In the Lap of the Buddha

THE 21 TARAS

White Tara

http://www.21taras.net/

Prajna

If the eye never sleeps,

all dreams will naturally cease.

If the mind makes no discriminations,

the ten thousand things

are as they are, of single essence.

To understand the mystery of this One-essence

is to be released from all entanglements.

– Sosan Zenji

Finding my Religion

Rev. Heng Sure

A Vow of Silence and a Pilgrimage

http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma9/findreligion.html

http://paramita.typepad.com/ (Video “Feeling Glad for my Mom and Dad”)

http://meowies.multiply.com/video/item/29/American_Beef_Cow

Thich Nhat Hanh in Singapore

“we have more possibilities available in each moment than we realize.â€? – thich nhat hanh

http://stream.pvweb.org/

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/thichnhathanh?ref=sgm

http://www.plumvillage.org/practice.html

OUTWITTED

He drew a circle that shut me out –
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle that took him in.

Edwin Markham

The Buddha taught that one should conquer anger with kindness, wickedness with goodness, selfishness with charity, and falsehood with truthfulness.

Came upon this poem in a book by K. Sri Dhammananda ‘How to live without fear and worry’. The following evening I listened to Ajahn Brahm’s latest Audio Dharma Talk ‘Happy Buddhamas’ in which he recited this same poem. http://www.bswa.org/modules/mydownloads/viewcat.php?cid=4&orderby=dateD

We must increase and widen our circle of compassion until it includes everyone and everything!

White Tara

Wisdom

Om Tare Tuttare Ture Mama Ayuh Punya Jñana Pustim Kuru Svaha

White Tara is another representation of compassion and she is pictured as being endowed with seven eyes to symbolize the watchfulness of the compassionate mind.

http://www.wildmind.org/blogs/on-practice/white-magic#more-5454

Reality Isn’t What You Think

Meditating Cat

Close your eyes and wake up

Apparent Reality is just a dream of our mind

Wake up to the Ultimate Reality

Reality Isn’t What You Think

by Andy Karr

http://www.shambhalasun.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=3111&Itemid=247

http://sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/340010

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

I made a decision when I found out that a resident of Block *28 had relocated Damy!

What is the use of working with Town Councils to solve problems when people like this man take matters in their own hands! A person I never even suspected! Worse… a family who keep cats themselves and seemed supportive!

First I had to take in Rocky because someone had relocated him and may do so again…fliered the whole block but no leads as to who did it. Damy was released with a heavy heart… would he be taken again? I had sterilized and relocated the new cat that caused problems on the 4th floor of the same block and had Damy’s ear tipped before releasing him back… to my horror he was taken again the very next morning! Now he is safe in my home…

But I will not let myself become a hoarder!

I will still put in effort to sterilize… so that less cats are born to suffer… and then release them to their fate without attachment… will still help where I can as much as my health and means allow… and without any hope!

I will ‘help until it hurts’ (Peter Singer)… but not until it kills me! Some utilitarian things make sense to me. We should not be ruled by emotions but reflect on the actual benefit of our actions and use limited resources wisely.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Many seriously injured and sick cats could heal and recover because kind people sponsored the medical fees and gave me strength and support when needed, some have helped hands-on and Billy Boy found a home because someone herself busy with rescue work helped me to advertise and screen potential adopters… Thinking of these people always put a smile on my face.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

One needs to make time for reflection and meditation…to heal and to learn to feel equanimity towards all beings…

http://www.wildmind.org/mindfulness/one

Please help Thich Nhat Hanh

Robin’s blog:

http://robin33.blogspot.com/2009/09/help-thich-nhat-hanh.html

Nobel Peace Prize Nominee Thich Nhat Hanh’s Vietnam-based Bat Nha monastery is under severe economic, violent, and governmental pressure to abandon its premises by September 2.

The sun remains beautiful over Bat Nha Monastery

Sadness as a Meditation

Sadness can become a very enriching experience. You have to work on it. It is easy to escape from yours sadness – and all relationships ordinarily are escapes; one simply goes on avoiding it. And it is always there underneath… the current continues. Even in relationship it erupts many times. Then one tends to throw the responsibility on the other, but it is not the real thing. It is your loneliness, your own sadness. You have not settled with it yet, so it will erupt again and again.

You can escape in work. You can escape in some occupation, in relationship and society, this and that, in traveling, but it is not going to go away, because it is part of your being.

Every man is born alone – in the world, but alone; comes through the parents, but alone. And every man dies alone, again moves out of the world alone. And between these two lonelinesses we go on deceiving and fooling ourselves. It is good to take the courage and enter into this loneliness. However hard and difficult it may look in the beginning, it pays tremendously. Once you settle with it, once you start enjoying it, once you feel it not as sadness but as silence, once you understand that there is no way to escape, you relax.

Nothing can be done about it, so why not enjoy it? Why not go into it deeply and have a taste of it, see what it is? Why be unnecessarily afraid? If it is going to be there and it is a fact – existential, not accidental – then why not come to terms with it? Why not move into it and see what it is?

Whenever you feel sad, sit silently and allow sadness to come; don’t try to escape from it. Make yourself as sad as you can. Don’t avoid it – that’s the one thing to remember. Cry, weep… have the whole taste of it. Cry to death… fall down on the earth… roll—and let it go by itself. Don’t force it to go; it will go, because nobody can remain in a permanent mood.

When it goes you will be unburdened, absolutely unburdened, as if the whole gravitation has disappeared and you can fly, weightless. That is the moment to enter yourself. First bring sadness. The ordinary tendency is not to allow it, to find some ways and means so that you can look somewhere else – to go to the restaurant, to the swimming pool, meet friends, read a book or go to a movie, play a guitar – to do something, so that you can be engaged and you can put your attention somewhere else.

This can be remembered – when you are feeling sad, don’t loose the opportunity. Close the doors, sit down, and feel as sad as you can, as if the whole world is just a hell. Go deep into it… sink into it. Allow every sad thought to penetrate you, every sad emotion to stir you. And cry and weep and say things – say them loudly, there is nothing to worry about.

So first live sadness for a few days, and the moment that momentum of sadness goes, you will feel very calm, peaceful – as one fe
els after a storm. In that moment sit silently and enjoy the silence that is coming on its own. You have not brought it; you were bringing sadness. When sadness goes, in the wake, silence settles.

Listen to that silence. Close your eyes. Feel it… feel the very texture of it… the fragrance. And if you feel happy, sing, dance.

http://www.leben-sterben.de/sadness_meditation.htm

The Samurai’s Creed

Sayadaw U Jotika from Burma took an early dislike to an anonymous poem from around the 14th century that’s best known as The Samurai’s Creed, he told a packed audience at a recent dhamma talk in Bangkok. (Sayadaw is a Burmese honorific for a highly respected senior monk.)

But the verses’ pared-down simplicity and unlikely-sounding combinations eventually wore down that resistance and grew to captivate the 62-year-old teacher, whose ideas are readily available in Burma on CDs, in books and even adorning the walls of the Lucky Seven Tea Shop in Rangoon.

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=6,8211,0,0,1,0

“To overcome loneliness, first learn to meditate, to live in the moment. Living like this, your mind becomes very peaceful, very calm, very strong. Mindfulness makes you very Strong. You will develop inner strength.”

The poem begins:

I have no parents

I make heaven and earth my parents

I have no home

I make mindfulness my home

I have no life and death

I make the tides of breathing my life and death

I have no divine power

I make honesty my divine power

I have no friends

I make my mind my friend

I have no enemy

I make carelessness my enemy

I have no sword

I make absence of self my sword

The Samurai’s Creed

I have no parents; I make the heaven and earth my mother and father.
I have no home; I make awareness my dwelling.
I have no life and death; I make the tides of breathing my life and death.
I have no divine power; I make honesty my divine power.
I have no means; I make understanding my means.
I have no magic secrets; I make character my magic secret.
I have no body; I make endurance my body.
I have no eyes; I make the flash of lightning my eyes.
I have no ears; I make sensibility my ears.
I have no limbs; I make promptness my limbs.
I have no strategy; I make “unshadowed by thought� my strategy
I have no designs; I make “seizing opportunity by the forelock� my design.
I have no miracles; I make right action my miracle.
I have no principles; I make adaptability to all circumstances my princ
iples.
I have no tactics; I make emptiness and fullness my tactics.
I have no talents; I make ready wit my talent.
I have no friends; I make my mind my friend.
I have no enemy; I make carelessness my enemy.
I have no armor; I make benevolence and righteousness my armor.
I have no castle; I make immovable mind my castle.
I have no sword; I make absence of self my sword.

Prayer for Liberation

Prayer for Liberation

for Our Brother & sister Animals

May all sentient beings in the animal realm
subject to unbearable pain in labs throughout the world
be free from suffering.
May alternatives to animal experimentation and testing
be used immediately.
May Bodhicitta fill the hearts of those who imprison them.

May all sentient beings in the animal realm
subject to unbearable pain in labs throughout the world
be free from suffering.
May alternatives to animal experimentation and testing
be used immediately.
May Bodhicitta fill the hearts of those who imprison them.

May no animal be afraid or depressed.
May their bodies be free of injuries, disease and illness.
May those who need homes, or who have been driven from them
find shelter, plentiful food & water.
May there be liberation for those
tortured for fur, entertainment or who are hunted.

May those who believe they are superior to our brother & sister animals
develop perfect equanimity.
And may they realise in their hearts
that all sentient beings possess Buddha nature
And they are not ours to kill or exploit.

May the many billions of land and sea dwelling sentient beings
who are abused, exploited and killed due to greed, hatred and ignorance
be free of suffering
May they experience complete and perfect enlightenment,
through the virtue of my efforts and prayers.

May I be a voice for the voiceless.
In short, may all human and non-human sentient beings
live together in harmony, peace and equanimity
and achieve perfect Enlightenment quickly.

http://www.lobsa.org

Samsara sucks?

No matter how depressed I feel…

Ajahn Brahm’s talk can still make me smile 🙂

Does Life Suck?

http://www.bswa.org/audio/mp3/Brahmavamso_2009_05_01.mp3

Vesak Day

Liberate animals

by

caring for our strays

and

keeping animals off our dining table

Mettacats will be participating at Vesak celebration at Poh Ern Shih Temple and Singapore Buddhist Mission

Mettacats is a volunteer group that aims to provide care for sick and abused animals. The word “Metta” means loving kindness and the name embodies the special bond that is shared between humans and animals

http://www.mettacats.blogspot.com/

Where Science and Buddhism Meet

Mind and Reality

All that we are is the result of what we have thought.

The mind is everything.

~ Buddha

All matter originates and exists only

By virtue of a force…

We must assume behind this force

The existence of a conscious and

Intelligent Mind. This Mind

Is the matrix of all matter

~ Max Planck

Founder of Quantum Physics

Where Science and Buddhism Meet:

Emptiness, Oneness,

And the Nature of Reality

http://vimeo.com/2293696

Compassion

This six-armed Mahakala is an emanation of Avalokiteshvara the Buddha of compassion,

indicating the wrathful and protective qualities of compassion.

“Compassion is not always soft, gentle and supportive… sometimes it requires the fierce and brave heart of a warrior. The enemies of any Buddhist practitioner are the ignorance, narcissism, and mental afflictions in his or her own mind. The successful practitioner utterly destroys these inner enemies.�

From “The Lost Art of COMPASSION� by Lorne Ladner Ph.D.

This book offers ten methods for cultivating compassion. One of them is facing impermanence….

Every meeting will end in parting, every accumulation will be dispersed eventually, and every birth will end in death. In any given moment, everything inside of and around us is changing. Our thoughts and feelings flow on in an unceasing stream of consciousness. The air invisibly swirls around us and rushes into and out of our chests. Subatomic forces interact, electrons spin, molecules collide, and thousands of neurons fire in each blink of our eyes. As our planet spins around a sun that circles the center of a galaxy and flies away from other galaxies, our blood keeps rushing through our veins for as long as our hearts keep pumping.

Direct observation and analysis reveal a world that is made up of utterly impermanent, infinitely complex, interdependent events… And yet , we assume that we exist in a certain way – separate, solid, permanent and real. This illusion is a huge obstacle to compassion.

Reincarnation

http://www.bswa.org/audio/mp3/Brahmavamso_2009_01_09.mp3

I thought that this topic on rebirth would not interest me…as I still have doubts about rebirth and even individual karma…but then Ajahn Brahm’s talks never strictly keep to one topic… In fact he touched on speciesism… joked about monks and monkeys and even tried to rehome a cat at the end of his talk 🙂

Go Vegan for Peace

http://www.lobsa.org/LOBSA.htm

Tranquility in Conflict

Tranquility In Conflict

http://www.bswa.org/audio/mp3/Brahmavamso_2005_02_04.mp3

Ajahn Brahm talks about how tranquility helps us to see more deeply, become more peaceful and happy and thereby gaining compassion and wisdom. Agitation distorts our perception – only a still mind can reflect clearly. With a still mind we are not getting so upset anymore because we understand why we see things differently and understand how the waves of likes and dislikes have been distorting our view.

Zeroing in on Enlightenment

Talk by Ajahn Brahm on the middle way, non-duality, religion & science and how through deep meditation one can get a glimpse of ones past lives

http://www.bswa.org/audio/mp3/Brahmavamso_2007_02_16.mp3

Finally some much needed time to reflect….

Avalokiteshvara

the Buddha of compassion

OM MANI PADME HUM

I invoke the transformation and purification of the six negative emotions of pride, jealousy, desire, ignorance, greed and anger into their true nature,

enlightened mind.

mantra of compassion – avalokiteshvara

Prayer for the Animals

May all the Buddhas and

Bodhisattvas bless the billions

of sentient beings in factory farms

who will never feel the

sun on their backs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWKkNAswUgE

NO EXPECTATIONS

Ajahn Brahm’s talk NO EXPECTATIONS

http://www.bswa.org/modules/mydownloads/visit.php?cid=15&lid=386

Ajahn Brahm reminds us to love with no expectations!

Dreamlike

Know all things to be like this:

A mirage, a cloud castle,

A dream, an apparition,

Without essence, but with qualities that can be seen.

Know all things to be like this:

As the moon in a bright sky

In some clear lake reflected,

Though to that lake the moon has never moved.

Know all things to be like this:

As an echo that derives

From music, sounds, weeping,

Yet in that echo is no melody.

Know all things to be like this:

As a magician makes illusions

Of horses, oxen, carts and other things,

Nothing is as it appears.

– The Buddha

Always recognize the dreamlike qualities of life and reduce attachment and aversion. Practice good-heartedness towards all beings. Be loving and compassionate, no matter what others do to you. What they will do will not matter so much when you see it as a dream. The trick is to have positive intention during the dream. This is the essential point. This is true spirituality.

– A Tibetan Master

From: ‘The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying’

Buddhist Animal Rights Group

…basically run by 2 people and 4 non-human animals 🙂

http://www.lobsa.org/LOBSA.htm

For as long as space endures
And for as long as living beings remain
Until then may I too abide
To dispel the misery of the world.

-shantideva

Never give up

From Vegancat’s blog: http://vegancatsg.blogspot.com/2006/08/never-give-up.html

“Never give up. No matter what is going on never give up. Develop the heart. Too much energy in your country is spent developing the mind instead of the heart, BE COMPASSIONATE not just to your friends but to everyone, BE COMPASSIONATE work for peace in your heart and in the world. Work for peace and I say again, never give up. No matter what is happening, no matter what is going on around you. Never give up.�

—His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Be kind to animals to mark Vesak Day

Be kind to animals to mark Vesak Day. Remember what the Buddha teaches
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/forum/story/0,5562,388040,00.html

April 26, 2006
Be kind to animals to mark Vesak Day. Remember what the Buddha teaches

During Vesak Day, Buddhists celebrate the birth of a religion that teaches compassion and wisdom. Releasing or liberating animals has become a traditional practice in Vesak celebration.
However, the unskillful release of animals has resulted in more suffering to the released animals as well as to other animals in the environment as a result of ecological incompatibility.
Some 2,600 years ago when the Buddha was traveling through the region of Kosala in India, he came across a group of people known as the Kalamas, to whom he gave a sermon that was recorded as the Kalama Sutra.

This was what he taught:

‘Rely not on the teacher/person, but on the teaching. Rely not on the words of the teaching, but on the spirit of the words. Rely not on theory, but on experience.
‘Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. Do not believe anything because it is spoken and rumoured by many.
‘Do not believe in anything because it is written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and the benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.’

Within our communities, we can ‘liberate’ animals by being kind to stray cats and dogs, by teaching our children to be kind to them, by speaking out against abuse, by advocating the humane method of animal population control with sterilisation instead of culling, by adopting rescued pets in shelters instead of buying them from pet shops and by supporting animal welfare organisations.

We can also ‘liberate’ animals from our dining tables by becoming vegetarians or eating less meat.

Dr Tan Chek Wee