Prayer for healing and blessing | Great Middle Way

Prayer for healing and blessing | Great Middle Way:

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Prayer for healing and blessing

Posted on April 1, 2012 

Just as the soft rains fill the streams,

pour into the rivers and join together in the oceans,

so may the power of every moment of your goodness

flow forth to awaken and heal all beings:

those here now, those gone before, those yet to come.

By the power of every moment of your goodness,

may your heart’s wishes be soon fulfilled,

as completely shining as the bright full moon,

as magically as by a wish-fulfilling gem.

May all dangers be averted and all disease be gone.

May no obstacle come across your way.

May you enjoy fulfillment and long life.

For all in whose heart dwells respect,

who follow the wisdom and compassion of the Way,

may your life prosper in the four blessings

of longevity, beauty, happiness, and strength.

5th Contemplation: The Certainty of Death | Great Middle Way

5th Contemplation: The Certainty of Death | Great Middle Way:

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Whoever has lived and will live

Must discard this body and depart.

Cognizant of death, the wise become realized.

They come to abide in the dharma

And practice.

All the transient beings that have lived

In the past have died.

All who will live in the future also will die.

Among those who presently live as well

No one will escape death.

From the time of my birth until today

How many who were close to me have died?

How many who were strangers or enemies have died?

There is no reason to be confident

That I shall remain when they have all departed.

I must quickly recognize the truth

That has been realized by the holy ones

Who exert themselves at every moment.

In this short life

I will no longer postpone spiritual practice

From avoidance or apathy.

2nd Contemplation: A Precious Human Birth | Great Middle Way

2nd Contemplation: A Precious Human Birth | Great Middle Way:
By Tashi Nyima in 'The Great Middle Way'

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I am now free of the eight unfavorable states:

birth as a hell being, a hungry ghost,

an animal, a demigod, or a god[1];

grossly wrong views[2];

an unsuitable location for the practice of the Dharma;

and defective sensual and mental functions.

I am now endowed with the ten necessary conditions.

The five inner endowments:

a human birth in a central location,

proper sensual and mental functions,

uncorrupted karma[3], and faith in the Three Jewels;

And the five outer endowments:

the Buddha has appeared and taught the Dharma,

the Lord’s teachings survive,

the Dharma has countless followers,

and many support the teachings.

A human life such as I have now obtained

will be extremely difficult to achieve in the future.

I will not waste it in meaningless pursuits.

I must use it in service to the Dharma.

---

[1] These are states of unimaginable suffering, constant hankering, stupidity, aggressive jealousy, and indolence.

[2] The grossly wrong views are (1) denying the law of karma, (2) despising the Three Jewels, and (3) denying rebirth.

[3] Uncorrupted karma consists of (1) not being intimately related to those who oppose the Dharma, and (2) not deriving one’s sustenance from unsuitable occupations, such as hunting and prostitution.

Tashi Nyima | October 27, 2011 at 8:51 AM | Categories: Lamrim | URL: http://wp.me/p17iwB-oR

If everything is emptiness | Great Middle Way

If everything is emptiness | Great Middle Way:

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In the auto-commentary to The Fourth Council, the Omniscient Dolpopa asks the proponents of self-emptiness (rangtongpas), with folded hands:

How is the realization that everything is empty of self not the same as no realization?

How is the explanation of everything as empty of self not the same as no explanation?

How is stating that everything is empty of self not the same as not stating anything?

These are not merely clever questions with a polemical intent. They are sincere questions that every advocate of the rangtong view must answer to his/her own satisfaction, or else abandon that view of radical self-emptiness, which is either dangerously close (and thus leading) to nihilism, or nihilism itself.

If everything, including Buddha nature, were self-empty, then there would be no difference between the absolute and the relative.

While advocating neither, the Protector Nagarjuna warned us that nihilism is worse than eternalism. The Great Madhyamaka is neither nihilist nor eternalist. It is the Great Middle, beyond all extremes.

Buddha Nature is empty of all that is imaginary and dependent, and it is full of the perfect qualities of ultimate reality: True Purity, True Self, True Bliss, and True Permanence.

The end of suffering | Great Middle Way

The end of suffering | Great Middle Way:
Posted on October 12, 2011 by Tashi Nyima

 "The end of suffering''

For one who clings, agitation exists,

but for one who clings not, there is no agitation.

Where there is no agitation, there is stillness.

Where there is stillness, there is no craving.

Where there is no craving, there is neither coming nor going.

Where there is no coming or no going,

there is neither arising nor passing away.

Where there in no arising nor passing away,

there is neither this birth nor a birth beyond,

nor a state between births.

This, verily, is the end of suffering.

–Buddha Shakyamuni"

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Going for Refuge | Great Middle Way

Going for Refuge | Great Middle Way:

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The procedure by which one makes the choice to become a committed Buddhist is known as Going for Refuge. We take shelter in the protection and guidance of the Three Jewels: Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.   

It is not necessary to give up your current religious affiliation to practice Dharma, unless that affiliation demands actions that contradict Dharma precepts, such as animal sacrifice, forceful conversion of others, or immoral behaviors. Also, it is not initially necessary to change one’s habits of diet, dress, or relations with others, though some people choose to do so.   

Within any genuine tradition, going for Refuge to the Three Jewels is indispensable for making spiritual progress. ‘Going’ means recognizing the wisdom and compassion of the Enlightened Teacher, accepting the teachings as the practical Path to Enlightenment, and seeking the association and guidance of the Community of Practitioners.   

The path leads away from the confusion and turmoil of attachment, aversion, and indifference; away from the uncertainty of countless beliefs; away from obstinacy and conceit; and away from fear and anxiety. The path leads toward freedom from all suffering (liberation), and ultimately to the development of wisdom and compassion (enlightenment).   

The Three Jewels are aspects of Enlightenment, and thus you are ultimately going for Refuge within, to the Three Jewels in your own heart.   

The Buddha, the Enlightened One, is the embodiment of the state of realization and perfect qualities. He is the goal for which we aim, and the actual nature of every sentient being.  The Sanskrit term “buddha” literally means “the awakened one”. “Sangye” is the Tibetan term for Buddha. “Sang” means pure and  “gye” means manifest. “Sang” indicates that the actual nature of sentient beings is True Purity. “Gye” indicates that the inherent qualities of Natural Perfection have blossomed completely and that in the awakened state all veils that obscure it are completely removed. The qualities of all Buddhas are True Self, True Bliss, and True Permanence. These are expressed spontaneously for the benefit of others as wisdom, compassion, and power.  

The historic Buddha of our age, Buddha Shakyamuni, manifested this state approximately 2,500 years ago, and offered us a path of methods enabling us to achieve the same. For this reason, Buddhists deeply venerate Buddha Shakyamuni as our authoritative spiritual guide, and take refuge in Him as the spiritual master.   

The Dharma comprises two aspects: the Dharma of Instruction and the Dharma of Realization. The Dharma of Instruction refers to the words of the Buddha and their authentic explanations. Taking refuge in the Dharma of Instruction means to listen to these teachings, to contemplate their meaning, and to cultivate our understanding through the process of meditation. The Dharma of Realization refers to the process of realizing the true nature of reality, the nature of our True Self. This is the ultimate aspect of taking refuge in the Dharma.   

In principle, the term Sangha refers to ordained Buddhist monks and nuns, and by extension, to the community of all practitioners. In the context of taking Refuge, however, the Sangha refers in particular to those practitioners who have achieved the result of the path: freedom from cyclic existence – the “Noble Ones”. By virtue of Their experience and maturity they have the capacity to act as authentic spiritual friends to other practitioners. Therefore we take refuge in these practitioners, the “Noble Ones”, or Great Bodhisattvas.   

The benefit of taking Refuge is eightfold: we embark on the inner path; we generate the basis for all commitments; negative deeds from the past will be exhausted; hindrances cannot harm us any longer; we accomplish all that we wish; we achieve the great cause of merit; we will not fall into lower states of existence; and we will quickly attain the enlightened state. The Buddha said in the Great Parinirvana Sutra that by taking Refuge in the Three Jewels, we will achieve the state of fearlessness.

Hidden inside your breast | Great Middle Way

Hidden inside your breast | Great Middle Way:

"Hidden inside your breast'

Posted on October 3, 2011 by Tashi Nyima

Hidden inside your breast

Do not go about worshipping deities and religious institutions


as the source of the subtle truth.






To do so is to place intermediaries


between yourself and primordial wisdom,


and to make of yourself a beggar


who looks outside for a treasure


that is hidden inside your own breast.

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