The Fivefold Spiritual Renaissance Campaign

Sharing the following note with you:

The Fivefold Spiritual Renaissance Campaign
A Proposition for Living in the 21st Century
-by Master Sheng Yen of Dharma Drum Mountain

A Formula for Uplifting Our Character

• Cultivate a Peaceful Mind - by reducing desires and knowing contentment.
• Cultivate a Peaceful Body - by being diligent and thrifty.
  
• Cultivate a Peaceful Mind - by mutual love, respect, and assistance.
  
• Cultivate a Peaceful Mind - by working with sincere dedication.

A Formula for Calming the Mind

• Our needs are few.
• Our wants are many.
• Pursue only what we can and should acquire.
• Never purse what we can't and should not acquire.
  

A Formula for Resolving the Difficulties of Life

• Face It - Face the difficulty squarely.
• Accept It - Accept the reality of the difficulty.
• Deal with It - Deal with the difficulty with wisdom and compassion.
• Let It Go - Take the results in peace and move on.
  

A Formula for Getting Along with Others

• Feel Grateful - for events that help us grow.
• Feel Thankful - for chances to hone ourselves.
• Reform Ourselves - through the Dharma.
• Inspire Others - through exemplary behavior.
  

A Formula for Increasing Blessings

• Recognize Blessings - Knowing contentment ensures happiness.
• Cherish Blessings - Treasure what we have with gratitude and seek to repay kindness received.
• Nurture Blessings - Blessings diminish with lavish living but grow with selfless giving.
• Sow the Seeds of Blessings - Serve and contribute broadly so all may receive blessings.

Website of Dharma Drum Mountain - http://www.ddm.org.tw/

--

The Way to the Truth...

Steve posted the following:

"Here's the question:
If you choose one belief system over another, WHY?
Is your choice closer to the "truth" of how the universe operates?
If "yes", how does one know? "

Mingte asked for my opinion.

My understanding for the Truth (for now) is that Truth is universal and eternal. Regardless of whether anybody or mind can perceive the Truth, it is forever there. Thus one's belief has no significance to the Truth.

Truth is absolute and sustainable through all places, times and even dimensions. What are the Truth? The ways the law of causes and effects, the law of Dependant Originations, the Four Noble Truths etc...operate. How the five aggregates work, how the mind works, how the universe operates, how GOD works. The five aggregates, the minds, the universe and GOD all have no real substance, and are empty in nature. Yet the WAYS they operate are the Truths. Thus there is the saying that "the Way is the Truth".

How can the Truth be perceived? Two important prerequisites are contemplation and manifestation. Truth is not something to talk about, to argue over, or believe in. Truth is an absolute for us to realize. In order to perceive the Truth, one's mind needs to be pure and clear. In order to have a pure and clear mind, one needs to have concentration or in Buddhist term, "in Samadhi".

So there is no easy way out. If one is interested in finding out the Truth, starts practising the Right Way, develops the Right Concentration, purifies one's Mind into a "Pure Land", recognize and realize the Truth, then finally manifests the Truth.

This is my understanding of the Truth for now...

--

Huayen Reading Materials in English

Thanks Dr Tony Prince for providing me with the following information:

Tom Cleary (Entry into the Realm of Reality: the Guide) consisting of extracts from the wonderful commentary on the Sutra by Li Tungxuan .

Garma C.C. Chang's "The Buddhist Teaching of Totality: The Philosophy of Hwa Yen Buddhism" (1971).

Francis Cook's "Hua-Yen Buddhism: The Jewel Net of Indra " (1977) . Cook, who died recently, was a Zen practitioner and he based the book on his PhD thesis.

D.T.Suzuki's third series of "Essays in Zen Buddhism" contains some information about the Avatamsaka Sutra.

Robert Buswell's detailed study of the Korean master Chinul, "The Korean Approach to Zen", includes a lot of quotations from Li Tungxuan, who had a profound influence on Chinul and on Korean Buddhism generally.

Robert Gimello and Peter Gregory's "Studies in Ch'an and Hua-yen" contains some essays on Huayen, as the title indicates.

S.B. Park's "Buddhist Faith and Sudden Enlightenment" draws on Huayen material.

There is also acomparison of Whitehead's philosophy and Huayen in Steve Odin's "Process Metaphysics and Hua-yen Buddhism".


**************
Lung Zhi added:

Venerable Haiyun Jimeng's "The Dawn of Enlightenment: The Opening Passage of Avatamsaka Sutra with a Commentary"

Cheng Chien Bhikshu's "Manifestation of the Tathagata: Buddhahood According to the Avatamsaka Sutra"

Thomas Cleary's "The Flower Ornament Scripture: A Translation of The Avatamsaka Sutra"

Thomas Cleary's "Entry Into the Inconceivable: An Introduction to Hua-Yen Buddhism"

Hsuan Hua's "The Vows of Samantabhadra"


***************

If any of you knows of more English Huayen materials, kindly let me know.

Thank you in advance.

--

First hand answer

HeShang's (Venerable Haiyun Jimeng) classification:

The Enlightened: The one who is able to describe the references or experience first hand.

The ideologist: one who researches on the first hand references and converts it into second hand resources.

The philosopher: one who researches on the second hand references and converts it into third hand resources.

The scholar: one who researches on the third hand references and converts it into forth hand resources.

The specialist or craftsman: one who researches on the forth hand references and converts it into fifth hand resources.

See how HeShang has his own first hand answer to most of the things...

Essence, Manifestation and Function

Here are some questions raised by my friend:

1."Why is there something instead of nothing?"
2."If all IS "nothing", what is the point of it all?"
3."If the mind is no-thing (and we get some kind of "enlightenment"), what is the purpose. "We" now know how the universe IS (in some sense of "knowing"), but what then?
4."If the universe is constantly expanding, into WHAT is it expanding?"

Based on these questions, I like to suggest that we need to understand the three aspects of all phenomena : the Essence, the Manifestation (form/appearance) and the Function(usage/application/purpose).

The Essence of all phenomena is emptiness (or nothingness) as it has no substance and inconceivable.

Manifestation takes place due to dependent originations (causes and factors). When the causes and factors disappear, manifestation no longer or cannot take place.

Function takes place in many dimensions and aspects, like the Net of Indra, all inter-related and inter-dependent.

This is the over-simplified version of the answer. A deep and detail explanation will required hours of discussion.

Wish that this will arouse some of the readers to study more about Huayen.

Try to use more of the sensation aspect and less of the rational thinking aspect of our ability, a different realm will appear to you.

Develop our own mode of thinking

I was with Master Haiyun for a week in Ann Arbor, his reply to many existential questions raised by us:

Illusive Life consists of three elements:
1) Memory
2) Logical Reasoning
3) Pre-determinate Goal/Objective

Authentic Life consists of three elements:
1) Faith
2) Quest for Existential/Ultimate Truth
3) Wisdom

Authentic Life is attained through:
1) Quest for Existential/Ultimate Truth (Raising existential doubts)
2) Searching, Scrutinizing, and Re-assurance (Groping)
3) Resolving the difficulties or problems right in front of you at present (daily life issues)

Master Haiyun suggested that we should write down all (existential) questions in a journal on a regular basis.

We should keep on raising questions in our mind; having them written down in the journal without asking anyone for the answers. We keep on asking, searching, transcending and rectifying. By the time we have 4000-5000 questions, we should be able to have answers for the first 1000 questions ourselves. The answers to these existential questions should be self-reflective, arise from our heart, grown with our nature. Answers provided by others through words are ineffective. Only through self-examining and self-assurance, we can evoke the wholesome intrinsic nature (Factors of Life) within us.

Questions are fragmentary. The true answer lies in having developed one’s own “Mode of Thinking”. Master Haiyun wants to teach us the method of how to develop our own mode of thinking. However as an individual, we have to research and construct on our own. The deeper the intensity of the questions and the higher the frequency of the questions lead to more advanced attainments.

Keeps on raising the questions, having faith and wisdom will developed.

Recorded by Lung Zhi

Meditation on Loving-kindness

Gunasekera forwarded me the following from Ken and Visakha Kawasaki:
Would like to share with you...


Meditation on Loving-kindness

May my mind be filled with the thought of loving-kindness.
May I be generous.
May I be gentle.
May I be relaxed.
May I be happy and peaceful.
May I be healthy.
May my heart become soft.
May my words be pleasing to others.
May I be a source of peace and happiness.
May I be free from fear, tension, anxiety, worry, and restlessness.

May the minds of my teachers be filled with the thought of loving-kindness.
May they be generous.
May they be gentle.
May they be relaxed.
May they be happy and peaceful.
May they be healthy.
May their hearts become soft.
May their words be pleasing to others.
May they be free from fear, tension, anxiety, worry, and restlessness.

May the minds of my parents and dear ones be filled with the thought of loving-kindness.
May they be generous.
May they be gentle.
May they be relaxed.
May they be happy and peaceful.
May they be healthy.
May their hearts become soft.
May their words be pleasing to others.
May they be free from fear, tension, anxiety, worry, and restlessness.

May the minds of all strangers be filled with the thought of loving-kindness.
May they be generous.
May they be gentle.
May they be relaxed.
May they be happy and peaceful.
May they be healthy.
May their hearts become soft.
May their words be pleasing to others.
May they be free from fear, tension, anxiety, worry, and restlessness.

May the minds of all unfriendly persons be filled with the thought of loving-kindness.
May they be generous.
May they be gentle.
May they be relaxed.
May they be happy and peaceful.
May they be healthy.
May their hearts become soft.
May their words be pleasing to others.
May they be free from fear, tension, anxiety, worry, and restlessness.

May the minds of all living beings be filled with the thought of loving-kindness.
May they be generous.
May they be gentle.
May they be relaxed.
May they be happy and peaceful.
May they be healthy.
May their hearts become soft.
May their words be pleasing to others.
May they be free from fear, tension, anxiety, worry, and restlessness.

May my mind be free of greed, anger, aversion, hatred, jealousy, and fear.
May the thought of loving-kindness embrace me and envelope me.
May every cell, every drop of blood, every atom, and every molecule of my entire body and mind be charged with the thought of friendliness.
May my body be relaxed.
May my mind be relaxed.
May my body and mind be filled with the thought of loving-kindness.
May the peace and tranquillity of loving-kindness pervade my entire body and mind.

May the minds of everyone in this room be free from greed, anger, hatred, jealousy, and fear.
May these thoughts of loving-kindness embrace them and envelope them.
May the peace and tranquillity of loving-kindness pervade their entire bodies and minds.
May the minds of everyone in this building be free from greed, . . .
May the minds of everyone in this street be free from greed, . . .
May the minds of everyone in this city be free from greed, . . .
May the minds of everyone in this region be free from greed, . . .
May the minds of everyone in this nation be free from greed, . . .
May the minds of everyone on this continent be free from greed, . . .
May the minds of everyone in this universe be free from greed, anger, hatred, jealousy, and fear.
May these thoughts of loving-kindness embrace them and envelope them.
May the peace and tranquillity of loving-kindness pervade their entire bodies and minds.

May every being touched by these thoughts of loving-kindness be free from greed, anger, hatred, jealousy, and fear.
May they be happy-hearted.
May they be free from worries and troubles.
May all beings in all directions throughout the universe be happy.
May they have good fortune.
May they be prosperous.
May they have good friends
May they be filled with loving-kindness, abundant, exalted, and measureless
May they be free from enmity affliction, and anxiety.
May they live happily.

May all those who are imprisoned legally or illegally, all who are in police custody anywhere in the world waiting trials meet with peace and happiness.
May they be free from greed, anger, hatred, jealousy, and fear.May these thoughts of loving-kindness embrace them and envelope them.
May all who are in hospitals suffering from sickness meet with peace and happiness.
May they be free from pain, afflictions, depression, disappointment, dissatisfaction, anxiety, and fear.
May these thoughts of loving-kindness embrace them and envelope them.
May the peace and tranquillity of loving-kindness pervade their bodies and minds.
May all mothers who are in pain in delivering babies meet with peace and happiness.
May they be free from pain, afflictions, depression, disappointment, dissatisfaction, anxiety, and fear.
May these thoughts of loving-kindness embrace them and envelope them.
May the peace and tranquillity of loving-kindness pervade their entire bodies and minds.

May all parents taking care of their children meet with peace and happiness.
May they be free from pain, afflictions, depression, disappointment, dissatisfaction, anxiety, and fear.
May these thoughts of loving-kindness embrace them and envelope them.
May the peace and tranquillity of loving-kindness pervade their entire bodies and minds.
May all children abused by adults in any way meet with peace and happiness.
May they be free from pain, afflictions, depression, disappointment, dissatisfaction, anxiety, and fear.
May these thoughts of loving-kindness embrace them and envelope them.
May the peace and tranquillity of loving-kindness pervade their entire bodies and minds.

May all rulers be gentle, kind, generous, compassionate, and considerate
May they have the best understanding of the oppressed, the underprivileged, the discriminated, and the poverty-stricken.
May their hearts melt at the suffering of these unfortunate citizens.
May they be free from pain, afflictions, depression, disappointment, dissatisfaction, anxiety, and fear.
May these thoughts of loving-kindness embrace them and envelope them.
May the peace and tranquillity of loving-kindness pervade their entire bodies and minds.
May the oppressed, the underprivileged, the discriminated, and the poverty-stricken meet with peace and happiness.
May they be free from pain, afflictions, depression, disappointment, dissatisfaction, anxiety, and fear.
May these thoughts of loving-kindness embrace them and envelope them.
May the peace and tranquillity of loving-kindness pervade their entire bodies and minds.

May all beings in all directions, all around the universe be happy.
May they have good fortune.
May they be prosperous.May they be famous.
May they have good friends.After death may they be reborn in a happy destination.
May they be reborn in the heavens.

SADHU! SADHU!! SADHU!!!

Please visit our websites

Buddhist Relief Mission: < http://www.brelief.org/ <http://www.brelief.org/> >
Relief Notes: < http://home.earthlink.net/~brelief <http://home.earthlink.net/~brelief> >
Sri Lanka reports: < http://www.brelief.org/reports/

Jayamangala Gatha video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXa5mw97b-I