Medicine Buddha Mantra

Amida Butsu & Bodhisattva

Below is from a couple of months ago as we were going through the book MAHAYANA BUDDHISM by Beatrice Suzuki wife of D.T. Suzuki.

This paper was written very informally (as all of mine usually are) and straight from deep heart felt sentiments.

The topic is AMIDA BUDDHA & BODHISATTVA

We all have the Bodhi seed within us. Each one of us is Buddha. Therefore I see Amida
Buddha as Me. I have within me the Eternal Light and Infinite Life. There is nothing outside
of myself to trust in. We are all ONE. 

I am a member of the Buddha family and because I AM  it is my duty to conquer sin (that
which keeps me separated from knowing who I am) and fear (as a mother I have all sorts of fears I am dealing with in learning to let go of my children and allow them to experience their being) and work for the good of others.   

When I work for the good of others I am less likely to dwell on the perception of my own so
called suffering. Keep my eye on the prize. The prize: Awakening. 

A few years ago I heard a friend say that he took the Boddhisattva vow to awaken and
dedicate his life to helping others awaken. He said that a Boddhisattva was one who would
forego breaking free from Samsara until every sentient being was awakened. 

I remember my immediate response to what he was saying was that of revulsion. I thought
to myself….there is NO way I want to stick around this place; I want to awaken and NOT
come back here never ever again. 

Well, to be honest there is a part of me that finds that appeal but on the other hand there is
a part of me that sees the benefit in helping others to awaken. We are all in this together
and that is a fact.  

When I was a young child my earliest memories of my thoughts are that I
felt that we were all connected. I knew that my family was my family but somehow I knew
that the so called strangers walking down the street were somehow connected to me as
well.  

So, defer to the Child Me and I think of the Bodhisattva vow as an ideal to put into
practice in my daily life. It is not just for the benefit of the world but also for my benefit as
well.  

We are all One. 

CAPPING PHRASE: Remember the Bodhisattva vows.
CODE PHRASE: We are in this together

Infinite

At the still point in the center of the circle one can see the Infinite in all things.

--Chuang Tsu

In Joy & Oneness of Peace.

Nirvana

NIRVANA
Mayahana Buddhism by Suzuki, B. L and D.T. Suzuki
July 29, 2012

Suzuki sensei writes: “NIRVANA is Samsara, and no more a transcendental entity to be sought after death or to be reached after crossing the stream of Samsara.”
“…the mind regains its original purity and grace and becomes altogether free from worries and other annoyances.”

Until we truly realize there is no birth, no death, no good, no bad…it all just is.


…it all JUST IS… Suchness?


Until we can truly be here now…be now without judgment or qualification we will not see that we are already here, Nirvana.


Nirvana is not outside of us. Nirvana is the center within.


Enlightenment or Nirvana is not a place we are going or a state we must attain, it is a state we must remember.


My goal, my job, my dharma is to awaken. I must awaken to the truth of who I truly am.


What comes to mind is the Hebrew term: Hineni which is HERE I AM.


CAPPING PHRASE: Around and round the merry-go-round.
CODE PHRASE: Here I am, awake!

What Does Shakyamuni Buddha Ask of Us

Shakyamuni Buddha does not ask people to never experience suffering, affliction or craving. 

He does ask us to open our eyes to the reality of Life, the world in which we live and all the ups and downs that we experience, realize the impermanence of it all and how it does not and should not define us or lead us emotionally. 

He asks that we open our eyes and rise above the seeming chaos, harness the energy to use it to truly live meaningful lives.


The cultivation of the path can lead us to perfect peace. 

Peace first with ourselves and then peace with others.
 
When we awaken to the truth, truly awaken to the truth of life we will no longer wallow in grief. 

And should we for a moment, wallow in grief, we will forgive ourselves and let it go.

When we awaken to the Truth of Life we will learn to accept and live Life as it truly is. We will then have arrived at perfect Peace.

We may still have disappointment. We may still have sadness. 

We will experience emotion and simple except it, learn from it and let it go. 

We are then no longer living from a foundation of reaction and thus no longer creating negative Karma.

That in my opinion is Enlightenment.

What Buddha Taught

The Buddha taught enlightenment. 

He did not teach that we will never be depressed. 

He taught us not to be defeated by it. 

He did not teach us how to avoid suffering. 

He taught us to meet affliction and lively nobly, so that suffering is not unnecessarily multiplied. 

There is suffering enough in the world. 

He did not put himself above us. 

He was a man who never claimed divinity. 

He showed a way to live with reality, with all its alternations and with all the emotions and internal changes that result from them, and to see that this is our path.

*David Brazier
The Feeling Buddha
.

Dharma practice

"...dharma practice is concerned not with proving or disproving theories of self but with understanding and easing the grip of self-centeredness that constricts body, feelings, and emotions into a tight nugget of anguish." Stephen Batchelor

In Joy & Oneness of Peace.