan for watching anime..

I love anime so I can’t just stop watching it but i come up with plan to use that addiction in productive work, I have decided that i will watch anime only on Saturday and Sunday,

Saturday sunday will be my anime day, I will only watch anime whole day and nothing that’s the reward i have set for myself for doing of 5 days work,

This may seem time waste because i am gonna only watch anime for two days and it’s kind a time waste but it’s better to waste two days then wasting whole week and if i work five days with my focus on work maybe i can achieve something,

If i work for five days and then watch anime it will feel good because now i am not using anime as excuse to run from reality,

And i don’t want to feel unworthy of watching such beautiful art, i respect anime a lot and if i just that escape from reality i will be disrespecting my love for anime,

Even if this seems stupid plan it’s better then no plan….