BUDDHIST STORIES

FINDING A PIECE OF THE TRUTH


One day Mara, the Evil One, was travelling through the villages of India with his attendants. he saw a man doing walking meditation whose face was lit up on wonder. The man had just discovered something on the ground in front of him.

Mara's attendant asked what that was and Mara replied, "A piece of truth." "Doesn't this bother you when someone finds a piece of truth, O Evil One?" his attendant asked. "No," Mara replied. "Right after this, they usually make a belief out of it."

THE OTHER SIDE

One day a young Buddhist on his journey home, came to the banks of a wide river. Staring hopelessly at the great obstacle in front of him, he pondered for hours on just how to cross such a wide barrier. Just as he was about to give up his pursuit to continue his journey he saw a great teacher on the other side of the river. The young Buddhist yells over to the teacher, "Oh wise one, can you tell me how to get to the other side of this river"?
The teacher ponders for a moment looks up and down the river and yells back, "My son, you are on the other side".

TEACUPS

A student asked Suzuki Roshi why the Japanese make their teacups so thin and delicate that they break easily. "It's not that they're too delicate," he answered, "but that you don't know how to handle them. You must adjust yourself to the environment, and not vice versa."

THE LOST SON

"A young widower, who loved his five year old son very much, was away on business when bandits came who burned down the whole village and took his son away. When the man returned, he saw the ruins and panicked. The took the burnt corpse of an infant to be his son and cried uncontrollably. He organised a cremation ceremony, collected the ashes and put them in a beautiful little bag which he always kept with him.
Soon afterwards, his real son escaped from the bandits and found his way home. He arrived at his father's new cottage at midnight and knocked at the door. The father, still grieving asked: "Who is it?" The child answered, it is me papa, open the door!" But in his agitated state of mind, convinced his son was dead, the father thought that some young boy was making fun of him. He shouted: "Go away" and continued to cry. After some time, the child left.
Father and son never saw each other again."
After this story, the Buddha said: "Sometime, somewhere, you take something to be the truth. If you cling to it so much, even when the truth comes in person and knocks on your door, you will not open it."

Know all things to be like this:
A mirage, a cloud castle,
A dream, an apparition,
Without essence, but with qualities that can be seen.

Know all things to be like this:
As the moon in a bright sky
In some clear lake reflected,
Though to that lake the moon has never moved.

Know all things to be like this:
As an echo that derives
From music, sounds, and weeping,
Yet in that echo is no melody.

Know all things to be like this:
As a magician makes illusions
Of horses, oxen, carts and other things,
Nothing is as it appears.

The Buddha

Mach said:

IrresistibleB1tch said:

Mach said:

Know all things to be like this:
A mirage, a cloud castle,
A dream, an apparition,
Without essence, but with qualities that can be seen.

Know all things to be like this:
As the moon in a bright sky
In some clear lake reflected,
Though to that lake the moon has never moved.

Know all things to be like this:
As an echo that derives
From music, sounds, and weeping,
Yet in that echo is no melody.

Know all things to be like this:
As a magician makes illusions
Of horses, oxen, carts and other things,
Nothing is as it appears.

The Buddha

love it. thanks, Mach!

"Hundreds of stupid flies gather
On a piece of rotten meat,
Enjoying, they think, a delicious feast.
This image fits with the song
Of the myriads of foolish living beings
Who seek happiness in superficial pleasures;
In countless ways they try,
Yet I have never seen them satisfied."

A BAG OF NAILS
Once upon a time there was a little boy with a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he should hammer a nail in the fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. But gradually, the number of daily nails dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.
Finally the first day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He proudly told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence.
"You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out, it won't matter how many times you say 'I'm sorry', the wound is still there."

okay coolest thread ever. love these proverbs thingies (?)

Mach said:

It is said that when Buddha was first Enlightened he was asked,
"Are you a God?"
"No," he replied.
"Are you a saint?"
"No."
"Then what are you?"

And he answered, "I am awake."

Once upon a time a peasant had a horse. This horse ran away,so the peasant's neighbours came to console him for his bad luck. He answered: "Maybe".

The day after the horse came back, leading 6 wild horses with it. The neighbours came to congratulate him on such good luck. The peasant said: "Maybe".

The day after, his son tried to saddle and ride on one of the wild horses, but he fell down and broke his leg. Once again the neighbours came to share that misfortune. The peasant said: "Maybe".

The day after, soldiers came to conscript the youth of the village, but the peasant's son was not chosen because of his broken leg. When the neighbours came to congratulate, the peasant said again :"May be".

A store owner was tacking a sign above his door that read " Puppies For Sale". Signs like that have a way of attracting small children, and sure enough, a little boy appeared under the store owner's sign.

"How much are you going to sell the puppies for?" he asked.

The store owner replied, " Anywhere from $30 to $50."

The little boy reached in his pocket and pulled out some change. "I have $2.37," he said. "Can I please look at them?"

The store owner smiled and whistled and out of the kennel came Lady, who ran down the aisle of his store followed by five teeny, tiny balls of fur. One puppy was lagging considerably behind. Immediately the little boy singled out the lagging, limping puppy and said,

"What's wrong with that little dog?"

The store owner explained that the veterinarian had examined the little puppy and had discovered it didn't have a hip socket. It would always limp. It would always be lame. The little boy became excited.

"That is the little puppy that I want to buy."

The store owner said, "No, you don't want to buy that little dog. If you reallly want him, I'll give him to you."

The little boy got quite upset. He looked straight into the store owner's eyes, pointing his finger, and said, "I don't want you to give him to me. That little dog is worth every bit as much as all the other dogs and I'll pay full price. In fact, I'll give you $2.37 now, and 50 cents a month until I have him paid for."

The store owner countered, "You really don't want to buy this little dog. He is never going to be able to run and jump and play with you like the other puppies."

To this, the little boy reached down and rolled up his pant leg to reveal a badly twisted, crippled left leg supported by a big metal brace. He looked up at the store owner and softly replied,

"Well, I don't run so well myself, and the little puppy will need someone who understands!"

One morning, after he had finished his meditation, the old man opened his eyes and saw a scorpion floating helplessly in the water. As the scorpion was washed closer to the tree, the old man quickly stretched himself out on one of the long roots that branched out into the river and reached out to rescue the drowning creature. As soon as he touched it, the scorpion stung him. Instinctively the man withdrew his hand. A minute later, after he had regained his balance, he stretched himself out again on the roots to save the scorpion. This time the scorpion stung him so badly with its poisonous tail that his hand became swollen and bloody and his face contorted with pain.

At that moment, a passerby saw the old man stretched out on the roots struggling with the scorpion and shouted: "Hey, stupid old man, what's wrong with you? Only a fool would risk his life for the sake of an ugly, evil creature. Don't you know you could kill yourself trying to save that ungrateful scorpion?"

The old man turned his head. Looking into the stranger's eyes he said calmly, "My friend, just because it is the scorpion's nature to sting, that does not change my nature to save."

(((((Mach))))) Thank you.

I love Buddhism. I admit I have a high degree of foolish pride when I think about it. Imagine, a religion that makes no attempt to separate it’s ‘believers’ from that of all humankind. Moreover, one that says there is a universal experience that all “beings” go through.

There are so many stories filled with compassion that it often frustrates me a bit when people view the religion as a pessimistic one or a belief system that’s just another form of nihilism. There is nothing dark or pessimistic about being told that you have a cold, and to treat it you need to rest, drink plenty of liquids, etc. etc.--why is it pessimistic to be told that life is wrought with suffering, and there are prescriptions to deal with that?

My favorite story is this one (I’ll tell it as best I can):

The Story of the Mustard Seed

Kiza Gotami had given birth to her son on a few months before his death. He had gown sick and died. She poured her heart and soul into her child, and in her grief her mind had turned.
She learned that the Buddha was in town and interrupted a sermon of his walking before him still carrying the baby’s lifeless body in her arms. “My lord, “ she said, wild eyed, “Give me medicine!”
The Buddha looked down at her child’s lifeless body and back up at her.
“I have your cure, “ He said. “You must find me a mustard seed.”
“But..” he continued as she was getting ready to speed off to find the cure, “it must be from a household that has not experienced sickness and death.”
Many of the folks who witnessed this exchange thought the Buddha was being rather cruel to the poor woman.

Kiza knocked on door after door asking for a mustard seed and asking if anyone had experienced sickness and death in their families. Every household had stories to tell. Some grieving for loved one long ago passed away. Some as recent as that month. All showing sadness in their eyes. Story after story, from household after household, Kiza was witness to their suffering. Slowly her mind ‘woke up’ and she realized in her desperate grasping, she had succumbed to madness.

She buried her boy that evening, and the next morning came to the Buddha.
“The mustard seed has done it’s work”, she said.
“Did you find one that cured your child?”, he asked?
“No, my lord”, she said.
“Come sit beside me, “ He said. “My child, we are all subject to sickness and death. Whether rich or poor, king or common man, we all must grow old and die. Life is short. Treat what you’ve been given as a gift, and understand that all of us must suffer. Treat everyone with compassion.”

Kiza saw the Buddha many times after that. Some accounts of the story say that she actually became a Buddhist nun herself. As she grew older it is said that her husband became very rich and she was able to donate much to the sick and poor. Over time, by comforting others in their time of grief and loss, she slowly found happiness again.




To me, this story represents the reality of our faith. You can not “wish” things to be better. There’s no potion, no prayer, no divine intervention that you can rely on to fix the suffering around you--Life is wrought with it. It’s woven into the fiber of existence. What you can do, is practice compassion.

I love Milty and so should you!

FUNNIEST SHIT EVER!: http://prince.org/msg/100/290558

Imago said:

thank you for this thread i needed it.

baroque said:

I love Milty and so should you!

FUNNIEST SHIT EVER!: http://prince.org/msg/100/290558

Imago said:

Imago said:

A FEMALE MONSTER THAT ATE CHILDREN

- A Story from the Buddhist Sutra





In many Buddhist countries, Hariti is a guardian goddess of small children and is usually presented in Buddhist artifacts as a Mother Goddess wearing a green robe. "Hariti" is Sanskrit, which literally means "Mother of Little Ghosts" in English. The Buddhist Sutra said that she had 1,000 children who were all Demon Leaders (some translated as "Ghost Kings"), 500 of them lived in various Heavens and the rest lived on Earth. They frequently directed groups of demons to attack gods and human kings, creating all kinds of evils and disasters.

One day, as Ananda, (Buddha's senior student) was making a routine round in the City of Rajagraha collecting alms, he learned that people in the city were troubled by numerous missing children. Every day, some small kids mysteriously disappeared. Parents who had lost their children had no idea how their kids disappeared, where they went and whether they were alive or dead.

As Ananda brought the news back to the Monastery, the Buddha immediately knew who did it. He told Ananda, "The fellow who kidnaps small children is no ordinary human criminal - she is Hariti, the Mother of Little Ghosts. One of her favourite food was live human babies and small kids. Every day, she goes to the City of Rajagraha to 'hunt' for small children, took them home, slaughtered them, cooked them and served as food."

"No wonder the King of Rajagraha could not solve the problem," said Ananda, "Hariti was not a human - she was an evil ghost! Is there anyway we can do to help the citizens to solve this problem?"

"Yes, I have a plan," said the Buddha. "Here is it."

And off Ananda went to carry out Buddha's instruction.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Ananda assembled a group of monks and went to the place where Hariti lived. There they hided outside until she went out on her daily "hunting" round looking for human babies to eat. Once she had gone, the monks use their mystic power and brought all her ghost children back to the monastery. There, they hided the ghost children in a secret place.

When the evil ghost returned to her home, she found that all her children had disappeared and nowhere to be found. She was so terrified that she dared not kill any of her "prey", thinking that the King of Gods, Sakra, or the Lord of Hell, King Yama, must be going after her. Immediately, she left her captives at home and went outside to look for her own children. Days were passed, but her own kids could not be found. Finally, she sat on the street of the City and started to cry aloud.

As Ananda was making his usual round collecting alms, he approached Hariti and asked her, "What are you crying for? How come you are so sad?"

"Because I had lost my children," replied Hariti, still crying. "I do not know where they had gone"

"Go to see the Buddha," suggested Ananda. "The Enlightened One knows everything in the past, present and future. He can probably help you out."

Hariti was glad to follow Ananda to the monastery to see the Buddha. After she had given a salutation to him, the Buddha asked, "why are you crying publicly in the City?"

"Because I had lost my children," replied Hariti. "They disappeared while I went outside."

"Why didn't you take care of your own children?" the Buddha began to question her. "Why did you go out and what were you doing on that day?"

Hariti dared not answer. The Buddha continued to question her. Finally, she confessed, "I am stupid. I went out to hunt children."

"What?" asked the Buddha. "Preying on small children? Tell me, do you love your own children?"

"Sure I do. I love my own children very much."

At this moment, the Buddha raised up and told Hariti sternly, "If you love your own children, why are you hunting other peoples' children as food? Do you know that their parents are just as sad? Do you know that you are creating a bad karma for yourself. Do you know that for your sin you will be reborn in Hell to face judgement by King Yama for what you did?"

On hearing this, Hariti was really terrified. "What can I do to get my children back? Is there any way to avoid punishment in Hell?"

"If you can make a confession of your sin and promise to render good deeds in the future by following my teachings, your children will return to you safely and you will not have to be reborn in Hell to face King Yama," reply the Buddha. Then he gave a detail lecture of his teachings on the four noble truths and the eightfold paths. He also told her to follow the five precepts (of not killing, not stealing, no sexual misconducts, no damaging bad words towards other people and no alcoholic drinks).

After the lecture was finished, Hariti kneeled down, clapped her hands and said, "Now I understand what I did was wrong. I wish to take refuge in you, the Dharma and the Sangha, and I vow that from now onward, I will act as guardian of all small children in the saha-world."

The Buddha told her that there is no need to hunt small children for food anymore. She might share with the Sangha any offerings made by lay followers. From then onwards, she attained arhatship and became the Guardian Goddess of Small Children.

The Paratrooper
A paratrooper was scared to jump. His instructor told him, "If anything goes wrong, say, `Buddha oh Buddha' and you will be saved."
The paratrooper got so scared that he forgot to pull his rip cord. So he said, "Buddha oh Buddha," and a hand came out and saved him.

He said, "Thank God," and he was dropped.

Mach said:

Great stories. Still reading though.

"Behind every successful woman there is an astonished man." General Ann Dunwoody

RenHoek said:

Imago said:

Absolutely my favorite thread this year if you don't count the Mullet Haired Poodle Man Photoshop thread.

Why do I find myself missing you in GD Imago? Why???

Cuz you're an idiot, UGH!

I love Milty and so should you!

FUNNIEST SHIT EVER!: http://prince.org/msg/100/290558

What did one tampon say to the other tampon?

NOTHING!! They were both stuck up cunts!!







I think this is a Zen Koan more so than a proverb.

I love Milty and so should you!

FUNNIEST SHIT EVER!: http://prince.org/msg/100/290558

Imago said:

What did one tampon say to the other tampon?

NOTHING!! They were both stuck up cunts!!







I think this is a Zen Koan more so than a proverb.