True Mind Enacts – 恰恰用心時

恰恰用心時, 恰恰無心用.無心恰恰用, 常用恰恰無.
(唐‧永嘉禪師 )

True Mind Enacts

Just act with our inherent mindfulness,

then the true mind just appears unattached.

–

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When We See Alms Bowl – 若見空缽

” /> Photo Courtesy By Photographer Doug Janson.
More great photos can be found here:
http://www.pbase.com/dougj
 

若見空缽，當願眾生，其心清淨，空無煩惱

若見滿缽，當願眾生，具足成滿，一切善法

(華嚴經淨行品句)

If we see an empty bowl,
we should wish that all beings be pure of heart,
and empty of afflictions.

If we see a full bowl,
we should wish that
all beings completely fulfill all virtuous ways.

(Pure conduct, Flower adornment Sutra)
English Text Translated by Thomas Cleary

Reflection: 「空」之一義，在佛法中並不完全等同於「無」。
唯有空，才能包含萬有。唯有空，才能演繹妙法。
也唯有空，才能了達諸法緣起。
是以，空缽非唯意指「了無所有」，
而是表達著「含攝諸有」的廣大妙義。

The “Emptiness” in Dharma does not really mean “Nothing is there”.
Because of emptiness, it can content million things.
Because of emptiness, All Dharma can be demonstrated.Only because of Empty nature,
we can realize all Dharmas are
dependent and conditioned.Therefore,
Empty Alms Bowl does not mean “Nothing is there at all”,
instead, it means all things be contained within.

Verse For Opening A Sutra – 開經偈

Ancient Image of Purland (Ultimate Bliss World)

開經偈

無上甚深微妙法,百千萬劫難遭遇.

我今見聞得受持,願解如來真實義.

唐代武則天所寫的〔開經偈〕,是我們誦經前繼〔爐香讚〕
及三稱佛號後所誦的一首偈,其文筆之暢順及精簡,
且意義深奧,千多年來雖有後人欲將它修改,但亦無法取代之.

Verse For Opening A Sutra

The incomparable and profoundly exquisite Dharma,

It is rare that it can be encountered with,
even in hundreds of thousands of millions of ages.

We are now permitted to see it.
We are now permitted to hear it.
We are now permitted to accept it.
We are now permitted to hold it.

May we truly understand the meaning of these words
of the Tathagata

Listen to the rain – 虞美人

 
Photo Courtesy by www.freefoto.com
Photographer: Ian Britton

虞 美 人　
宋‧蔣捷

少年聽雨歌樓上，紅燭昏羅帳。

壯年聽雨客舟中，江闊雲低斷雁叫西風。而今聽雨僧廬下，鬢已星星也。

悲歡離合總無情，一任階前點滴到天明。

Listen to the rain

Listening to the rain in teenage at a penthouse,
where I was in a silky curtained bed
with a dim light of red candle next to it.

Listening to the rain in middle age on a boat,
I was on a journey sailing over a wide river
in low cloudy weather with west wind,
and I heard a lost wild goose crying.

Listening to the rain now-a-day
in a monastic retreat cottage,
my hairs already turned grey.Happiness or Grief,
Gathering or parting,
all be changed relentlessly.

Let my tears dropping down the floor
till dawn at front door.

–Chinese ancient Zen poem by Chian-Jay (Sun Dynasty) —

Zen poem studyThe poem links three different moods at different ages through
a simple action of “Listening to the rain”. One day in the same
midst rainy weather, his live has gone through many searches
and chases, lost and grief. And finally he realized it is a rough
journey.

At teenage, he spent time chasing for the pleasure of lust life.
The rain was a good excuse to stay out overnight without going
home. The penthouse is where the money can buy the sensual
pleasure of alcoholic drinks and sex. It was a young life of wildness
and extremely frivolous.

The life at middle age, he chases the wealth and fame. He has to
travel a lot to many places and was unable to go home often. One
day in winter, the weather was bad with dark low cloud and west
wind. He was alone by him selves sailing on a small boat in the big
river. Suddenly he felt very lonely. After hearing the cry of a lost wild
goose, he felt him selves likewise being lost in the big river. He
became extremely sad and very homesick.

As time goes by so fast, he became aged. He temporarily resided
in a monastic retreat for a short rest. One rainy night, he stood by the
window watching rain drops.

The sad rain noise recalled his memory of the past. All the past
happiness, grief, sorrow, gatherings and partings gradually become
far away from him now. The live has gone like a dream yesterday.
He realized the live is an illusion and is impermanent although the
raining noise is sensed so real in front of him. He let his tears fall as
the rain does till dawn. He feels his live being sort of empty and what
he can do is just letting go into the universe.

Reflection:

When listening to the rain, our mind changes from time to time.
Our feeling also changes in different ages, from teenage till we
get aged.

How many times have we experienced the raining days in our live?
How often have we ever examined our selves with full-mindfulness
in the same raining days?

Our mind shall be carefully examined inward. If our mind searches
and chases for the outward wealth and sensational pleasure, we will
make our live illusive, meaningless and totally wasted.

Live is so precious. We should make this very live useful and
meaningful.

Let’s listen to the honest messages from our mind.

Earth Store Bodhisattva – 地藏菩薩

” />    —– Earth Store Bodhisattva ——-

地藏菩薩讚稽首本然清淨地    無盡佛藏大慈尊

南方世界湧香雲    香雨花雲及花雨

寶雨寶雲無數種    為祥為瑞遍莊嚴

天人問佛是何因    佛言地藏菩薩至

三世如來同讚歎    十方菩薩共皈依

我今宿植善因緣    稱揚地藏真功德

慈因積善，誓救眾生，

手中金錫，振開地獄之門。

掌上明珠，光攝大千世界。

智慧音裡，吉祥雲中，

為閻浮提苦眾生，作大證明功德主。

大悲大願，大聖大慈，

本尊地藏菩薩摩訶薩。

Introduction:

Like all Bodhisattvas, Earth Store Bodhisattva aspires to deliver
sentient beings wandering astray in the five (or six) paths of
mundane existence; but he specializes in delivering them from hell.
This expresses an extremely profound and esoteric aspect of the
Bodhisattva’s compassionate activity. One of his vows is in favor
of woman who hates womanhood.

地藏菩薩本願經
如來讚歎品  第六

“若有女人，厭女人身，盡心供養地藏菩薩畫像，及土石膠漆
銅鐵等像，如是日日不退，常以華香、飲食、衣服、繒綵、幢旛、
錢、寶物等供養。是善女人，盡此一報女身，百千萬劫，更不生
有女人世界，何況復受。除非慈願力故，要受女身，度脫眾生，
承斯供養地藏力故，及功德力，百千萬劫不受女身。”

Sutra of the Past Vows of Earth Store Bodhisattva
(Chapter 6: Tathagata’s Praises)

“If a woman who hates womanhood should apply her mind to
worshipping Bodhisattva Earth Store’s painted picture or his image
made of earth, stone, glue, lacquer, copper or iron, and if she should
often pay homage to it also with such things as flowers, incense, food,
drink, clothing, accessories, curtains, banners, money or jewels-such
a good woman will not ever be reborn into a world having any woman
whatsoever for a duration of hundreds of thousands of myriads of
kalpas after she ends her present retributive life in a woman’s form,
not to mention her having to undergo any further period of womanhood.
Unless she should wish, by virtue of her compassionate vow, to
assume womanhood in order to deliver and liberate sentient beings,
she will not have to assume womanhood for a duration of hundreds of
thousands of myriads of kalpas by virtue of her worship of Bodhisattva
Earth Store and because of the meritorious virtues gained from such
worship.

Our lives are very precious – 人生苦短

” />   —- Photo Courtesy by: (C) FreeFoto.com,
Photographer: Ian Britton

—–人生苦短 ——

一半用來睡眠；
一些耗在不知懮愁的少年時代，
另一半則耗在孤苦無助的老年時代；
其餘便在家庭生活或感官生活的些微愉悅中打滾了。
《薄伽梵往世書》

Our days are short and like shadow, and
We are unable to prolong it…………………..,

Half of our life spend in sleep;
part is wasted in youthful carelessness and
another in the helplessness of old age;

And the remaining balance is spent in wallowing
in the trivial pleasure of domestic or sensuous life.

Our lives are very precious.
If we do not make good use of this very live,
Are we really sure to “Rest in Peace”?

Earth Store (Ksitigarbha) Bodhisattva – 地藏菩薩 -1

 

地獄不空，誓不成佛 
 
眾生度盡，方證菩提
Homage to Earth Store (Ksitigarbha) Bodhisattva
The compassionate and wise Bodhisttva

who vowed that he will remain in hell
to teach and liberate sentient beings
in the lower realms.

Who vowed not to leave until the hell is empty.

True is his vows,
true is his compassion,
true is his wisdom.

Mahayana Buddhism – A Great Vehicle

MRT in Singapore, Photo courtesy by ZiFeng/Flickr.
More great photos can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zifeng/

Reflection from this great photo:

This is a cabin of MRT in Singapore. The cabin is air-conditioned with fresh air,
with adequate lumination in lighting system and with very clean floor. Passengers
are either in sitting meditation or in reading news papers. Every passenger is
making good use of their precious time in the cabin.

The scene reminds me the Mahayana Buddhism – a great Vehicle with
Buddha’s teachings which will carry buddhist practitioners on the journey
from this shore to the other side of shore, from delution to total spiritual
liberation – Enlightenment.

Within buddhism trandition, every person who professes Mahayana
Buddhism can take the bodhisattva vow, which expresses the aspiration
to attain enlightenment just as the Buddha did and to help all beings on
their way to nirvana. The bodhisattva path can be undertaken in either a
monastic or a secular context, depending on individual circumstances.

The Dharma exists in our worldlife. We can observe it and experience it
in our daily life just to follow 8-fold paths.

Inspiring E-Card from Dharma Drum

Here I have found a wonderful collection of Inspiring E-Cards from
Dharma Drum Mountain website. If you are looking for a gift and/or
an inspiring message to your Dharma friends, please visit the link below
and make your choice:

 http://www.dharmadrum.org/Ecard/Ecard.asp

Truck Load of Falling Leaves On My Path

In recent practice, I found various obstacles on my path. The obstacles are
like full of falling leaves ahead of me. They are afflictions accumulad from the
past and need to be cleaned up and purified. The meditating images in my
practice are like the photo above.

This also reminds me the teaching by Ven. Ajahn Sumedho, I would like
to share it with my Dharma friends who has a similar problem like what I do :

A HANDFUL OF LEAVES

The Blessed One was once living at Kosambi in a wood of simsapa
trees. He picked up a few leaves in his hand, and he asked the
bhikkhus,  ‘How do you conceive this, bhikkhus, which is more, the
few leaves that I have picked up in my hand or those on the trees in
the wood?

‘The leaves that the Blessed One has picked up in his hand are few,
Lord; those in the wood are far more.’

‘So too, bhikkhus, the things that I have known by direct knowledge
are more;  the things that I have told you are only a few.

Why have I not told them? 
Because they bring no benefit, no advancement in the Holy Life,
and because they do not lead to dispassion,
to fading, to ceasing,
to stilling,
to direct knowledge,
to enlightenment,
to Nibbana.
That is why I have not told them. 

And what have I told you?
This is suffering;
this is the origin of suffering;
this is the cessation of suffering;
this is the way leading to the cessation of suffering.

That is what I have told you.
Why have I told it?
Because it brings benefit, and advancement in the Holy Life,
and because it leads to dispassion,
to fading, to ceasing,
to stilling,
to direct knowledge,
to enlightenment,
to Nibbana.

So bhikkhus, let your task be this:
This is suffering; this is the origin of suffering; 
this is the cessation of suffering;
this is the way leading to the cessation of suffering.’

[Samyutta Nikaya, LVI, 31]