Monthly Archives: October 2014

Six Aids to Enlightenment

Posted on October 31, 2014 by

As they emerge from listening to the Dharma, contemplating it, and bringing it into experience through meditation and conduct, enthusiasm makes a person accept or reject according to the relationship between cause and effect; curiosity makes a mind apply itself … Continue reading →

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Preliminaries

Posted on October 30, 2014 by

Awareness of impermanence and disgust with samsara are the external preliminaries on the Noble Path. They thoroughly dispel the preoccupation with ordinary life. Compassion and ethical conduct are the special preliminaries. They make advancement possible on the Great Vehicle of the … Continue reading →

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Suffering is Temporary

Posted on October 29, 2014 by

Buddhahood is not an evolutionary attainment. On the contrary, ordinary existence is a temporary involution of our true nature. Because nothing can cease to be what it is, this involution is not enduring. It arises at every instant, caused by wrong … Continue reading →

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Appearances

Posted on October 28, 2014 by

The images we see on a mirror are reflections, but they lack substance. In the same way, conventional phenomena arise from (and in) the basis-of-all, but they are not ultimately real. If the mirror is dirty or warped, the reflections … Continue reading →

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Obstacles

Posted on October 27, 2014 by

Since lack of control of body and mind prevents one from taking anything seriously, it is in opposition to the way to inner peace; since places where many people gather cause distraction, one fails in what one has to do; since taking … Continue reading →

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The four “faults” of pure wisdom

Posted on October 26, 2014 by

So close you can’t see it. So deep you can’t fathom it. So simple you can’t believe it. So good you can’t accept it.

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Dependent Origination

Posted on October 25, 2014 by

All phenomena arise from causes; those causes have been taught by the Tathagata. Their cessation as well has been proclaimed by the Great Mendicant. Through ignorance karma is accumulated; the cause of birth is karma. Through knowledge, karma is not … Continue reading →

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From Bad to Worse

Posted on October 24, 2014 by

Whoever denies the cause-effect relationship of actions is an adherent of the view of nihilism, and goes from bad to worse. Those who have started on that bad journey will never find deliverance from unwholesome situations, and will drive happy existences … Continue reading →

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Describing Reality

Posted on October 23, 2014 by

We rely on logic to describe reality, but logic mostly reveals the architecture of human thought and the structure of language. Our perception of what is real and unreal, possible and impossible, congruent and contradictory, says more about the limitations … Continue reading →

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Respect and Dignity

Posted on October 22, 2014 by

There are two dispositions that inhibit wrongdoing: respect and dignity. Respect is the disposition to consider others, protecting our personal reputation. The respectful person acts with discretion, offering a good example and avoiding shame. Dignity is respect for oneself, without … Continue reading →

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