Jonathan Landaw and Stephan Bodian
About The Author: Stephan Bodian began practicing Zen meditation in 1969. He was ordained as a monk in 1974 and received his “dharma transmission” and authorization to teach. He has trained under several Zin masters. He is currently a licenses psychotherapist.
• Born Prince Siddhārtha Gautama the heir to a ruling family, Shakyamuni Buddha the founder of Buddhism is thought to have lived from 563 to 483 B.C. Shakyamuni means “Enlightened Sage of the Shakyas Clan”
• No God: Worship of a supernatural power isn’t the central concern of Buddhism. God is completely absent from Buddhist teachings – so much so that some people half-jokingly call Buddhism “a good religion for atheists”.
• Not a belief system: Buddhism isn’t primarily a system of belief. Although it does contain certain fundamental principles most Buddhist teachers actively encourage their students to adopt an attitude that is the opposite of belief or blind faith.
• Buddhist teachers advise you to be skeptical about teachings you receive, even if they come directly from Buddha himself. Don’t passively accept what you hear or read, or automatically reject it either. Use your intelligence instead. See for yourself if the teachings make sense in terms of your own experience and the experience of others. Then, as the Dalai Lama of Tibet often advises, “If you find that the teachings suit you, apply them to your life as much as you can. If they don’t suite you, just leave them be.”
• Buddha declared, “Do not accept anything I say as true simply because I have said it. Instead, test it as you would gold to see if it is genuine or not. If after examining my teachings , you find that they are true, put them to practice. But do not do so simply out of respect for me.”
• If Buddhism is not primarily a belief system and not centered upon the worship of a supreme deity, then why is it classified as a religion at all? Because like all religions, Buddhism give people who practice it a way of finding answers to the deeper questions of life, such as “Who am I?” “Why am I here?” “ What is the meaning of life?” Why do we suffer?” and “How can I achieve lasting happiness?”
• Buddha was born into a ruling family of the Shakya clan in northern India. At age 35 Prince Siddhartha while seated under the Bodhi tree he achieved his goal of enlightenment and from then on was known as Shakyamuni Buddha the fully awakened sage (muni) of the Shakya clan. He passed away at age 80.
• The Buddhist spiritual community is known as Sangha.
• Buddha’s teaching are know as Dharma
• Buddha was a living mortal not a living god or some mythical super hero. In fact one of the primary truths is that all beings have the potential to become Buddhas.
• Socrates, one of the fathers of western philosophy claimed that the unexamined life isn’t worth living and most Buddhists would certainly agree with him
• Dharma teachings is the understanding that suffering and dissatisfaction originate in the way your mind responds and reacts to life’s circumstances not in the raw facts of life.
• You can exert some control over (and ultimately clarify) your chattering, misguided mind, which distorts your perceptions, mightily resist the way things are, and causes you extraordinary stress and suffering in the process.
• Happiness, Buddha once said is actually quite simple: “The secret is to want what you have and not want what you don’t have.”
• The moral code is know as Vinaya
• Buddhism is definitely the religion of meditation
• The real purpose of meditation is to just calm the mind although that is one benefit. The real purpose is to experience the profound and ultimately liberating insight into the nature of reality and yourself. An insight that shows you who you are and what life is about and frees you from suffering once and for all.
• Meditation facilitates this insight by bringing focused ongoing attention to the workings of your mind and heart. A key element being mindfulness .
• After his cremation some of Buddhas remains were preserved in monuments known as stupas.
• The three jewels are: Buddha, Dharma and Sangha
• Even traditions like Zen seem to deemphasize devotion in favor in insight
• Your mental attitude is what mainly determines the quality of your life
• Many hospitals now provide a variety of mind-body treatment options, including hypnotherapy, support groups, and individual counseling to help their patients heal more rapidly and completely. The VA San Diego has a Mantram program.
• The Theravada Buddhist tradition of Southeast Asia follows the detailed analysis of the mind given in the abhidharma, or higher learning section of Buddhas teachings.
• Many serious followers of the Vajrayana Buddhist tradition also study the abhidharma teachings dealing with the mind, the many different mental functions and so forth.
• According to Japanese Zen Buddhist tradition big mind or Buddha nature pervades the while universe. Everything you experience both inside and outside yourself is nothing other than this Mind
• Perception is accomplished through your senses while Conception is how hour mind treats these object.
• When people speak about the mind they’re generally referring to the sixth consciousness “minds eye”
• You can’t always trust the way things appear to your mind
• Impressions are notoriously unreliable
• A concentrated state of mind Samadhi is where the mind is capable of gaining profound insights into reality
• Mental consciousness also includes your attitudes and emotional states both positive and negative
• Mental development is about relaxing the hold that the negative states have on your mind and increasing the strength of your minds positive qualities
• The only thing constant is change
• Buddhism teaches that wisdom love and compassion are inherent qualities that lie a t the core of your being. From the Buddhist point of view the underlying nature of the mind itself is essentially pure uncontaminated and unconditioned
• Cultivate the wisdom that unmasks ignorance the root of all suffering
• Generate the loving compassion that opens your heart to others
• Suffering and dissatisfaction without exception has its root or source in ignorance
• “Ignorance” as used by Buddha does not simply mean not understanding or not knowing something. It means a misconception that prevent you from seeing things “as they really are”.
• People see through their own “projections” which are distorted images from their own mind that they project on others. These are misconceptions or ignorance that need to be peeled away to gain wisdom
• Loving compassion is a trait that everyone admires
• The Dalai Lama said “My religion is kindness”
• An enlightened person has unconditional compassion. Lessen selfishness and expand your scope of concern for others
• The Dalai Lama says “You’re under no obligation to follow Buddha’s teachings. Just try to be a good person. That’s enough.”
• According to Buddha ordinary people can achieve enlightenment in a single lifetime
• Buddhas birth name Siddhartha means “he through whom everything wonderful is accomplished”
• As Buddha left his wife and child he said “I have not left because I do not love them. It is because I do love them all that I must find a way to overcome the sufferings of sickness old age an death.”
• The first thing Prince Siddhartha did when he left on his own was to cast off all signs of royalty
• He began his search for enlightenment with a six year fast
• The true meaning of “renunciation” is the decision to give up suffering. The cause of suffering and dissatisfaction is attachment and attachment is what you need to give up. If you can enjoy something without becoming attached to it without letting it become an obstacle to your spiritual progress or a waste of your time and energy you don’t need to give it up.
• After his fast Buddha realized the importance of avoiding all extremes. Follow the “middle way” between self-indulgence and extreme self-denial.
• Buddha found enlightenment under the Bodhi (Fig) Tree. He prepared a cushion from bundles of grass he received from a local grass cutter and sat down facing east. He was tempted by Mara who embodied the evil that plagues the mind and she faded away like a bad dream.
• Buddha saw how attachment the source of suffering is rooted in ignorance.
• The Sangha is the Buddhist spiritual community
• Buddha said “He who is tolerant to the intolerant, peaceful to the violent, who is free from greed, who speaks words that are calm helpful and true and that offend no one, I call him Brahmin”
• Buddha died at age 80. He chose to lay down between two large trees on his right side. His last words were “all things are impermanent” and “work out your own salvation with diligence’. His ashes were placed in (stupas) monuments
• Shakyamuni Buddha never said he was unique. Buddha said instead of praising me it would be far more beneficial for you to simply to put my teachings into practice
• As hatred, greed and ignorance increase the world will be transformed into a battlefield
• The Four Nobel Truths: Suffering, The cause of suffering, the cessation of suffering, the path that leads to the cessation of suffering
• Humans have a large capacity for self-deception
• Buddha himself didn’t teach doctrine or dogma that he required his disciples to believe. Instead he constantly encouraged them to question any concept to make sure it agreed with their own experience and understanding.
• Buddha said it can be a waste of precious time to pursue the answer to hypothetical questions when you have been shot with the poison arrow of greed, hatred and ignorance and have only so much time to put an end to your suffering.
• Although pain is inevitable in life, suffering itself is entirely optional. Although you may not be able to choose what happens to you, you can definitely take control of your response.
• All of our misery comes from desirous attachment
• If you want to find the true source of happiness, you have to look within yourself
• You cling to your possessions your appearance and other peoples opinions of you in hopes of satisfying a deep inner longing.
• The problem is your attachments and the unrealistic expectations this attachment can cultivate.
• By clinging to this false sense of self you not only set yourself up for disappointment and suffering as you go through life but you condemn yourself to wander endlessly.
• The Third Nobel Truths is that there is an end to suffering
• Let go of all unrealistic expectations. Let go of all harmful behavior. Let go of your clinging attitude toward people, possessions, and even your own body. Let go of yourself.
• The secret to a happy life taught by Buddha is to “Want what you have and not want what you don’t have.”
• The Eight (8) Divisions of the path leading to cessation of suffering are:
1. Right View – Cultivate the insightful wisdom that maintain the correct view clearly
2. Right Intention – Give up selfish attitudes
3. Right Speech – speak words that are true, pleasing to listen to and beneficial to others
4. Right Action – Avoid causing harm with what you do
5. Right livelihood – Avoid occupations that involve harm and deception – be honest and kind
6. Right Effort – Be aware of what’s arising in your mind and if negative, replace with positive.
7. Right Mindfulness: Pay close attention to what’s happening right “now” and not the “past” or “future”
8. Right Concentration: Focus your mind so it becomes free of distraction and dullness
• Buddha himself didn’t practice “Buddhism” he merely taught what he called the dharma, the truth of existence.
• Before Buddha died, he gathered 500 of his most spiritually advanced disciple to collect and preserve the teachings that make up the dharma.
• Nirvana literally means “Liberation”
• A “reciting monk” in Burma has said it takes more than eight hours a day of recitation for one and a half months to recite the entire Buddhist collection of teachings.
• You can train your mind to gain the insights that lead eventually to “Nirvana – The complete release of suffering”
• Buddha established the rule that forbids individuals following the monastic way of life from engaging in any sexual behavior whatsoever.
• Two Buddhist groups emerged in India know as the “The Elders” which were a more conservative group and considered themselves as the keepers of Buddhas original teachings. The other group knows as the “Great Community” who were more liberal in their interpretations of scripture that they believed matched the original intentions. These two ancient groups later evolved into the two major groups that exist today, “Theravada” which means way of the elders and this group spread to South Asian countries such as Sri Lanka, Burma and Thailand. The other group “Mahayana” spread to China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, Mongolia and was know as the “Great Vehicle.
• Buddha himself didn’t teach all of his followers the same way taking into account their different interest and different intellectual capacity. He taught what was most beneficial to his audience.
• Theravada is the oldest written version of Buddhas teachings in the world.
• Cuttings from the original Bodhi have been transplanted and grown and still exist today in Sri Lanka.
• The Theravada form of Buddhism is practiced today in Thailand with monks emerging in the morning with begging bowls and passing through the city streets
• An act of generosity creates a positive energy in the karmic law of cause and effect
• According to Mahayana anyone compassionate and dedicated enough to place the welfare of others before his or her own attainment of nirvana can achieve the same enlightenment as Shakyamuni.
• Primarily known as the “Lotus Sutra” the Mahayana scripture has been very influential in India and later throughout the Far east and beyond.
• You have to penetrate the ignorant notion of self-identity to discover the selflessness at your core.
• All beings, lay as well as ordained have the ability to achieve the highest spiritual realization, even in the midst of ordinary life.
• 400 years separate the lifetime of Shakyamuni Buddha from the appearance of the earliest Mahayana sutras. The Suttas were handed down orally for centuries from the monks who heard them from Buddha first hand. Also the scripture written down by the Theravadas was not recorded until centuries after the events described.
• The Buddha dharma isn’t a static thing. It’s like a seed of a tree which later grows and produces flowers like the Theravada and Mahayana.
• According to the constitution of Thailand, the King must be Buddhist where virtues like gentleness and self restraint receive widespread observance and respect. The connection between the ordained and lay communities are very close and can always be counted on to provide food, clothing etc. Custom still dictates that every male spend at least several months of his life wearing the robes of a monk and living according to the rules of the monastic discipline.
• The breath is a particularly good object of meditation.
• Rough uneven breathing often reflects mental agitation but as you’re mind grows calmer your breathing follows suit. Your breath simply becomes far subtler than you’re used to.
• Our task isn’t to judge compare or engage these experiences but merely to observe them. If something arises you simply note the experience and don’t push away the unpleasant or cling to the pleasant thought.
• Focus on the rhythmic movements of your breath moving in and out
• Mahayana Buddhism that survives today moved primarily north from India into central Asia in to China and then to Korea in the 4th century and into Japan in the 6th century. From China it also moved to China to Tibet and Vietnam in the 7th century.
• Because Chinese had yet to develop a vocabulary of Buddhist concepts early Chinese translations from Sanskrit were inaccurate. Chinese pilgrims to India ro9ugh back different versions of Buddhism.
• Mahayana Buddhism was born in India.
• The Chinese already had two great philosophical systems in Confucianism and Taoism
• Chinese began to notice certain similarities between Buddhism and Taoism and equated Tao (the way) with dharma. They observe elements of Buddhism Confucianism Taoism and even spirit worship without any sense of contradiction
• Since the 1950 the Chinese government has actively suppressed Buddhism in Tibet
• As Mahayana Buddhism evolved in India it gave birth to an often bewildering array of viewpoints that caused some confusion for the early Chinese Buddhist
• The Pure Land school derives its inspiration and direction from the Mahayana sutras that focus on Amitabha, the Buddha of “Infinite Light”.
• Amida in Japanese dwells in the western paradise of Sukhavati – the Pure Land of Bliss.
• To be reborn in this pure land all you have to do is have unwavering faith in Amitabha
• Buddhist in Japan adore the transcendent bodhisattva known as “Kwannon” like Catholics adore the virgin Mary
• “Jodo-shu” in Japanese means “Pure Land School” and was founded by Honen (1133-1212)
• A monk named Shinran (1173-1262) was a disciple of Honen
• In 1225 Shinran began his own tradition which he called Jodo Shinshu to differentiate it from the tradition of his deceased master Honen
• Shinran interpreted Amitabha’s vow to mean that all beings are already enlightened but they just don’t realize it. According to Shinran you don’t have to do anything to reach Sukhavati not even recite the nembutsu. In fact there is nothing you can do because everything has already been done for you. The nembutsu is simply an expression of gratitude for already having arrived with enlightenment
• Currently known as the Buddhist Churches of America, Jodo Shinshu has been active in North America since Japanese immigrants first brought it with them more than 100 years ago.
• A controversial figure named Nichiren (1222-1282) founded another tradition of Japanese Buddhism that deserves to be mentioned with the Pure Land schools because of some traits that they have in common. Nichiren isn’t a Japanese version of a Chinese tradition and it doesn’t direct its devotion to ward Amitabha. Instead it is a homegrown product of Japan and the object of its devotion isn’t a Buddha or bodhisattva it is the “Lotus Sutra”. The lotus sutra is a Mahayana scripture that the Japanese Tendai tradition also reveres. They believe that the lotus sutra is so powerful that you didn’t have to study or even read it to benefit from in bur rather simply repeat “Namu myoho renge kyo”
• As Mahayana Buddhism began to develop in India certain teachers emphasized meditation more strongly than others
• Zin places a great emphasis on maintaining clear awareness of the present moment. This clear awareness is demonstrated in things like serving tea, archery, arranging flowers, creating calligraphy. Vincent Van Gogh owned an extensive collection of Japanese prints and once painted himself as a Zen monk.
• Buddhism was first introduced to the United States by the Chinese immigrants in the 1850s
• Another outgrowth of Mahayana Buddhism was called Vajrayana (Diamond Vehicle) also known as Tibetan Buddhism
• Tibet was the center of Vajrayana until the escape of the Dalai Lama in 1959 in exile to India
• Holding on to a limited self identity is known as “deity yoga”. The practice enables you to dissolve your false, limiting ego-identity and replace it with something far better.
• Buddha wasn’t technically a Buddhist. In fact he didn’t consider himself a member of any religion at all, merely a guy who traveled around sharing some important truths about life.
• The Dalai Lama says you don’t have to change your religion to benefit from the teachings of Buddha. The Dalai Lama says “My religion is kindness”.
• Buddhas final words were “All conditional things are impermanent. Work out your own salvation with diligence.”
• “Sangha” means “community”
• Conventional life is marked by dissatisfaction. You suffer when you don’t get what you want or you get what you don’t want.
• In Vajrayana (Diamond Vehicle) the “Four Reminders” can keep you from being distracted by the seductive appeals of greed lust fear that the materialistic culture puts forth:
1. Your human rebirth is precious – don’t waste it on trivial pursuits
2. Death is inevitable – don’t put off your spiritual practice
3. The laws of karma can’t be altered or avoided – what you say and do has consequences, good and bad
4. Suffering permeates all limited existence – avoid ignorance as a release from suffering
• You can receive meditation instruction, listen to teachings, and even participate in meditation retreats without officially becoming a Buddhist.
• Even some ordained monks never call themselves a Buddhist. The authors first Zen teacher was one
• Take your time evaluating a teacher. Use personal investigation, reason, and experience before entrusting him or her with your spiritual welfare.
• You don’t need to declare yourself a Buddhist to enjoy and benefit from Buddhist practices and teachings
• “Renunciation” is an internal rather than an external gesture. You renounce the conventional view that you can find true happiness in worldly concerns. Instead you adopt the radical view that you can achieve lasting peace and happiness only by clearing your mind and heart of negative beliefs and emotions penetrating the truth of reality opening yourself to your inherent wakefulness and joy and experiencing what Buddha called the “sure hearts release”.
• The “Three Jewels” are Buddha, dharma and Sangha
• Seek support in others who share a similar orientation such as the Sangha (community)
• The 13 Zen precepts are:
1. Do not kill
2. Do not steal
3. Do not engage in sexual “misconduct”
4. Do not lie
5. Do not “abuse” intoxicants
6. Do not speak of others errors and faults
7. Do not elevate yourself and blame others
8. Do not be stingy
9. Do not give vent to anger
10. Do not defile the “Three Jewels” of Refuge
11. Do not create evil
12. Practice good
13. Actualize good for others
• In southeast Asia it is customary and considered beneficial for laypeople to shave their heads and become monks or nuns for a few days then give back their robes and return to everyday life.
• Buddhas approach was know as the “Middle Way” between asceticism (severe restrictions in the comforts of life) and materialism. Not “extreme” in either direction.
• From a Buddhist point of view virtually any activity including cleaning toilets can become a religious practice.
• Meditation:
1. Meditation doesn’t mean spacing out.
2. The goal of meditation isn’t to have your mind go completely blank to stop thinking entirely. As a beginner, any attempt to turn your mind off like a light switch will only result in frustration
3. Meditation isn’t something you do only while sitting down. You can do it walking, jogging, laying
4. Webster defines meditation as deep continued thought solemn reflection on sacred matters as a devotional act
5. Meditation is a method for transforming your view of reality or for getting in touch with parts of yourself that you didn’t know about before
6. The mind in meditation should not be too relaxed which would lead to sleepiness or too tight which can make the body tense and uncomfortable and the mind itself more agitated. Instead, find a natural balance between alertness and relaxation
7. Instead of turning your attention outward to other people or external would you turn it inward back on yourself
8. Meditation is a method for getting to know your own mind
9. Meditation is a method for “deprogramming” the effects of conditioning and eliminating greed, hatred, ignorance about the reality of life and develop contentment patience loving compassion and wisdom
10. One of the first things you learn from meditation is how to keep yourself from responding to situations in a knee jerk fashion.
11. Meditation give you a way to sidestep your old destructive habits. Do nothing, don’t “react”
12. Simply step back from the situation and observe what’s going on as though in a documentary
13. The only thing you definitely have power over is your own attitude so that’s what meditation seeks to work on
Benefits of meditation include:
1. Awakening to present moment, slow down and meet each moment as it comes
2. Making friends with yourself
3. Connecting more deeply with others
4. Relaxing the body and calming the mind
5. Lightening up so events no longer seem threatening
6. Experiencing focus and flow giving every activity the same enjoyable focus and attention
7. Feeling more centered, grounded and balanced
8. Enhancing performance at work and play
9. Increasing appreciation gratitude and love
10. Aligning with a deeper sense of purpose
11. Awakening to spiritual dimension of being so you see through the veil of distorted perceptions
Develop Mindful Awareness and Concentration
1. Mindfulness of the body
2. Mindfulness of feelings
3. Mindfulness of the mind
mindfulness of mental states
When you are mindful you’re simply paying “bare attention” to whatever you are experiencing right now, thoughts feelings sensations images fleeting fantasies passing moods without judgment interpretation or analysis. At first in meditation it could include the coming and going of your breath for 15 or 20 minutes
• Insight or wisdom lies at the heart of all Buddhist traditions including wisdom gained from listening, wisdom gained from reflection and wisdom gained from meditation
• If you want your mind to receive the full benefit of a particular teaching you cant simply read it and think about it intellectually. You have to apply it so thoroughly that you absorb its full flavor.
• Impermanence or change is a major theme in Buddhism. Things don’t stay the same not even you whether your prepared for it or not each passing second brings you that much closer to the end of your life.
• Buddhism is a religion of bowing. Bowing expresses the surrender of self centered preoccupation which is one of the core teachings of Buddhism. Bowing is a traditional expression of gratitude respect veneration acknowledgement and surrender bowing occurs both spontaneously and in prescribed situations. In southeast Asia for example you show respect by holding your hands in prayer position to your slightly lowered forehead. Wherever you turn you’re simply bowing to yourself.
• In Mahayana tradition of which Zen is a part views lay and monastic members as equal in their capacity to achieve enlightenment
• Just as the most beautiful flower the lotus grows in muddy water so the lay practitioner can find clarity and compassion in the turmoil of daily life.
• Zen began in china and was introduced to the west by Korean and Vietnamese teachers though Zen is best know in the west in its Japanese form.
• Zen is notorious for its careful attention to traditional formalities.
• As a Jodo Shinshu follower you’re taught that entry to the Pure Land (which is more a state of mind than a future real) occurs through other power (that is the power of what Amida Buddha has already accomplished)
• Shinran was a 13th century japans founder of Jodo Shinshu
• Shinran himself left the monastic life to marry and raise a family because he felt that making the Buddhist teachings more accessible to lay people was extremely important. In this spirit Jodo Shinshū emphasizes the everyday life in the context of family and friends is the perfect setting for spiritual practice.
• Jodo Shinshu Buddhist put principles like patience generosity kindness and equanimity into practice
• The chant “Namu Amida Butsu” said by Jodo Shinshu followers means “Homage to Amida Buddha”
• Temples often offer classes in martial arts, flower arranging, taiko drumming and Japanese language that instill Buddhist principles and japans culture and values.
• 2,500 years ago Shakyamuni Buddha inspired his original disciples.
• By the 13th century Buddhism died out in India
• Lumbini (Nepal) is the birthplace of Buddha and died in Kushinagar at age 80
• Give up attachments to worldly concerns of this life. Until you change your attitude nothing you do will be a real dharma practice.
• Buddha spent 6 years fasting before his enlightenment
• Buddha left his fathers palace at age 29, fasted for 6 years and taught for 45 years
• Buddhas First Council consisted of 500 monks
• Buddhas mother Queen Maya died within a week of giving birth
• Most traditions of Buddhism downplay the importance of visions voices powers energies and altered states claiming that they distract practitioners from the true purpose of the spiritual endeavor a direct liberating insight into the essential nature of reality.
• Buddha emphasized that he was just a human being with the same inner tendencies and temptations as other people. The only thing distinguishing ordinary beings from a Buddha he taught are the distorted views attachments and averse emotions that block the truth from our eyes
• The Theravada tradition focuses on training ethical behavior meditation and insight
• Buddha considered craving and attachments to be two of the root causes of all suffering.
• The term Nirvana literally means blowing out referring to the flame of desire. When the illusion of separate self totally dissolves only nirvana remains
• Vajrayana form of Buddhism began in India and flowered in Tibet
• Zen masters teach that complete enlightenment is always available right her and now
• Zen masters teach that the mind is intrinsically pure. In other words your fundamental nature needs no polishing through spiritual practice because it never has been stained
• Zen traces it linage back to Mahakashyapa who was one of Buddhas foremost disciples
• Enlightenment brings the end of all greed anger ignorance and fear and the birth of unshakable peace joy and loving kindness
• Shakyamuni began his spiritual journey when he encountered a corps for the first time while venturing into the world outside his pleasure palaces
• Buddhist masters like to say dying doesn’t take much at all. “You merely need to breathe out and not breathe back in again”.
• Attachment to anything only makes letting go at the time of death more difficult
• Even if you have spiritual practice the pain your dying body subjects you to can make it extremely difficult for you to focus your mind on what you have to do.
• Only your practice of dharma can support you at the time of your death
• Buddhist don’t share a single view of death.
• Samsara is sometime called a vicious circle because it consists of an endlessly repeating pattern of births deaths and rebirths in which no lasting satisfaction can be found. The ultimate goal of the Theravada teaching is to find a way out of this vicious circle and experience the inexpressible peace of nirvana complete freedom from all suffering and dissatisfaction.
• In Zen Buddhist tradition fearlessness in the face of death is one of the hallmarks of the truly enlightened
• One of the fundamental principles of Buddhist practice is being careful about your actions words and thoughts and be responsible for your own life. It’s up to you!
• Positive causes lead to positive effects. Negative causes lead to negative effects
• The basic Buddhist (Mahayana - Zen) precepts are:
1. Do not kill
2. Do not steal
3. Do not engage in sexual “misconduct”
4. Do not lie
5. Do not “abuse” intoxicants
6. Do not speak of others errors and faults
7. Do not elevate yourself and blame others
8. Do not be stingy
9. Do not give vent to anger
10) do not defile the Three Jewels (Buddha, dharma, Sangha)
11) Ill Will – things you may do or say to harm someone
12) Idle Gossip
13) Covetousness – a discontented dissatisfied state of mind
14) Divisive Speech
15) Wrong Views – deny the reality or existence of things that are true
• Mahayana (Great Vehicle) teaches you can purify negative karma no matter how heavy it is. In Zen atonement is understood as an opportunity to wipe the karmic slate clean and return to the primordial purity of your original nature
• Guilt is counterproductive and traps you in the past
• Regret involves acknowledging you made a mistake and vow never to repeat it again
• Admitting you’ve made a mistake isn’t enough; you need to exert effort to keep from repeating it. The best thing would be to vow never to commit that particular harmful action again for the rest of your life.
• Taking specific positive actions to counterbalance whatever negativity you created by:
Serving the poor and needy
visiting people in the hospital
serving the lives of animals about to be killed
Making offerings to monasteries and other religious organizations
Reciting passages from traditional dharma text, meditating and putting them into practice
• Nirvana (Pure Land) is what you achieve when you free yourself from the underlying causes of all suffering. It’s your natural condition hidden under layers of distorted ideas and habitual patterns
• The Sanskrit term for this pattern of recurring frustration is Samsara (cyclic existence)
• Samsara is uncontrollable wandering and restless motion that leads nowhere.
• As long as your mind is under the influence of the delusions, the negative states of mind you inevitably experience frustration, dissatisfaction and outright misery.
• Samsara doesn’t describe reality itself but your distorted experience of reality based on your negative mind states. The rat race in other words exists in your mind and the way out doesn’t require changing it requires changing your mind. In fact some traditions of Buddhism teach that Samsara is nirvana meaning that this life is perfect the way it is you just have to wake up to this perfection by transforming your mind.
• Buddha explained how deluded states of mind keep you trapped in these recurring patterns of dissatisfaction by teaching about what he called dependent arising or interdependent origination. Things happen to you for a reason.
• From the Buddhist point of view your life experiences both good and bad aren’t random meaningless events. Nor are they rewards or punishments handed out to you by some controlling force outside yourself so blaming God or fate doesn’t work. Your experiences result from a series of causes and effects that begin in your own mind.
• The “Wheel of Life” consist of the following elements:
1. Ignorance
2. Karmic formations
3. Consciousness
4. Name and form
5. Sense bases
6. Contact
7. Feeling
8. Craving
9. Grasping
10. Becoming
11. Birth
12. Aging and death
• The three animals in the tree of life that represent root delusions are:
1. Pig: Represents Ignorance
2. Rooster: represents desire or attachment
3. Snake: represents hatred
• Ignorance is the source of all the other delusions. This type of ignorance holds on tightly to a mistaken idea of how things exist.
• Use the word “I” in a sentence or two and see what you find. You may find something like “I’m Sitting here reading” etc. When you talk about yourself you automatically mention something that’s going on with either your body or your mind or both
• You use the term “I” or “Me” to refer to something going on in your mental or physical makeup
• All of the elements that make up your body and mind are in a constant state of flux. Your physical sensations and your thoughts, feelings and emotions are constantly changing. You can’t really point to anything within this constant flux and say this is something solid and permanent
• If you (self) feel insulted you have to realize that the self is non-existent and is solely the creation of ignorance, a bad habit of the mind. This ignorance sometime called the I grasping or self-clinging because of unrealistic way it holds onto a false image of yourself is the root of all suffering without exception.
• Belief in the false self leads to suffering and wisdom can eliminate that suffering.
• “You” do exist but what has never existed and never will exist is this falsely imagined apparently separate and concrete “self” that you’ve always believed in so strongly.
• Hatred isn’t the only negative state of mind that pops up. Attachment and all the rest of the delusions arise automatically as you try to maintain or defend this ignorantly conceived “self”. You become furious if you feel that this “self” is under attack but you also crave anything that you feel would support or enhance it. This delusion is responsible for the compulsive got to have it mentality. As long as your under the influence of this “I” grasping ignorance, your feeding a desire that can never be satisfied.
• You use all your energy trying to make this false “I” secure but your efforts are doomed to fail.
• When you’re able to see that the concrete “self” that you’ve been clinging to all this time is just an illusion you can begin to let go of this creation of ignorance.
• Letting go feels like having a heavy unnecessary burden lifted from your shoulders. No longer neurotically compelled to defend or promote this phantom like self you’re free to experience a deep sense of contentment and peace. To put it in more mundane terms “because you’re no longer so full of yourself you can finally chill out.”
• The six realms of existence are made up of: Gods, Anti-Gods, Humans, Animals ,Hungry Ghost and Hell Beings.
• Gods like the rich and famous can be said to experience a god-like existence both in terms of the extraordinary pleasures available to them and the constant threat that these pleasures may be snatched from them at any moment.
• Anti-gods also called demigods. Some of the not as rich and famous experience problems of jealousy and competitiveness similar to those of the anti gods.
• As Humans you suffer with sickness old age and death not to mention the frustration of not getting what you want and anguish of being separated from what you like
• Animals lead a life of constant struggle searching for food while at the same time not being eaten themselves.
• Hungry Ghost this is the realm of thwarted desire and unsatisfied craving. The main cause of being reborn here is miserliness. Someone who is never satisfied with the amount of material possessions he or she has is often called a hungry ghost.
• Hell beings within in the human realm people who endure particularly intense forms of physical or mental agony beyond the range of ordinary experiences are said to lead a hell like existence. Someone who is consumed with hatred is considered in the hell realm.
• Even as a human being you can be buffeted up and down and around the various realms in a mater of minutes. The entire wheel of life is in the grip of impermanence. As your mind changes so do your experiences. You create the causes for experiencing the pleasures of pains of these realms by what you do, say and think.
• Ignorance and a false belief in “self” is the root of all suffering but can be overcome by wisdom
• Keep in mind that as long as your continue to grasp onto a mistaken view of yourself you can not overcome ignorance
• Your ignorantly motivated actions inevitably lead to recurring suffering
• Buddha learned that after 6 years of fasting and suffering that trying to starve your senses into submission doesn’t work because it addresses only the outward symptoms of suffering not it actual causes. It was then that he realized the middle way without extremes in any direction
• The weakest of the twelve links are the ones that seem to be the strongest at first. Ignorance craving and grasping are responsible for the cycle of suffering in your mind.
• These three links are powerful but they’re all based on a fundamental misconception. A distorted view, a lie. They all hold onto an idea about the nature of the “self” or “I” that conflicts with reality.
• The Three Trainings include Moral Discipline: the strength, Concentration: the sharp aim, Wisdom: The tool
• The only way to happiness is to rid yourself of ignorance with is the mistaken view of the way you and all other things exist.
• If you practice the three trainings you can definitely bring cyclic existence to an end and experience the inexpressible peace of liberation . you don’t have to die to reach nirvana but you do have to tame your mind.
• You can purify your negative karma achieve happiness and peace of mind and eventually attain nirvana which is complete liberation from the cycle of suffering and dissatisfaction. The best part is that you can do all these things regardless of your life circumstances.
• Your Buddha nature (kindness & compassion) is your birthright and its inside you right now waiting for you to recognize it and unleash its capacity.
• The deep wish for the benefit of all beings lies at the heart of Buddhism. In the great vehicle Mahayana tradition of which Zen and Vajrayana among others are a part this wish is known as the bodhisattva vow.
• No matter how much you’ve suffered or been hurt compassion definitely exist in your heart right now though it may be buried beneath layers of grief anger and self protectiveness.
• In Buddhism the goal is to develop an unconditional compassion that extends to all beings regardless of whether they’ve helped or harmed you in the past.
• You do not have to sit back passively and let someone abuse you. What purpose would that serve? But it does mean that whatever action you do decide to take even if you decide to defend yourself forceful becomes motivated more by concern and understanding and less by the malicious desire to retaliate.
• Looking at others as equal to yourself also helps reduce your selfishness the cause of most if not all of your problems rather than being constantly involved with me, me, me.
• Heavenly Abodes: compassion, loving kindness, sympathetic joy, equanimity(Peace of Mind).
• When you see deeply into the impermanent selfless suffering nature of reality you naturally experience love for others compassion for their suffering and passionate wish to help free them from their pain.
• No matter how much insight you have unless your heart is brimming over with love and compassion you haven’t achieved full liberation.
• The qualities of love compassion equanimity and joy in the happiness of others when practiced correctly break down the barriers of apparent separation between yourself and others and reveal the inherent oneness of all life
• Meditating on the four heavenly abodes: may you be happy. May you be free of your pain and sorrow. May your good fortune continue. May we all accept things as they are.
• By extending love to others you reflect back to them their inherent loveliness their innate Buddha nature and there by encourage them to open their hearts and at the same time loosen the hold that negative emotions like resentment and disappointment have over your own heart.
• Buddha realized that you cant love others fully until you learn to love yourself.
• Genuine compassion in both Pali and Sanskrit involves first acknowledging the suffering of others which is common in the world and then gradually learning to open your heart to feel it deeply without letting it overwhelm you.
• Suffering often brings out other unpleasant feelings like anger fear and grief
• The serenity prayer says: “God grant me the serenity to accept the thins I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.”
• Equanimity emerges when you meditate upon and deeply realize the essential Buddhist truth of impermanence (everything is constantly changing) and let go of trying to control what you simply cant control. You just let things be.
• In equanimity you are completely open to life as it presents itself.
• From equanimity (peace of mind) arises fearlessness in the face of life’s up and downs a quality that can be just as contagious as panic or rage.
• The Six Perfections (practices) include Generosity, Ethical Behavior, Tolerance/Patience, Effort/Perseverance, Concentration, Wisdom
• Generosity allows you to give others whatever they need without stinginess or regret. Keep in mind that the practice of generosity doesn’t depend as much on what you give as on your attitude toward giving. Learn to let go of your attachments to material possessions, time , energy and even points of view. In this way generosity fuels your own liberation because it gradually frees you from grasping and greed.
• Self-Discipline Ethical behavior is also called morality. The underlying meaning of Ethical Behavior in Buddhism is the avoidance of giving harm to others. Restrain attempts to commit negative actions. Every effort you do toward this goal expresses the discipline of self restraint. Accumulating virtue is like changing your spiritual batteries. Watch everything you do with your body speech and mind that directed toward the welfare of others.
• Patience is the direct opposite of anger and irritation so its one of the main practices of a compassionate bodhisattva. Anger often arises when you feel you are under attack. Anger does unleash powerful energy but trying to use this energy to solve your problems only creates more problems. By practicing patience you can keep your mind free from anger and as a result your problems will no longer be able to bother you. Often the only way to improve a difficult situation is to simply refuse to engage with anger. Patience involves: Remaining Calm, Accepting Suffering, Believe in the Dharma of a trained mind
• Sloth includes laziness and procrastination.
• Trivial pursuits; most people fill their days with unimportant distractions that aren’t genuinely relaxing or fulfilling but merely occupy their time and keep them from doing what really matters in live. Included in trivial pursuits is watching TV, listening to talk shows , playing video games etc.
• Sharpening your concentration is simply to chose a particular object of meditation, place your attention on it and then keep it there without wavering. Without strong and continuous concentration, neither the Pure Land follower nor the Zen practitioner is likely to achieve great success and the same hold true for the serious practitioners of other traditions as well. Deep concentration can only grow in a contented mind. Meditator practice letting go of their strong attachments and aversions by recognizing how fleeting and unsatisfactory they are.
• Wisdom is the ability to see things the way they actually exist no longer misled by the false way they appear to exist.
• Emptiness isn’t the easiest reality to comprehend. Even the different Buddhist schools have different ways of understanding it. When the Buddhist wisdom teaches state “All phenomena are empty” or “The “self” is empty” they are not saying that all things are totally non-existent. Things like people, mountains clouds etc do exist. They’re just “empty”, meaning they lack something. All suffering and dissatisfaction without exception is rooted in your mistaken views of how things exist. Under the influence of these mistaken views you superimpose qualities onto reality that reality doesn’t possess so if you want to eliminate suffering you have to identity and eliminate all of these mistaken views. Emptiness is the absence of the fantasized meaning the phenomena are empty of your fantasies and false projections about them. Emptiness is the absence of something that never existed.
• You can’t separate meditation from life. The whole path of mindfulness is whatever your doing be aware of it.
• The Theravada (Way of the Elders) is the oldest continually existing Buddhist tradition in the world.
• The 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet is Tenzin Gyatso. Tenzin means holder of the teachings. When the Dalai Lama dies his successor is discovered and then installed in his place. The current (14th) Dalai Lama was born Lhamo Thondup on July 6, 1935 in the village of Taktser. He was 2 ½ year old when discovered by Keusang Rinpoche. Testing and negotiations began but he didn’t leave for Lhasa until July 1939 when he was four years old. In 1959 he completed his geshe degree which is roughly equivalent to a doctoral degree in philosophy and divinity. In March 17, 1959 the Dalai Lama was forced into exile in India by the Chinese who took over Tibet.
• Buddhism started in India 2500 years ago and spread to Sri Lanka and then to the rest of Asia and then to the west.
• The Buddhas teachings of mindfulness, wisdom and compassion are available to everyone
• Most people including the mainstream media are filled with distorted ideas about Buddhism
• The most common Misconceptions about Buddhism are:
1. To Buddhist, Buddha is God – The historical Buddha was born Prince Siddhārtha Gautama the heir to a ruling family, Shakyamuni Buddha the founder of Buddhism is thought to have lived from 563 to 483 B.C. Shakyamuni means “Enlightened Sage of the Shakyas Clan” He gave up his family and all of his worldly possessions to search for a way to relieve suffering. He spent 6 years in meditation and 45 years sharing his insights and methods of relieving suffering with others.
2. Buddhist are idol worshipper – Bowing is simply a method of being respectful and a method of showing that you are giving up a sense of your “false pride” and “ego” which is the root of all suffering. It is done consciously and not as an empty ritual. It’s a way of saying thanks for all of the Buddhas teachings. It a matter of showing respect and appreciation which is a far cry from idolatry.
3. Because Buddhists think life is suffering they look forward to dying – Buddhism is about enjoying every second of every day while realizing the reality of suffering and offering ways to accept and reduce it. Buddhist value all life and in fact, suicide is strictly forbidden unless for an excellent and compelling reason such as saving the life of someone else. Buddhist are taught to accept death and illness as part of the natural process of a changing life but not to fear it.
4. Buddhist think everything is an Illusion – Obviously Buddhist believe things exist and my writing is not an illusion and the car I drove this morning is not an illusion. What is meant by an illusions is that sometime people project a false sense of reality on things. An example might be having a pre-conceived idea about a person and projecting that on the person as a false reality. False views of reality are the primary cause of suffering and dissatisfaction. In other words see things in life as they are. Like “emptiness” it is the absence of the “fantasized”.
5. Buddhist don’t believe in anything – The historical Buddha urged his followers not to take his words as a matter of belief but instead to put them into practice and experience their validity for themselves. In other words Buddha has always encouraged healthy doubt and emphasized personal experience and intelligence over dogma. When Buddhist use the term “emptiness” it is not a synonym for “nothingness”. It doesn’t mean that all things are non-existent. It means they lack something that was never there. Buddhist believe that everyone has an innate loving and compassionate mind and you can tap into that by eliminating all of the layers of afflicted thinking like hate, craving, attachments, ego, etc.
6. Only Buddhist can practice Buddhism – Anyone can practice Buddhism including people who have another religious belief. As the Buddha and more recently the 14th Dalai Lama have said that you should take the teachings that you find helpful and meaningful and leave the rest. You don’t have to accept anything on “blind faith” in Buddhism. Christians, Jews, Priest, Rabbis practice Buddhist forms of meditation. Unlike some religious beliefs, Buddhism is accepting of everyone. You don’t have to “convert” to anything. I was raised as a Baptist from 1944 to 1963 and first explored Buddhism in 1965 and met my first Buddhist monk in Thailand in 1981. What I like about Buddhism is that it does not encourage you to “pray” to some external entity to do something for you but rather teaches you to see things as they really are and eliminate unnecessary suffering and dissatisfaction.
7. Buddhist are only interested in contemplating their navels – Buddhism does place a great deal of emphasis on silent introspection. Meditation has been a valuable tool for me in developing a clear view of things as they really are and producing a calm peaceful mind. Through introspection you can rid yourself of afflictions like ignorance, greed, jealousy, anger, fear etc.
8. Buddhists never get angry – Buddhist, including the historical Buddha are human beings with human feelings and emotions. Buddhist understand that hate and anger are destructive afflictions that should be avoided and do as much if not more damage to the one who hates as the one who is hated. By working to develop a calm mind you are better able to control these emotions. Avoiding anger does not mean letting other people walk all over you. Also “pretending” to be calm and peaceful while seething inside with anger is most definitely not a recommended Buddhist practice. Through practice you can “change your mind” and learn to avoid if not eliminate these destructive afflictions.
9. “It’s just your Karma; There’s nothing you can do about it” – The word karma literally means “action”. Buddhist think more in terms of “cause and effect”. In other words what goes around comes around. Actions have consequences. If you drink and drive don’t be surprised if you get a ticket or get in an accident. Your karmic situation constantly shifts and changes depending on how you act, speak and think right now. By changing your behavior and transforming your mind and heart through Buddhist practice you can definitely transform the quality of your life.
There are a lot of other myths and misconceptions even among Buddhist but the ones mentioned are a few of the most widely promoted. In addition to the notes from the referenced text, I have included some of my personal experiences and understandings of Buddhism in addition to those of the original author. These notes are intended to give you an overall view of the subject with some personal perspective and if you want more detailed explanations from the author of the cited text, then you can buy his book.
• Ways Buddhism can help you deal with life’s problems:
1. The entire point of the dharma (teachings) are to help people free themselves from suffering, experience peace, and realize their true nature.
2. When you meditate each day, spending some time simply being present for your experience just the way it is, you gradually reduce your inner conflicts and make friends with yourself. In fact, meditation creates a welcoming inner space in which problems often resolve themselves.
3. Buddha taught that reality has three basic characteristics. Reality is unsatisfactory in the sense that ordinary existence fails to give you exactly what you want out of life. Reality is impermanent in the sense that things change from moment to moment. Reality lacks a concrete abiding substance or self-nature. When you ignore these characteristics you risk acting according to three corresponding misconceptions which inevitably prevent you from living in harmony with reality. The three misconceptions are believing that things that are fundamentally unsatisfactory can bring lasting happiness. Believing that things that change from moment to moment are permanent. Believing that things that lack a self-nature are concrete and independent.
• Every difficulty you face in life is related either directly or indirectly to the three mistaken notions just mentioned.
• As long as you permit attachment and craving to rule your mind you will be in a state of perpetual dissatisfaction wandering from one disappointing situation to another.
• Develop your self awareness to change your point of view.
• You may be suffering because you expect too much. Life hasn’t signed a contract with you promising to give you everything you want. It jus unfolds in its own mysterious and uncontrollable way. The more you stop resisting the way things are the happier and more peaceful you’ll be.
• You can save yourself a lot of trouble simply by accepting the reality of impermanence.
• Don’t just consider the impermanence of the things you desire. Consider your own impermanence as well.
• Remembering the reality of change not only protects you from the dangers of desire and attachment but it can also be a safeguard against hatred. When you realize that you and the person bothering you will both be pushing up daisies before too long, what’s the sense in holding a grudge?
• Buddhism teaches that ignorance is the root cause of all suffering and dissatisfaction. As mentioned earlier does not mean low intelligence. Ignorance means not seeing your “self” and everything around you as they really are. Specifically the ignorance that views things as if they are concrete, separate, self contained entities. Ultimately the antidote for this ignorance is wisdom in particular the wisdom to realize the deep meaning of interdependence. Everyone and everything in life is dependent on something or someone.
• In a provocative situation like an argument everything seems very concrete. The words directed at you appear to be a real, solid insult, the person insulting you appears to be a real solid attacker and the uncomfortably real and solid sense of your self as the person attacked arises in your heart in response. But by applying wisdom you can see that nothing has a concrete existence all to itself which will save you quite a bit of emotional wear and tear. The insult develops I meaning in your response to the words not in the words themselves. Remember the old saying “sticks and stones will break my bones but names will never hurt me.”. Sticks and stones are concrete and tangible. If you immediately give into anger after being insulted its too late to apply the wisdom antidote. Delusion and wisdom don’t coexist very well. You have to be content with insightfully analyzing the situation later when you review the incident in a calm and quite atmosphere of your meditation session. But the more you put the situation the better prepared you will be to defuse potentially dangerous situation before they explode. Where is the “you” who was insulted? Can you locate that apparently concrete entity in your ears, where the sound wave entered? In some part of your brain that processed these sound signals? In another location of your body or mind? Rather than concrete objects with hard edges, all things are actually loosely organized phenomena feelings thought sensations and so on that are interdependent and rely to a great extent on how you perceive and interpret them. If you apply wisdom you will be able to understand the false sense of “you”, “I”, “me”, ”ego” that gets people in trouble. Another book I have reviewed in this blog is titled “How to see yourself as you really are” by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. This is a great book that explains the “reality” of who you are.
• When faced with a confrontation just pretend you are a Buddha. Sit quietly and let the situation including the external circumstances and your own reactions to them wash over you like a wave. Feel whatever you feel but don’t respond in any way. If you imitate Buddha long enough you may actually become one. Buddha taught anyone can become Buddha by realizing your own innate Buddha mind and scrape away all of the afflictions of ignorance, hate, cravings, attachments, anger etc.
• Nothing you perceive through your five senses remains the same from one moment to the next. Everything is constantly changing. The real problem isn’t that things appear to be permanent but that you buy into the false appearance and mistake it for reality. Then when things begin to fall apart your experience unnecessary grief and anxiety. The happens with everything including relationships, health, your computer, everything! The solution is simple: Repeatedly remind yourself of the truth of impermanence, especially when you catch yourself admiring a possession as if it last forever.
• Seeing that what’s yours isn’t really yours. The attitude were referring to is the notion of possessions, which is nothing more than a projection of your mind. You start to think of it as yours. It begins to have something to do with yo9u personally as if it somehow reflects on your importance or worth as a human being. Eventually, even thought you know better, you begin to feel as though this item always belonged to you – almost as if it were part of you. Then losing it is like losing part of yourself. The same basic pattern holds true for partners or spouses as well. Many people treat them like possessions.
• The antidote to this delusion is to recognize that the things and people you supposedly own don’t really belong to you. You’re just their temporary care taker. There was a time when you had no connection with these items and there will be a time in the future when that will be true again. The fleeting present occupies the ground between these two points in time and your association with these items is similarly fleeting. If you can train yourself to look at things this way free of all exaggerated notions of possessiveness you can live both with them and without them with far less anxiety.
• When someone takes something from you your mind fills with resentment and thoughts of revenge or retribution. But these thoughts are worse than useless. They don’t help you get your stuff back or help the police catch the thief they only make you more agitated and upset.
• Just relinquish all sense of ownership and imagine that your are presenting the object to whoever took it. This technique may seem to be a bit illogical after all you are upset precisely because you don’t want to give up the item. But by offering to give it up you are offering to give up your attachment as well.
• Tendering your resignation to physical pain. Your mental attitude largely determines how intense the pain will be.
• The solution is to turn outward and think of something or someone other than yourself.
• Simply realizing that you are not alone in your suffering helps to lighten the burden of your pain and relieve your self pity.
• Your pain is no longer a personal affliction but an opportunity to connect with others.
• Two types of annoying people exist. The people you can avoid and people you can not avoid. How can you deal with the latter? Keep in mind that from a Buddhist point of view trying to change your self is much more effective than trying to change someone else. Second remember that the underlying cause of most if not all problems can be found in the distorted views you project into situations. Even the habit of seeing other people as annoying for example tends to blame them for your unhappiness when you are the one annoying yourself.
• How do you go about improving a relationship? How do you get out of the rut into which you have fallen? You can start by sitting alone in meditation, bringing the other person to mind, and viewing them as a person without your accustomed projections. Everyone just wants to be happy and avoid suffering. Spend some time regarding someone who annoys you in this way and allow your heart to open. Keep the focus on that person and not your relationship with them. Just be patient and keep in mind that you cant hope to undo years of bad habits overnight.
• Emptiness is the actual way in which all things exist, empty of all false notions or independent self-existence and ultimately ungraspable by the conceptual mind
• Mantra means mind protection words of power syllables generally in Sanskrit recited during certain meditational practices
• Nirvana means the state beyond sorrow personal liberation from suffering and the causes of suffering
• Samadhi is the state of deep meditative absorption
• Satori is a sudden flash of insight a direct glimpse of your essential Buddha nature
• Kensho is seeing true nature a direct glimpse of your essential Buddha nature
• Zen “meditation” the tradition of Mahayana Buddhism that arose first in China and then spread to Japan, Korea and other Asian countries emphasizing the practice of meditation as a means to sudden awakening
More notes and comments are in process of being posted..............................
