Buddha as Mind

One invocation to Buddha Amitabha, if uttered properly, will immediately cause the six sense organs to become clean and clear. For instance, now while in the period of Amidist practice, the organ of sight will be clean and pure as we always look at and see the Buddha. The organ of hearing will be clean and pure as we inhale the aroma of incense. The tongue will be clean and pure as we recite Buddha's name incessantly. The body will be clean and pure as we face and worship Buddha all day long in a clean and pure place.The mind will be clean and pure as we contemplate and think of Buddha.

When the six sense organs are clean and pure, the three karmas are so cleansed; the physical evils of killing, stealing, and lust will no longer exist, nor the oral evils of hypocritical, harsh, lying or suggestive speech. There will be no involvement in the mental evils of avarice, hatred, and delusion. The Ten Good Karmas [25] will immediately be practiced. A follower of Buddha finds it most difficult to curb the evil karmas committed by the body, tongue and mind. However, with one invocation of Buddha Amitabha's name, these three evils will be checked. Eventually, perception and contemplation will be fully developed and preparation for entering the Pure Land will grow. One will surely be reborn in the Western Paradise when this present life comes to an end.

Ordinary people usually consider it difficult to become a Buddha. In fact, it is not so difficult. Both Buddhas and ordinary sentient beings are invariably molded Out of perception and contemplation. In one thought, Buddhas pervade the ten Dharma Worlds.[26] Likewise, a sentient being also pervades ten Dharma Worlds in one thought. If avarice arises at one thought, he is, indeed, a hungry ghost. If hatred arises at one thought, he is a hell-dweller. If delusion arises at one thought, he is a beast. If doubt and arrogance arise at one thought, he is an asura, a malevolent spirit. If one's thoughts fall on the five virtues regarding human relationships, as well as the Five Precepts, he will enter the world of humans. If his thoughts fall on the ten Good Karmas, he will be reborn in heaven. If his ideas are centered on the Four Noble Truths,[27] he equals the Buddha's immediate disciples. If his mind dwells on the doctrine of Twelve Links of Causation,[28] he is a Pratyekabuddha. If his ideas center on the Six Paramitas,[29] he is a Bodhisattva. If his thoughts dwell on altruism and equality, he is indeed a Buddha.

On the other hand, each person in the world has his own ideas—scholars, farmers, workmen, businessmen, soldiers, public officials, etc.—all have come to their present condition because of previous ideas.One becomes the embodiment of any fixed idea that is held in the mind.

This equally applies to the Amidist. Every day he looks at the Buddha, orally repeats the Buddha's name, physically bows and worships Buddha, mentally contemplates Buddha, and also hears Buddha's name proclaimed. At all times, his thoughts are on rebirth in the Western Paradise. In this way, he will surely be reborn in the Western Paradise, and will surely be able to realize Buddhahood.

~ On Amidism, A Short Discourse By Grand Master T'an Hsu

Mindfulness? Or Concentration?

In class this week, I was asked a very good question: What is the difference between mindfulness and concentration?

First, a similarity.

Whether in mindfulness or concentration, wandering thoughts of what happened yesterday at work or what might happen when my in-laws come to visit next week are gently brushed aside.

The difference?

Mindfulness is being aware of what we are doing and of what is happening around us. When planting seeds in the garden, I am aware of the feel of the dirt, the fragility of the seedlings, the way the water soaks quickly into the loose soil around the seedling. I am aware of, mindful of, the sounds of children playing in the next yard, of the songs of a group of birds in the trees, of the warmth of the sun on my back, and the changing light pattern as clouds drift across the sky.

Concentration is choosing what I will focus on and remaining focused on that. Planting the seedling, I am focused on the holding the seedling. Digging the hole to place it in. I am focused on my digging. Watering the seedling I am absorbed in giving the seedling just the right amount of water. I hear the children and the birds, I feel sun's warmth, and see the changing light, but I brush thoughts of them aside and do not become absorbed in them.

Our Glass of Muddy Water

As I wrote in Up the Mountain, practice is a pattern of progression and regression. Each of us will at some time wake up one day to the realization that we have seriously regressed. Regressing is the bad news. But the good news is that we have realized it. Before we began to seriously practice, we probably weren’t even aware of how we were doing.

Why?

Our minds were filled with so many wandering thoughts we couldn't tell whether we were doing better or not. Now that we have been trying to calm those wandering thoughts, we are more attuned to them. But as we learned in The Merest Shimmer of a Thought, we have a few trillion thoughts in the time it takes to snap our fingers. The ones we are aware of are the largest, the grossest of these. Trying to visualize calming all these thoughts is challenging to say the least. An analogy might help.

Visualize a glass of water filled with muddy water. The water is so dirty we can't see a thing. Since opaque water is what we have become used to, it seems normal. But if we leave the glass alone and allow the water to begin to settle, we see that the water is very slowly beginning to clear. As this happens, we realize that the water is not solid mud, but rather millions of microscopic bits of mud in the water.

Instead of being depressed by thinking “wow there must be a lot of mud in that glass,” think “wow, before I didn’t even realize what the mud was.”

So yes, there has been regression. But at least now, your mind is calm enough to realize it. So you’re still father ahead of where you were when you started.

"Long-lost Friends"

Each of us has had the experience of meeting someone and instantly being drawn to them as if we knew them, as if they were an old friend. This an affinity, a connection to the person that spans uncountable lifetimes. It is possible because we carry the fond memory of them in our most subtle consciousness. They do the same.

When old friends meet again, that deep memory is awakened and it is as if time had never passed...

Things are Often Not What They Seem

Older siblings should befriend the younger ones;

younger siblings should respect and love the older ones.

Siblings getting along well with one another

is a sign of filial piety,

of respecting parents and caring that they are happy.

Jason’s big brother, Patrick, had just received permission to go hiking with his friends on Lookout Mountain. When Jason heard he got all excited and wanted to go along with them. “Patrick, can I please come with you? Please, please, pleeease?”

Patrick looked down and said in his big brother voice, “No Jason, not up the mountain. This trail is much tougher than you’re used to. There’s more climbing on this one.”

Jason was hurt. He admired his brother and liked to do things with him. But lately, Patrick has been spending time with his friends, Alec and Heng. Jason was afraid Patrick was beginning to prefer his new friends to him. “You just don’t want me along!” he sputtered.

Patrick looked at Jason then at Alec and Heng who were close by waiting for him. They had quite a ways to go and needed to get going. He explained, “Jason there are some things you do with your friends, and some things I do with mine. This hike is one of them. Plus, it’s too dangerous for you. I have to go with the guys now. See you later.”

Jason became even more upset. And embarrassed! His older brother, in front of his friends, had just told him he wasn’t good enough to go on the hike! But Patrick and his friends were only a few years older. How could it be okay for them, but dangerous for Jason?

Dejected, Jason watched the three go off. Watching them walk down the road laughing together, he wondered if they were laughing at him. Then he had an idea. He’d follow them and when they turned around to come back, he’d pop out from behind a tree or a rock and surprise them. Then they’d see he was good enough to go along wherever they went.

Jason hurried to follow them. The walking wasn’t hard at all. He’s been on the path before with Patrick and knew the way well. Then he saw them take a trail near the big rock. So this is where they were going. This was so great!

He could follow them easily. There was nothing dangerous about this trail! After several minutes, he saw a stream with a fallen tree trunk going from bank to bank. He ran across it. Now he was feeling really confident. He could hear Patrick and the others ahead of him so he knew he was keeping up.

He went around a bend and saw a stone ledge up ahead. It was steeper than any he had climbed before, but he was sure he could do it. He began to climb and realized it was actually trickier than it looked. There were loose stones all along the way. Jason put his hand up to hold onto the ledge and had to stretch out to put his foot onto the next outcropping. But some of the stones were loose and they shifted under him. He couldn’t hold on. As he fell he cried out. Luckily, he landed on some low bushes and they cushioned his fall. But he felt a sharp pain. It was his foot.

Then he heard a voice, “Jason is that you? Are you okay?” It was Patrick calling down to him.

Jason, feeling a bit breathless and in pain, managed to get out “I’m okay.”

Patrick quickly climbed down to him. Alec and Heng were right behind him. Patrick checked Jason’s arm and legs, but when he touched Jason’s foot, Jason gave a very loud, “Ow!”

“It doesn’t look broken, but you probably twisted it. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.” Relieved that it was nothing serious, Patrick relaxed and with that angrily demanded, “Why did you follow us? I told you not to. What were you thinking? ”

Jason didn’t know what hurt the most: the pain, his embarrassment, or Patrick yelling at him. “I wanted to come with you! I thought you said it was too dangerous only because you didn’t want me around!” He tried to get up and the pain got much worse. “Ow! Patrick, I can’t walk!”

Patrick got over his anger as quickly as it had arisen. Actually, he was just worried that something terrible had happened to his brother. “It’s okay Jason, I’ll carry you home.” He turned to his friends and told them to go on without him. But they said they would come back with the two brothers. It was enough excitement for one day.

Alec said, “Take it from someone with an older brother, Jason. It’s hard to tell sometimes, but they’re usually looking out for us. And most of the time they know what they’re talking about. But, it can be really frustrating at times.” And with that he winked at Jason.

With Jason piggyback, Patrick started back down the trail. Jason looked at their house way in the distance and gulped. “Wow, it’s so far.”

Patrick said, “Don’t worry. We’ll make it just fine. The two of us together.”

With respect and love,

siblings can become our best friends.