Being Buddha
a six in one guide
from 
JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
I woke a little late this morning. My son, Jacob, and his fiance, Julie, arrived here yesterday from North Carolina. They are moving here and we are very pleased to have them stay with us until their condo is ready. Anyway, we played a little speed chess last night and I didn't get to bed as early as I typically do. So, draggy is my middle name.
This morning I plan to ride my bike to Zen Center for the morning service. Julie will ride with me. Jacob, well, let's just say he's not quite as active.
Today I would like to talk about the six paramitas. These six qualities are identified by the Buddha as six 'crossovers'. They are essentially dharma gates which if we allow them to become manifest in our lives, show us that we are already on the other shore. A lot of Buddhist mumbo-jumbo here.
Buddha taught, and we experience through our practice, that if we are generous without reference to ourselves, we are behaving as an awakened being, a buddha. He added morality, patience, vigor, meditation, and wisdom to this list. But we are not simply behaving, we are manifesting, buddhahood. The essence of buddhahood is selflessness in service to the universe.
These six paramitas are not really six separate qualities, but rather manifestations, like the facets, of a single diamond. One is the same as the other just from a somewhat different point of view.
The practical nature of our practice is demonstrated in paramita practice. Whether we feel generous or not, if we practice generosity in our daily life and work toward this practice without a lot of thought to ourselves, we are "faking it till we make it" and on the surface, the practice still adds value to humanity. Over time we begin to see that generosity is an actual aspect of our compassionate heart and that self-centeredness is toxic to our life in community.
All six of these paramitas are linked to one another, as I said, aspects of the same thing. If we practice patience, we are being generous with our time. If we practice morality we are offering moral conduct as an example to the world. As we are diligent, we see patience emerge. Meditation teaches us great diligence and determination. And in the end, these all form the essence of wisdom.
So, in a very real way there is no need to seek enlightenment. Seeking becomes a hindrance in itself, as it postulates a concept, like a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Yet, through our practice we see that we are already enlightened beings needing, but our practice, to manifest our enlightenment through our behavior. This is why we say we are a religion without beliefs.
So, be generous; be patient; be moral; be diligent; be contemplative; and be wise today and you will be a buddha.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
I woke a little late this morning. My son, Jacob, and his fiance, Julie, arrived here yesterday from North Carolina. They are moving here and we are very pleased to have them stay with us until their condo is ready. Anyway, we played a little speed chess last night and I didn't get to bed as early as I typically do. So, draggy is my middle name.
This morning I plan to ride my bike to Zen Center for the morning service. Julie will ride with me. Jacob, well, let's just say he's not quite as active.
Today I would like to talk about the six paramitas. These six qualities are identified by the Buddha as six 'crossovers'. They are essentially dharma gates which if we allow them to become manifest in our lives, show us that we are already on the other shore. A lot of Buddhist mumbo-jumbo here.
Buddha taught, and we experience through our practice, that if we are generous without reference to ourselves, we are behaving as an awakened being, a buddha. He added morality, patience, vigor, meditation, and wisdom to this list. But we are not simply behaving, we are manifesting, buddhahood. The essence of buddhahood is selflessness in service to the universe.
These six paramitas are not really six separate qualities, but rather manifestations, like the facets, of a single diamond. One is the same as the other just from a somewhat different point of view.
The practical nature of our practice is demonstrated in paramita practice. Whether we feel generous or not, if we practice generosity in our daily life and work toward this practice without a lot of thought to ourselves, we are "faking it till we make it" and on the surface, the practice still adds value to humanity. Over time we begin to see that generosity is an actual aspect of our compassionate heart and that self-centeredness is toxic to our life in community.
All six of these paramitas are linked to one another, as I said, aspects of the same thing. If we practice patience, we are being generous with our time. If we practice morality we are offering moral conduct as an example to the world. As we are diligent, we see patience emerge. Meditation teaches us great diligence and determination. And in the end, these all form the essence of wisdom.
So, in a very real way there is no need to seek enlightenment. Seeking becomes a hindrance in itself, as it postulates a concept, like a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Yet, through our practice we see that we are already enlightened beings needing, but our practice, to manifest our enlightenment through our behavior. This is why we say we are a religion without beliefs.
So, be generous; be patient; be moral; be diligent; be contemplative; and be wise today and you will be a buddha.
Be well.