If you keep your practice steady, morning and night, summer and winter, there is nothing you can not do and nothing that can harm you. — Upasakasila Sutra The Importance of Being Steady Laziness and fear of work will get you into trouble no matter where they appear. Laziness is a basic animal tendency that…
“To bear disgrace and insult” is the most important virtue a person can possibly cultivate, because the ability to forbear is enormously powerful, since a moment of anger can destroy an entire lifetime of merits. By restraining our emotions, we have a better chance of avoiding confrontation and gaining control of the situation at hand.…
To “commit” is to give assurance to others and to make a conscientious effort to deliver a promise. To instill credibility and trustworthiness, we must honor our words. Confucius once said, “One without credibility is like a large vehicle without a brake pedal, or a small carriage without axles. How can one go anywhere?” Living…
Life is the most precious thing in the world, so it is imperative that we respect it in all its forms. Not only must we have regard for human life, we must also respect animal life and the life of any organism in our ecosystem. The worst offense a person can ever commit is to violate the life of others, or even to cause harm to the environment.
Chan is meditation throughout our lives. When we live with Chan, the taste of food and feel of clothes will change. We will not feel difficulty when dealing with our affairs. Any matter can be laughed away. The human world has its ups and down, but when we have a Chan mind it is like…
Birth and death are realities of life. Regardless of who we are, we cannot escape either one. While birth is celebrated, death is feared by most. In order to cope with our fear, we often seek comfort in religion. Although each of the world’s major religious traditions has its own teaching concerning death, Buddhism is…