Self-spoken When the Time Was Right

The Study Report says: “Sakyamuni Buddha spoke this sutra [the Amitabha Sutra] without being asked. This is because he was deeply compassionate and wanted to help all beings at the earliest opportunity, but as the Pure Land teachings were very profound and hard to believe, no one requested the teachings.”

This is a teaching that Sakyamuni Buddha gave without being requested to. There are very few such self-spoken sutras because usually a sutra was the Buddha’s answer to somebody’s question. Although no one knew to request this Dharma door, the Buddha saw that the conditions of some beings in the assembly had matured. In other words, these beings would believe and accept this Dharma door and thus benefit from it.

It is often said that a Buddha cannot help those who have no affinity with him. That is, he cannot help those who do not believe him. Therefore, when the Buddha saw that among his students there were some who could believe, understand, and practice this Dharma door, he taught without waiting to be asked. This is “because he was deeply compassionate and wanted to help all beings at the earliest opportunity.”

~ From Ven. Master Chin Kung's 2003 lecture series on the Amitabha Sutra

No Expectations, No Disappointments

let go of expectations.

having done so

whenever something good happens

we will be content.

if things do not work out

we will not be disappointed.

either way

we will remain calm and balanced.

~ path to peace ~

Oil Addiction

Before we can fix a problem, we need to understand what it is and how it developed. I'm not sure how fixable our oil addiction is, but as with any addiction, admitting we have a problem comes first.

Find the Way

in the midst of pain and sadness,

find love for all who suffer

the will to seek the truth

the heart to let go of the pain

the strength to find the way out.

Choices That Will Haunt Us for a Lifetime

A few nights ago, I was talking with someone who told me he had been listening to a talk I had given some years ago. In the talk, I had related a true story about a snake, a cat, and a compassionate husband and wife. You can read the blog entry that tells what happened here.  Essentially, a couple found a six-foot python in their bathroom.  Worried about their cat, yet not wanting to harm the snake, they called a snake catcher who caught the snake and released it unharmed in a safer habitat.

The person who had listened to the story at night later went to sleep. The next day, he listened to the news. One of the major stories was of a couple who found a snake.  But the husband's reaction was very different from the husband in the above account.  This man acted not out of compassion but more likely out of fear, and possibly anger. It is believed that he and his wife were trying to flush out the snake that was in a shed. The man's gun went off accidentally, and he shot his wife dead. They had four children.

Every moment, we decide what to do in the next. Every choice will have a consequence. What consequences?

The mind of understanding. Or the mind of fear.

Knowing that you had acted wisely. Or knowing that you had acted impulsively, without thinking.

A moment of knowing you did what was compassionate. Or a lifetime of knowing you had killed the mother of your four children.