| Thought for the day: October 1, 2007 For each individual a teacher is only a teacher if he can bring about meaningful positive change. While it is true that we can see the physical appearance of great masters more readily than in former times, if we are not ripe for receiving the teachings they offer, our attendance at teachings will be little more than a social event. Therefore, we should strive to be worthy of the teachings we receive. |
| Thought for the day: October 6, 2007 Mantras are no magic wand. They must be used skillfully with right intention and focus. Reciting mantras while the mind wanders elsewhere is a cause of stupidity. Putting the faculty of discriminative thinking in handcuffs without a sense of purpose needlessly handicaps the mind. |
| Thought for the day: October 7, 2007 A sincere application of effort is the most important component of practice. If the heart is sincere the path becomes clear. |
| Thought for the day: October 8, 2007 The same "desire mind" that leads to continuous turning in samsara, when correctly channeled through meditation and right thought and action, is like a river whose energy is harassed through dams and levies. Such a river can illuminate cities and irrigate fields. The same desire mind that causes us to turn endlessly in ignorance, when properly directed, will lead to freedom from the false views of self. |
| Thought for the day: October 9, 2007 The ability to recognize a wrong position and step away from it is important for both beginning and advanced dharma practitioners. My teacher often said: "some people cannot be taught." He meant by this that there are those who tenaciously cling to wrong views and use all means of cleverness to justify them. This walled-up attitude does not allow for change and teachers do not waste time on such students. Advanced students are subject to more subtle, but nevertheless dangerous, false views. In fact, in warning to advanced students, the Shurangama Sutra devotes over one hundred pages on how to recognize and eliminate these false views. |
| Thought for the day: October 10, 2007 The habitual tendency of the mind to find security in a "position" regarding things and events is very strong. If someone offends us, for example, we think in terms of I will behave this way or that way when I see this person, or, if I catch my partner cheating I will do this or that, or, if I don't get promoted at my job, I will do such and such. A lot of energy is spent imagining different life situations and picturing how best to act in them. This is a disease of the mind. Endless discrimination about things and events presupposes an inability to spontaneously act in the best way. Is it any wonder why the great Chan master Seng Chao said, "Discrimination makes a corpse of life which it then handles?" The Master is not advocating spiritual laziness here, as with New Age or hippie "let it be" attitude. What he is advocating is maintaining a taut state of awareness that does not allow the mind to slip into these kind of discriminations to begin with. Rather than engaging the mind in position seeking, we can release ourselves of this burden by becoming what Chinese philosophers call the true man of no fixed position. This is accomplished by maintaining a constant and strong sense of inquiry, always asking "to whom are these thoughts arising," rather than what should I do about them. This constant inquiry will gradually lead to a strong faith in oneself and one's ability to spontaneously respond to situations. Gradually, the mind that constantly busies itself with the endless particulars of daily life will give way to a deeper and constant sense of inquiry into the nature of the mind itself. |
| Thought for the day: October 11, 2007 their teachings should be disregarded. Those who turn away from the 'easy" way and seek out the their teachings should be disregarded. Those who turn away from the 'easy" way and seek out the way of effort and responsibility for themselves, will attract the correct path by their very willingness to walk it.to walk it. |
| Thought for the day: October 12, 2007 A saying goes, "In the affairs of others even the fool is wise, but in one's own affairs even saints make mistakes." It is far easier to teach the dharma than practice it, and teachers should make a special effort to honor their students by living by their own teachings. A teacher is in a far more difficult position than a student, because in addition to himself, he is taking on the responsibilities of others. The dharma is a dharma of no excuses or exceptions, and students who find themselves turning a blind eye to their teachers faults should move on. |
| Thought for the day: October 13, 2007 Complement meditation practice with a good amount of reading everyday. Study of the authentic Buddhist teachings will help to keep the meditation correct. I often find it helpful to read aloud if I become tired or distracted while reading the Buddhist texts which can at times be tedious. Re-reading foundational scriptures from time to time will enable one to gain new insights as one's practice matures. There are many layers of meaning in the Sutras that are seldom revealed all at once. Sometimes I hear people discuss the Chan or Zen school as the "meditation school," as if study were not part of this path. Having spent ten years in a Chan monastery headed by the lineage holder of this school, I know the value of study. In our monastery, the period of time required for study equalled that of meditation. |
| Thought for the day: October 15, 2007 Vows are very powerful tools that can give greater focus to our practice by bringing more commitment to the path. As a monk I made many vows. One vow I made I made with a fellow monk. It was to eat only one coconut bowl of food a day. We both kept this vow for several years. It served us well to cut back greed for food. Others made vows of silence. Some vowed to memorize sutra texts. Others vowed to sleep sitting up to curb laziness. Whatever the vow, ego should be out of the picture. My teacher turned down many of his students' requests to make vows that he thought were based on ego. One student wishing to make a vow of silence was advised that he would be granted permission only when he could stop talking to himself. I was allowed to fast for world peace; but many students' request to fast were denied. Always have a clear intention before making a vow. |
| Thought for the day: October 17, 2007 Our language contains many assumptions that condition our thought and enforce the idea of ourselves as existing outside the mind-body complex. For example, we say "my arm hurts," "I am stressed," "I am depressed," as if there were a self that possesses the mind body complex. But, if we look into it, we cannot find any owner, or, "I" above and beyond the mind body complex. The same faulty assumption occurs with phenomena of the world. We talk about chairs and tables as if they were real existent things independent of their parts. We talk about the legs of the chair, the seat of the chair, etc., as if there were a chair possessing these parts. But, independent of the parts we do not find any chair. |
| Thought for the day: October 19, 2007 The Taoist say that the sage knows activity, but prefers stillness. The Buddhists find stillness in activity. |
| Thought for the day: October 20, 2007 A saying goes: "Say what you mean, and mean what you say." Words are our representatives and should be well chosen and few. Once spoken, they no longer belong to us and have a life of their own. If one is not clear about what one has to say, it is best to say nothing. Words spoken without precision are subject to manipulation and can also cause confusion. Because what we say to another can (like a ships rudder) set the direction of that person, we should be clear that our speech is well principled. Stepping away from philosophically conceptualizing right speech; we come against the everyday problem of expressing our feelings, feelings we ourselves are often not clear about. Indeed, even the great dharma teachers, so skilled in lofty debate and full of learning, are humbled by human feelings and forced back to earth. How could we ordinary people be any different? Unlike rational ideas, feelings are inherently difficult to frame into words. Their complex nature cannot be put in a box and handed to another. Although feelings are often forced into categories like love, hate, anger, etc., they really don't belong to any category. Because feelings are a soup of many thoughts and emotions, it is difficult to can them and slap on an ingredients label. |
| Thought for the day: October 24, 2007 maintain our bodies and multiply. But, in doing so, instinct, also creates a strong sense of we were the most important people in the world. In the end, even if successful, happiness individuality and attachment to self. This drives us to achieve, with disregard to others, as if we were the most important people in the world. In the end, even if successful, happiness will elude us because our "success" rests on the shaky foundation of the false view of the feeling of being alone that drives many "successful" people to see them. "individual." Indeed, the comfortable lifestyles of many psychiatrists is supported by the feeling of being alone that drives many "successful" people to see them. But, help is on the way, and it comes packaged as 'intuition" which if cultivated will help us to realize that we are not alone, but rather intimately connected with everyone else. "Intuition" is as subtle as "instinct" is coarse, and is closely linked with wisdom. Intuition is difficult to see because it is often blocked by instinct. It is cultivated through meditation, moral and ethical discipline, and philosophical inquiry. It speaks quietly, but you will hear it if you can stop talking to yourself long enough to listen. This inner ear picks up sounds that escape reason. Because this is so, it is wise to balance out analytical inquiry with the cultivation of wisdom/intution as one unravels the tangle of ignorance that obscures the self-nature. |
| Thought for the day: October 25, 2007 It is almost common knowledge that happiness comes from within. This is not just words of the wise, but street smarts, as well. And yet, the world turns because people just don't act as if they believe it. Why is this? Are we afraid that if we turned off our motor long enough to discover happiness within, we would not be able to start it again? Do we think that if we stopped following the endless bombardment of stimulation that wants us to believe that if we do not get the latest car, gadget, outfit, etc. or run off to the most hip yoga class, or meet that special person, or listen to Mr. Enlightened's discourse---etc. etc. etc.---we will be left in the parking lot? Probably so; but it is not true. We only think that way because we have been conditioned to think that way. We can stop anytime. Just turn off the motor. |
| Thought for the day: October 26, 2007 While it is important to have a meditation schedule, it need not be set in stone. There are as many opportunities to meditate outside our schedule as there are to snack between meals. Taking advantage of these moments in between will help us to focus more quickly and go deeper when we do sit down for our daily practice. |
| Thought for the day: October 28, 2007 Don't concern yourself with accomplishing the most; but only trying your best. |
| Thought for the day: October 30, 2007 During quiet moments throughout the day, when there is nothing to do, observe how the mind habitually gives rise to ideas. Whether it is picking up the phone, turning on the TV, listening to the radio, or any number of diversions, the mind wants something to sink its teeth into. When the mind is engaged with work or anything else demanding its attention, these ideas seldom interfere; but as soon as the mind is disengaged, even for a moment, it quickly seeks diversion. These are excellent moments to practice self-inquiry by asking oneself, "Who am I." Rather than pick up the phone, or pick up that magazine, etc., practice inquiry and ask who it is that wants to do these things. |
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