🙏 Why Buddhanature Matters – Lions Roar

1

I thought this was an interesting series of articles in the latest issue of Lion’s Roar, given what I’m studying these days.

3 Likes
2

“As we sat around the Roshi to begin the first session, he stated in a loud and solemn voice: “You are all buddhas.” The statement, telling from the manner it was delivered, was meant to be rousing in a Zen sort of way, and it did stir some thoughts in the audience”

Spoken like a true Buddha
or Christ
or Muhammad

2 Likes
3

"I was familiar with the idea of buddhanature as a capacity for enlightenment and freedom present in all beings; the Nyingma and Kagyu traditions in which I received most of my training likened buddhanature to the bright sun that is temporarily obscured by clouds of samsara. When the clouds are fully cleared, the magnificence of the sun would become manifest in its full form. "

Love this.

Is this the Great Eastern Sun?

The conclusion is fantastic! Really well written:

"
The root cause of suffering and our existence as a whole in the Buddhist system in general and Mahayana theory of origin in particular is the attachment to self. Leading thinkers demonstrate how from the notion of I arises notions of others as well as dualism, discrimination, afflictive emotions, negative actions, and rebirth. Narcissism and excessive attachment to the self obstruct spiritual growth and run counter to the Mahayana ethos of love and compassion, which is fundamental to well-being. Buddhanature transcends the ordinary individual self and highlights the immanent and sacred purity and goodness in all beings.

The Buddhanature teachings fundamentally shift our view of sentient beings and our outlook on the world from a negative, pessimistic perspective to an open and positive one. The early teachings such as the Four Noble Truths, which Tibetan Buddhists consider the First Turning of the Wheel, highlight the problems associated with the ordinary samsaric world and the power of our negative emotions and actions. The teachings on emptiness and Perfection of Wisdom, categorized as the Middle Turning of the Wheel, negate the true existence of things to demonstrate the emptiness and ultimate non­existence of all conceptual creations. The buddhanature teachings, classified as the Third Turning of the Wheel, underscore the immanence of our luminous, pure, and pristine nature, which unfolds as the Buddha’s awakening when all adventitious obscuration is fully removed. Buddha­nature is our raison d’ĂȘtre to be good, seek happiness, and hope for awakening. Without it, Maitreya claims, we would not be even tired of suffering, or desire happiness or a higher meaning in life. It is belief in such natural goodness that helps us build a society on the basis of trust and good faith, hold hopes for societal and spiritual progress, and act with genuine care and compassion—while also being vigilant of the malicious power of the temporary afflictions."

2 Likes
4

" Tathagatagarbhasutra , another early and influential sutra on buddhanature, uses nine analogies to illustrate the presence of buddhanature in all beings:

  1. Buddha figure in the wilting, unsightly lotus
  2. Honey in the beehive
  3. Kernel of grain in the husk
  4. Gold nugget in a pile of excrement
  5. Treasure underneath a pauper’s house
  6. A mango seed ready to unfold into a tree
  7. Precious statue of the Buddha in a rag
  8. A universal monarch in the womb of a poor woman
  9. Golden statue in a clay mold

"

I wonder if the sutra specifies how big the pile or nugget is? :upside_down_face:

image
image1600×1166 189 KB

2 Likes
5

:smiling_face:

Level 10 difficulty - the planet made of poo

Screenshot_20230924_082040_Firefox
Screenshot_20230924_082040_Firefox1768×1369 118 KB

Funny fact while I was searching for the planet made of poo.

The Apollo astronauts left poo on the moon:

Screenshot_20230924_082014_Firefox
Screenshot_20230924_082014_Firefox1768×1325 217 KB

1 Like
6

@mbready , I really dont want to fill this topic with any more crap, lol, but after watching the most recent videos in funny things, and before you posted this, the thought flashed into my mind about how much it must have sucked for the Astronauts going to the moon, because it was no cold, hostle, and they had to crap and urinate in their space suits.

The planet of crap from rick and morty also arose into my mind for some reason. I think because I was wondering if fart humor is universal across cultures.

Why the hell were you searching for a planet made of poo?

1 Like
7

I thought your post was hilarious then I thought how funny it’d be if instead of a giant pile of poo it was a mountain of poo. Then I thought the ultimate would be searching a planet, or even solar system full of planets made of poo :smiling_face:.

1 Like
8

Lol, how about a galaxy?

1 Like
9

Thank you for posting these 3 very good Lions Roar articles.

There are 2 quotes that resonated with me.

Understanding that “the emotional fires” are:

“All Buddhist endeavors—from study, debates, rituals, art, yoga, chanting, and visualization to quiet meditation—are seen as paths to remove adventitious obscurations and reveal our true nature.”

And then this quote:
“There are over a dozen “tathagatagarbha sutras,” whose main topic is the tathagata­garbha, or buddhanature, with the Mahaparinirvanasutra considered by some modern researchers to be the earliest one. This text, which became one of the most influential sutras on buddhanature in China and Tibet, discusses buddhanature as the true, eternal, blissful nature of the Buddha’s nirvana in contrast to the understanding of nirvana as the mere blowing out of emotional fires in early Buddhism. In the text, the Buddha advises Cunda, the last disciple, not to mourn his death, for the Buddha’s nirvana is not like a fire being extinguished but an undying, eternal state of supreme bliss.”

3 Likes
10

You are right, this is a really powerful line.

3 Likes
11

I’d had a dream in the morning where I was watching 2 different buildings on fire.
Later when browsing here and the recent post by Barry, it was the mention of “emotional fires” in the article that caught my attention!

3 Likes
12

Very cool. Possibly a precognitive dream, or maybe a synchronicity of sorts.

Andrew talks about synchronicities starting to happen more and more frequent, the more open we become to the universe.

3 Likes
13

I think precognitive.

When ever the subject of synchronicity comes up it reminds me of the book The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield i read in 1996. Then loads of coincidences started happening.

2 Likes
14

This is a synchronicity for a short story I’ve been working on for a couple days :slightly_smiling_face:. Just wanted to say thank you and highly recommend this film/book, well worth a watch/read.

Here is the audio book, Sony blocked the movie for my location. ( https://youtu.be/sx-dWsD3UPg ).

3 Likes
15

@mbready you’re welcome. Seems like synchronicity is playing out here :blush:
That’s a shame sony blocked it in your region. But you say you’ve seen it. Actually i’ve just finished watching the film again for about the 25th time, since i have a dvd of Celestine Prophecy. I didn’t realise in the story the scrolls were found 5th or 6th century around the time of the Buddha. Everytime i watch it, i get goose bumps when the ‘light energy’ is shown.
Thanks for the link to the audio book, I’m going to listen again as its so brilliant!

3 Likes
16

@Bianca_Aga I was not able to acces the link either, but I was able to access the one @mbready provided:

Her accent is pretty thick, but I think she has some good insights, if you take away only 1 thing from this video, watch it around the 29min mark, where she talks about the sick lady in the hosptials precognitve dream, very powerful:

3 Likes