Believe it or not, if anyone wants a beautifully realized adaptation of similar Hindu storytelling and the life ethics that can be extracted, I cannot recommend enough Robert Redford's astonishingly beautiful and very well acted period GOLFING MOVIE (I kid you not) THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE. "Bagger Vance" played perfectly by Will Smith as the spiritual influence and caddy for the deeply troubled and shattered WWI vet Matt Damon as "R. Junuh" are representations of Bhagavan (Krishna) and Arjuna, from the Hindu text "The Bhagavad Gita". The lessons learned by Rannulph are closely based on those Krishna teaches to Arjuna while masquerading as his lowly chariot driver. This film failed to find an audience but trust me its terrific and translates perfectly the teachings of patience, ethics, concentration and ultimately, charity. I have seen this film I think now 4 or 5 times and it just gets better every time. And I find golf as interesting to watch as sap gathering in Maine. But honestly the putting greens and dimpled balls are just a playing field for an infinitely deeper story. Its also Jack Lemmon's last screen performance who bookends the movie. My nephews call the film LEGEND OF BAG OF ANTS if that helps you to remember the title. freeman
In a message dated 7/2/2009 8:54:19 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: References: <[email protected]> Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="------------030806040706050902070009" --------------030806040706050902070009 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit hey Rick- never heard the word before but seems like a interesting thing to pursue the concepts I always thought about the Templar Knights and all those that protect and serve peopleand the less fortunate Ifound this on google.. the explanation.. kinda like a buddah mench? Becoming a Bodhisattva is a huge step in helping not only yourself, but also every other sentient being, both seen and unseen. Most people are self-motivated and work primarily to solve their own problems, keeping others a distant second. Should someone do an act of kindness, repayment is generally expected whether in the form of a thank you and/or further praise. A Bodhisattva is motivated by pure compassion and love. Their goal is to achieve the highest level of being: that of a Buddha. Bodhisattva is a Sanskrit term which translates as: Bodhi [enlightenment] and sattva [being]. And their reason for becoming a Buddha is to help others. The Bodhisattva will undergo any type of suffering to help another sentient being, whether a tiny insect or a huge mammal. In Shakyamuni Buddha's 'Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 Lines' it states: "I will become a savior to all those beings, I will release them from all their sufferings." If this sounds familiar to anyone not acquainted with Buddhism, then you only need to think of the example of Jesus Christ, a true Bodhisattva. When someone first enters the way of the Bodhisattva, they develop Bodhicitta, or, mind of enlightenment. Even as a person strives towards such an exalted goal, they feel as though they are limited by the fact that they, too, are suffering. So that they can be of aid to others, they decide to become Buddhas for a Buddha is capable of unlimited compassion and wisdom. Also, Buddhas are able to relate to all others at whatever level is needed. To those of lesser intelligence, a Buddha will use simpler words; and to those of great intelligence, a Buddha can explain answers in a more exalted language. By entering the Bodhisattva way, the mind must become enlightened. And so the training begins by generating the 6 Perfections. The 6 Perfections: The 6 Perfections are: 1] generosity, 2] ethics, 3] patience, 4] effort, 5] concentration, and 6] wisdom. Generosity - How does one become more generous? Is it possible to rid oneself of materialistic tendencies, selfishness and a desire to want to be kind to others and give to those who lack? Being able to provide for people by starting a business and then hiring those who need jobs would be profitable not only for yourself but for those who were previously unemployed. Volunteering your time and talents to those who need them is also a way of cultivating generosity. To share Buddhist teachings so people are able to help themselves and in turn, others, is the finest gift you can offer. You have created a positive ripple effect. The ripples of the teachings will travel far and wide to allow many to be assisted. The attitude behind your generosity is of the utmost importance; giving with anger or the desire for payment isn't a good motivation. But if you have a humble motivation to help, then you're on your way to become a Bodhisattva. Ethics - Knowing the basic difference between right and wrong is imperative to generating the 6 Perfections. To practice the perfection of ethics means to refrain from doing harm to yourself and all those around you. Killing, sexual misconduct, consuming harmful substances such as alcohol or drugs, being deceitful, and using abusive language must be avoided. All harmful actions are caused by a mind that harbors them, therefore it's highly important to be mindful of all your thoughts. Patience - A lack of patience is prevalent in today's society and this will change if we want to evolve into a Bodhisattva. Patience is the antidote to anger. In Chandrakirti's 'Supplement to the Middle Way' he writes: "It makes us ugly, leads to the unholy, and robs us of discernment to know right from wrong." When we become angry, our body stiffens, our blood pressure rises, our breathing is impaired, as is our reason. Far too many people languish in prisons due to a few seconds when they went out of control and their anger harmed someone. Anger directed at oneself can result in suicide. Anger causes wars of all sizes. Patience creates a joyousness within us. Our features become relaxed and we can look many years younger. We are then tolerant and happy and much further along the path of becoming a Bodhisattva. Effort - Enthusiastic effort is necessary if you want to achieve anything, but for something as noble and challenging as joining the ranks of the Bodhisattvas, effort is definitely a requirement. Who doesn't want their efforts repaid instantly? However, the way of the Bodhisattva is arduous and requires virtues that many of us currently lack. Laziness is a huge fault that curtails effort. Tomorrow never comes so your effort is needed NOW! Concentration - Developing a calm mind through meditation will sharpen our concentration. Being able to focus single-pointedly on one object with a non-wavering mind will be a great advantage. The calm-abiding mind develops clairvoyance and abilities to heal ourselves and others. When radiating inward and outward calm, you'll become like a lighthouse in a stormy night. You'll inspire others with your strong mental capabilities and they in turn will want the inner peace that you have found for yourself. Concentration is a form of mindfulness. This means that when you pay unwavering attention to what you're doing, you avoid many frustrations. Lack of mindfulness in the kitchen might result in burning a casserole, which not only wasting the ingredients, but twice as much time will be spent cleaning up the mess. Not practicing mindfulness when driving causes accidents. As Lama Tsong Khapa writes in his 'Summary of the Stages of the Path': "Concentration is a king with dominion over the mind, once placed, immovable like the king of mountains." Wisdom - Wisdom is the root of all great qualities we can cultivate in this life. As the Sixth Perfection, it is the total of the other five. Meditation on wisdom is essential for entering into the stages of being a Bodhisattva. Buddhist texts emphasize two vital subjects when it comes to knowledge--selflessness and impermanence. Everything changes constantly. One day you leave work at 5:30, the next day it's 5:45. Nothing is fixed; it's variable. As for selflessness, we must first discover the location of the self. Is it in the body? If so, where--the mind? The physical world and all living beings are created by the mind. As we are the results of our past actions, so is the world we live in. Since there are places on earth that are like heaven, those areas where so much virtue has settled that people travel great distances to see such wonderful locations. Conversely, the hellish regions are dense accumulations of non-virtue and evil thrives there, keeping people captive to the negative states of consciousness. To become a Bodhisattva is to be fearless. There is no aversion for those who are hostile and there is no obsessive clinging to those who are closest to us. There is no possessiveness, only love, compassion and discernment into the nature of reality. Santideva, the 8th century Bodhisattva wrote a book entitled 'Bodhisattvacharyavatara,' which is one of the most important texts that students of Tibetan Buddhism study. The title has been translated into 'A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life' and is written in verse form. While there are only 10 chapters, dealing with the 6 perfections as well as developing the spirit of awakening, in chapter 10, verse 55 the entire essence of the meaning of Bodhisattva is beautifully expressed: "For as long as space endures And for as long as living beings remain, Until then may I too abide To dispel the misery of the world." [email protected] wrote: > > > I think Tom Martin is an Enlightened human being...possibly a > Bodihsattva. On some days, I find more wisdom and knowledge in his > writings (or, ramblings if you prefer) than in all other posts on MoPo > combined. > Who knows---possibly The Buddha is among us disguised as a movie > poster collector named Tom. You may think I'm joking, but stranger > things have happened on this planet. Keep posting, Tom. Maybe > wherever you "are" is actually something to strive for, not to ridicule. > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > It's raining cats and dogs -- Come to PawNation > <http://www.pawnation.com/?ncid=emlcntnew00000008>, a place where pets > rule! > Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com > > ___________________________________________________________________ > > How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List > > Send a message addressed to: [email protected] > > In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L > > The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. > --------------030806040706050902070009 Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1"> <title></title> </head> hey Rick- never heard the word before but seems like a interesting thing to pursue the concepts I always thought about the Templar Knights and all those that protect and serve peopleand the less fortunate Ifound this on google.. the explanation.. kinda like a buddah mench? Becoming a Bodhisattva is a huge step in helping not only yourself, but also every other sentient being, both seen and unseen. Most people are self-motivated and work primarily to solve their own problems, keeping others a distant second. Should someone do an act of kindness, repayment is generally expected whether in the form of a thank you and/or further praise. A Bodhisattva is motivated by pure compassion and love. Their goal is to achieve the highest level of being: that of a Buddha. Bodhisattva is a Sanskrit term which translates as: Bodhi [enlightenment] and sattva [being]. And their reason for becoming a Buddha is to help others. The Bodhisattva will undergo any type of suffering to help another sentient being, whether a tiny insect or a huge mammal. In Shakyamuni Buddha’s 'Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 Lines' it states: “I will become a savior to all those beings, I will release them from all their sufferings.” If this sounds familiar to anyone not acquainted with Buddhism, then you only need to think of the example of Jesus Christ, a true Bodhisattva. When someone first enters the way of the Bodhisattva, they develop Bodhicitta, or, mind of enlightenment. Even as a person strives towards such an exalted goal, they feel as though they are limited by the fact that they, too, are suffering. So that they can be of aid to others, they decide to become Buddhas for a Buddha is capable of unlimited compassion and wisdom. Also, Buddhas are able to relate to all others at whatever level is needed. To those of lesser intelligence, a Buddha will use simpler words; and to those of great intelligence, a Buddha can explain answers in a more exalted language. By entering the Bodhisattva way, the mind must become enlightened. And so the training begins by generating the 6 Perfections. <tbody> <script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "pub-6167988213978292"; google_ad_width = 180; google_ad_height = 90; google_ad_format = "180x90_0ads_al"; google_ad_channel ="5878910303"; google_color_border = "FFFFFF"; google_color_bg = "FFFFFF"; google_color_link = "339933"; google_color_url = "000000"; google_color_text = "000000"; //--></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js";> </script> <script>google_protectAndRun("ads_core.google_render_ad", google_handleError, google_render_ad);</script><iframe name="google_ads_frame" width="180" height="90" frameborder="0" src="http://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/ads?client=ca-pub-61679882139 78292&dt=1246635795787&prev_fmts=336x280_as&format=180x90_0ads_a l&output=html&correlator=1246635793313&channel=5878910303&ur l=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.essortment.com%2Fall%2Fwhatisbodhisat_rfld.htm&color_ bg=FFFFFF&color_text=000000&color_link=339933&color_url=000000&a mp;color_border=FFFFFF&ea=0&frm=0&ga_vid=215006864.1246620279&am p;ga_sid=1246635795&ga_hid=896519385&ga_fc=true&flash=6.0.29& ;w=180&h=90&u_h=600&u_w=800&u_ah=580&u_aw=800&u_cd=3 2&u_tz=-240&u_his=2&u_java=true&u_nplug=4&u_nmime=41& ;dtd=61" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" vspace="0" hspace="0" allowtransparency="true" scrolling="no"></iframe> </tbody> The 6 Perfections: The 6 Perfections are: 1] generosity, 2] ethics, 3] patience, 4] effort, 5] concentration, and 6] wisdom. Generosity – How does one become more generous? Is it possible to rid oneself of materialistic tendencies, selfishness and a desire to want to be kind to others and give to those who lack? Being able to provide for people by starting a business and then hiring those who need jobs would be profitable not only for yourself but for those who were previously unemployed. Volunteering your time and talents to those who need them is also a way of cultivating generosity. To share Buddhist teachings so people are able to help themselves and in turn, others, is the finest gift you can offer. You have created a positive ripple effect. The ripples of the teachings will travel far and wide to allow many to be assisted. The attitude behind your generosity is of the utmost importance; giving with anger or the desire for payment isn’t a good motivation. But if you have a humble motivation to help, then you’re on your way to become a Bodhisattva. Ethics – Knowing the basic difference between right and wrong is imperative to generating the 6 Perfections. To practice the perfection of ethics means to refrain from doing harm to yourself and all those around you. Killing, sexual misconduct, consuming harmful substances such as alcohol or drugs, being deceitful, and using abusive language must be avoided. All harmful actions are caused by a mind that harbors them, therefore it’s highly important to be mindful of all your thoughts. Patience – A lack of patience is prevalent in today’s society and this will change if we want to evolve into a Bodhisattva. Patience is the antidote to anger. In Chandrakirti’s 'Supplement to the Middle Way' he writes: “It makes us ugly, leads to the unholy, and robs us of discernment to know right from wrong.” When we become angry, our body stiffens, our blood pressure rises, our breathing is impaired, as is our reason. Far too many people languish in prisons due to a few seconds when they went out of control and their anger harmed someone. Anger directed at oneself can result in suicide. Anger causes wars of all sizes. Patience creates a joyousness within us. Our features become relaxed and we can look many years younger. We are then tolerant and happy and much further along the path of becoming a Bodhisattva. Effort – Enthusiastic effort is necessary if you want to achieve anything, but for something as noble and challenging as joining the ranks of the Bodhisattvas, effort is definitely a requirement. Who doesn’t want their efforts repaid instantly? However, the way of the Bodhisattva is arduous and requires virtues that many of us currently lack. Laziness is a huge fault that curtails effort. Tomorrow never comes so your effort is needed NOW! Concentration – Developing a calm mind through meditation will sharpen our concentration. Being able to focus single-pointedly on one object with a non-wavering mind will be a great advantage. The calm-abiding mind develops clairvoyance and abilities to heal ourselves and others. When radiating inward and outward calm, you’ll become like a lighthouse in a stormy night. You’ll inspire others with your strong mental capabilities and they in turn will want the inner peace that you have found for yourself. Concentration is a form of mindfulness. This means that when you pay unwavering attention to what you’re doing, you avoid many frustrations. Lack of mindfulness in the kitchen might result in burning a casserole, which not only wasting the ingredients, but twice as much time will be spent cleaning up the mess. Not practicing mindfulness when driving causes accidents. As Lama Tsong Khapa writes in his 'Summary of the Stages of the Path': “Concentration is a king with dominion over the mind, once placed, immovable like the king of mountains.” Wisdom – Wisdom is the root of all great qualities we can cultivate in this life. As the Sixth Perfection, it is the total of the other five. Meditation on wisdom is essential for entering into the stages of being a Bodhisattva. Buddhist texts emphasize two vital subjects when it comes to knowledge—selflessness and impermanence. Everything changes constantly. One day you leave work at 5:30, the next day it’s 5:45. Nothing is fixed; it’s variable. As for selflessness, we must first discover the location of the self. Is it in the body? If so, where—the mind? The physical world and all living beings are created by the mind. As we are the results of our past actions, so is the world we live in. Since there are places on earth that are like heaven, those areas where so much virtue has settled that people travel great distances to see such wonderful locations. Conversely, the hellish regions are dense accumulations of non-virtue and evil thrives there, keeping people captive to the negative states of consciousness. To become a Bodhisattva is to be fearless. There is no aversion for those who are hostile and there is no obsessive clinging to those who are closest to us. There is no possessiveness, only love, compassion and discernment into the nature of reality. Santideva, the 8th century Bodhisattva wrote a book entitled 'Bodhisattvacharyavatara,' which is one of the most important texts that students of Tibetan Buddhism study. The title has been translated into 'A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life' and is written in verse form. While there are only 10 chapters, dealing with the 6 perfections as well as developing the spirit of awakening, in chapter 10, verse 55 the entire essence of the meaning of Bodhisattva is beautifully expressed: “For as long as space endures And for as long as living beings remain, Until then may I too abide To dispel the misery of the world.” [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) wrote: <blockquote type="cite" cite="[email protected]"> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; "> <meta content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16851" name="GENERATOR"> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div> I think Tom Martin is an Enlightened human being...possibly a Bodihsattva. On some days, I find more wisdom and knowledge in his writings (or, ramblings if you prefer) than in all other posts on MoPo combined.</div> <div>Who knows---possibly The Buddha is among us disguised as a movie poster collector named Tom. You may think I'm joking, but stranger things have happened on this planet. Keep posting, Tom. Maybe wherever you "are" is actually something to strive for, not to ridicule.</div> <div class="aol_ad_footer" id="b100fa2a65941855971be4e43813dc1e"> <font style="color: black; font-family: arial,san-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size-adjust: none;"> <hr style="margin-top: 10px;">It's raining cats and dogs -- Come to <a href="http://www.pawnation.com/?ncid=emlcntnew00000008";>PawNation , a place where pets rule!</div> <center>Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at _www.filmfan.com_ (http://www.filmfan.com/) </center> <center>___________________________________________________________________< /center> <center>How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List</center> <center></center> <center>Send a message addressed to: [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) </center> <center>In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L</center> <center></center> <center>The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.</center> </blockquote> --------------030806040706050902070009-- Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. **************Make your summer sizzle with fast and easy recipes for the grill. (http://food.aol.com/grilling?ncid=emlcntusfood00000005) Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
