The Tree (Part 1)

The Tree (Part 1)


One of my favourite poses in yoga is the tree pose.
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I like it because it's a very gentle and calming pose that relaxes the body and mind, and also because of the meaning associated with it.

In the past, whenever I do the pose in class, I would explain and tell the story behind the tree pose - what it represents and symbolises :
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Just as a tree grows from a seed, to a seedling to a plant and then become a tree, we, too, likewise, are growing day by day.
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And as the tree grows, it provides shade and shelter, a resting place, for those who are weary and tired.
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Through the process of photosynthesis, its leaves also provides us with clean fresh oxygen for us to breathe in, and fill our lungs and nourish our body.
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Its flowers not only releases sweet gentle fragrance to freshen the atmosphere and our environment, the blooms and blossoms also never fail to light up and bring a smile to everyone's face.
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In addition, its fruits fill our hungry stomachs and quenches our thirst.

Just as the tree provides and shares with us all of the above freely, with no terms and conditions, no strings attached, no ulterior motive or hidden agenda,
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We, too, can, and ought to learn from the tree and do the same - share whatever we have, our skills, our abilities, our knowledge, with the world.
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Unconditionally.
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Give back.

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This is the story of the tree, and also the reason why I like the pose and why we need to protect them.




"For every act of giving is an act of non-greed, non-hatred, non-delusion."

- Bhikkhu Visuddhacara





"Verily, misers go not to the celestial realms.
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Fools do not indeed praise liberality ( generosity )
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The wise man rejoices in giving and thereby becomes happy thereafter."
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- The Buddha, Dhammapada verse 177





"The scent of flowers cannot go against the wind;
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Nor the scent of sandalwood, nor of tagara, nor of jasmine;
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Only the reputation of the virtuous ones pervades in every direction.
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There are the scents of sandalwood, tagara, lotus and jasmine;
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But the scent of virtue surpasses all scents."
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- The Buddha, Dhammapada verse 54, 55





"He who plants trees loves others besides himself;
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And he who destroys/kills trees does not love himself and others."





"Cut down the forest (of the passions), but not real trees.

From the forest (of the passions) springs fear.

Cutting down both forest and brushwood (of the passions),

Be forestless, O Bhikkhus."

- The Buddha, Dhammapada verse 283

Why He Has To Go

Why He Has To Go


Since we're still in the midst of Vesak, I thought I'll attempt to answer something relating to The Great Teacher (ie. Buddha) and hopefully shed some light on a particular subject and remove any misconception about Him.

Many people ask, "If Buddhism is about compassion, why did The Great Father leave his wife and son on the night of his son's birth? Isn't he selfish?"

To me, it was the most compassionate and kind thing that The Buddha did. ( read "Attachment vs Freedom" - http://maitre-light.blogspot.com/2007/01/attachment-vs-freedom.html )

It was the highest of the highest of compassion.

Think about it :

How many of us would be able to sacrifice our families, our friends, our loved ones, a life of luxury and abundance to seek a way out of darkness ( delusion/ignorance )

For the benefit of All sentient beings? ( read "Saving Others" - http://maitre-light.blogspot.com/2008/07/saving-others.html )

If that's not compassion, I don't know what is.

Ask yourselves : Would you do it? Would you sacrifice/give/exchange your family, your friends, your life of luxury and comfort to one of simplicity, renunciation, having little, being alone and solitude, for the sake of others?

If He did not make that difficult and world-changing decision,

Heart-breaking as it is for him ( read "Mynah and Her Nestling" - http://maitre-light.blogspot.com/2007/11/mynah-and-her-nestling.html ),

We'll still be bound by the chains and bonds of Mara;

We would not have benefited from His Wisdom, His Discovery and His Teachings ( The Dhamma),

Even up to this present day - some 2600 years later.

We'll ALL still be in darkness.

If not for His sacrifice to seek a way out,

Many beings would still be wandering around in samsara, in vain.

There would be no Enlightenment, no freedom from samsara, no freedom from suffering, no freedom from the cycle of birth and re-births.

As Bhikkhu Visuddhacara said so aptly,

"The Buddha wants us all to reach the end of suffering. That is the real inheritance He wants to hand to us."

It's the compassion of ALL compassion, and NO being can surpass that.

The reason we think it's selfish is because we're using our own perception and (past) conditioning to judge Him and interpret His actions.

( read "Perception and Perspective" - http://maitre-light.blogspot.com/2008/06/perception-and-perspective.html )

The reason we think He's selfish is because we are selfish -

Our reactions to things tells more about ourselves than the thing itself.

And, the reason we think He's selfish is because we're looking at it through the telescope of the world, which is very narrow.

We ought to be thankful and grateful for the sacrifice that He, Yasodhara (His wife) and Rahula (His son) made on our behalf, and not criticise it.

This, is the reason why He left;

And this, by the way, is also the gist of all the answers to last year's entry "Questions and Answers (Part 2) : The Core of Buddhism". - http://maitre-light.blogspot.com/2008/12/questions-and-answers-part-2-core-of.html)

Think about it. Reflect on it.

Have an investigative week, Everyone !

With Metta,

Maitre-light






"Through many a birth in samsara have I wandered in vain,

Seeking the builder of this house (of life)

Repeated birth is indeed suffering !

O house-builder you are seen !

You shall build no house again.

All thy rafters ( defilements ) are broken,

Thy ridge-poles ( delusion, ignorance, Avijja ) shattered.

My mind has reached the Unconditioned;

I have attained the destruction of Craving."

- The Buddha, Dhammapada verse 153, 154.





"In desiring that people should be good, NO one can surpass The Lord Buddha.

The Teachings which He gave the world was only so that everyone could be be virtuous, good and happy.

He did not want the world to be troubled and harmed, which results from wrong-doings due to ignorance of the way of conducting oneself."

- Ajahn Maha Boowa




"If one wants to render a high service, one must undergo suffering.

One must give up luxuries.

One must come down to the level of ordinary folk.

Must witness the suffering endured by the masses.

One must taste that kind of life.

The sufferings of others CANNOT be eradicated unless one endured that kind of suffering.

If one were to serve mankind genuinely,

One must possess experiences acquired through suffering,

Like The Buddha."

- Venerable Weragoda Sarada Maha Thero




"In The Buddha you see clearly a man, simple, devout, ALONE, battling for light,

A vivid human personality, NOT a myth.

He too gave a message to mankind universal in character.

Many of our best modern ideas are in closest harmony with it.

All the miseries and discontents of life are due, He taught, to selfishness.

Before a man can become serene, he must cease to live for his senses or himself.

Then he merges into a greater being.

Buddhism, in a different language, called men to self-forgetfulness 500 years before Christ.

In some ways, He (i.e. The Buddha) was nearer to us and our needs.

He was more lucid upon our individual importance in service than Christ

And less ambiguous upon the question of personal immortality."

- H G Wells





"There is NO other human being with the exception of Prince Siddharttha, who made such an overwhelming sacrifice,

In the whole of human history.

He made this unparallelled sacrifice,

This incomparable renunciation,

NOT for anything else,

But for Supreme Enlightenment

For the welfare of others -

For the service to the world,

In quest of Truth."

- Venerable Weragoda Sarada Maha Thero

The 3 Whys of Life

The 3 Whys of Life


1) Why do I suffer?

2) Why is there birth?

(Hint : and it's not because a Supreme Creator/Being 'create' us out of his baking factory. The answer is very simple. Very basic.)


3) Why do I die? (or, Why is there death?)


If you can answer the above totally, fully, honestly and truthfully, you'll have all the answers of Life, to Life.

P.S. ... And a bonus question : "How do I stop all 3?"


Happy investigating !

Enjoy !

Maitre-light






"Nibbana is the highest bliss!"

- The Buddha .
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"It's only through, and by letting go can we then gain release.

Full Release." . .
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"With steadfast mind, applying themselves thoroughly in the Dispensation of Gotama,

Exempt from passion, they have attained to that which should be attained.

And plunging into the Deathless, they enjoy the peace obtained without price.

Truly, in the Sangha is this precious jewel,

By this Truth, may there be Happiness!"

- The Buddha, The Ratana Sutta.

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"Why control? Why resist?

Why not let go, surrender, and be at peace."





"......... the meaning of Dhamma, which is the Truth that is within yourself ......... is well within each and every person's capability."

- Venerable Ajahn Mun





"Examine your own heart.

Understand your own mind."




"Do not put off till tomorrow what you can do today,

For tomorrow may not come."





"Increased Mindfulness gives Concentration;

Increased Concentration gives Wisdom;

AND, Increased Wisdom gives Freedom from the cycle of Samsara."





"It's only through suffering can you then end suffering."

- Ajahn Chah






"Amidst the harshness ( of life ), We learn."

Tribute To A Great Man (and Warrior) : Ajahn Maha Boowa

Tribute To A Great Man (and Warrior) : Ajahn Maha Boowa





















* No words / amount of words can express or describe how grateful and thankful I am to Ajahn Maha Boowa, cos like the Dhamma, it's beyond words.

It's something that can only be felt and experienced from, and in, my heart.

Ajahn Maha Boowa is a disciple of the late Venerable Ajahn Mun.

Like his predecessor, he is also a great warrior, someone who truly deserves the title of a 'Maha' (ie. great).

To me, he is possibly the last warrior of the Sakyan clan - meaning : the last of the authentic forest dhutanga kammatthana Bhikkhu/monk of the Great Buddha's lineage.

He is someone who truly knows his stuff and the Dhamma inside-out, and who has an indept knowledge of the path and practices leading to Arahantship (ie. Enlightenment).

He is someone who's not afraid to admit his faults, that he's 'a roguish, straight-arrow' kind of monk etc, and that's what endears me to him.

As he abides in the peace and serenity of Nibbana, I can only say that I'm grateful and thankful to him for all his teachings, and that I'm truly privileged to be able to find his collection of teachings which I've benefited so much from, for they truly are the Precious Gems.

In this respect, I'm devoting this entry to 3 excerpts of his teachings taken from his books,

'Patipada - The Mode of Practice of Venerable Acharn Mun,

'Arahatta magga Arahattaphala - The Path to Arahantship', and

'Venerable Ajahn Khao Analayo - A True Spiritual Warrior'.

Ajahn Boowa, like the Great Buddha, gave all his teachings freely for ALL.

As the late Venerable Ajahn Mun said it so aptly,

"Dhamma belongs to everyone (and to me, anyone) who truly desires it.

The Buddha did not limit the possession of Dhamma to a particular individual.

Everyone (and anyone) who practises in the right way enjoys the same right of ownership."

And as Ajahn Boowa himself said,

"Dhamma has a value beyond all wealth, and should NOT be sold like goods in the market place",

So how can anyone charge/sell it (ie The Dhamma)?

"At present, all that is left of Buddhism are the words of the Buddha. Only his teaching - the scriptures - remain. Please be aware of this. Due to the corruption caused by the defiling nature of the kilesas, true spiritual principles are no longer practiced in present-day Buddhism.

We constantly allow our minds to be agitated and confused, engulfed in mental defilements that assail us from every direction. They so overpower our minds that we never arise above these contaminating influences, no matter how hard we try.

The vast majority of people are not even interested enough to try : They simply close their eyes and allow the onslaught to overwhelm them. They don't even attempt to put up the least amount of resistance.

This is a fault that we as Buddhists must remedy within ourselves by truly putting into practice the Buddha's teaching."

- (Arahattamagga Arahattaphala - The Path to Arahantship, page 1)


"So please practise it by yourselves until you realise it for yourselves. You will then become convinced and feel a satisfaction that you have accomplished something, far more than you ever will by reading and listening to others.

Because the understanding which comes from what others say, or from textbooks is all within the field of discursive commentary.

Before it is accepted and the heart can agree to believe it, there must be an intense internal struggle and a testing criticism of what has been heard or read.

Sometimes one can even lose out to oneself, believing that oneself has the upper hand, because deciding or weighing up what one has heard or read is one's own opinion.

For, generally speaking, we who follow the way (Sasana) tend to send our thoughts out externally rather than going inwardly and the results which we get, tend to be in the direction of loss to oneself all the time."

- ('Patipada or The Mode of Practice of Venerable Ajahn Mun', page 473)



"The truth of the Buddha's teaching will be revealed to those who truly practise his teaching with diligence and an unwavering determination to discover the Truth.

In order to fully realise the truth about their own nature and about the nature of Dhamma, seekers of the way must strive to become spiritual warriors on the path to liberation.

Their hearts need to have a firm resolve that can boldly stand up their internal enemies, finding the strength of will to fight with all their might without becoming weak or disheartened, and without retreating when the struggle becomes difficult.

When this kind of fighting spirit is exhibited in the pursuit of Dhamma, then time and place are not relevant to their quest for the truth.

Regardless of whether it is the Buddha's age or our present age, Nibbana can always be attained by those who earnestly follow the way with diligence, because the true Dhamma always exists in the present moment - the timeless present, here and now."

- (Venerable Ajaan Khao Analayo - A True Spiritual Warrior, page 212)





"Unresentful like the earth,

Firm like a gate post,

Equipoised and strong in vows,

Mind without impurities like a pool :

For such a one

The round of births exist no."

- The Buddha (on Venerable Sariputta, His first Chief Disciple)

Freedom

Freedom


During the last American Idol Results Show on 08/05/08, I watched as Jason Castro performed for the last time.

He was so happy!

When Carly Smithson was voted out earlier, she was also happy.

But, her happiness was of a different kind -

That she was glad that she had made it that far, and she was content with it.

For Jason, it felt like he seem so light, so free.

His performance over the past weeks were pretty lacklustre, and not as great as some of the other contestants,

But America kept voting for him.

In Simon's words, "He's charming." (Read 'How To Be Ugly' 09/03/09)

But his performance on Wednesday (07/05/08) night was really bad.

So bad that Simon even told him to 'pack his bags'.



When I reflected on it that night, I thought could it be that that was his game plan : to perform badly so as to be voted out?

I do not know.

But what I do know is this :

What's Nibbana?

That, is Nibbana.

Free ......... Released ......... from all bondage, ties, entanglements, attachments, shackles and chains.

Ah ......... Nibbana.......

What bliss !








"Freedom is the highest happiness."







"Why be God (Idol) when you can be Buddha (Free) ?"








"O Bhikkhus, gains, offerings, glory, praise are all harsh and fierce.

They are a danger preventing the achievement of the highest bliss of liberation (Nibbana)."

- The Buddha (Samyutta Nikaya - Labha Sakkara Samyutta)








"Fame, fortune, power, recognition and glory are the real evils of the world -

They are truly the evils that will destroy us."









"Power and influence destroy men of inferior wisdom."

- The Buddha

"Everybody wants to be a 'somebody' ,

BUT nobody wants to be a nobody."

The 2 Bags

The 2 Bags





Once, on the way home in the MRT, I told a student of mine that everyone of us have 2 bags : One in front, and another at the back.



The one in front contains all of our good qualities, and other people's weaknesses.



The one at the back contains all of other people's strengths, and all of our bad qualities.



We should switch the bags around.



So that we can see all of our own weaknesses, and others' good qualities more clearly.

















"Easily seen are others' faults,



Hard to see are our own."



- The Buddha

















"One should not pry into the faults of others, into things done and left undone by others.



One should rather consider what by oneself is done and left undone."



- The Buddha, Dhammapada verse 50

















"He who sees others' faults, and is ever irritable,



The corruptions of such a one grow.



He is far from the destruction of corruptions."



- The Buddha, Dhammapada verse 253

Perfection

Perfection


In 'Forgiveness' - http://maitre-light.blogspot.com/2009/03/forgiveness.html , I asked,

"Don't we make mistakes sometimes?

Don't we have weaknesses, too?

Or do we think we're so 'perfect' ?"

Be careful if you think you're 'perfect'.

Cos' your strength can become your weakness.


I remember a student in one of the clubs where I used to teach.

She's very flexible.

One night, after my class, we met in the Ladies' room, and the thought came to guide her.

I told her, "You're very flexible, and that is your strength. But be careful, don't let your strength become your weakness."

What do I mean by that?

She's very supple.

Good to a certain extend cos' she can do certain poses, but bad in the sense that she can injure herself, break/fracture her joints/hips etc easily, without her knowing it. (Strength become weakness).

If she's not careful, she may end up becoming like a rubber band that's lost its elasticity.

Too much of a good thing can be bad.

Moderation is the key.


Some people eat 'big fish big meat' and all the luxurious food all the time.

As they grow older, a lot of illnesses and diseases also come their way all the time.


Coming back to the student :

She was a very nice and humble lady who accepted my advice and concern.

In the course of my work, I've met with many others who think they're flawless and infallible.

The reason I suppose it's because as one monastic once said, "No one can (and will) think they are wrong."

If you hold a similar view about your 'perfection', knowledge and abilities,

My suggestion is,

Please be careful.

Cos such attitude and mindset can lead to complacency, ingratitude, pride/ego, and in the end, to your own downfall and destruction.




"The person who continues in his stubbornness only promotes more evil."

- Venerable Ajahn Mun.

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"A mountain, no matter how tall,

Is always beneath the feet of the person who climbs it."

- Venerable Ajahn Maha Boowa .

"What should have been done is left undone,

What should NOT have been done, is done.

For those who are conceited and heedless,

The corruptions increase."

- The Buddha, Dhammapada verse 292 .

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"Avoid walking with your nose so high up that you do not know where you're going,

Or what you're stepping on (dung), or into (quick sand)."





“ 聪明反被聪明误” .

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"Those who pride themselves smart are the real stupid foolish ignorant ones."

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"Pride comes before a fall."

- An English proverb