Buddhism

The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

2

No matter how high you climb Cold Mountain road,
the way to Cold Mountain never ends.
The long valley is stacked with boulders,
its shoreline wet with lush grass.
Slippery moss, regardless of rain,
pine trees singing, even without wind.
Who can go beyond the entangled world
to sit with me in the midst of white clouds?

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Hanshan wiki

The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

1

You ask the way to Cold Mountain,
but the road does not go through.
In summer, the ice is not yet melted,
the morning sun remains hidden in mist.
How can you get here, like I did?
Our minds are not the same.
When your mind becomes like mine,
you will get here, too.

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Hanshan wiki
I have a few of these I'll post in here :)

I'm really nervous about making next steps. There's not really anything near me in English for Buddhism and I would really like someone to be a guide or a pen pal.

1. I enjoy games, is bluffing such as in poker forbidden? I don't gamble.

2. Where do I start?

3. I don't understand meditation. Maybe I'm not doing it correctly?

4. Where does the Buddhist code vs religion start. For example I was told you could for example be a Christian/Muslim/Jew/Tao/Hindu/exct and Buddhist.

5. Why do you personally feel this religion is real? Is there something that made you drawn to it?

I'd like to go to a see a service. For example Catholics have church services usually on Sundays. Is there anything like that online for Buddhist teachings? There isn't much near me.

IN BUDDHISM, it is said that love and compassion are made out of one substance, which is called "understanding." If you understand, you can love. But if understanding is not there, it is impossible for you to accept and love someone. Why did he act that way? Why did he say those things? You should look deeply into these questions, and then you will see the causes of what you are dealing with.

With this understanding, you stop blaming and criticizing. Your compassion is born of your understanding of the situation.

176

Training for Happiness

LITTLE BY LITTLE you must train yourself for life, for happiness. You probably received a college degree that you spent years working for, and you thought that happiness would be possible after you got it. But that was not true, because after getting the degree and finding a job, you continued to suffer. You have to realize that happiness is not something you find at the end of the road. You have to understand that it is here, now.

I36

Feed Your Love, Not Your Suffering

NOTHING CAN survive without food, not even suffer-ing. No animal or plant can survive without food. In order for our love to survive, we have to feed it. If we don't feed it, or we feed it the wrong kind of nutrients, our love will die. In a short time, our love can turn into hate. Our suffering, our depression also needs food to survive. If our depression refuses to go away, it's because we keep feeding it daily. We can look deeply into the source of nutrition that is feeding our suffering.

Here is an essay I've written about immortality. I am aware that God is not a buddhist concept, but I believe you will find many aspects of this essay that are strikingly similar to concepts in buddhism. Either link below is fine, they are both the same content.

https://yourconstruct2.blogspot.com/

or

https://www.jamiiforums.com/threads/you-are-god-a-philosophical-essay-on-the-nature-of-existence-reality-and-immortality.1964828/

I I 5

Be a Happy Formation

THE "I" IS MADE up of the body and mind (namarupa in Sanskrit). The physical form is body, and all the other elements (skandhas) are mind. When we look deeply into these five elements, we do not see any absolute, permanent identity. They are impermanent. If you practice in such a way that harmony is established in the realm of the five elements, then joy, peace, and happiness will be possi-ble. Through breathing, through bringing your mind back to your body, through the method of deep looking, you will reestablish harmony and peace in the realm of the five elements. You will become a happy formation, pleasing to encounter, and you will be able to bring happiness to the living beings around you.

III

Taking Care of the Future

THE FUTURE IS being made out of the present, so the best way to take care of the future is to take care of the present moment. This is logical and clear. Spending a lot of time speculating and worrying about the future is totally useless. We can only take care of our future by taking care of the present moment, because the future is made out of only one substance: the present. Only if you are anchored in the present can you prepare well for the future.

106

Worrying

YES, THERE IS tremendous suffering all over the world, but knowing this need not paralyze us. If we practice mindful breathing, mindful walking, mindful sitting, and working in mindfulness, we try our best to help, and we can have peace in our heart. Worrying does not accomplish anything. Even if you worry twenty times more, it will not change the situation of the world. In fact, your anxiety will only make things worse. Even though things are not as we would like, we can still be content, knowing we are trying our best and will continue to do so. If we don't know how to breathe, smile, and live every moment of our life deeply, we will never be able to help anyone.

Better than sole sovereignty over the earth,
better than going to heaven,
better even than lordship over all the worlds
is the supramundane Fruition of Stream Entrance.

-- DhammaPada Verse 178

The fruition of stream entrance is a phrase for awakening to the truth of enlightenment.

Awakening to the truth of enlightenment is not easy, however, it is also not hard. By learning the teachings of the Buddha with active reflection, and applying them to independently verify, one awakens to the truth of enlightenment gradually.

Related Teachings:

• Cultivating faith to awaken to the truth (SN 55.55) ↗️
• Canki Sutta: Preservation of truth, awakening to truth and arrival at truth (MN 95)
• Navigating through 30 mental qualities that lead to enlightenment, to the arising of the Buddha (AN 10.76)

74

Caught in the Idea of a Self

WESTERN PSYCHOTHERAPY AIMS at helping create a self that is stable and wholesome. But because psychotherapy in the West is still caught in the idea of self, it can bring about only a little transformation and a little heal-ing; it can't go very far. As long as we are caught in the idea of a separate self, ignorance is still in us. When we see the intimate relationship between what is self and what is not self, ignorance is healed and suffering, anger, jeal-ousy, and fear disappear. If we can practice no-self, we'll be able to go beyond the questions that make people suffer so much.

67 True Understanding THE PRACTICE OF meditation is to look at reality in such a way that the boundary between subject and object will no longer be there. We have to remove the boundary between the inquirer and the object of inquiry. If we want to understand someone, we put ourselves into his skin. In order for friends or families to really understand each other, they need to become each other. The only way to understand fully is to become the object of our under-standing. True understanding happens when we dismantle the barrier between the object of understanding and the subject of understanding.

Note: Unable to upload last night due to Lenny.world image issues that have since been fixed.

Hunger is the worst disease,
conditioned things the worst suffering.
Knowing this as it really is,
the wise realize Nibbana, the highest bliss.

- DhammaPada Verse 203

As one is gradually awakening to enlightenment (known as stream-entry in the teachings) and then arriving at enlightenment (known as an Arahant), one is never experiencing bad mood regardless of what the external conditions are, one is having blossoming personal and professional relationships, is gradually freed from beliefs, is enjoying steady concentration and improved memory. The journey is one of growth in peace at all times.

Related Teachings:

• 7 kinds of wealth (AN 7.6) - The wealth of faith, ethics, conscience, prudence, learning, generosity, and wisdom
• Steadying the mind against the poisons of greed, hate, delusion - A steadied mind comprehends and understands conditioned things as they’re.

The Liberating Power of Insight CONCENTRATION HELPS us focus on just one thing, With concentration, the energy of looking becomes more powerful, and insight is possible. Insight always has the power of liberating us. If mindfulness is there, and we know how to keep mindfulness alive, concentration will be there, too. And if we know how to keep concentration alive, insight will also come. The energy of mindfulness enables us to look deeply and gain the insight we need so that transformation is possible.

1. I am subject to aging; I am not exempt from aging.

One can contemplate on the way they appeared the day they were born, when they were in kindergarten, in school, how they appear today, and how they may appear as they grow old in age.

2. I am subject to illness; I am not exempt from illness.

One can contemplate the nature of the body and the impermanence of health.

3. I am subject to death; I am not exempt from death.

One can contemplate on their death, on the death of their loved ones.

4. I must be parted and separated from everyone and everything dear and agreeable to me.

One cannot be permanently young, healthy, have a good digestion, be able to exercise, have the same home, have their loved ones be permanently present, for the bank account to be the same.

5. I am the owner of my actions, heir to my actions, born of my actions, related through my actions, and have my actions as my arbitrator; whatever I do, for good or for evil, to that will I fall heir.

One can contemplate on one's intentions and actions, review them often, for the results of that will be what stays with them, and what they will be met with in the future.

Related Teachings:

• Kamma and its fruits (MN 135)
• Why beings fare as they do after death (MN 41)

New to Buddhism trying to learn the things so I made a counting rhyme to the tune of "Let the Bodies Hit The Floor". I just like that song and needed a good pneumonic to help me remember what I am doing with all my nows... Hope everyone has a good Friday. Of course the 8 fold path is implied at the end. I figure if i keep this in my mind I'm good...

Seeking life force (life force) Grand Snake restores.... (here we go here we go here we go now)

ONE Dharma lets live TWO paths transformative THREE precious Jewels reprieve FOUR noble truths to see FIVE skandahs we perceive SIX bardos left to weave SEVEN points of mind training FOOOOOOOOOLD

53 When You Argue with the One You Love WHEN YOU GET into an argument with someone you love, please close your eyes and visualize yourself three hundred years from now. When you open your eyes, you will only want to take each other in your arms and acknowledge how precious each of you is. The teaching of impermanence helps us appreciate fully what is there, without attachment or forgetfulness.

Hard is it to be born a man;
hard is the life of mortals.
Hard is it to gain the opportunity of hearing the Sublime Truth,
and hard to encounter is the arising of the Buddhas.

- DhammaPada verse 182

​

“Mendicants, suppose the earth was entirely covered with water. And a person threw a yoke with a single hole into it. The east wind wafts it west; the west wind wafts it east; the north wind wafts it south; and the south wind wafts it north. And there was a one-eyed turtle who popped up once every hundred years.

What do you think, mendicants? Would that one-eyed turtle, popping up once every hundred years, still poke its neck through the hole in that yoke?”

“It’s unlikely, sir.”

“That’s how unlikely it is to get reborn as a human being. And that’s how unlikely it is for a Realized One to arise in the world, a perfected one, a fully awakened Buddha. And that’s how unlikely it is for the teaching and training proclaimed by a Realized One to shine in the world. And now, mendicants, you have been reborn as a human being. A Realized One has arisen in the world, a perfected one, a fully awakened Buddha. And the teaching and training proclaimed by a Realized One shines in the world.

That’s why you should practice meditation …”

- SN 56.48

The Buddha is sharing in these teachings on the rarity of being born as a human being, on the rarity of being born at a time when a Buddha has arisen, and on the rarity of being born when one has gained access to the Dhamma.

Related Teachings:

• Steps toward the Realization of Truth (MN 95) ↗️ - The Buddha shares preservation (understanding) of his teachings are a precursor to awakening to the truth of the enlightenment.
• Cultivating faith to awaken to the truth (SN 55.55) ↗️ - The Buddha share four factors that leads one to awaken to the truth of enlightenment when followed: association with good people, hearing the true Dhamma, careful attention, and practice in accordance with the Dhamma.

Upayasutta—Bhikkhu Sujato

Consciousness stands dependent on the other four aggregates, and this attachment is what fuels the cycle of rebirth.

At Sāvatthī.

“Mendicants, if you’re involved, you’re not free. If you’re not involved, you’re free.

As long as consciousness remains, it would remain involved with form, supported by form, founded on form. And with a sprinkle of relishing, it would grow, increase, and mature.

Or consciousness would remain involved with feeling …

Or consciousness would remain involved with perception …

Or as long as consciousness remains, it would remain involved with choices, supported by choices, grounded on choices. And with a sprinkle of relishing, it would grow, increase, and mature.

Mendicants, suppose you say: ‘Apart from form, feeling, perception, and choices, I will describe the coming and going of consciousness, its passing away and reappearing, its growth, increase, and maturity.’ That is not possible.

If a mendicant has given up greed for the form element, the support is cut off, and there is no foundation for consciousness.

If a mendicant has given up greed for the feeling element, the support is cut off, and there is no foundation for consciousness.

If a mendicant has given up greed for the perception element, the support is cut off, and there is no foundation for consciousness.

If a mendicant has given up greed for the choices element, the support is cut off, and there is no foundation for consciousness.

If a mendicant has given up greed for the consciousness element, the support is cut off, and there is no foundation for consciousness.

Since that consciousness does not become established and does not grow, with no power to regenerate, it is freed.

Being free, it’s stable. Being stable, it’s content. Being content, they’re not anxious. Not being anxious, they personally become extinguished.

They understand: ‘Rebirth is ended, the spiritual journey has been completed, what had to be done has been done, there is no return to any state of existence.’"

In this teaching, the Buddha is sharing that the consciousness aggregate can only be known through knowing of the four aggregates and not independently. Involvement (in other words, attachment or grasping) of experiences in any of these four aggregates become support for the establishment and growth of consciousness. One must reflect on the aggregates of form, feeling, perception and choices (also sometimes referred to as volitions or formations, the Pali word being Saṅkhāra).

Related Teachings:

• Teachings on Living Beings and the Five Aggregates - A series of teachings on understanding living beings and the five aggregates. Understanding the five aggregates and grasping at the five aggregates is essential to understanding the Buddha's core teachings.
• The characteristic of Not-self (SN 22.59) ↗️ - The Buddha shares the way to reflect on not-self. This is not a belief, but rather a reflection to be cultivated by observing where one is seeing attachment arise, where one is seeing a self, where one is seeing themselves as part of something. This should be done whenever the discontent feelings are observed for.
• Properly Appraising Objects of Attachment (MN 13) - A teaching drawing out the gratification of sensual pleasures and its drawbacks. It further shares on reflecting on the aggregates of form and feeling.