‘Buddha’ means ‘The Awakened One’. The Buddha was a man who discovered practical methods that enabled him to become permanently awake — hence his name…
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True Peace of Mind, by Harada Sekkei Roshi
Many people think Zen is something difficult. However, the Chinese character used for ‘Zen’ means ‘to demonstrate simplicity’. As this character implies, Zen is an extremely clear and concise teaching. Zen is also said to be the Buddha-dharma itself. The Chinese character for ‘Dharma’ is written with the components for ‘water’ and ‘to leave’. This implies that water flows from a high place to a low place. Zen, then, is to realise the Truth (the natural principles of things) which is completely separate from the judgement and intervention of the ego-self…
Renunciation and Simplicity, by Corrado Pensa
The virtues (paramis) always work in a relationship of mutual cooperation. There is an organic necessity for these positive energies to work together; they are mutually supportive. There is support between formal practice and the virtues, and among the several virtues.
From a distance we might say that practice seems to be simple, and in a sense it is—it’s the simplest thing in the world. In another sense, however, it is a complex and interacting structure…
When you are on Retreat, by Ajahn Sumedho
When you are on retreat, restrictions are placed on your physical actions and speech. But there are also mental restraints and limitations. You are not to simply let your mind go wild or indulge in fantasies. Instead, you are to learn to bring the mind into the present.
Worldly Way And Liberation, by Ajahn Chah
Everything that you do must be done with clarity and awareness. When you see clearly, there will no longer be any need for endurance or for forcing yourself…
Making Friends with the Cement Mixer, by Ajahn Sumedho
Human beings are good-hearted. We want to be good. We feel a lot of joy when opportunities for generosity or selfless action are made available to us. You can see that the love of the good, of the true and the beautiful, is very much part of our humanity…
Discomfort without Aversion: A Little Miracle, by Corrado Pensa
You might remember a famous illustration that the Buddha gives of what a healed mind is like. He said, ‘In what is seen, there is only what is seen. In what is heard, there is only what is heard.’ And he repeats it for all six senses, the mind being one of them. This means no more proliferation, no more fabrication, no more additions, mental concoction; there is just pure being in the present…
Motoko Ikebe, by Arthur Braverman
Historically, the Japanese have considered women to be the proper interpreters of the teaching of the gods. In fact, the first spiritual and political leader of Japan on record was Himiko (or Pimiko), a queen whose authority was based on her religious or magical powers. She was a Shaman who the Chinese chronicles describe as unmarried with a thousand women attendants and one man, and who spent her time with magic and sorcery. She was a mediator between the people and their gods…
