Buddha Tree Roots
Image by Akbar Sim
http://www.flickr.com/photos/akbar2/4469242401/ —

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ztd811:

我们每每在一些事物的边沿经过，因为匆忙使我们的头低下，往往已经走过了几次，还不知在我们的旁边曾经存在过什么。有一些人会永远处在忧愁的漩涡里，因为他一直在埋头赶路，他的心也俨然是有所焦灼的，这种人的惟一乐趣就是偶尔徜徉在那贫乏的回忆里。人生，只有放慢脚步，你才会发现更多美好的瞬间。

figuelove:

(via Beautiful Creatures / Amazing.)

michael-marquez:

~ “Then there is no fear, there cannot be, because now there can be no death – how can there be fear? The death has already happened, that which could die has died. Now you are in the world of immortality, you have found the elixir. This is the nectar we will be talking about again and again in these sutras of THE SECRET OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER. This is the nectar, AMRIT. This is the elixir, the philosopher’s stone. Once you have tasted of it, all death has disappeared, all time has disappeared, all distinctions have disappeared. Now you will see the tree as your extension, the cloud as your extension, or you as the extension of the tree. Now the centre is everywhere and nowhere. The ’I’ does not exist anywhere anymore. The very word has become utterly false.

Once a Christian missionary asked a Zen Master, ’Isn’t the end-point of man’s journey the union with God?’

The Zen Master said, ’The end-point of man’s journey is NOT union with God, because there has never been a separation. All that is needed is the flash of insight that makes one see it.’

Tao, Zen, Tantra – their insight is far more deep than the so-called market-place religion. Christianity thinks in terms of joining with God, of being one with God, but the Zen Master’s insight is far more penetrating, and deeper. He says: But where has there been a separation? When? It has not happened at all, you have been dreaming that you are separate. Just come out of the dream! There is no union, you have ALWAYS been one with existence. Not for a single moment has there been a separation, there is no possibility of separation.” ~ Chandra Mohan Jain

In order to awaken we must first ‘shake’ ourselves loose from the sleep, we must demand and push ourselves to wake up to an expanded perception. This is like a bad dream, if we want out we merely scream and shake enough until we emerge in our beds and our free from it; the same must be done in our sleepy lives.

The first step is taking action, to build awareness, to find it, to hold this state. Then once we have emerged non-action takes over. Then we are free from the bondage of the sleep and we see things with new eyes.

Action leads to Non-Action - this is the Tao, the Way.

alanpeto:

Buddhism and Animals

Animals in Buddhism are important because it helps illuminate a Buddhists relation to nature, kindness, humanistic ideas, and to further show the relationship between Buddhist theory and practice.

Buddhists see animals as sentient beings (just like humans), but intellecntually not on the same level.  This does not mean, however, that animals suffer any less than humans.

In Mahayana Buddhism, animals also posses Buddha nature just like humans.

Immediately following the Buddha’s awakening, he made the following proclamation:

“Marvelous, marvelous!  All sentient beings have the Tathagata’s* wisdom and virtue, but they fail to realize it because they cling to deluded thoughts and attachments.”

(* Tathagata is another name for the Buddha, and the one he most frequently used when talking about himself)

The Jataka tales often featured animals to help explain Buddhist concepts.  You can see some of the Jataka tales here on Buddhanet:  http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/budtale1.htm


‘Bhutan Monk honors stray dog’ photo by Claus Nehmzow on Flickr (used with permission)

(Source: rude-mechanicals, via prometheanreach)

valscrapbook:

The north door of the Church of St Edward, Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire, England, flanked by yew trees by Hunky Punk on Flickr.

(via lilli-eisen)

(via pugsdrugs)