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Thread: - Buddhist Parables -

  1. #1

    Smile - Buddhist Parables -

    ----PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST----
    thank you!

    This thread is for the posting and discussion of Buddhist parables. What I ask of Liberty Forest members, if they have some they would like to post, is to only post 1 or 2 at a time and then wait a few days or a week to allow for some back and forth. Posting a wall of text is not in the good nature of this thread nor productive. I know of no good teacher who ever gave a student more than they were able to handle. I will be flagging any disruptive or antagonizing posts for removal per the forum guidelines. Also, when you post parables, use formatting to keep it nice and neat (i.e. the "Indent" tag). Please limit discussion to the parables/poems posted. And, as always, keep discussions civil. Peace to all beings.





    - 1 -

    "I Am Awake"

    When the Buddha started to wander around India shortly after his enlightenment, he encountered several men who recognized him to be a very extraordinary being.

    They asked him, "Are you a god?"

    "No," he replied.

    "Are you a reincarnation of god?"

    "No," he replied.

    "Are you a wizard, then?

    "No."

    "Well, are you a man?"

    "No."

    "So what are you?" they asked, being very perplexed.

    "I am awake."

    Buddha means "The Awakened One". How to awaken is all he taught.




    - 2 -

    "Relying On Joy"

    At the time of Buddha, there lived an old beggar woman called 'Relying on Joy'. She used to watch the kings, princes, and people making offerings to Buddha and his disciples, and there was nothing she would have liked more than to be able to do the same. So she went out begging, but at the end of a whole day all she had was one small coin. She took it to the oil-merchant to try to buy some oil. He told her that she could not possibly buy anything with so little. But when he heard that she wanted it to make an offering to Buddha, he took pity on her and have her the oil she wanted. She took it to the monastery, where she lit a lamp. She placed it before Buddha, and made this wish: "I have nothing to offer but this tiny lamp. But through this offering, in the future may I be blessed with the lamp of wisdom. May I free all beings from their darkness. May I purify all their obstructions and lead them to enlightenment." That night the oil in all the other lamps went out. But the beggar woman's lamp was still burning at dawn, when Buddha's disciple Maudgalyayana came to collect all the lamps.
    When he saw that one was still alight, full of oil and with a new wick, he thought, "There's no reason why this lamp should still be burning in the day time," and he tried to blow it out. But it kept on burning. He tried to snuff it out with his fingers, but it stayed alight. He tried to smother it with his robe, but still it burned on. The Buddha had watched all along, and said, "Maudgalyayana, do you want to put out that lamp? You cannot. You cannot even move it, let alone put it out. If you were to pour the water from all oceans over this lamp, it still wouldn't go out.
    The water in all the rivers and the lakes of the world could not extinguish it. Why not? Because this lamp was offered with devotion and with purity of heart and mind. And that motivation has made it of tremendous benefit." When Buddha had said this, the beggar woman approached him, and he made a prophesy that in the future she would become a perfect buddha, called "Light of the lamp." So it is our motivation, good or bad, that determines the fruit of our actions.
    Last edited by Nate-ForLiberty; 04-02-2011 at 10:16 PM.



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  3. #2
    Apparently Chicken Licken was taken from the Jataka Tales but in the end Fox lock didn't eat everyone. It was a happy ending in the Buddhist version which is good news as many of us are feeling Chicken Lickeny right now!
    I am leaving for the weekend so have only time for a Japanese poem from Hermit monk Ryokan.(around 1758) I hope that is ok.

    "The rain has stopped, the clouds have drifted away,
    and the weather is clear again.
    If your heart is pure, then all things in your world are pure.
    Abandon this fleeting world, abandon yourself,
    Then the moon and flowers will guide you along the Way."

    Thank-you Nate-for Liberty.
    The world does not consist of a throng of geniuses. WilliamBanzai7

  4. #3
    This is a little off-topic, but Gail Sher was a Zen Buddhist who taught writing and poetry. You can find her poetry here-http://gailsher.com/excerpts_poetry.html Her writing contains a lot of Buddhist wisdom.
    Quote Originally Posted by Torchbearer
    what works can never be discussed online. there is only one language the government understands, and until the people start speaking it by the magazine full... things will remain the same.
    Hear/buy my music here "government is the enemy of liberty"-RP Support me on Patreon here Ephesians 6:12

  5. #4
    Enlightening thread is enlightening

    Quote Originally Posted by Nate-ForLiberty View Post

    - 1 -

    "I Am Awake"
    I like it!

    - 2 -

    "Relying On Joy"
    This one not so much. Motivation can be good but still bring undesirable outcomes. I think it would be more effective without relying on a 'coincidence' of the other lamps going out to make the point. And I don't subscribe to the idea that future events re-align to provide justification.
    Last edited by nayjevin; 03-17-2011 at 09:01 PM.
    I'm a moderator, and I'm glad to help. But I'm an individual -- my words come from me. Any idiocy within should reflect on me, not Ron Paul, and not Ron Paul Forums.

  6. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by nayjevin View Post
    This one not so much. Motivation can be good but still bring undesirable outcomes. I think it would be more effective without relying on a 'coincidence' of the other lamps going out to make the point. And I don't subscribe to the idea that future events re-align to provide justification.
    I don't think this one was talking so much about "motivation", but more about "...with devotion and with purity of heart and mind." I wouldn't take these words so lightly as to simply mean "motivation". Using that word at the end of the parable might be a little confusing in American society. The other lamps going out represent others who simply have "motivation". It isn't a coincidence that the candles went out, merely a fact of life that eventually the oil, wick, and flame of all candles run out. In fact, Maudgalyayana was surprised to see that a candle hadn't gone out.

    This parable starts out with "kings, princes, and the people" making offerings to the Buddha and his disciples. Yet all of their candles eventually go out. Surely a king with all of his worldly power could have an eternal flame! And yet it was this woman's "devotion" and "purity of heart and mind" that keeps the candle lit forever. Not only does her candle last forever, it is always full of oil and has a new wick; always renewed. It wasn't the Buddha who fulfilled her wish, nor a coincidence that her candle stayed lit.

    "I have nothing to offer but this tiny lamp. But through this offering, in the future may I be blessed with the lamp of wisdom. May I free all beings from their darkness. May I purify all their obstructions and lead them to enlightenment."

    Because all of her heart and all of her mind was fixed on one thing, the liberation of all beings, no obstacle will ever be able to stop her.

  7. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Nate-ForLiberty View Post
    I don't think this one was talking so much about "motivation", but more about "...with devotion and with purity of heart and mind." I wouldn't take these words so lightly as to simply mean "motivation". Using that word at the end of the parable might be a little confusing in American society. The other lamps going out represent others who simply have "motivation". It isn't a coincidence that the candles went out, merely a fact of life that eventually the oil, wick, and flame of all candles run out. In fact, Maudgalyayana was surprised to see that a candle hadn't gone out.

    This parable starts out with "kings, princes, and the people" making offerings to the Buddha and his disciples. Yet all of their candles eventually go out. Surely a king with all of his worldly power could have an eternal flame! And yet it was this woman's "devotion" and "purity of heart and mind" that keeps the candle lit forever. Not only does her candle last forever, it is always full of oil and has a new wick; always renewed. It wasn't the Buddha who fulfilled her wish, nor a coincidence that her candle stayed lit.

    "I have nothing to offer but this tiny lamp. But through this offering, in the future may I be blessed with the lamp of wisdom. May I free all beings from their darkness. May I purify all their obstructions and lead them to enlightenment."

    Because all of her heart and all of her mind was fixed on one thing, the liberation of all beings, no obstacle will ever be able to stop her.

    *This Liberty Movement is much like the woman!

  8. #7
    I subscribe to your analysis! And would argue that it was more valuable to me than the parable...
    I'm a moderator, and I'm glad to help. But I'm an individual -- my words come from me. Any idiocy within should reflect on me, not Ron Paul, and not Ron Paul Forums.

  9. #8
    - 3 -


    "Lying"

    This was said by the Buddha...

    "Bhikkus, I say that for an individual who transgresses in one thing, there is no evil deed whatsoever he would not do. What is that one thing? It is this, bhikkus: deliberately telling a lie."

    There is no evil that cannot be done by a person who deliberately lies, who transgresses in one thing, taking no account of the next world.



    - 4 -

    "Releasing The Cows"

    One day the Buddha was sitting in the wood with thirty or forty monks. They had an excellent lunch and they were enjoying the company of each other. There was a farmer passing by and the farmer was very unhappy. He asked the Buddha and the monks whether they had seen his cows passing by.

    The farmer said, "Monks, I'm so unhappy. I have twelve cows and I don't know why they all ran away. I have also a few acres of a sesame seed plantation and the insects have eaten up everything. I suffer so much I think I am going to kill myself."

    The Buddha said, "My friend, we have not seen any cows passing by here. You might like to look for them in the other direction." So the farmer thanked him and ran away, and the Buddha turned to his monks and said, "My dear friends, you are the happiest people in the world. You don't have any cows to lose. If you have too many cows to take care of, you will be very busy.

    "That is why, in order to be happy, you have to learn the art of cow releasing. You release the cows one by one. In the beginning you thought that those cows were essential to your happiness, and you tried to get more and more cows. But now you realize that cows are not really conditions for your happiness; they constitute an obstacle for your happiness. That is why you are determined to release your cows."



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  11. #9
    - 5 -


    "Asanga"

    Asanga was one of the most famous Indian Buddhist saints, and lived in the fourth century. He went to the mountains to do a solitary retreat, concentrating all his meditation practice on the Buddha Maitreya, in the fervent hope that he would be blessed with a vision of this Buddha and receive teachings from him.

    For six years Asanga meditated in extreme hardship, but did not even have one auspicious dream. He was disheartened and thought he would never succeed with his aspiration to meet the Buddha Maitreya, and so he abandoned his retreat and left his hermitage. He had not gone far down the road when he saw a man rubbing an enormous iron bar with a strip of silk. Asanga went up to him and asked him what he was doing. "I haven't got a needle," the man replied, "so I'm going to make one out of this iron bar." Asanga stared at him, astounded: even if the man were able to manage it in a hundred years, he thought, what would be the point? He said to himself:

    "Look at the trouble people give themselves over things that are totally absurd. You are doing something really valuable, spiritual practice, and you're not nearly so dedicated." He turned around and went back to his retreat. Another three years went by, still without the slightest sign from the Buddha Maitreya. "Now I know for certain," he thought, "I'm never going to succeed." So he left again, and soon came to a bend in the road where there was a huge rock, so tall it seemed to touch the sky. At the foot of the rock was a man busily rubbing it with a feather soaked in water. "What are you doing?" Asanga asked. "This rock is so big it's stopping the sun from shining on my house, so I'm trying to get rid of it." Asanga was amazed at the man's indefatigable energy, and ashamed at his own lack of dedication. He returned to his retreat.

    Three more years passed, and still he had not even had a single good dream. He decided, once and for all, that it was hopeless, and he left his retreat for good. The day wore on, and in the afternoon he came across a dog lying by the side of the road. It had only its front legs, and the whole of the lower part of its body was rotting and covered with maggots. Despite its pitiful condition, the dog was snapping at passers-by and pathetically trying to bite them by dragging itself along the ground with its two good legs.

    Asanga was overwhelmed with a vivid and unbearable feeling of compassion. He cut a piece of flesh off his own body and gave it to the dog to eat. Then he bent down to take off the maggots that were consuming the dog's body. But he suddenly thought he might hurt them if he tried to pull them out with his fingers, and reaized that the only way to remove them would be on his tongue. Asanga knelt on the ground, and looking at the horrible festering, writhing mass, closed his eyes. He leant closer and put out his tongue. The next thing he knew, his tongue was touching the ground. He opened his eyes and looked up. The dog was gone; there in its place was the Buddha Maitreya, ringed by a shimmering aura of light. "At last," said Asanga, "why did you never appear to me before?"

    Maitreya spoke softely: "It is not true that I have never appeared to you before. I was with you all the time, but your negative karma and obscurations prevented you from seeing me. Your twelve years of practice dissolved them slightly so that you were at last able to see the dog. Then, thanks to your genuine and heartfelt compassion, all those obscurations were completely swept away and you can see me before you with your very own eyes. If you don't believe that this is what happened, put me on your shoulder and try and see if anyone else can see me." Asanga put Maitreya on his right shoulder and went to the marketplace, where he began to ask everyone: "What have I got on my shoulder?" "Nothing," most people said, and hurried on. Only one old woman, whose karma had been slightly purified, answered: "You've got the rotting corpse of an old dog on your shoulder, that's all." Asanga at last understood the boundless power of compassion that had purified and transformed his karma, and so made him a vessel fit to receive the vision and instruction of Maitreya. Then the Buddha Maitreya, whose name means "loving kindness," took Asanga to a heavenly realm, and there gave him many sublime teachings that are among the most important in the whole of Buddhism.
    Last edited by Nate-ForLiberty; 03-22-2011 at 01:07 AM.

  12. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Nate-ForLiberty View Post
    - 3 -


    "Lying"
    This was said by the Buddha...

    "Bhikkus, I say that for an individual who transgresses in one thing, there is no evil deed whatsoever he would not do. What is that one thing? It is this, bhikkus: deliberately telling a lie."

    There is no evil that cannot be done by a person who deliberately lies, who transgresses in one thing, taking no account of the next world.

    - 4 -

    "Releasing The Cows"
    One day the Buddha was sitting in the wood with thirty or forty monks. They had an excellent lunch and they were enjoying the company of each other. There was a farmer passing by and the farmer was very unhappy. He asked the Buddha and the monks whether they had seen his cows passing by.

    The farmer said, "Monks, I'm so unhappy. I have twelve cows and I don't know why they all ran away. I have also a few acres of a sesame seed plantation and the insects have eaten up everything. I suffer so much I think I am going to kill myself."

    The Buddha said, "My friend, we have not seen any cows passing by here. You might like to look for them in the other direction." So the farmer thanked him and ran away, and the Buddha turned to his monks and said, "My dear friends, you are the happiest people in the world. You don't have any cows to lose. If you have too many cows to take care of, you will be very busy.

    "That is why, in order to be happy, you have to learn the art of cow releasing. You release the cows one by one. In the beginning you thought that those cows were essential to your happiness, and you tried to get more and more cows. But now you realize that cows are not really conditions for your happiness; they constitute an obstacle for your happiness. That is why you are determined to release your cows."
    What if the cows provide the owner his only means of subsistence? /conundrum
    Quote Originally Posted by Torchbearer
    what works can never be discussed online. there is only one language the government understands, and until the people start speaking it by the magazine full... things will remain the same.
    Hear/buy my music here "government is the enemy of liberty"-RP Support me on Patreon here Ephesians 6:12

  13. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by heavenlyboy34 View Post
    What if the cows provide the owner his only means of subsistence? /conundrum

    it's a metaphor lol!

  14. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Nate-ForLiberty View Post
    it's a metaphor lol!
    rofl! :collins:
    Quote Originally Posted by Torchbearer
    what works can never be discussed online. there is only one language the government understands, and until the people start speaking it by the magazine full... things will remain the same.
    Hear/buy my music here "government is the enemy of liberty"-RP Support me on Patreon here Ephesians 6:12

  15. #13
    The cows represent your attachments. Whatever it is you are attached to. Whatever it is in this life that you think makes you happy. This is everything, including "loved ones", "freedom", ...everything. One by one you let go of them.

    Start very small. Like the empty bottle in the backseat of your car. You think by not throwing it away you will remain more happy than if you didn't throw it away. Let it go! Throw it away! Then move on to that half full cup of water that's been sitting on your desk for a a couple of days. Let it go! And eventually, after so many lifetimes, you'll achieve full detachment from all corporeal things and experience infinite love and compassion for all beings....that is enlightenment, so I'm told LOL!

  16. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Nate-ForLiberty View Post
    The cows represent your attachments. Whatever it is you are attached to. Whatever it is in this life that you think makes you happy. This is everything, including "loved ones", "freedom", ...everything. One by one you let go of them.

    Start very small. Like the empty bottle in the backseat of your car. You think by not throwing it away you will remain more happy than if you didn't throw it away. Let it go! Throw it away! Then move on to that half full cup of water that's been sitting on your desk for a a couple of days. Let it go! And eventually, after so many lifetimes, you'll achieve full detachment from all corporeal things and experience infinite love and compassion for all beings....that is enlightenment, so I'm told LOL!
    but, what if I'm in the middle of a drought! I might get dehydrated, or perhaps I could have sold that water to someone and made a handsome profit!
    Quote Originally Posted by Torchbearer
    what works can never be discussed online. there is only one language the government understands, and until the people start speaking it by the magazine full... things will remain the same.
    Hear/buy my music here "government is the enemy of liberty"-RP Support me on Patreon here Ephesians 6:12

  17. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by heavenlyboy34 View Post
    but, what if I'm in the middle of a drought! I might get dehydrated, or perhaps I could have sold that water to someone and made a handsome profit!
    all attachment

  18. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Nate-ForLiberty View Post
    all attachment
    Well, I would hope I'm attached to staying hydrated-I would sort of DIE if I weren't!
    Quote Originally Posted by Torchbearer
    what works can never be discussed online. there is only one language the government understands, and until the people start speaking it by the magazine full... things will remain the same.
    Hear/buy my music here "government is the enemy of liberty"-RP Support me on Patreon here Ephesians 6:12



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  20. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by heavenlyboy34 View Post
    Well, I would hope I'm attached to staying hydrated-I would sort of DIE if I weren't!

    therefore, you are attached to your life. Don't worry, not eating or drinking is something only the most advanced practitioners can accomplish. Drink when you're thirsty, eat when you're hungry.

  21. #18
    It takes quite a bit to not be attached to life. I think we are meant to hang a bit looser, easier said than done.
    If you met a Buddha you might get the hang of it;

    The Parable of the Mustard Seed

    Kisagotami is the name of a young woman, whose marriage with the only son of a wealthy man was brought about in true fairy-tale fashion. She had one child, but one day, when he was a toddler, he died. The young woman became deranged with grief, and carried the dead child everywhere, going from house to house asking what she could do to bring him back.

    One day she asked a Buddhist follower who thought "She does not understand," said to her, "Dear lady, I myself have no idea how to bring your child back to life but I know someone who may be able to help."

    "O tell me who that is," said Kisagotami.

    "The Buddha can give you help. Go to him," was the answer.

    She went to Gautama, and doing homage to him said, "Lord and master, do you know of any medicine that will bring my child back to life?"

    "Yes, I know of some," said the teacher.

    Now it was the custom for patients or their friends to provide the herbs which the doctors required, so she asked what herbs he would want.

    "I want some mustard seed," he said; and when the poor girl eagerly promised to bring some of so common a drug, he added, "You must get it from some house where no son, or husband, or parent, or slave has died."

    "Very good," she said, and went to ask for it, still carrying her dead child with her.

    The people said, "Here is mustard seed, take it."

    But when she asked, " Has any son or daughter died, or husband, or a parent or slave?" they answered, "Lady, what is this that you say? The living are few, but the dead are many."

    Then she went to other houses, but one said, "I have lost a son"; another, "We have lost our parents"; another, "I have lost my slave."

    At last, not being able to find a single house where no one had died, her mind began to clear, and summoning up resolution, she left the dead body of her child in a forest, and returning to the Buddha paid him homage.

    He said to her, "Have you the mustard seed?"

    "My lord," she replied, "I have not. The people tell me that the living are few, but the dead are many."

    Then he talked to her on that essential part of his system -- the impermanence of all things, till her doubts were cleared away, and, accepting her lot, she became a disciple and entered the first path.
    The world does not consist of a throng of geniuses. WilliamBanzai7

  22. #19
    The Mustard Seed is one of my favorites, and of course in typical Buddha fashion, has nothing to do with mustard seeds.

  23. #20
    - 6 -


    "Hell"

    The Buddha, in one of this former lives, was in Hell. Before he became a Buddha he had suffered a lot in many lives. He made a lot of mistakes, like all of us. He made himself suffer, and he made people around him suffer. Sometimes he made very big mistakes, and that is why in one of his previous lives he was in Hell.

    The Buddha was in Hell because he had done something wrong, extremely wrong, that caused a lot of suffering to himself and to others. That is why he found himself in Hell. In that life of his, he hit the bottom of suffering, because that Hell was the worst of all Hells. With him there was another man, and together they had to work very hard, under the direction of a soldier who was in charge of Hell. It was dark, it was cold, and at the same time it was very hot. The guard did not seem to have a heart. It did not seem that he knew anything about suffering. He did not know anything about the feelings of other people, so he just beat up the two men in Hell. He was in charge of the two men, and his task was to make them suffer as much as possible.

    That guard also suffered a lot. It looked like he didn't have any compassion within him. It looked like he didn't have any love in his heart. It looked like he did not have a heart. He behaved like a robber. When looking at him, when listening to him, it did not seem that one could contact a human being, because he was so brutal. He was not sensitive to people's suffering and pain. That is why he was beating the two men in Hell, and making them suffer a lot. And the Buddha was one of these two men in one of this previous lives.

    The guard had an instrument with three iron points, and every time he wanted the two men to go ahead, he used this to push them on the back, and of course blood came out of their backs. He did not allow them to relax; he was always pushing and pushing and pushing. He himself also looked like he was being pushed by something behind him. Have you ever felt that kind of pushing behind your back? Even if there was no one behind you, you have felt that you were being pushed and pushed to do things you don't like to do, and to say the things you don't like to say, and in doing that you created a lot of suffering for yourself and the people around you. Maybe there is something behind us that is pushing and pushing. Sometimes we say horrible things, and do horrible things, that we did not want to say or do, yet we were pushed by something from behind. So we did it, and we did it, even if we didn't want to do it. That was what happened to the guard in Hell: he tried to push, because he was being pushed. He caused a lot of damage to the two men. The two men were very cold, very hungry, and he was always pushing and beating them and causing them a lot of problems.

    One afternoon, the man who was the Buddha in a former life saw the guard treating his companion so brutally that something in him rose up. Deep within the Buddha was a pressure coming up, and he wanted to intervene, even knowing perfectly well that if he did, he would be beaten by the guard. That impulse was very strong in him, and he could not stand it anymore. He turned around, and he faced the guard without any heart, and said, "Why don't you leave him alone for a moment? Why do you keep beating him and pushing him like that? Don't you have a heart?"

    That was what he said, this man who was to be the Buddha. When the guard saw him protesting like that, and heard him, he was very angry, and he used his fork, and he planted it right in the chest of the Buddha. As a result, the Buddha died right away, and he was reborn the very same minute into the body of a human being living on earth, just because compassion was born in him, strong enough for him to have the courage to intervene to help his fellow man in Hell.

    The other fellow saw the Buddha die. He was angry, and for the first time he was touched by compassion: the other person must have had some love, some compassion to have the courage to intervene for his sake.

    That gave rise to some compassion in him also. He looked at the guard, and he said, "My friend was right, you don't have a heart. You can only create suffering for yourself and for other people. I don't think that you are a happy person. You have killed him." And after he said that, the guard was also very angry at him, and he used his fork, and planted the fork in the stomach of the second man, who also died right away, and was reborn as a human being on earth.



    - 7 -


    "Eat When You're Hungry"

    Someone asked a Zen master, "How do you practice Zen?"

    The master said, "When you are hungry, eat; when you are tired, sleep."

    "Isn't that what everyone does anyway?"

    The master replied, "No, No. Most people entertain a thousand desires when they eat and scheme over a thousand plans when they sleep."

  24. #21
    Japanese Poem on Impermanence: Kukai

    You ask me why I entered the mountain, deep and cold
    Awesome, surrounded by steep peaks and grotesque rocks,
    A place that is painful to climb and difficult to descend,
    Wherein reside the gods of the mountain and the spirit of the trees.

    Have you not seen, O have you not seen,
    The peach and plum blossons in the royal garden?
    They must be in full bloom, pink and fragrant,
    Now opening in the April showers, now falling in the Spring gales.
    Flying high and low, all over the garden, the petals scatter.
    Some sprigs may be plucked by the strolling spring maidens,
    And the flying petals picked by the fluttering spring orioles.

    Have you not seen, O have you not seen,
    The water gushing up in the divine spring of the garden?
    No sooner does it arise, than it flows away forever.
    Thousands of shining lines flow as they come forth.
    Flowing, flowing, flowing into an unfathomable abyss;
    Turning, whirling again, they flow on forever,
    And no-one knows where they will stop.

    Have you not seen, O have you not seen
    That billions have lived in China, in Japan?
    None have been immortal from time immemorial:
    Ancient sages, kings or tyrants, good subjects or bad,
    Fair ladies or homely - who could enjoy eternal youth?
    Noble men and lowly alike, without exception, die always.
    They have all died, reduced to dust and ashes.
    The singing halls and dancing stages have become the abode of foxes.
    Transient as dreams, bubbles or lightening,
    All are perpetual travellers.

    Have you not seen, O have you not seen,
    This has been man's fate; how can you alone live forever?
    Thinking of this, my heart always feels torn;
    You too are like the sun going down in the Western mountains.
    Or a living corpse whose span of life is nearly over.
    Futile would be my stay in the capital;
    Away, away, I must go, I must not stay there.
    Release me, for I shall be master of the great Void;
    A child of Shingan must not stay there.

    I have never tired of watching the pine trees and the rocks at Mt Koya;
    The limpid stream of the mountain is the source
    Of my inexhaustible joy.
    Discard pride in earthly gains;
    Do not be scorched in the burning house, the triple world!
    Discipline in the woods alone lets us soon enter the Eternal Realm.
    Last edited by raiha; 03-28-2011 at 04:50 PM.
    The world does not consist of a throng of geniuses. WilliamBanzai7

  25. #22
    Which leads us to the Parable of the Burning House and Ipads.


    The Parable of the Burning House appears in Chapter 3 ( the Hiyu Chapter ) of the Lotus Sutra. In this parable a scenario is presented where children are in great danger in a house on fire :-

    One day, a fire broke out in the house of a wealthy man who had many children. The wealthy man shouted at his children inside the burning house to flee. But, the children were absorbed in their games and did not heed his warning, though the house was being consumed by flames.

    Then, the wealthy man devised a practical way to lure the children from the burning house. Knowing that the children were fond of interesting playthings, he called out to them, "Listen! Outside the gate are the carts that you have always wanted: carts pulled by goats, carts pulled by deer, and carts pulled by oxen. Why don't you come out and play with them?" The wealthy man knew that these things would be irresistible to his children.

    The children, eager to play with these new toys rushed out of the house but, instead of the carts that he had promised, the father gave them a cart much better than any he has described - a cart draped with precious stones and pulled by white bullocks. The important thing being that the children were saved from the dangers of the house on fire.

    In this parable the father, of course, is the Buddha and sentient beings are the children trapped in the burning house. The Burning House represents the world burning with the fires of old age, sickness and death. The teachings of the Buddha are like the father getting the boys to leave their pleasures for a greater pleasure, Nirvana.

    A further interpretation is to see the the goat, deer, and ox carts as representing the early teachings of Buddhism, as the teachings of Hinayana Buddhism (the Mahayana term for the Buddhism that preceded it), and the cart pulled by white bullocks to 'The Lotus Sutra' which, when followed, leads to Buddhahood.
    The world does not consist of a throng of geniuses. WilliamBanzai7

  26. #23
    By the way Nate, I love the Asanga story. I have stray annoying cat that has a shrill annoying mieowwwww. But if i feel like being sharp with it, I think of the maggotty dog being Maitreya. In fact all my annoyances, and I have many, are evidence of my own shortcomings and state of mind. Oh dear...i have far to go on The Noble Way.
    The world does not consist of a throng of geniuses. WilliamBanzai7

  27. #24
    Quote Originally Posted by Nate-ForLiberty View Post
    - 5 -


    "Asanga"

    I just learned this term last week when I visited this kick-ass Chinese Buddhist Temple.






    The Asangas:




    thanks for the cool thread.



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  29. #25
    I keep looking for a temple around here I'm really curious about Buddhism. It seems like one is in Ann Arbor maybe I'll look it up if I'm out that way.

  30. #26
    - Who Am I? -



    http://appliedbuddhism.wordpress.com...then-who-am-i/

    Not a parable, but an interesting short article. I believe a new philosophy is emerging. An action based philosophy.

  31. #27
    I find it interesting that Buddhists can discuss their beliefs without arguing over them. Or am I just looking at too small of a sample size?
    9/11 Thermate experiments

    Winston Churchhill on why the U.S. should have stayed OUT of World War I

    "I am so %^&*^ sick of this cult of Ron Paul. The Paulites. What is with these %^&*^ people? Why are there so many of them?" YouTube rant by "TheAmazingAtheist"

    "We as a country have lost faith and confidence in freedom." -- Ron Paul

    "It can be a challenge to follow the pronouncements of President Trump, as he often seems to change his position on any number of items from week to week, or from day to day, or even from minute to minute." -- Ron Paul
    Quote Originally Posted by Brian4Liberty View Post
    The road to hell is paved with good intentions. No need to make it a superhighway.
    Quote Originally Posted by osan View Post
    The only way I see Trump as likely to affect any real change would be through martial law, and that has zero chances of success without strong buy-in by the JCS at the very minimum.

  32. #28
    Someone should continue this thread in the spirit of which it was created...
    We will be known forever by the tracks we leave. - Dakota


    Go Forward With Courage

    When you are in doubt, be still, and wait;
    when doubt no longer exists for you, then go forward with courage.
    So long as mists envelop you, be still;
    be still until the sunlight pours through and dispels the mists
    -- as it surely will.
    Then act with courage.

    Ponca Chief White Eagle

  33. #29
    Quote Originally Posted by moostraks View Post
    Someone should continue this thread in the spirit of which it was created...
    Peace on your path?

  34. #30
    I miss Nate. :'(
    Quote Originally Posted by Torchbearer
    what works can never be discussed online. there is only one language the government understands, and until the people start speaking it by the magazine full... things will remain the same.
    Hear/buy my music here "government is the enemy of liberty"-RP Support me on Patreon here Ephesians 6:12

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