NamoAmituofo <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: To: "NamoAmituofo" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> From: "NamoAmituofo" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2005 16:39:44 +0800 Subject: [TDE-Weekly] Secret Treasure| Repentance?| Silverscreen Samsara| Inequality of Karma| Saying Sorry| Bodhisattva Greater than Buddha? TheDailyEnlightenment.comWeekly 31/03/05 Get this newsletter | Get news-free version | TDE-Weekly Archive ______ Quote: A good friend who points out mistakes and imperfections and rebukes evil is to be respected as if he reveals a secret of hidden treasure. -The Buddha (pic:lions2s2.org) _____ __________________________________________ Realisation: When "Sorry" Seems to be the Hardest Word As much as the one who harmed another needs to apologise, the one who is harmed should not need an apology. -stonepeace Standing in a bus on the way home, it was packed with school kids. When the bus jerked to stop, the boy in front took a step back, accidentally stomping on my foot. He half-turned his head to steal a glance at my reaction, in a somewhat guilty way. About to turn back his head, pretending nothing had happened, I said "Ouch!" - in a deliberate but hushed tone. He quickly uttered "Sorry." I thanked him with a little appreciative nod. I was pleasantly surprised by my response and his. From my side, there was no spite, and some humour instead. It wasn't that painful actually! A few years ago I might have tapped his shoulder impatiently to demand an apology. It felt only right to let him be aware that even the smallest of his actions matter, be it accidentally or intentionally causing physical or mental distress to others. It's also "good for his karma", in urging him to "make up" whatever he can before dismissing the incident as insignificant. A lesson out of the classroom for the kid! Do we not tend to trivialise others' pain while we exaggerate ours? Of course I can't really blame him - since it's an "accident". It's my fault too for not being mindful enough to move out of his way. Just my personal karma rebounding back - to be received with gladness, not anger. Likewise, all our unhappiness in life is not really caused by any person, but ourselves. Much of our unhappiness comes from not accepting we cause our unhappiness, while we further cause it with our negative attitude! Too often do we hesitate to say "Sorry" and "Thanks". Due to our thick pride, "Sorry" seems to be the harder word. It is only after you have tried your best to seek forgiveness from the one you are sorry to, can you truly forgive yourself. Otherwise, you are just letting yourself off the hook too easily! The greatness of one sometimes can be hinted by the littlest of things which he apologises for, in his unwilling inconveniencing of others - even to a child. Because this shows his great sensitivity and concern to the smallest of others' feelings. How apologetic are you for your misgivings lately? Repentance can often be easily practised in everyday life. Simply apologise instantly to one whose toes you just stepped on! This sure beats confessing your carelesness before your shrine at the end of the day! So what if the other party does not accept your sincere apology? It just means he chose to let your mistake torment him more. That is his own mistake now! May he be well and happy! (See also "What is Significance of Buddhist Repentance?") -Shen Shi'an | pic:neilgaiman.net Please share with us @ [EMAIL PROTECTED] Review: Response to "Are You Afraid to Be Enlightened?" _____________________________________ Excerpt: The Greatness of Bodhisattvas & Buddhas Q: Who was Greater? Lord Buddha or Gautama Bodhisattva, who sacrificed to become the Buddha? A: In one of the sutras, it is explained that if a Bodhisattva is coming in a chariot, if nobody is pulling the chariot, and an enlightened Buddha sees that, he should go and pull the chariot. I think that is great. Buddhas have all the fulfilment, power and omniscience. They have already reached the highest state of enlightenment and power in terms of spiritual development. In the case of Bodhisattvas, whether the Bodhisattva is in the category of those who have not eliminated the obscurations to enlightenment, or is among those Bodhisattvas who have not completely removed the afflictive emotions, they are still completely dedicated to the welfare of other sentient beings. This is really inspiring, and such Bodhisattvas are subjects of appreciation and admiration. Of course, this is dependent on your perspective. If you look at the Buddha, a totally enlightened being, from the perspective of his omniscience, the Buddha is greater. If you perceive the Bodhisattva from the perspective of how much he sacrifices himself for the benefit of other sentient beings, even though he is not enlightened, you can see the greatness of the Bodhisattva. -Many Ways to Nirvana: Discourses on Right Living (His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Edited by Renuka Singh) (pic:jbeonlinebooks.org) Available @ Awareness Place: www.AwarenessPlace.com _______________________________ TheDailyEnlightenment.com : See http://thedailyenlightenment.com/new for this issue online. See http://thedailyenlightenment.com/pjnew for Chinese version. To subscribe, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] TDE-Weekly (TheDailyEnlightenment.com) is a free multi-traditional international Dharma inspiration e-newsletter (Members:19,000+) run by Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery (www.kmspks.org). You can support us by contributing articles and encouraging friends to join by forwarding them this mail. All replies, contributions, suggestions and queries are welcomed at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Disclaimer & Copyright: The views and opinions of the authors of the above articles, and those of publicised activities' speakers do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of KMSPKS. The copyright of the articles belong to the respective authors and are not to be reproduced without permission. The pictures belong to the domains they are from. Yahoo! Groups SponsorADVERTISEMENT --------------------------------- Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheDailyEnlightenment/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Would you Help a Child in need? It is easier than you think. Click Here to meet a Child you can help. http://us.click.yahoo.com/0Z9NuA/I_qJAA/i1hLAA/UlWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Menyadari apa yang sesungguhnya sedang terjadi SAAT INI di dalam diri saya maupun di luar diri saya. Kami kembali tuk hidup dalam kekinian yang menakjubkan; tuk menanami taman hati kami benih-benih kebajikan; serta membuat fondasi pengertian dan cinta kasih yang kokoh. Kami mengikuti jalur perhatian penuh, latihan tuk melihat dan memahami secara mendalam agar mampu melihat hakikat segala sesuatu, sehingga terbebas dari belenggu kelahiran dan kematian. Kami belajar tuk: berbicara dengan penuh cinta kasih, menjadi penuh welas asih, menjadi perhatian terhadap pihak-pihak lain pagi ataupun sore hari, membawa akar-akar suka cita ke banyak tempat, membantu sesama melepaskan kesedihan; dan tuk menanggapi dengan penuh rasa syukur kebajikan orang tua, para guru, serta sahabat-sahabat kami. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Dharmajala/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
