To demonstrate his mastery over the limits of the physical world, Milarepa had placed his open hand against the cave’s wall at about shoulder level . . . and then continued to push his hand farther into the rock in front of him, as if the wall did not exist! When he did so, the stone beneath his palms became soft and malleable, leaving the deep impression of his hand for all to see. When the student who witnessed this marvel tried to do the same thing, it’s recorded that all he accomplished was the frustration of an injured hand.
This excerpt is taken from the book The Spontaneous Healing of Belief, by Gregg Braden.
Click here to read more
The Buddha Machine is a little plastic box that plays music.
In a way, it’s like the cheapest pre-loaded IPod you’ll ever be able to buy...
If, in fact, we are naturally good in a ‘so-of-itself,’ no-effort fashion, why are we not good already? If the Laozian soteriological path is so effortless and spontaneous, why do we have to be told to pursue it? … Laozi urges us to behaviorally ‘do wu-wei’ and to cognitively ‘grasp oneness,’ while at the same time he systematically condemns doing and grasping… The fact that we are not already … open to the Way means that we need to somehow render ourselves receptive, and Zhuangzi is thus forced to supplement his effortlessness and unself-consciousness metaphors with references to hard work and training…
from Effortless Action by Edward Slingerman
The body was re-cremated during the funeral, but the heart of Thích Quảng Đức remained intact and did not burn. It was considered to be holy and placed in a glass chalice at Xa Loi Pagoda. The intact heart relic is regarded as a symbol of compassion and Thích Quảng Đức has subsequently been revered by Vietnamese Buddhists as a bodhisattva (Bồ Tát) and accordingly is often referred to in Vietnamese as Bồ Tát Thích Quảng Đức.
Click here to read more
When we concentrate and fix our mind on the lower half of the body in order to keep the upper half cool and the lower warm, we shall be able to face reality calmly and readily however harsh it may be.
Hakuin
Yasen Kanna: Health Culture in Zen
