Huge crowds attend Dalai Lama’s teachings on Shantideva’s Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life
Huge crowds attend Dalai Lama’s teachings on Shantideva’s Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life |
- Huge crowds attend Dalai Lama’s teachings on Shantideva’s Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life
- His Holiness the Dalai Lama Concludes Teachings to Southeast Asian Devotees
- Workplace Collective Meditation
- From The Under 35 Project: “Dharma Lost and Found”
| Huge crowds attend Dalai Lama’s teachings on Shantideva’s Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life Posted: 08 Sep 2012 09:00 AM PDT
From September 4 through 6, thousands of people from over 50 countries descended upon Tsug-la Khang temple in Dharamsala for three days of teachings by His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Shantideva's A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life – one of the more essential later texts to emerge from Indian Mahayana Buddhist. On his final day of teaching, His Holiness bestowed the Bodhisattva vows. The teachings were requested by an organizing committee from several Southeast Asian countries, who said they hope to enable people of all religions to attend His Holiness' teachings and to promote Tibetan culture. (Photo via Wikimedia Commons by user W. under a CC-BY-SA license.) Read More @ Source
| ||
| His Holiness the Dalai Lama Concludes Teachings to Southeast Asian Devotees Posted: 07 Sep 2012 04:00 PM PDT September 7th 2012 Dharamsala, HP, India, 6 September 2012 (By Samuel Ivor, The Tibet Post International) - On the concluding day of teachings to the Southeast Asian visitors, His Holiness the Dalai Lama warmly addressed the audience to the main temple of Dharamshala, preparing the gathering for a deeper understanding into the meaning of the sacred text Shantideva's 'A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life'. As the morning rain receded, and the enormous crowd settled, fixing their attention to the great spiritual leader, His Holiness commenced the teachings by drawing upon the life of the Buddha Himself. The Dalai Lama began by drawing upon how the Buddha had accumulated merit and wisdom over countless aeons: "If Buddha didn't exist after His death, only serving human beings over a few decades doesn't actually become compatible to the time He spent to reach that goal". "According to Sanskrit tradition, there are five Buddha bodies. These are not actually taught at the first sermon of the Buddha. They came in the second turning of the wheel of Dharma".
His Holiness explained how we fall into Samsara, and how we can get out of it: "The first teaching of the four noble truths teaches this precisely". "We have to know the mind which shows the true nature of things...defilements are temporary regarding the mind. In one day we go through these experiences where we see things with our eyes, and hear things with our ears; we cannot distinguish between good and bad things. This is done with thought". Regarding the nature of the mind, and drawing upon His warm hearted wit and humour, His Holiness joked to the Southeast Asian delegation that perhaps: "While your eyes are fixed on me, your mind will be fixed on Singapore or Hong Kong". His Holiness then spoke of the nature of the mind with inspiring depth and logic, bridging the gap between science and religion seamlessly: "I have talked with scientists about these things; sensory perceptions, looking at which part of the mind works more with sensory perceptions...there is also thought in the awakening state, the dreaming state, and the deep thought state. Through the power of meditation, people can dissolve the states of mind". The Dalai Lama then addressed the Tibetan laypeople of the gathering, asking those who wished to take the Bodhisattva vows to do so with His guidance. As His Holiness led the vows, Tibetan members of the audience followed their revered spiritual leader's guidance, and took the sacred oath. The taking of the vows by the laypeople includes a vow to refrain from alcohol, for which His Holiness drew upon His past, highlighting the story of [Kyabje] Ling Rinpoche. The Dalai Lama stated that, regarding the vows, Ling Rinpoche once spoke to an elderly Tibetan man regarding the observance and keeping of the promise. He questioned the man on his commitment to the vows; however the old man replied that he was unable to give up alcohol. Ling Rinpoche replied: "If you cannot give it up, just take a little" His Holiness said, laughing. "These five precepts are not very difficult to take are they?" He asked, as audience laughed. Afterwards, His Holiness guided the vows carefully, stating: "First get rid of non-merited actions, then get rid of self-grasping, then get rid of distorted views." Following the vows of the laypeople, Bodhisattva vows for the entire delegation were offered. Highlighting personal experience, the Dalai Lama confided: "I too take the vows every day, and it
really helps my own mind". The White Tara permission initiation was commenced for the vows, for which His Holiness also guided and explained: "Wisdom appears in the form of a deity in Tantra. You have to be able to see that deity in front of you. Tara is the purified state of wind energy." Drawing upon vivid visual descriptions, His Holiness implied a focus on the body, the speech and the mind, and a need to meditate on the selflessness of the person: "Absorb you mind in emptiness, dissolve yourself into emptiness". Having concluded the vows, and as the morning drew to a close, the Seventh Chapter of Shantideva's 'A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life' was carefully read and explained to the delegation. Before concluded the teachings, His Holiness Dalai Lama wisely cautioned: "If you are self-centred with Tantric practice, you will not fulfill your goals". Amid an atmosphere of revered respect, His Holiness blessed and smiled to the humbled audience of bowed heads and closed palms, as He left the temple complex for the final of the three days of teachings. The continuation of Shantideva's 'A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life' teachings by the Dalai Lama, have certainly granted inspiring depth and wisdom into the lives of both believers and non-believers of the teachings. However it is the Southeast Asian guests who can certainly reflect with awe and amazement, as a light was shone onto one of the most important teachings for practicing Buddhists, by one of the most revered and respected spiritual leaders of our lifetime.    Read More @ Source 
| ||
| Workplace Collective Meditation Posted: 07 Sep 2012 12:00 PM PDT Read More @ Source 
| ||
| From The Under 35 Project: “Dharma Lost and Found” Posted: 07 Sep 2012 11:00 AM PDT
"There is no denying the spiritual power found within the Buddhist path," writes Ben J. Hutchison in a new post for The Under 35 Project. "But what about those times of uncertainty where your expectations of a life moving towards enlightenment feels like you're not moving at all?"Good question. So read Ben's contribution below and share your responses. (And click here to also read "The Dharma and Me," an thoughtful post by Gary Elizabeth Donnelly, written in part in response to Ben's piece.) Dharma Lost and Found So here is the story I tell myself: I've lost the dharma over and over again. I've started, stopped, changed directions, and changed lineages. And as much as the dharma has profoundly changed me, this path has brought me as much heartbreak as it has breakthroughs. I've read many stories portraying the healing powers of the dharma as a medicine to aid with the ailments of life. Many tell the tale of a long hard journey that ends with nourishing fulfillment from their newfound religion. I've experienced that. Or sometimes they're reflecting on their normal lives and how they use the dharma to heal themselves on the side like a traveling first aid kit. I've used it that way too. There is no denying the spiritual power found within the Buddhist path. But what about the dips? What about those times of uncertainty where your expectations of a life moving towards enlightenment feels like you're not moving at all? Feeling as if you have lost your path can be devastating and unexpected, especially when you feel you've found a spiritual practice that is supposed to provide you with unlimited peace and wisdom. I know for myself, I became profoundly disappointed in my experience with Meditation at times. But as I've moved along my own path, I've realized that this story I was telling myself was nothing but a story. It wasn't the life in front of me; it was a life I projected. And when my fantasy of Meditation ran into the brick wall of reality, it was me that started to run. There have been so many times that I have lost faith on my Buddhist path. There was the time I went to my first really big Buddhist ceremony and felt, lost, alone, and unprepared. Or later when I had joined a different Buddhist group even though I didn't feel a connection to their form of practice. I've had issues with dealing with sangha drama, and I've faced a much larger drama where I've had to decide which side of a spiritual argument I wanted to side with. And each time I went through these events, I felt a profound loss. It felt like I was breaking up with someone. It felt horrible. But I have to admit something. Over all those years, I didn't really have a practice, at least not a strong one. Practice is the foundation of the dharma path or whatever you want to call it and I was never told that or maybe I just didn't listen. I was too involved in the books, the beads, the titles, and the labels. I was consumed with trying to get somewhere. With trying to achieve enlightenment and peace. I had goals. I had expectations on myself, my sangha, and the many lineages I attached myself to. And I had it all wrong. In practicing Meditation, in whatever form or lineage you choose, there is going to be loss and disappointment. As Dogen writes in Genjokoan, "Flowers fall amid our longing and weeds spring up amid or antipathy." Looking back at my patterns now, I see this "loss" of mine a little differently. Now, I practice. I don't wear beads too often. I still have books but I read them instead of carrying them around for show and tell. I shy away from wearing a Buddhist badge unless I have to. All of those things that happened to me that made me feel so alone were actually a slow peel of my conceptions and trappings I had about the religion of Meditation. Though at the time it was easy to point out the other people involved it was me that needed the finger pointed at. This story was just the story I was telling myself because it was easier to feel this way than to actually practice my way through it. In my head, my story used to be about how I lost my dharma practice over and over again. But now losing seems more like shedding, and that shedding has revealed something so much better. So I never really lost my dharma. I just lost my trappings. And I hope you lose yours, too.
To see the rest of our Under 35 Project posts, click here. To read more and submit your own work, visit the project's website. Read More @ Source
|
| You are subscribed to email updates from BuddhaRocks ☸ Buddhist To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
