The Practice of the Mind

“We say that there is the non-practicing of the mind. This is nothing more than being unable to meditate on the mind. It [the mind] carries itself lightly and noisily, and is hard to catch hold of and to destroy. It runs about unmolested like an evil-minded elephant. Its movements are quick at every moment, as swift as lightning. It's as noisy and restless as a monkey. It's like a ghost or a flame. It is the root of evil, and it is hard to satisfy the call of the five desires. This is like fire that feeds on fuel, or the great ocean which swallow the waters of all rivers, or like the grasses and plants that grow so luxuriantly in Mandara (Mount). If a person does not meditate on the falsity of birth and death, it will always be tempted, as with a fish that swallows the hook. Always a watchword is given, followed by all the acts. This is like the mother who leads all the small ones.

A person becomes greedily attached to the five desires and does not care for Nirvana. This is like the camel that eats honey, forgetting all about the fodder till death slaughter it. Anyone who does not see things thus can be called one non-practicing of the mind.”

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 38 - On Bodhisattva Lion's Roar 6.

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The Practice of the Precepts

"We say that there is the non-practice of the precepts. Oh good man! This is nothing more than not being able to regard sila [precepts of morality] as a kind of ladder for all good dharmas. Sila is the root of all good dharmas. This is like the land, which is where all the trees grow. This is the best guide to everything that is good. It's like the owner of a ship that guides all the merchants. Sila is the banner of victory. It's like the hanging ensign of Devendra. Sila eternally extirpates all evil deeds and the three unfortunate realms. It thoroughly cures serious illnesses, such as a medicinal tree. Sila is nothing more than the food on the steep path of birth and death. It is the armor and sword that crush the thieves of defilements; and it is the best spell, which annihilates the poison of the vipers of defilements, or it is the bridge through which one can truly cross over the path of evil deeds. Any person who cannot think that way, is someone who does not practice the precepts. "

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 38 - On Bodhisattva Lion's Roar 6.

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The Practice of the Body

"Oh good man! For example, there can be all-wonderful gardens and forests in the world. But if any corpse is there, that place becomes impure, people abandon it, and person any no longer feels love or attachment [to that place]. It's the same with what happens in the world of matter. Though wonderful to look at, in that there is a body to represent them, all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas abandon it.

Oh good man! If a person cannot see things in this light, we do not call this the practice of the body. "

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 38 - On Bodhisattva Lion's Roar 6.

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The Body and the Fire

"Oh good man! For example, there is a man who has an enemy, who always looks for his whereabouts. Someone who is wise sees this, keeps awake and protects against it. If do not protects himself, there is the danger of being harmed. It's the same with all the bodies of beings. Be hot or cold, always nourish it with food and drink. If not thus well protected, the body will decay. Oh good man! The Brahmin, in worship to the god of fire, always offers incense and flowers, praises and worships it, makes offerings and serves him, and may well get a life of 100 years. But if he touches it, the fire will burn the hand that touched him. This fire, which was so cherished and valued with offerings, knows nothing about repay what it owes to one who has single-mindedly served it. It's the same with the bodies of all beings. Over the years, the body is served with the best of incense and flowers, necklaces, clothes, food and drink, bedding and medicines. But when it finds the causal relations that afflict it inside and out, everything at once collapses, and now it does not think of repay even a little the offerings and those clothes were given to them in days gone by."

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 38 - On Bodhisattva Lion's Roar 6.

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Two Kinds of People

"Oh, good man! There are two kinds of people. One makes the indefinite definite, causes the karmic rewards of the present life are those of the life to come, what is light in that which is grave, and what is to be suffered in this human life to be suffered in hell. The ignorant makes things grave.

The second (kind of person) makes what is definite indefinite, what belongs to the life to come [happen] in the present life, what is grave in that which is light, and what is of hell in that which is light in this human life.

Of the two kinds, the one is ignorant, and the other is wise. The wise person makes things light, and the ignorant person makes things grave in nature. "

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 38 - On Bodhisattva Lion's Roar 6.

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True Word

"Oh, good man! I recall that once in the past, we were shopkeepers, Devadatta and me. Each of us had about 500 merchants. In search of earnings, we went to great sea in search of rare things. Through evil causal relations, we met along the way with a storm and, ship-wrecked, all our comrades died. At that time, Devadatta and me, because of non-harming (others) and by the causal relations for a long life, were blown across onto land. Then, Devadatta, regretting that he had lost the treasure, was greatly worried and sobbed uncontrollably. I then said: 'Oh Devadatta! Do not cry '! Devadatta said: 'Listen to me carefully, listen carefully! For example, there is a man overwhelmed by poverty. He goes to the graveyard, grabs a corpse and says: 'Oh you! Give me the joy of death. I'll give you now life and poverty’. Then the corpse stands up and says to the poor man: 'Oh good man! Take poverty and life for yourself. I am now immersed in the joy of death. I'm not glad to see him alive and poor '. The situation is like this. But I have no the bliss of death at hands, and furthermore, I'm in misery. What else can I do other than sob and cry '? I also appease him: 'Do not be sad. I have now two beads, which are priceless. I will give one to you’. I gave it [to him] and said: 'A person who has life gains this gem. If you have no life, how can you expect to have this'? So, I felt tired and slept in the shade of a tree. Devadatta, with feverish greed, acquired an evil thought. Boring and blinding my eyes, he caught the other bead. In pain, I cried and sobbed. Then, there was a woman who came to me and asked: 'Why are you sobbing and crying'? So, I told her everything that had happened. Upon hearing that, she further asked: 'What is your name'? I said: 'My name is True-Word'. (She said:) 'How can I know that you're truthful '? So, I took an oath: 'If I should now have evil thoughts against Devadatta, let me be a one-eyed; otherwise, let my eyes gain the light’. In saying this, my eyes were healed and were as good as before. Oh good man! This is where we say that the Bodhisattva-Mahasattva talks about the reward that comes about in this life. "

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 38 - On Bodhisattva Lion's Roar 6.

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The Deepest me Are Us

Freeing themselves from the moorings.

Who would love soldiers?

With heavy helmets strapped on their heads,
With heavy belts of cartridges tied on the chest,
With heavy guns strapped on their arms,
With heavy belts of grenades, pistols and daggers strapped on his waist,
With heavy boots tied to the feet.

Who would love them?

One should start from the head.
A free mind soon makes away the other griefs,
Freeing hearts, arms, hands, hips and legs.

Never more the fear of battles,
The darkness of blackouts,
The fury of the tanks.

Then,
A soft breeze will make fluttering the canopies of peace.
You will feel the powerful, secure and deep sound of the Dharma,
spreading through you, like a tuning fork.

Do not look back,
to the citadel on fire of the triple world.

Read more in The Deepest me Are Us.

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The Karmic Retribution of Bodhisattva

"The Bodhisattva-Mahasattva not commits actions that will lead him to hell. For the sake of beings, he takes a great vow and comes alive in hell. Oh, good man! In days gone by, when the lifespan of beings was 100 years, countless beings, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, received karmic results in hell. I saw this, took a great vow and gained life in hell. The Bodhisattva, at that time, truth to tell, had no sin of such kind (which would lead him to hell). For the sake of beings, he gained life in hell. I, at that time, was in hell, living there for countless ages and exposing the 12 types of sutras extensively for all sinners. The sinners, on hearing this, crushed all their karmic results and escaped from hell, except the icchantikas. This is why we say that the Bodhisattva-Mahasattva receives the karmic results no later than in this life. "

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 38 - On Bodhisattva Lion's Roar 6.

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Karma Definite and the Indefinite

"Oh, good man! There are two kinds of karma, namely: definite and the indefinite. Of the karma that is definite, there are two kinds. One is that definite in result, and the other the definite in time. There can be cases where the result is definite and the time indefinite. When the causal relations conjoin, the result comes about in the Three Times of the present, the next life, or later lives.

Oh, good man! When one does good or evil with a settled mind, one gains a believing mind and joy. And one takes a vow or makes offerings to the Three Treasures. This is a definite action.

One who is wise is persistent in good deeds and cannot be demoted. Because of this, the grave actions turn out to be light. One who is ignorant is persistent in evil. Because of this, any light action turns out to be grave [in consequences] and calls forth a grave return. This is why all actions are not called definite."

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 38 - On Bodhisattva Lion's Roar 6.

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Crystalline - The Universe of Perfect Crystal

The All-Void as Perfect Crystal.

No phenomenon has its own nature, which can be called 'self'. Why? Because them, the phenomena, result from a symmetry breaking of a higher order, due to impurities. This symmetry breaking imposes the discrimination as an essential aspect of reality. However, the so-called nature of all phenomena is a product of causal relations, nothing more, so 'is'; these phenomena, due to the temporary appearance, have as inexorable fate their ‘dissolution' in the All-Void, so 'not-is'.

Read More at 'Crystalline' - The Universe of Perfect Crystal.

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