Excerpts
Dec. 4 | The supreme power is
when Self-Power and Other-Power
become One-Power
via mindfulness of Buddha.
- Stonepeace
Those who practice Zen or Pure Land should all understand this truth: “all Dharma methods are equal and none is superior or inferior.”...
Nov. 21 | Created by Buddhas with mindfulness of the Triple Gem,
Pure Lands are ideal schools for learning the Dharma,
from the greatest of the Arya [Noble] Sangha.
Amituofo is the ‘principal’ of the best known Pure Land,
where Bodhisattvas are his...
Nov. 14 | If there are no followers of the Bodhisattva ideal,
there would be no Buddhas arising
to teach the Buddhadharma,
and no followers of the Buddhadharma [including the Arya Sangha].
- Stonepeace
The formation of the extant written canons of the schools,...
Oct. 25 | Anger always harms oneself immediately,
even if never expressed to harm others later.
- Stonepeace
On another occasion, Rahula followed his teacher, Sariputra, on a trip to teach the Dharma. At noon, they begged for alms in the vicinity of Rajagriha....
Oct. 12 | How you receive and express the Dharma is
how you learn and practise the Dharma too.
- Stonepeace
“Bhikkhus, there are these four kinds of Dhamma speakers. What four? (1) Here, bhikkhus, some Dhamma speaker speaks little and [his speech] is pointless,...
Sep. 21 | To see the illusory as so
is the path
to see the true as so.
- Stonepeace
We have been speaking of Buddha-nature as though it was something that could be described, as though it was similar to the “universal soul” of other teachings, which...
Sep. 6 | For one to take refuge,
there must be respect.
For one to have respect,
there need not be refuge.
- Stonepeace
Since faith and respect are different, respect for other religions does not mean we must have faith in their doctrines. For example. I have...
Aug. 29 | [Sex is] The melting pot of sensual pleasures
[that is] is easy to slip into life after life,
and difficult to crawl out of life after life.
- Stonepeace
Premarital sex is a problem which is much discussed in modern society. Many young people would like...
Aug. 23 | Like returning empty-handed from an island of precious gems,
it is meaningless to ignore the sacred Dharma
after having obtained a human body.
- Gampopa
… Like a sick person holding a bag of medicines,
it is meaningless to have heard oral instructions
that...
Aug. 16 | Life doesn’t stay in place,
even for just a moment.
- Gampopa
Gampopa said, “When you first begin to practice, you must be like a deer locked in a pen, or a prisoner in jail, urgently seeking a way out of samsara. In the intermediate stages...
Aug. 10 | As long as unenlightened,
each thing misperceived
is a ‘hidden’ metaphor for truth missed.
- Stonepeace
Thus have I heard: Once upon a time, the Bhagavan [Blessed One; Buddha] was staying in Jetavana grove near Shravasti City. Then, the Bhagavan...
Aug. 2 | Always here and now,
Always new and fresh,
Always aware and alive.
- Stonepeace
For a bodhisattva, the safest course is to constantly remind oneself of the initial aspiration to bodhi-mind [Bodhicitta: aspiration to guide one and all to Buddhahood]. In...
Jul. 27 | If enemies reveal our fault of enmity,
are they not our spiritual friends too?
- Stonepeace
There are many reasons for charity; the world is full of people in need. On the other hand, those who make us angry and test our patience are relatively few, especially...
Jul. 4 | If there is an omnipotent, omnibenevolent,
omniscient and omnipresent ‘creator’ of all,
all of ‘his creation’ should be similar to ‘him’.
As this is not so, this ‘creator’ does not exist.
- Stonepeace
The...
Jun. 22 | True self greatness is
from great selfless service to others;
not great selfish service for oneself.
- Stonepeace
There is a Buddhist saying: “You will be the Great Power [Strength] Bodhisattva [Mahasthamaprapta] if you show joy and unselfish giving...
