be a lotus growing out of the mud

• An Eternal Now

  6 Aug 12, 22:10

  I had a dream where everyone in a family were having problems - getting into gambling debts, etc. One of the brothers also used to be a criminal but to everyone's surprises he suddenly turned his mind, left his home, and seated in the meditative lotus posture in middle of a pool of mud, attained the final nirvana right there and passed away. When I woke up I immediately understood: the world is surrounded by beings pursuing the path of the unwholesome and being chained by afflictions - craving, aggression, delusions and all manners of attachments, leading to endless rebirths in the six realms. But no matter how unwholesome and defiled your environment and companions seem to be, and no matter what you have done, or how afflicted you were, there is always the opportunity to repent, turn around, head on a very different direction, strive and be the one who is like a lotus growing out of the mud, be one who is undefiled in a world full of defilements. Strive on and walk the path against the worldly stream. Enter the stream that leads to Nirvana, and attain Nirvana in this very body, in this very world. Be the light shining through darkness.
• Mr Milo

  6 Aug 12, 22:11

   

  i'm sorry, but is Nirvana ��世界？

  Thank you

• An Eternal Now

  6 Aug 12, 22:23

  Ji le shi jie is a name for Amitabha Buddha's pure land. Due to Amitabha's compassionate vows, even unenlightened beings can by virtue of amitabha's vows, by chanting his name and fulfilling merits, attain birth in the western pure land after death. However you do not have to wait until you die to go western pure land. If you realize your true mind, you realize your mind is bright, resplendent, pure, and all-pervasive. You realize your very buddha-nature is already complete and identical to that of Amitabha Buddha's. When you reallize your real nature, this world in front of you is experienced as Pure Land itself. Then Nirvana, Liberation is experienced in the here and now. Nirvana simply means the cessation of craving, aggression and delusion... Through great wisdom this is achieved. Sentient beings mind are originally luminous but obscured by adventitious defilements (passion, aggression, delusion). Only our defilements and ignorance obscure us from our innate pure land... We simply have to clear them away and that is by practicing buddhism.
• An Eternal Now

  6 Aug 12, 22:24

  The Buddha said: "Just like a red, blue, or white lotus — born in the water, grown in the water, rising up above the water — stands unsmeared by the water, in the same way I — born in the world, grown in the world, having overcome the world — live unsmeared by the world. Remember me, brahman, as 'awakened.'"
• 2009novice

  6 Aug 12, 23:39

  sometimes i would think, in human realm is harder and harder to realize dharma... the mud is so thick and viscuous that the lotus seed doesn't seem to grow. Work and study takes up most of human's time....

• bycai

  7 Aug 12, 08:13

  In dharma, mud is lotus. Therefore it's so very need of dharma in a mud that does not recognizes its lotus. Study is a need for secular knowledge and acomplishment of parents and nation pursuit of a learned personality. Dharma goes into the source of this secular knowledge serves to disengage one attachment over it so that yr life even though is not supreme lotusly sweet, to the least is allow one to recognize life beyond secularism as affinity/condition in its is emptiness. In study, one needs a calm mind, dharma helps one develop peace and free up more space so that one concentration in study will not be affected but improve its health. For both teachers and student in secular education, one should contemplate that languages relates to grace, compassion, filial piety, friendliness congeniality; Maths is the sum of cooperation to achieve balance and functionality; Science is the quality of ones alchemy; Geography is nature beauty; History is eulogies and beauty of culture; Art is design and presentation for occasions; Home econ is the joys of family meal etc  

  As far as work is concern, in general, it's destiny of the past and dharma is about recognizing this destiny and be naturally & calmly let it move on. One of many very good example was this Germany employer in China.

  四�德国人的财产

   

  邬余庆�居士曾�告诉净空法师一件真实的故事，是他亲眼所�的。抗战以�，他在上海��生�，当时上海有一�富商，本�是��工的，他的��是德国人，在中国�生�，战争爆�时，这�德国人就回国了。因为��觉得他人很好，很�实��，就亲手把在上海的财产事业交给他。以�这�德国人�也没有消�了，所以财产都为他所有了。他也很会��，就以这个基础�了起�了。

   

  他娶了太太，也生了儿å­�，因为家里很富有，儿å­�é�žå¸¸éª„傲，是个顽皮的孩å­�，父æ¯�也无法教导他。儿å­�å��å²�的时候，正在念å°�学，有一天，这å°�孩放学回家，在路上掉了å��å�—钱（当时的å°�孩身上带那么多钱，实在ä¸�是容易的事），刚好他父亲的一ä½�è€�朋å�‹è§�到了，就æ�¡èµ·æ�¥è¯´ï¼š‘弟弟，你å�«æˆ‘一声伯伯，我就把钱还给你。’è¿™å°�å­©å�´è¯´ï¼š‘ä½ å�«æˆ‘一声伯伯，我å†�给你å��å�—钱。’由此å�¯çŸ¥è¿™ä¸ªå°�孩的家教。 

  è¿™ä½�富商有一次å�šç”Ÿæ—¥ï¼Œå®¾å®¢é�žå¸¸å¤šï¼Œåœºé�¢å¾ˆé“ºå¼ ï¼Œä¹Ÿå¾ˆçƒ­é—¹ï¼Œä¸€åˆ¹é‚£ä¹‹é—´ï¼Œä»–çª�然看到自己儿å­�çš„é�¢è²Œï¼Œå°±æ˜¯ä»¥å‰�é‚£ä½�德国商人。他立刻就觉悟，就明白了，儿å­�原æ�¥æ˜¯æ�¥è®¨å€ºçš„，财产是儿å­�的，ä¸�是自己的。这个人很è�ªæ˜Žï¼Œå¾ˆäº†ä¸�起，当场就å�‘大家宣布，所有的财产都归儿å­�的。因为他警觉得快，知é�“这个å°�孩是è€�æ�¿è½¬ä¸–æ�¥çš„，所以把财产全部交给孩å­�。邬è€�居士认识此人，知é�“这个人很è�ªæ˜Žï¼Œæ˜Žäº†‘因果报应，ä¸�毫ä¸�爽’，是别人的就è¦�归还，所以什么都ä¸�必说，将ç»�è�¥æ‰€èµšçš„都归给儿å­�，这个结就到此解了。因此，以å�Žå°�孩对他还ä¸�错。

  /\

• sinweiy

  7 Aug 12, 09:41

  Originally posted by Mr Milo:

   

  i'm sorry, but is Nirvana ��世界？

  Thank you

  æž�ä¹�世界 or Land of Ultimate Bliss can also not necessary stereotype it to be Amitabha Buddha’s pure land. if u break the word, it's meaning of Nirvana. but must understand it thoroughly and not to mistake it to be a heavenly place.

  �� Ultimate Bliss means:-

   

  Ordinally happiness � when ended, suffering occur there after.

  Know that suffering is real, and happiness is false. As suffering don't become happiness, but happiness can become suffering.

  Example, when eating good food. Eating your favourite food is happiness. But, if you were to continue to eat bowl after bowl of the same food, it becomes a suffering. This is how happiness become suffering. happiness if continuous become suffering. But suffering if continue does not become happiness.

  Example, when hungry, i am experiencing suffering. If one continue to stay hungry for 7 days, one will experience more suffering, not happiness. So suffering is real, and happiness is false.

   

  Now neither suffering nor happiness is a good experience/realm. But one cannot sustain this state as time waits for no man.

  Example when we are born, we are already walking towards the deathbed. Who can stop moving? None.

  But it's said that in Nirvanic Bliss(Ulitmate Joy ��), there's no all above three forms of sufferings.

  In this samsara world there's duality. Suffering and joy is Prejudiced view for one side or the other. If Ulitmate Joy has no suffering, then Joy is also gone. As it's  on the same side with suffering. One gone, the other is gone too. It's when both suffering and joy is ended that bring forth the Ulitmate Reality of Nirvana (aka 極樂, Ulitmate Bliss). Thus called True bliss/joy. If there's joy, then joy is suffering and False. Ulitmate Joy is indeed inconcievable! Inconcievable mean cannot be said, nor cannot be think nor cannot be percieve.

  Samsara is dimension of matter/karma controlling, you can't have your own wish or doing, hence suffering. Nirvana is a state/dimension of Mind/will/vow controlling, hence no suffering. There's this Utimate reality Buddha discovered.

    
  世界 means:-

  When the Mind is Pure, the Land is pure.

  that say:-
  All beings do not see mountains and waters in the same way. Some beings see water as a jeweled ornament, but they do not regard jeweled ornaments as water. What in the human realm corresponds to their water? We only see their jeweled ornaments as water. Some beings see water as wondrous blossoms, but they do not use blossoms as water. Hungry ghosts see water as raging fire or pus and blood. Dragons see water as a palace or a pavilion. Some beings see water as the seven treasures or a wish-granting jewel. Some beings see water as a forest or a wall. Some see it as the Dharma nature of pure liberation, the true human body, or as the form of body and essence of mind. Human beings see water as water. Water is seen as dead or alive depending on causes and conditions. Thus the views of all beings are not the same.
  
  i say if you are sitting next to a Buddha, be it Shakyamuni or Amitabha, what we, ordinary people see is samsaric environment. while what the Buddha see is pure land as described in Amitabha pureland sutra. a defiled mind see a defiled land. a pure mind see a pure land.
  it is not wrong to say that "Pureland is as real as this defiled world".

  /\

• bycai

  7 Aug 12, 11:23

  Originally posted by sinweiy:

  æž�ä¹�世界 or Land of Ultimate Bliss can also not necessary stereotype it to be Amitabha Buddha’s pure land. if u break the word, it's meaning of Nirvana. but must understand it thoroughly and not to mistake it to be a heavenly place.

  �� Ultimate Bliss means:-

   

  Ordinally happiness � when ended, suffering occur there after.

  Know that suffering is real, and happiness is false. As suffering don't become happiness, but happiness can become suffering.

  Example, when eating good food. Eating your favourite food is happiness. But, if you were to continue to eat bowl after bowl of the same food, it becomes a suffering. This is how happiness become suffering. happiness if continuous become suffering. But suffering if continue does not become happiness.

  Example, when hungry, i am experiencing suffering. If one continue to stay hungry for 7 days, one will experience more suffering, not happiness. So suffering is real, and happiness is false.

   

  Now neither suffering nor happiness is a good experience/realm. But one cannot sustain this state as time waits for no man.

  Example when we are born, we are already walking towards the deathbed. Who can stop moving? None.

  But it's said that in Nirvanic Bliss(Ulitmate Joy ��), there's no all above three forms of sufferings.

  In this samsara world there's duality. Suffering and joy is Prejudiced view for one side or the other. If Ulitmate Joy has no suffering, then Joy is also gone. As it's  on the same side with suffering. One gone, the other is gone too. It's when both suffering and joy is ended that bring forth the Ulitmate Reality of Nirvana (aka 極樂, Ulitmate Bliss). Thus called True bliss/joy. If there's joy, then joy is suffering and False. Ulitmate Joy is indeed inconcievable! Inconcievable mean cannot be said, nor cannot be think nor cannot be percieve.

  Samsara is dimension of matter/karma controlling, you can't have your own wish or doing, hence suffering. Nirvana is a state/dimension of Mind/will/vow controlling, hence no suffering. There's this Utimate reality Buddha discovered.

    
  世界 means:-

  When the Mind is Pure, the Land is pure.

  that say:-
  All beings do not see mountains and waters in the same way. Some beings see water as a jeweled ornament, but they do not regard jeweled ornaments as water. What in the human realm corresponds to their water? We only see their jeweled ornaments as water. Some beings see water as wondrous blossoms, but they do not use blossoms as water. Hungry ghosts see water as raging fire or pus and blood. Dragons see water as a palace or a pavilion. Some beings see water as the seven treasures or a wish-granting jewel. Some beings see water as a forest or a wall. Some see it as the Dharma nature of pure liberation, the true human body, or as the form of body and essence of mind. Human beings see water as water. Water is seen as dead or alive depending on causes and conditions. Thus the views of all beings are not the same.
  
  i say if you are sitting next to a Buddha, be it Shakyamuni or Amitabha, what we, ordinary people see is samsaric environment. while what the Buddha see is pure land as described in Amitabha pureland sutra. a defiled mind see a defiled land. a pure mind see a pure land.
  it is not wrong to say that "Pureland is as real as this defiled world".

  /\

  welly advice.

  As for Samsara is not so very correctly interpreted. Samsara means 'can endure/tolerate', it means that beings other than liberated beings who are living in a condition of suffering but they deemed it as true happiness and subscribed to this false happiness as though it's true happiness, and continue to endure until they see stars on last breath, and still strongly perceive that this is usual way of life. Such as highly educated scientists and common folks who did not attempt or challenge themselves in other perspective like dharma  /\

• Mr Milo

  7 Aug 12, 21:05

  Originally posted by sinweiy:

  æž�ä¹�世界 or Land of Ultimate Bliss can also not necessary stereotype it to be Amitabha Buddha’s pure land. if u break the word, it's meaning of Nirvana. but must understand it thoroughly and not to mistake it to be a heavenly place.

  �� Ultimate Bliss means:-

   

  Ordinally happiness � when ended, suffering occur there after.

  Know that suffering is real, and happiness is false. As suffering don't become happiness, but happiness can become suffering.

  Example, when eating good food. Eating your favourite food is happiness. But, if you were to continue to eat bowl after bowl of the same food, it becomes a suffering. This is how happiness become suffering. happiness if continuous become suffering. But suffering if continue does not become happiness.

  Example, when hungry, i am experiencing suffering. If one continue to stay hungry for 7 days, one will experience more suffering, not happiness. So suffering is real, and happiness is false.

   

  Now neither suffering nor happiness is a good experience/realm. But one cannot sustain this state as time waits for no man.

  Example when we are born, we are already walking towards the deathbed. Who can stop moving? None.

  But it's said that in Nirvanic Bliss(Ulitmate Joy ��), there's no all above three forms of sufferings.

  In this samsara world there's duality. Suffering and joy is Prejudiced view for one side or the other. If Ulitmate Joy has no suffering, then Joy is also gone. As it's  on the same side with suffering. One gone, the other is gone too. It's when both suffering and joy is ended that bring forth the Ulitmate Reality of Nirvana (aka 極樂, Ulitmate Bliss). Thus called True bliss/joy. If there's joy, then joy is suffering and False. Ulitmate Joy is indeed inconcievable! Inconcievable mean cannot be said, nor cannot be think nor cannot be percieve.

  Samsara is dimension of matter/karma controlling, you can't have your own wish or doing, hence suffering. Nirvana is a state/dimension of Mind/will/vow controlling, hence no suffering. There's this Utimate reality Buddha discovered.

    
  世界 means:-

  When the Mind is Pure, the Land is pure.

  that say:-
  All beings do not see mountains and waters in the same way. Some beings see water as a jeweled ornament, but they do not regard jeweled ornaments as water. What in the human realm corresponds to their water? We only see their jeweled ornaments as water. Some beings see water as wondrous blossoms, but they do not use blossoms as water. Hungry ghosts see water as raging fire or pus and blood. Dragons see water as a palace or a pavilion. Some beings see water as the seven treasures or a wish-granting jewel. Some beings see water as a forest or a wall. Some see it as the Dharma nature of pure liberation, the true human body, or as the form of body and essence of mind. Human beings see water as water. Water is seen as dead or alive depending on causes and conditions. Thus the views of all beings are not the same.
  
  i say if you are sitting next to a Buddha, be it Shakyamuni or Amitabha, what we, ordinary people see is samsaric environment. while what the Buddha see is pure land as described in Amitabha pureland sutra. a defiled mind see a defiled land. a pure mind see a pure land.
  it is not wrong to say that "Pureland is as real as this defiled world".

  /\

  
  Thank you

  They are all very logical and applies to many aspects of life too

  Say, you yourself can control how others respond to you by altering your thinking or response and the way you do it. You can see or feel the effects

• bycai

  8 Aug 12, 08:52

  the see see, the blind no see see. And how could you be not lotus

• sinweiy

  8 Aug 12, 09:03

  Originally posted by bycai:

  welly advice.

  As for Samsara is not so very correctly interpreted.

  
  heard before Samsara means 'can endure/tolerate'能�, but which part not correct? part of the meaning is interpretation by our old master 净空�法师 which i jotted.

  An apple, one can say it's red or green, one can say it's sweet or sour at times, it's round but not so round etc. so all correct , just from different angles.

  /\ 

• Dharmadhatu

  8 Aug 12, 16:10

  Originally posted by An Eternal Now:

  I had a dream where everyone in a family were having problems – getting into gambling debts, etc. One of the brothers also used to be a criminal but to everyone’s surprises he suddenly turned his mind, left his home, and seated in the meditative lotus posture in middle of a pool of mud, attained the final nirvana right there and passed away.

  When I woke up I immediately understood: the world is surrounded by beings pursuing the path of the unwholesome and being chained by afflictions – craving, aggression, delusions and all manners of attachments, leading to endless rebirths in the six realms. But no matter how unwholesome and defiled your environment and companions seem to be, and no matter what you have done, or how afflicted you were, there is always the opportunity to repent, turn around, head on a very different direction, strive and be the one who is like a lotus growing out of the mud, be one who is undefiled in a world full of defilements.

  Strive on and walk the path against the worldly stream. Enter the stream that leads to Nirvana, and attain Nirvana in this very body, in this very world. Be the light shining through darkness.

  THanks, very nice message... i really agree with it.  There is always possibility of using the Dharma in a very flexible way to wake up no matter what your circumstances.

• An Eternal Now

  8 Aug 12, 16:38

  The funny thing is that, on the next day after my dream, people around me started gambling some rather big sum of money (for the first time - surprising, I didn't know they brought in those cards)... I rather not break any house rules where I stay and get into trouble in my remaining days serving the nation, so I meditated. LOL I had lots of tell-future dreams (even more in the past)... and dreams containing dharma meaning. Sometimes I foretell things to my friends based on dreams because I knew it's going to happen... and it does. Sometimes teachers appear in my dream... including Thusness (was informed by him that his intention for me to know certain things through dream was possible only due to my strong karmic connection to him). ChNNR, another one as I mentioned before. There were others... known and unknown teachers. Or other unknown beings informing of events going to happen next day (turns out to be accurate), also can happen. Anyway no need to attach too much to these things... most important is still to practice hard both in waking and sleep. As lucidity increases throughout the cycle of day and night such events become more frequent but are not the main point of practice.
• bycai

  8 Aug 12, 18:38

  Originally posted by sinweiy:

  
  heard before Samsara means 'can endure/tolerate'能�, but which part not correct? part of the meaning is interpretation by our old master 净空�法师 which i jotted.

  An apple, one can say it's red or green, one can say it's sweet or sour at times, it's round but not so round etc. so all correct , just from different angles.

  /\ 

  Bodhisavatta has issue on duality as well, so samsara can be the posn of bodhisavatta. And tis Samsara is more specific referring to sentience of six realm tat unlike stream enterer & above has surpassed tis samsara world. old master 净空�法师 has solely engaging into pureland, means bringing ones samsara to pureland

  
  悲�經云：云何�娑婆？是諸眾生��三毒�諸煩惱故��土，亦�雜會，��共居故。�法�玄贊二曰：「梵云索訶，此云堪�。諸�薩等行利樂時，多諸怨嫉眾 苦�惱，堪�勞倦而��故，因以為�。娑婆者訛也。（中略）是三�大�世界，號為娑婆世界。�探玄記四曰：「娑婆者此云堪�，悲�經云：此中眾生貪瞋痴等 �，梵王�之，故為�也。�西域記一曰：「索訶世界三�大�國土，為一佛化�也，舊曰娑婆，�曰沙訶，皆訛。�玄應音義三曰：「沙訶，�云娑訶樓陀，或云 娑婆，皆訛也。正言索訶，此云能�，或云堪�，一言雜會世界。�

• Mr Milo

  8 Aug 12, 21:21

   

  Duality?

  every time i see this word, i cannot help but be reminded of quantum physics