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Buddha Life and Teachings

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In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of theire own minds and then believe them to be true.
- Buddha

Members: 37
Latest Activity: Dec 27, 2019

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The Three Jewels of Buddhism are:
Buddha
Dharma
Sangha
Buddha is, of course, the Enlightened One who first showed others the path. Dharma is the collective term for the teachings of Buddhism. Sangha is the community of Buddhists around the world.
One becomes a Buddhist by taking refuge in the Three Jewels. This is normally done at a special ceremony at a Buddhist Temple, and that is the recommended path, but one can, if sincere, become a Buddhist at any time simply by reciting the following three times:

I take refuge in the Buddha, the one who shows me the way in this life.
I take refuge in the Dharma, the way of understanding and of love.
I take refuge in the Sangha, the comunity that lives in harmony and awareness.

Buddha is the teacher showing the way,
the perfectly awakened one,
beautifully seated, peaceful and smiling,
the living source of understanding and compassion.

Dharma is the clear path
leading us out of ignorance
bringing us back
to an awakened life.

Sangha is the beautiful community
that practices joy,
realizing liberation,
bringing peace and happiness to life.

Dwelling inthe refuge of Buddha, I see clearly the path of light and beauty in the world.
Dwelling in the refuge of Dharma, I learn to open many doors on the path of transformation.
Dwelling in the refuge of Sangha, I am supported by it's shining light that keeps my practice free of obstacles.

Taking refuge in Buddha in myself, I aspire to help all people recongnize their own awakened nature and realize the mind of love.
Taking refuge in the Buddha in myself, I aspire to help all people grasp the way of practice and walk together on path of liberation.
Taking refuge in the Sangha in myself, I sapire to help all people build fourfold communities and encourage the transformation of all beings.

The Three Jewels of Buddhism Buddham Sharanam Gacchami Hymn

On life's journey
Faith is nourishment,
Virtuous deeds are a shelter,
Wisdom is the light by day and
Right mindfulness is the protection by night.
If a man lives a pure life nothing can destroy him;
If he has conquered greed nothing can limit his freedom.

Buddha

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Comment by Nada Jung on December 27, 2019 at 1:17am: Buddhist Logic:

To abandon the mind as useless is to seek cessation, the path of the arhat.

To overpower the mind with happy and pleasant thoughts is worldly religions aim, reducing manifest suffering by distraction, which acts like a drug, making their adherents mindless.

To train the mind into a pliable compassionate tool is to enter the path of awakening of the Mahayana.

Beyond the veils of the limited human perceptual realm is the beginning of another portion of the vast journey to perfection, our real home.

~ Domo Geshe Rinpoche

Comment by Jan on November 23, 2019 at 8:21pm: See yourself in others.

Then whom can you hurt?

What harm can you do?

(Dharmmapada)

Comment by Luna Arjuna on November 23, 2019 at 12:06am: "As I am, so are others; as others are, so am I. Having thus identified self and others, harm no one nor have them harmed."

- Buddha

Comment by Luna Arjuna on July 8, 2019 at 4:25pm: The buddhas view and spontaneously work at deeper levels of existence, lifting beings into liberation without trying to help fix what is not broken (a characteristic of the lower enlightened states). For those practitioners who are already partially transformed from skillful and blessed inner work from previous lives, their consciousness simply needs to be clarified and resolved into the awakened state.

~ Domo Geshe Rinpoche ~

Comment by Eva Libre on July 8, 2019 at 9:09am: Samsara is not afraid of losing you... you have been its devotee for a very long time and does not suspect that you are divorcing it.

Comment by Luna Arjuna on July 4, 2019 at 1:36pm: As cool as a lotus pond
Its ground covered in pearls and silver dust
May your days be filled with bliss
Refreshed by the dharma

~ Domo Geshe Rinpoche ~

(from Medicine Buddha empowerment)

Comment by Luna Arjuna on June 30, 2019 at 12:48pm: Buddhism teaches that in the general confusion of samsara, friends can become enemies and enemies can become friends. This is not the only problem that samsara causes but it might be one of the most painful. The insight of true equanimity repairs the confusion about relating to others.

~ Domo Geshe Rinpoche ~

Comment by Luna Arjuna on June 30, 2019 at 12:22pm: Why are there different Buddhas?

Rinpoche shares why Buddhas appear in different deity forms, such as Manjushri (Buddha of Wisdom) and Chenrezig (Buddha of Compassion).

Comment by Luna Arjuna on May 9, 2019 at 2:56pm: When the Buddha was asked,

“Sir, what do you and your monks practice?” he replied, “We sit, we walk, and we eat.” The questioner continued, “But sir, everyone sits, walks, and eats,” and the Buddha told him, “When we sit, we know we are sitting. When we walk, we know we are walking. When we eat, we know we are eating. 

- Thich Nhat Hanh

Comment by Nada Jung on April 25, 2019 at 8:46am: Photo: © EdBob

See your body's nature of impermanence and interbeing. Observe that your body has no permanent entity, and you will no longer identify yourself solely with your body or consider it to be a "self”. See the body as a formation, empty of any substance that might be called "self." See your body as an ocean filled with hidden waves and sea monsters. The ocean might be calm at times, but at other times you can be caught in a storm. Learn to calm the waves and master the monsters without allowing yourself to be carried away or caught by them. With deep looking, the body ceases to be an aggregate of grasping, and you dwell in freedom, no longer caught by fear.

- Thich Nhat Hanh, in “The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching”.