hot dog

hi.

Zen buddhist to hot dog vendor:
"Make me one with nothing."

He gets the hot dog pays for it and asks for the change.
The vendor answers:
"change must come from within."

Mtfbwy
Fugen

suzuki roshi and the enlightened people.

Hi.

"Strictly speaking, there are no enlightened people, there is only enlightened activity."

And

"What we are talking about is moment-to-moment enlightenment, one enlightenment after another"

Our practice is living in the reality of the present, one moment at the time.
Do not consider yourselves with what comes next, or doing something for somebody else, or about what others think, live here now doing this.
Don't live there.
Live here now.

Mtfbwy
Fugen

Rinzai and wise beings...

Hi.

zenmaster Rinzai described a wise being as one who

"enters fire without being burnt, goes into water without being drowned, and plays about in the three deepest hells, as if in a fairground; he enters the world
of Pretas and dumb animals without being molested by them."

None of the realms of existence lie outside of our practice.

Mtfbwy
Fugen

Bookreview: True love

Hi.

The famous Thich Nhat Hanh has written a lot of books, on a variety of topics,and there is something for all in his writings.

This book is about love.
Not just any love, but the love that springs from the buddhist tradition.
He talks about the four aspects of love as described in the buddhist tradition:
1) Maitri: Loving kindness
2) Karuna: Sympathy, or the ability to ease others pain
3) Mudita: Joyful loving
4) Upeksha: Freedom through love
From these four aspects he gives explanations and practices applicable in you daily life.

The essential message he gives is the practice of mindfulness and understanding.
Understanding is a big part of being able to love, and understanding comes from being mindful and seeing things as they are.
So in short, it all comes back to mindful presence, being there, not just in body, but in full absolute awareness and not just once in a while either...

This is truly a book to recommend to those who really want to know love.

Mtfbwy
Fugen

Lisa simpson and starwars on youtube...

Hi.

Just putting this here.
Lisa always makes me smile...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnZ8fCA_hOM&feature=player_embedded

Also found a nice video parallelling the star wars movies and Buddhism...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc4-gHJh9ho&feature=related

Mtfbwy
fugen

Mealchant for teaparty.

Hi.

At treeleaf we're trying to have an short sitting together each sunday.
As it is a "teaparty", we start by reciting a mealchant.

This food comes from the efforts
of all sentient beings past and present,
and is medicine for nourishment of our Practice.
We offer this meal of many virtues and tastes
to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha,
and to all life in every realm of existence.
May all sentient beings in the universe
be sufficiently nourished.

It's at 21:00 (swedish time), and if you want to join, we are currently using skype so send an mail with your skype name.

Mtfbwy
Fugen