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| Beware of the eight winds that will divert you from your path! - fear of pain - desire for pleasure - fear of loss - desire for gain - fear of blame - desire for praise - fear of disgrace - desire for fame |
| Some of the Buddha's teachings: "Free yourself from pleasure and pain, for in craving pleasure or in nursing pain there is only sorrow. Love nothing lest you lose it, lest it bring you grief and fear. Go beyond love and hate....Free yourself from attachment." from the Dhammapada "Abandon wrongdoing. It can be done. If there were no likelihood, I would not ask you to do it. But since it is possible and since it brings about blessing and happiness, I do ask of you; abandon wrongdoing. Cultivate doing good. It can be done. If it brought deprivation and sorrow, I would not ask you to do it. But since it brings blessing and happiness, I do ask of you; cultivate doing good." from the Anguttara Nikaya "You yourself must make the effort, the awakened only point the way. Those who have entered the path and who meditate free themselves from the bonds of illusion. Everything is changing. Things come and go. The one who realizes this is freed from sorrow. This is the shining path. To exist is to suffer. Realize this and be free from suffering. This is the radiant path. There is no separate self to suffer. The one who understands this is free. This is the path of clarity." from the Dhammapada "Let me tell you about the middle path. Dressing in rough and dirty garments, letting your hair grow matted, abstaining from eating any meat or fish, does not cleanse the one who is deluded. Mortifying the flesh through excessive hardship does not lead to a triumph over the senses. All self-inflicted suffering is useless as long as the feeling of self is dominant. You should lose your involvement with your self, and then eat and drink naturally, according to the needs of your body. Attachment to your appetites, whether you deprive or indulge them, can lead to slavery, but satisfying the needs of daily life is not wrong." from Discourse II "Serene in body, speech and mind, when all the world's cravings are set aside, you will know yourself as tranquil. Rouse yourself to examine yourself, be watchful and intent, guard this tranquility and live happily." from the Dhammapada "Cultivate a meditation on loving-kindness, for by cultivating loving-kindness, ill will is banished forever. Cultivate too a meditation on compassion, for by cultivating compassion, you will find harm and cruelty disappear." from the Majjhima Nikaya "Yet the teaching is simple: Cease to do evil, learn to do good, and purify your mind. Hurt none by word or deed. Be moderate in satisfying your needs. Live in inner solitude and seek the deepest consciousness. This is the teaching." from the Dhammapada |
| The Four Reflections that turn the mind towards the Dharma: - the preciousness of human life and consciousness - the impermanence of all things - the law of cause and effect (karma) - the defects of worldly life [dharma = teaching] |
| "Ordinary people have cravings; they love, hate, and desire; they are selfish and ignorant; their every thought is attached to things; their minds bubble like a boiling pot. How can they be cleared and cooled? Much of what the ancient sages had to think about was this. So they set up the three studies of self-discipline, meditation, and knowledge, in order to help people control themselves, so that they might be reformed and restored." Wanan |
| "Kindness is my religion." the Dalai Lama |
| "As an ancient teacher once said, "When studying the Way, realizing it is hard; once you have realized it, preserving it is hard. When you can preserve it, putting it into practice is hard." Generally speaking, realization and preservation are a matter of diligent effort and firm perserverance, striving on your own alone. But practice requires an equanimous mind and a commitment to lose yourself and help others. If the mind is not even and the commitment is not firm, then giving and receiving will be reversed, and you will degenerate into a common priest - this is something to beware of." Linyuan |
| "All living things bear within themselves the essence of Buddha." |