Mindfulness Means Life

iBuddhist — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 06:47:17 +0000

Queen Samavati and her ladies-in-waiting all wanted to go andpay homage to the Buddha but feared that the king wouldnot approve. So they made holes in the walls of their living quartersfrom which they could see the Buddha as he passed by the palaceand bow their heads in reverence to him.Another consort in the king’s harem, however, was of a differentmind. She despised the Buddha. She had never forgotten howher father had once offered her hand in marriage to him and howhe had flatly refused. She had felt so humiliated that she vowed tomake him pay dearly for it one day.Her chance had finally come, she thought, upon discoveringwhat the queen and her maids were up to. She went and lied to theking saying that the Buddha was secretly seeing Queen Samavatibehind his back. She then took the king to see the holes in the wallsfor himself. But when the king asked his queen to account for them,he remained satisfied with her reply and let the matter drop.The consort then decided that if she would not be able to takeout her revenge on the Buddha himself, she would take it out on hisadmirers. This she did by trying to make the king believe that QueenSamavati and her maids were plotting to kill him. She first warnedthe king to beware of the ladies’ treachery, and then went and hid asnake in his lute. When the king picked it up to play, the snake cameout hissing at him, ready to strike. It took little else to convince theking that his consort was indeed telling him the truth.He went to Queen Samavati’s chambers and commanded herand her maids to stand up all in a row. He then shot poisonedarrows at them. No matter how hard he tried, however, he missedthem all, for the arrows seemed to veer away from their intendedtargets all by themselves. This proved to the king that the ladies were all pure and innocent, and to show remorse for his mistake, he allowed the ladies to invite the Buddha and his monks to the palace for a meal. The wicked consort, in the meantime, was beside herself with frustration and rage, but she was not about ready to give up. Next, she devised what she considered to be a foolproof plan. She asked an uncle to set ﬁre to Samavati’s quarters while the women were all inside. As the building went up in ﬂames, however, the queen and her attendants did not ﬂinch. They continued to mindfully meditate and succeeded in reaching the higher levels of spiritual attainment before they ﬁnally died. The king at once suspected that his consort was the one behind the disaster and wanted to prove it. He said in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, “Whoever has done this is my savior and should be richly rewarded. Up to now I have lived in the fear of being murdered by my own wife, but now I am free and can sleep in peace.”

The foolish consort immediately revealed her and her uncle’s part in the horrendous crime, anxious for the king’s favors. The king feigned delight at her confession and asked her to invite her entire family to the palace where they would be honored. Once assembled, however, they were all put to death. When it was reported to the Buddha how the queen and her attendants had died, he told them that those who were mindful did not die. It was those not mindful who, even though still alive, were as good as dead.

Mindfulness is the way to the Deathless (Nibbana), unmindfulness the way to Death. Those who are mindful do not die, and those who are not are as if already dead.

The Life of The Buddha Gautama

iBuddhist — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 09:48:42 +0000

Moved by compassion to take birth among man
Before the Buddha was born into this world, he was a bodhisattva in the heavens - a being destined by his karma for full Enlightenment. From here he witnessed the dark ages engulfing the human realm, leading to its spiritual poverty. Moved by compassion, he vowed to take birth in the world and relieve mankind from their sufferings.

Queen Maya's Dream
When it was time for his rebirth in the human realm, he chose Suddhodana and his wife, Mayadevi, rulers of the Sakya clan, as his future parents. This generous couple was well known throughout the land for their just and noble bearing. The bodhisattva's descent from the heavens occurred as a dream to Mayadevi. In this dream, a white elephant approached and touched her right side with its trunk. During this night, the bodhisattva entered the womb of Mayadevi and she became pregnant. The palace fortunetellers explained that the dream announced the queen's pregnancy, and that the newborn would possess exceptional traits of character.

The Birth of Siddhartha
Mayadevi successfully carried her pregnancy for the full term without any complications or pain. Near the end of her pregnancy, she decided to travel to her parental home to have the baby there with her mother, an ancient custom that is still practiced today. It was the day of the full moon in the month of May. The weather was turning warm and so when she came upon a pleasant grove near the village of Lumbini, she saw the gardens overflowing with a rich profusion of green leaves and flowers and decided to rest. The queen instructed her party to camp among the shady trees. She stepped out of her palanquin and reached to grasp one of the branches of a flowering tree. No sooner had she done so than she felt the throes of birth. Standing thus, with her hand to the branch, she delivered her child, and the the baby destined to be the Buddha was born in the gardens.

Present to witness this momentous birth were the deities and gods. The advent of the newborn was accompanied by many miraculous events and a great cry of rejoicing rose through the heavens and were heard in the surrounding lands. The joyful father gave the baby the name 'Siddhartha,' meaning 'accomplisher of aims.' He was also called 'Gautama,' which was his clan name. Later he would also be called Sakyamuni or the sage of the Sakya clan.

A Youth Dedicated to the Mastery of Learning and Athletics
A week after giving birth, Mayadevi died, and her sister Mahapajapati raised the prince. As the son of the king, Siddhartha was provided with the finest upbringing and the greatest luxuries. He received the finest education and mastered all lessons taught to him. In his younger years, he excelled in sports and other contests of skill. The vigorous training befitted the grooming of a future monarch. He was said to particularly excel on the horse and with the bow. He enjoyed all the pleasures of youth but even so he was already known for his wisdom and compassion.

At the early age of sixteen, he married his beautiful cousin of equal age, Yasodhara. For nearly thirteen years, after his happy marriage, he led a luxurious life, blissfully ignorant of the vicissitudes of life outside the palace gates. Of his luxurious life as prince, he states:

"I was delicate, excessively delicate. In my father's dwelling three lotus-ponds were made purposely for me. Blue lotuses bloomed in one, red in another, and white in another. I used no sandal-wood that was not of Kasi. My turban, tunic, dress and cloak, were all from Kasi."
"Night and day a white parasol was held over me so that I might not be touched by heat or cold, dust, leaves or dew."

"There were three palaces built for me -- one for the cold season, one for the hot season, and one for the rainy season. During the four rainy months, I lived in the palace for the rainy season without ever coming down from it, entertained all the while by female musicians. Just as, in the houses of others, food from the husks of rice together with sour gruel is given to the slaves and workmen, even so, in my father's dwelling food with rice and meat was given to the slaves and workmen."

With the progress of time, he gradually realised that life is always accompanied with sorrow. He thought to himself:

"Why do I, being subject to birth, decay, disease, death, sorrow and impurities, thus search after things of like nature. How, if I, who am subject to things of such nature, realize their disadvantages and seek after the unattained unsurpassed, perfect security which is Nibbana!" "Cramped and confined is household life, a den of dust, but the life of the homeless one is as the open air of heaven! Hard is it for him who bides at home to live out as it should be lived the Holy Life in all its perfection, in all its purity."

His contemplative nature and boundless compassion no longer permitted him to spend his time in the mere enjoyment of the fleeting pleasures of the Royal palace. He knew no personal grief but he felt a deep pity for suffering humanity.

The Renunciation of Worldly Life
Having made the decision, Siddhartha requested his father to allow him to proceed in his quest for truth. On hearing of the prince's resolve, his father became extremely anxious and entreated him to revert his decision. However, when Siddhartha heard that a child had been born to him, he decided to make a final break. He left the luxurious palace of his father, leaving behind his devoted wife and son.

The first thing Gautama did after leaving his father's palace was to cut off his long and beautiful hair with his sword. He also exchanged his princely clothes for robes of rags and set forth into the wilderness for a new life in a quest for liberation.

The Six Years of Austerities
Wandering in his search for Enlightenment, Siddhartha came to a pleasant hermitage by a lovely river, where, for six years, he joined five other ascetics in a way of discipline based on progressively severe fasting. Consequently, his bones stuck out like a row of spindles, and when he touched his stomach, he could almost feel his spine. His hair fell out and his skin became withered.

But all this was in vain. However severe his austerities, he gained no real insight into the mysteries of life. He had to face the fact that asceticism had failed to advance him in his quest. He was exhausted from his practice, but one day he heard a passing musician tuning his lute, the strings of which were pulled neither too tight nor left too slack. It dawned upon him that even as he has enjoyed the extreme of sensual pleasure, physical austerity is the other, and that the 'Middle Way' between these two extremes is the path to Enlightenment.

He thus slowly rose, and went to bathe in the river. He crossed over to the far bank where a village girl offered him a bowl of milk rice. It was the first rich food he had accepted in a long time and it instantly restored his body to strength.

Thus nourished, Siddhartha sat under the great and shady bodhi tree near the village of Gaya, just south of the great Himalayas, to make his last bid for liberation. Absorbing himself fully in meditation, he vowed not to move from that spot until he had fulfilled his quest.

The Enlightenment
Hearing this solemn vow, Mara, the manifestation of death and desire, felt threatened. Mara's power over sentient beings originated from their attachment to sensuous pleasures and the consequent fear of death which leads to intense suffering. Enlightenment would free Siddhartha from Mara's control and provide an opportunity for others to free themselves also by emulating him.

Mara first sent his three beautiful daughters named Desire, Hatred and Lust. However, Siddhartha had already disengaged himself from these defilements of the mind and thus remained unmoved. This prompted Mara to attempted to intimidate Siddhartha with fear by generating an army of wrathful and hideous creatures, the very personifications of death. But all through these tribulations, Siddhartha sat calm and unflinching, and Mara's weapons fell uselessly before Siddhartha. Mara had no other recourse than to withdraw. Thus was cleared the final hurdle on the way to Siddhartha's enlightenment. As Siddhartha meditated under the bodhi tree, he came to understand the nature of existence and discovered a path that led to release from the inherent suffering we all experience. He also recalled his past lives and saw that we are all born many times and the conditions we are born into are dependent on our thoughts and actions. Finally on this full moon night in the month of May he broke through the bonds of ignorance and delusion and attained to unsurpassed liberation of the mind - full Enlightenment. As he was alone with no one to witness this momentous event, he called the Earth itself to be his witness by touching the ground with his right hand

"In the world including gods there is no rival to me. Indeed an Arahant am I in this world. An unsurpassed teacher am I; alone am I the All-Enlightened. Cool and appeased am I. To establish the wheel of Dhamma, to the city of Kasi I go. In this blind world I shall beat the drum of deathlessness. ~ Ariyapariyesana Sutta"

The Proclamation of the Teachings
Having gained Enlightenment, Gautama came to be called the Buddha; the Awakened One, indicating the unique quality of his mind. Initially he was hesitant to teach others of his achievement, doubting that people would be able to realise or understand the deep and profound nature of his realisations. But the god Brahma entreated him to teach saying that there were beings 'with little dust in their eyes' who would be able to understand his teachings. He first went up to Sarnath where he met the five disciples who were his previous companions. Though they had deserted him after he had given up the practice of asceticism, the awesome aura from the Buddha now attracted them. Here, he gave his first sermon setting in motion the wheel of the Dhamma as he expounded the doctrine of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. Hearing his discourse, they became his first followers. Kondanna, one of the five was the first to destroy the lesser fetters in his mind and became the first saintly disciple of the Buddha.
"But when Awakened Ones arise in the world, bringing light to the world, they proclaim the Dhamma leading to the stilling of stress.~ Vippalasa Sutta"

Over the next 45 years, the Buddha traveled great distances traversing the Ganges valley and teaching people from all classes of society. These were princes, noblemen, warriors, beggars, prostitutes, traders and children. Following the Buddha's instructions thousands were ordained as monks and nuns. These monks and nuns as well as many lay people, following the Buddha's instructions were able to purify their mind of delusion and also attain to Enlightenment, thus liberating themselves from the bonds of existence.

"Just as the ocean has one taste, the taste of salt, even so, this Dhamma has one taste too, the taste of freedom ~ Udana 56"

The Final Passing into Parinibbana
After a career that brought him to the age of 80 Buddha finally reached the city of Kusinara, where he asked his disciples to spread a couch for him in a grove of trees. He laid there, reclining on his right side, facing west, with his head supported by his hand.
He realised clearly that death was approaching. Towards midnight of the same day, the event known in Buddhist terminology as the Parinibbana, or "Final Nirvana," took place. It was another full-moon night. The Enlightened One brought his mind through various planes of meditation until he passed away into final liberation from this existence. The trees burst into full bloom even though it was out of season, and showered the entire grove with their flowers. And the world was like a mountain whose summit has been shattered by a thunderbolt; it was like the sky without the moon.

"Open to all are the doors to the Deathless. Let those who will hear respond with faith. ~ Ariyapariyesana Sutta"

The Scholar Monk and The Arahat

iBuddhist — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 19:41:07 +0000

Once there were two men who entered the monkhood at the same time but who followed different aspirations. One studied the sacred doctrines until he attained such a proficiency in them that quite a number of admiring students gathered around him to hear him teach. The other practiced very hard and eventually became an arahat with great spiritual insights. One day, the two bhikkhus happened to meet each other for they had gone to see the Buddha at the same time. The proud master of the sacred texts, however, had no idea that the monk he just met was already one of high spiritual attainments. Treating him with disdain, as he did most monks, the scholar wanted to embarrass the arahat in front of everyone by asking him questions from the texts which he was sure the arahat would not be able to answer. What the scholar did not know, however, was that whoever brought harm in any form upon an arahat would end up being reborn in a lower world. To prevent that from happening, the Buddha decided to choose and ask the questions himself. He put questions concerning the higher states of meditation to the scholar monk who, of course, could not answer them because he had not practised what he had recited and preached. On the other hand, the second bhikkhu had no problem with the questions, answering them humbly but yet with evident authority. When the questioning session was over, the Buddha praised the arahat generously, but made no mention of the learned scholar.
The other bhikkhus wondered why the Buddha praised the arahat and not the illustrous teacher. The Buddha explained to them that although the first bhikkhu was well versed in and 10 knowledgeable of the sacred scriptures, he did not live in accordance with the Dhamma. The Buddha compared him to a cowherd who tended somebody else’s cows only to earn money and so did not get to drink any of the cows’ milk, while the one who practised the Dhamma was like the owner who enjoyed not only his cows’ milk but all the dairy products that could be made from it as well. Similarly, the scholar monk only enjoyed whatever services his pupils afforded him but not the benefits of sainthood. On the other hand, though the arahat could barely recite anything from the sacred scriptures, through his diligent practise he had come to understand the essence of the Dhamma and so no longer harbored any greed, hatred, or delusion in his mind. He thus truly reaped the benefits of sainthood.

Quote:

Though a person recites much of the sacred texts, but is negligent and does not practise according to the Dhamma, he cannot share the blessings of the holy life, just as a cowherd, counting other people’s cows, cannot taste the milk that comes from them.

Though a person recites only a little of the sacred texts, but practises according to the Dhamma and becomes truly wise, thus forsaking lust, hatred, and delusion, and no longer clinging to anything of this or any other world, he indeed shares the benefits of the holy life.

The Cruel Butcher

iBuddhist — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 19:32:16 +0000

There was a butcher who was a very mean and wicked man. Never in his life had he ever done any meri- ous deeds. His job was slaughtering pigs and he loved it, often torturing them mercilessly before putting them to death.
One day he got very sick and ﬁnally died, but before he died he suﬀered such agony that he crawled around on his hands and knees for days, squealing and grunting like a pig being slaughtered. It so happened that the butcher’s home was within ear’s reach of the monastery where the Buddha and his monks were staying. When the bhikkhus heard the desperate squeals coming from his house, they assumed that the miserable butcher was at his cruel work again and shook their heads in great disapproval. The squeals and grunts went on for sev- eral days until, one day, they stopped just as suddenly as they had begun. The monks could not help but remark to each other how wicked and hard-hearted the butcher was for hav- ing caused his poor animals so much pain and suﬀering. The Buddha overheard what they were saying and said, “Bhikkhus, the butcher was not slaughtering his pigs. He was very ill and in such great pain that he was acting like the pigs he used to enjoy inﬂicting pain upon. His bad kamma had ﬁnally caught up with him. Today he died and was reborn in a woeful state of existence.”

The Buddha then exhorted his disciples to be alert at doing good, for anyone who did evil deeds would have to suﬀer for them. There was no way to escape from one’s evil deeds, he warned his disciples.

Quote:

Here he grieves, hereafter he grieves. The evil- doer grieves in both existences. He grieves and he suﬀers anguish when he remembers his impure deeds.

The Lady and The Ogress

iBuddhist — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 19:09:29 +0000

Once there was a man who was becoming impatient with his wife for not being able to bear him any children. At the same time, his wife was becoming increasingly anxious because she was not able to give him the children he longed for. Fearing that her husband would one day abandon her, she coaxed him into taking another wife. But each time she learned that the new wife was pregnant, she causedher to miscarry by putting some drugs into her food.
The second wife eventually figured out what was goingon, but it was too late to do anything about it, for shewas already near death’s door from being poisoned so often.Before she finally died, however, she swore that she wouldpay the first wife back for all the suffering she was causedshould their paths cross again in future lives.And indeed their paths did cross again. Once they werereborn as a cat and a hen, and another time as a leopardessand a doe, and each time they were after each other’s offsprings,creating more and more hatred between themselves.
Finally, they were reborn as the daughter of a nobleman andan ogress.One day, the ogress in all her fury was chasing after thenobleman’s daughter and her baby. The mother, in desperation,fled to the monastery where the Buddha was stayingand begged the Buddha to save her child from the hungryogress.

The Buddha, instead, admonished her, as well as theogress, for the folly of their unabated vengeance. He thenrelated to them how their mutual hatred began and how,because of that hatred, they had been killing off each other’sbabies in their successive lifetimes. He made them realizethat hatred only caused more hatred, and that hatredceased only through goodwill and compassion. The ladyand the ogress then felt great remorse for their past actionsand asked each other for forgiveness. In that way, after manylifetimes of unbroken rivalry filled with hatred, they finallymade peace with each other.

Quote:

Hatred in the world is indeed never appeasedby hatred. It is appeased only by loving kindness.
This is an ancient law.

The meaning of the 7 days Buddha images

iBuddhist — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 12:03:43 +0000

Traditionally it is believed that Buddha spent 7 days following his enlightenment thinking of the suffering of all living creatures and how unimportant his life was prior to reaching enlightenment.

When visiting a Thai Temple you may be interested to look at the many Buddha images and their different poses, which depict significant moments in the Buddha’s life, whilst most Buddha images feature the Buddha in meditation, there are more than 100 different poses, There are also some postures that each represent the 7 days of the week, and Thai people pay particular attention to the Buddha image which corresponds to the day they were born and assigned a different color each day.

SUNDAY
Buddha name: Phra Tawai Natra (Restraint)
Representing an Open-Eye posture, the Buddha stands with hands crossed over his abdomen, in pensive thought. The right hand is placed over the left on the upper thigh. Here, the enlightened Buddha contemplates his achievements and knowledge, standing still for 7 days under the Bodhi Tree to contemplate the suffering of all living things.

A person born on a Sunday is respectable, wise, loved by friends and family. He is likely to be in a professional occupation. His lucky day is Wednesday and lucky color is green while the unlucky day is Friday and unlucky color is blue.

MONDAY
Buddha name: Phra Ham Yath (Making peace)
This is a standing Buddha pose, with the left hand hanging down by the side. The right hand is raised at the chest, palm
facing outwards, in a singe-handed gesture. This posture represents “Preventing Calamities”, which is also known as
“Pacifying the Relatives.”

A person born on a Monday is serious with a good memory and a love of travel. This person is likely to be in a skilled occupation whose lucky day is Saturday and lucky color is black. His unlucky day is Sunday and unlucky color is orange.

TUESDAY
Buddha name: Phra Sai Yas (Reclining)
A reclining Buddha posture. The Buddha lies on his right side with his left arm draped along the body and the right arm acting as a pillow, propping up the head. One of the most dramatic and breathtaking reclining Buddha images can be found at Wat Pho
in Bangkok.

This person is serious, brave and active most probably in the services. His lucky day is Thursday and lucky color is yellow. The unlucky day is Monday and the unlucky color is white.

WEDNESDAY
Buddha name: Phra Um Bhat
There are two images that represent Wednesday, divided into day and night according to Thai astrology.

The Morning is for Receiving.
The Buddha is standing with heels pressed together, holding an alms bowl at waist height, with both hands wrapped around it,
This image shows Buddha holding an alms bowl. The Buddha visited his family after four years in the monastery. His father was not content when he saw the Buddha “begged” for food holding an alms bowl. Buddha explained to his father that performing pindabat, or holding an alms bow are the lineage of Buddha. Thus, the disciples can devote their food.

The person born on Wednesday morning is polite, artistic and emotional. He is most likely working creatively. Wednesday night is their lucky time and the lucky color is green. His unlucky day is Tuesday and the unlucky color is pink.

The Evening is for the Blessed One
The Buddha seated to receive gifts from a monkey and an elephant. As Buddhism teaches respect for everything living this posture shows the respect of all living things for the Buddha.

This person is hard working and honest. He is likely to be employed in a profession with the lucky day of Monday and the
color white. The unlucky day is Thursday and the unlucky color is yellow.

THURSDAY
Buddha name: Phra Samathi (Meditation)
This sitting Buddha image is one of restful meditation, with legs crossed (right leg on top of the left) and both hands resting on the top, with the right hand over the left, both palms upwards. This is the perfect mental discipline. The gesture is the ultimate balance of tranquility and thoughts. It is believed that the body in the position is receptive to power or energy to enter the body from the top of the head and the opening palms.

This person is peaceful, calm and honest –likely to be a teacher or in the legal profession. His lucky day is Sunday and the lucky color is orange. The unlucky day is Saturday and the unlucky color is black

FRIDAY
Buddha name: Phra Ram Pueng (Contemplation)
The posture depicts the Buddha standing at the Banyan Tree, both hands are crossed at the chest (right over left), palms facing inwards, wondering how he can explain the cause of suffering to his followers.

This person is fun loving, friendly and ambitious, probably an entertainer or public figure. Their lucky day is Tuesday and the lucky color is pink. The unlucky time is Wednesday night and the unlucky color is light green.

SATURDAY
Buddha name: Phra Naga Prok (Protection)
This dramatic statute depicts the Buddha sitting in meditation, protected by a cobra hood. The Buddha sits cross-legged in meditation, with overlapping hands, palms upwards, whilst Mucalinda, the cobra (King of Naga) spread its hood to protect
the Buddha from a rainstorm while he was in profound meditation.

This person is calm, logical and a bit of a recluse. He is very likely engaged in manual work of a skilled nature. The lucky day is Friday and the lucky color is blue. The unlucky day is Wednesday during the daytime with the unlucky color of green.

The Story of The Buddha's Life and Teachings

iBuddhist — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 11:33:01 +0000

Categories

Mindfulness Means Life

The Life of The Buddha Gautama

The Scholar Monk and The Arahat

The Cruel Butcher

The Lady and The Ogress

The meaning of the 7 days Buddha images

The Story of The Buddha's Life and Teachings