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Meditation on Love
May ‘I’ be well, joyous, and peaceful. May no harm come to me. May no difficulties come to me. May no problems come to me. May I always meet with success. May I also have patience, courage, understanding, and determination to overcome apparent difficulties, problems, and failures in life. May ‘my parents’ be well, joyous, and peaceful. May no harm come to them May no difficulties come to them. May no problems come to them. May they always meet with success.
May they also have patience, courage, understanding, and determination to overcome apparent difficulties, problems, and failures in life.
May ‘my teachers’ be well, joyous, and peaceful. May no harm come to them. May no difficulties come to them.
May no problems come to them. May they always meet with
success. May they also have patience, courage, understanding, and determination to overcome apparent difficulties, problems, and failures in life.
May ‘my family’ be well, joyous, and peaceful. May no harm come to them. May no difficulties come to them. May no problems come to them. May they always meet with success. May they also have patience, courage, understanding, and determination to overcome apparent difficulties, problems, and failures in life.
May ‘my friends’ be well, joyous and peaceful. May no harm come to them. May no difficulties come to them.
May they always meet with success. May they also have patience, courage, understanding, and determination to overcome apparent difficulties, problems, and failures in life.
May ‘those unfriendly to me’ be well, joyous, and peaceful. May no harm come to them. May no difficulties come to them. May no problems come to them. May they always meet with success. May they also have patience, courage, understanding, and determination to overcome apparent difficulties, problems, and failures in life.
May ‘all living beings’ be well, joyous, and peaceful. May no harm come to them. May no difficulties come to them.
May no problems come to them. May they always meet with success. May they also have patience, courage, understanding, and determination to overcome apparent difficulties, problems, and failures in life.
Dharma Offering
Noble friend, the crown of all offerings is the Dharma Offering. That is to say, practicing what the Buddha taught. Benefiting all living beings, embracing all living things, taking on the suffering of others, cultivating the root of merit vigorously, not retiring from the Bodhisattva’s work, and never dropping the Bodhicitta ( the will to supreme Enlightenment).
Avoid what is evil, cultivate what is good, make your mind pure: This sums up the Dharma of all the Buddhas.
Dharma Mission
Released am I, friends, from all ties whether human or divine. You are also delivered from all fetters whether human or divine. Go now for the welfare and happiness of the man out of compassion for the world, for the good, welfare and happiness of gods and humans. Let not any two of you go to the same destination. Teach the Dharma with the right meaning and phrasing, for the Dharma is beautiful at the beginning, beautiful in the middle, beautiful at the end. Proclaim a holy life utterly perfect and pure. There are some beings with dust in their eyes, who are wasting through not hearing the Dharma. And there will be those who understand the Dharma.
And King Melinda of Sagala asked the Venerable Nagasena, "Is cessation Nirvana?" "Yes, your majesty!" "How is that, Nagasena?" "All the foolish common people take delight in the senses and their objects, are impressed by them, are attached to them. In that way they are carried away by the flood, and are not set free from birth, old age, and death, from grief, lamentation, pain, sadness, and despair - they are, I say, not set free from suffering.  But the well-informed holy disciples do not take delight in the senses and their objects, are not impressed by them, are not attached to them, and in consequence their craving ceases; the cessation of craving leads successively to that of grasping, of becoming, of birth, of old age and death, of grief, lamentation, pain, sadness, and despair - that is to say to the cessation of all this mass of ill. It is thus that cessation is Nirvana." "Very good, Nagasena!" The king asked: "Do all win Nirvana?" "No, they do not. Only those win Nirvana who, progressing correctly, know by their super-knowledge those Dharmas which should be known by super-knowledge, comprehend those Dharmas which should be comprehended, forsake those Dharmas which should be forsaken, develop those Dharmas which should be developed, and realize those Dharmas which should be realized." "Very good, Nagasena." The king then asked: "Do those who have not won Nirvana know how happy a state it is?" "Yes, they do." "But how can one know this about Nirvana without having attained it?" "Now what do you think, your majesty? Do those who have not had their hands and feet cut off know how bad it is to have them cut off?" "Yes, they do." "And how do they know it?" "From hearing the sound of the lamentations of those whose hands and feet have been cut off." "So it is by hearing the words of those who have seen Nirvana that one knows it to be a happy state." "Very good, Nagasena!" King Melinda said: "I will grant you, Nagasena, that Nirvana is absolute Ease, and that nevertheless one cannot point to its form or shape, its duration or size, either by simile or explanation, by reason or by argument. But is there perhaps some quality of Nirvana which it shares with other things, and which lends itself to a metaphorical explanation?" "Its form, O king, cannot be elucidated by similes, but its qualities can." "How good to hear that, Nagasena! Speak then, quickly, so that I may have an explanation of even one of the aspects of Nirvana! Appease the fever of my heart! Allay it with the cool sweet breezes of your words!" "Nirvana shares one quality with the lotus, two with water, three with medicine, ten with space, three with the wishing jewel, and five with a mountain peak. As the lotus is unstained by water, so is Nirvana unstained by all the defilements. As cool water allays feverish heat, so also Nirvana is cool and allays the fever of all the passions. Moreover, as water removes the thirst of men and beasts who are exhausted, parched, thirsty, and overpowered by heat, so also Nirvana removes the craving for sensuous enjoyments, the craving for further becoming, the craving for the cessation of becoming. As medicine protects from the torments of poison, so Nirvana from the torments of the poisonous passions. Moreover, as medicine puts an end to sickness, so Nirvana to all sufferings. Finally, Nirvana and medicine both give security. And these are the ten qualities which Nirvana shares with space. Neither is born, grows old, dies, passes away, or is reborn; both are unconquerable, cannot be stolen, are unsupported, are roads respectively for birds and Arhats to journey on, are unobstructed and infinite. Like the wishing jewel, Nirvana grants all one can desire, brings joy, and sheds light. As a mountain peak is lofty and exalted, so is Nirvana. As a mountain peak is unshakeable, so is Nirvana inaccessible to all the passions. As no seeds can grow on a mountain peak, so the seeds of all the passions cannot grow in Nirvana. And finally, as a mountain peak is free from all desire to please or displease, so is Nirvana." "Well said, Nagasena! So it is, and as such I accept it." King Melinda asked: "The Tathagata (another name for The Buddha) has said: "Do not occupy yourselves, Ananda, with worshipping the bodily remains of the Tathagata!" And, on the other hand, we have been told: 'Worship the relics of Him who is worthy of worship! By doing so, you will go from here to paradise.' "Now if the first injunction were right, the second must be wrong, and if the second be right the first must be wrong. This is another dilemma, which I now put to you, and which you must resolve." Nagasena replied: "The sentence, 'Do not occupy yourselves, Ananda, with worshipping the bodily remains of the Tathagata!' was not addressed to everyone, but only to the Jina's (another name for The Buddha) sons, the monks. For worship is not their work. But the thorough understanding of all conditioned things, wise attention, the consideration of the applications of mindfulness, the seizing of the real essence of all objects of thought, the battle with the passions, and the pursuit of the highest good - that is what the Jina's sons have to do. Worship, however, is the task of the other gods and men. So, your majesty, it is the business of the princes of this earth to know all about elephants, horses, chariots, bows, swords, edicts, and seals, to be well versed in the textbooks of state-craft, in its tradition and customs, and to lead people into battle, whereas agriculture, trade, and the care of cattle are the tasks of other people, of ordinary traders, cultivators, and servants. The Tathagata therefore urged the monks to devote themselves to their own work, and not to that of others, when he said, 'Do not occupy yourselves, Ananda, with worshipping the bodily remains of the Tathagata!' If the Tathagata had not said this, the monks might have taken his bowl and robe, and made it their business to worship the Buddha through them." "Very good, Nagasena. So it is, and so I accept it."
The most important question for all Buddhists is how to understand birth and death completely for then, should you be able to find Buddha within birth and death, they both vanish. All you have to do is realize that birth and death, as such, should not be avoided and they will cease to exist for then, if you can understand that birth and death are Nirvana itself, there is not only no necessity to avoid them but also nothing to search for that is called Nirvana. The understanding of the above breaks the chains that bind one to birth and death; therefore, this problem, which is the greatest in all Buddhism, must be completely understood. It is very difficult to be born as a human being and equally difficult to find Buddhism, however, because of the good karma that we have accumulated, we have received the exceptional gift of a human body and are able to hear the Truths of Buddhism: we therefore have the greatest possibility of a full life within the limits of birth and death. It would be criminal to waste such an
opportunity by leaving this weak life of ours exposed to impermanence through lack of faith and commitment. Impermanence offers no permanent succor. On what weeds by the roadside will the dew of  our life fall? At this very minute this body is not my own. Life, which is controlled by time, never ceases even for an instant; youth vanishes forever once it is gone. It is impossible to bring back the past when one suddenly comes face to face with impermanence and it is impossible to look for assistance from kings, statesmen, relatives, servants, wife or children, let alone wealth and treasure. The kingdom of death must be entered by oneself alone with nothing for company but our own good and bad karma. Avoid the company of those who are deluded and ignorant about the Truth of karmic consequence, the three states of existence and good and evil. It is obvious that the law of cause and effect is not answerable to my personal will, for, without fail, evil is vanquished and good prevails; if it were not so, Buddhism would never have appeared and Bodhidharma would never have come from the west. There are three periods into which the karmic consequences of good and evil fall: one is the consequence experienced in this present world, the second is consequence experienced in the next world and the third consequence experienced in a world after the next one; one must understand this very clearly before undertaking any training in the way of the Buddhas and Ancestors, otherwise mistakes will be made by many and they will fall into heresy; in addition to this, their lives will become evil and their suffering will be prolonged. None of us have more than one body during this lifetime, therefore, it is indeed tragic to lead a life of evil as a result of heresy, for it is impossible to escape from karmic consequence if we do evil on the assumption that, by not recognizing an act as evil, no bad karma can accrue to us.
REAL STATE OF THINGS... Since everything in this world is brought about by causes and conditions, there can be no fundamental distinctions among things. The apparent distinctions exist because of people's absurd and discriminating thoughts. In the sky there is distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true. Mathematical numbers from one to infinity are each complete numbers, and each in itself carries no distinction of quantity; but people make the discrimination for their own convenience, so as to be able to indicate varying amounts. Inherently there are no distinctions between the process of life and the process of destruction; people make a discrimination and call one birth and the other death. In action, there is no discrimination between right and wrong, but people make a distinction for their own convenience. Buddha keeps away from these discriminations and looks upon the world as upon a passing cloud. To Buddha, every definitive thing is illusion; He knows that whatever the mind grasps and throws away is insubstantial; thus He transcends the pitfalls of images and discriminative thought. People grasp at things for their own imagined convenience and comfort; they grasp at wealth and treasure and honors; they cling desperately to mortal life. They make arbitrary distinctions between existence and non-existence, good and bad, right and wrong. For people, life is a succession of graspings and attachments, and then, because of this, they must assume the illusions of pain and suffering. Once there was a man on a long journey, who came to a river. He said to himself: "This side of the river is very difficult and dangerous to walk on, and the other side seems easier and safer, but how shall I get across?" So he built a raft out of branches and reeds and safely crossed the river. Then he thought to himself: "This raft has been very useful to me in crossing the river; I will not abandon it to rot on the bank, but will carry it along with me." And thus he voluntarily assumed an unnecessary burden. Can this man be called a wise man? This parable teaches that even a good thing, when it becomes an unnecessary burden, should be thrown away; much more so if it is a bad thing. Buddha made it the rule of His life to avoid useless and unnecessary discussions. Things do not come and go; neither do they appear and disappear; therefore, one does not get things or lose things. Buddha teaches that things neither appear nor disappear since they transcend both the affirmation of existence and the denial of existence. That is, everything being a concordance and succession of causes and conditions, a thing in itself does not exist, so it can be said that it is non-existent. At the same time, because it has a relative connection with causes and conditions, it can be said that it is non-existent. To adhere to a thing because of its form is the source of delusion. If the form is not grasped and adhered to, this false imagination and absurd delusion will not occur. Enlightenment is seeing this truth and being free from such a foolish delusion. The world, indeed, is like a dream and the treasures of the world are an alluring mirage. Like the apparent distances in a picture, things have no reality in themselves but are like heat haze. To believe that things created by an incalculable series of causes can last forever is a serious mistake and is called the theory of permanency; but it is just as great a mistake to believe that things completely disappear; this is called the theory of non-existence. These categories of everlasting life and death, and existence and non-existence, do not apply to the essential nature of things, but only to their appearances as they are observed by defiled human eyes. Because of human desire, people become related and attached to these appearances; but in the essential nature of things, they are free from all such discriminations and attachments. Since everything is created by a series of causes and conditions, the appearances of things are constantly changing; that is, there is no consistency about it as there should be about authentic substances. It is because of this constant changing of appearances that we liken things to a mirage and a dream. But, in spite of this constant changing in appearances, things, in their essential spiritual nature, are constant and changeless. To a man, a river seems like a river, but to a hungry demon which sees fire in water, it may seem to be like fire. Therefore, to speak to a man about a river existing would have some sense, but to the demon it would have no meaning. In like manner, it can be said that things are like illusions; they can be said neither to be existent nor non-existent. Yet, it can not be said that, apart from this world of change and appearance, there is another world of permanence and truth. It is a mistake to regard this world as either a temporal world or as a real one. But ignorant people of this world assume that this is a real world and proceed to act upon that absurd assumption. But as this world is only an illusion, their acts, beings based upon error, only lead them into harm and suffering. A wise man, recognizing  that the world is but an illusion, does not act as if it were real, so he escapes the suffering.
Who founded Buddhism? Buddhism originated approximately 2,500 years ago in northern India (Now Nepal) with the supreme Enlightenment of and subsequent teachings by Sakyamuni Buddha. Born around 600BC to King Suddodhana, ruler of the Sakya clan, Sakymuni Buddha was originally named Prince Siddartha Guautama. In childhood he led a pampered life of royal wealth sheltered from the world's miseries. But, when as a young man he was at last allowed to venture from the palace, he saw four sights: A decrepit old man, a person wracked with disease, a corpse, and a monk. He thus learned of life's inevitable sufferings (old age, sickness, and death) and the transience of all worldly pleasure. He also saw that the wise monastic had found peace in spite of life's ills. Determined to find a way to be free from these troubles, Prince Siddhartha renounced his crown and family, and embarked on his journey to seek the truth. After years of cultivation, he attained supreme
Enlightenment and was thence known as Sakyamuni (meaning "sage of the Sakya clan") Buddha. Out of endless compassion, Sakyamuni shared his teachings so that others could also discover the Middle Path to end all suffering.
Who and/or what do Buddhists worship? Buddhists trust in 1). The Buddha - as a great teacher and exemplar 2). The Dharma, ie. The Buddha's teachings as guide to Enlightenment and essential truth, and 3). The Sangha, ie. The Buddhist community, particularly monastics who teach the Dharma and guide one along the path to Enlightenment, Veneration of "Triple Gem" is central to Buddhist life.
What is a Buddha? A Buddha is not a god, but rather one who, through complete wisdom and compassion, has attained full Enlightenment and is thus beyond the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. A Buddha exemplifies the highest form of morality and is the supreme teacher showing people the way to relieve suffering. The word "Buddha" is derived from the root budh meaning "to awaken and be aware or completely conscious of." Buddhists believe that all beings have the Buddha nature, ie. The potential to become a Buddha. Cultivating and awakening this potential is what Buddhism is all about. According to the Mahayana thoughts, there are many Buddhas. When Buddhists speak of "the Buddha," however, they are usually referring to Sakyamuni Buddha, the founder of Buddhism.

What is a Buddhisattva? "Bodhi" means "Enlightenment," "sattva" means "sentient being." A Bodhisattva is one who is following the path to Enlightenment. In so doing, a Bodhisattva altruistically chooses to put off his/her own final stage of Enlightenment in order to completely alleviate the suffering of others. He/she practices the virtues of generosity, morality, renunciation, wisdom, energy, patience, truthfulness, determination, loving-kindness, and even-mindedness to perfection and without self-interest. There are said to be an infinite number of Bidhisattvas. Mahayana Buddhists place particular emphasis on the importance of Bodhisattvas and the Bodhisattva Path as the way to realise one's Buddha nature.
Do Buddhists believe in heaven and hell? Buddhist cosmology includes a variety of heavens and hells into which a being may be born. Existence in any of them, however long, is not forever. Thus, one can "fall" from a heaven of "rise" from a hell. Buddhist texts contain vivid descriptions of different heavens and hells which, from one perspective, make them appear as actual locations. On another level, because heavens and hells arise due to the relative presence of absence of the Three Poisions (ignorance, anger, and greed), they are also part of the human world. Heavens should not be confused with what Buddhists call Nirvana. While heavens may be enjoyable, they are not complete liberation from ignorance, anger, and greed, and are thus still part of the life-death cycle. Nirvana, however, is perfectly free from the Three Poisons, and is therefore outside of realms of existence. It is often said that Nirvana is the ultimate goal of Buddhist. One school of Mahayana Buddhism looks to the Western Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha as the best possible realm in which to be reborn. Being purified of imperfections, the Western Paradise is also called the Pure Land. More generally, the Pure Land refers to a place conducive to self-cultivation. A Master was once asked, "when are we in the Pure Land?" He replied. "when inside everybody there exists a pure heart and a clear mind full of kind thoughts, then we are in a Pure Land."
What is the Buddhist concept of rebirth? Buddhists view death as existing one realm of existence and entering another. The cycle of rebirth into countless lives continues until final Enlightenment and Nirvana occur. Rebirth is not the same as reincarnation, as Buddhists do not perceive an eternal soul which migrates to a new physical form. Rather, the body and mind are continually changing, death is merely another change. While body and mind are impermanent, they are also interrelated throughout time and space. Every voluntary action produced by one's body, speech, and mind will have consequences, either in the current life or a future one. This is the principle of karma and it incorporates what Buddhists know as the Law of Cause and Effect. Karma is thus a system of ethics which maintains that good deeds result in positive effects, while bad deeds produce negative results. If a voluntary action is said to be a seed, then the outcome is the fruit.
What is the significance of prayer to Buddhists? Prayers allows one to repent past transgressions and vow not to repeat them. While there are no prescribed times of prayer, Buddhists usually pray daily in the morning and/or evening, as well as before meals. Many Buddhists use prayer beads as a guide when reciting Buddha's name. The 108 beads on a traditional rosary are often divided into four sections of 27 beads, with each section being marked by a smaller bead. The tied off ends of some rosaries have three little beads together signifying the Triple Gem. The cord stringing all the beads together can be said to represent the strength of the Buddha's teachings. Prayer bracelets of fewer than 108 beads are also frequently used.
Now that all the worlds are free of dust, all protectors come down to it. Reciting the marvelous mantras, may I receive their secret compassion!
The wickedness I committed endlessly through greed, hatred, and ignorance, with body, speech, and thoughts, I now repent it all with confession.
Confessing to having killed living beings, I make my body pure with compassion.  Confessing to having taken what was not given, I make by body pure with generosity.  Confessing to have done sexual misconduct, I make my body pure with contentment.  Confessing to have spoken false speech, I make my mouth clean with truthful words.  Confessing to have spoken malicious speech, I make my mouth clean with harmonious words.  Confessing to have spoken harsh speech, I make my mouth clean with gentle words.  Confessing to have spoken gossip, I make my mouth clean with meaningful words.  Confessing to have been covetous, I make my mind clean with open-heartedness.  Confessing to have been hateful, I make my mind clear with loving-kindness.  Confessing to have been ignorant, I make my mind clear with understanding.  Let me purify all my faults! Let me purify my speaking!
The Dharma is profound, peaceful, and subtle. It is hard to see and understand it all. Now I hear it, study it, and practice it. May I understand the true Dharma of the Buddha. Let me open the doors of the Dharma!
Now I open the Great Dharani granting the great, perfect, unbound compassion of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, saving this world with his thousand hands and eyes.
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October 3, 2003