The first realization of The Eight Realizations of a Bodhisatttva Sutra is concerned with what is generally called the Buddha’s view of this world. This first realization is a description of the basic features of the world we live in. The points made in this realization are made in many other Buddhist sutras. The Buddha…
Master Zhiyi’s “six wonderful methods” describe four different kinds of specialized breathing: bellowing winds, broken panting, low-pitched breathing, and internalized breathing. 1. Bellowing Winds“Bellowing Winds” describes when one’s inhalations become more and more powerful. As the breathing becomes deeper and longer it can become very loud. This is because, once the power of one’s concentration…
Buddhism says we should see friends and enemies as equal. This means we should learn to tolerate unfriendly people, unideal environments, and language that is hard on the ears. There is a saying, “When working, you wish to do what is hard. When living with others, you should wish to live with those who are difficult.” If a task is difficult, do it without hesitation.
Harmful attachments are often described in Buddhist literature as impediments or hindrances because they block our view of the truth and prevent us from seeing our own Buddha nature.
Though the worlds that we see are fundamentally a product of our own minds, they usually do not appear this way to us. Like images in an intense dream, our perceptions appear to be wholly real to us, and not to have been generated by our own mental activity. For this reason, the Buddha taught…
Throughout history, there have been great men and women who have forgiven their enemies because they have understood and appreciated the beauty of magnanimity. It is out of generosity and kindness that they have chosen forgiveness over resentment. Therefore, we cannot criticize them as being ignorant of the differences between right and wrong or good and evil. Instead, we should strive to be more like them by releasing our hatred and replacing it with compassion.