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stories of

buddhism5 principles for the beginners

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stories of

buddhism5 principles for the beginners

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contents

Adverse circumstAncespage 7

hAppiness & WeAlthpage 11

repentAncepage 23

Compassionpage 19

greed & desirepage 15

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Adverse circumstAnces

shAke it off & step upby Joseph Sica

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1. once upon a time there was a farmer who had an old dog.

2. the dog fell into a deep dry well and began to cry loudly.

3. Hearing his dog cry, the farmer came over and assessed the situation. the well was deep and the mule was heavy. He knew it would be difficult, if not impossible, to lift the animal out.

4. Because the dog was old and the well was dry, the farmer decided to bury the animal in the well. in this way he could solve two problems: put the old mule out of his misery and have his well filled.

5. He felt sorry for his dog but that’s the only think he can do.

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6. shovel full of dirt after shovel full of dirt began to fall on the dog’s back. He became hysterical.

7. then all of a sudden an idea came to the dog. each time he would throw a shovel full of dirt on his back he could shake it off and step up.

8. Now exhausted and dirty, but quite alive, the dog stepped over the top of the well and walked through the crowd.

9. A great attitude. A great way to approach life. shake it off and step up. too often we hold on to what has happened to us.

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When adverse conditions and gossip approaches near, maintain “ tolerance and forgivance” in the mind. Nothing is very easy in this world. However, it is not worth being a martyr when there are no adverse circumstances. in Buddhism, adverse circumstances are called “ augment-ing superior affinities.” feel grateful when confronted with adverse conditions. they can be encountered but not sought after. Hardships and difficulties in dealing with people and events are a kind of test. it is just like a sword that needs to be ground on a whetstone to become sharp, or a piece of jade that needs to be polished on a rough stone for luster to shine forth. in order to cultivate, one must be able to manage the forging and tempering of the self that disciplines the moving mind into a tranquil one. Make the mind still and stable in this turning environment.others scold me, misunderstand me, slander me, and i am grateful. i thank them for giving me a state for cultivation.

iN BuddHisM, Adverse circuMstANces Are cAlled “ Augmenting Superior Affinities.”

Feel grateful when confronted with adverse conditions.

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hAppiness & WeAlth

1.there was a small boy living on a farm which seemed like so far away from every where.

2.He needed to get up before sunrise every morning to start his chores and out again later to do the evening ones.

3.during sunrise he would take a break and climb up on the fence so in the distance he could see the house with golden windows.

4.He thought how great it would be to live there and his mind would wander to imagine the modern equipment and appliances that might exist in the house. “if they could afford golden windows, then there must have other nice things.”

5. then one morning his father told him to stay at home and his father would do the chores.

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golden WindoWsby Leo Hallan

6. Knowing that this was his chance, he packed a sandwich and headed across the field towards the house with the golden windows.

7. As the afternoon went on, he began to realize how he misjudged the distance and something else was very wrong.

8. As he approached the house, he saw no golden windows but instead a place with in bad need of a painting surrounded by a broken down fence.

9. He went to the tattered screen door and knocked. A small boy very close to his age opened the door. He asked him if he had seen the house with the golden windows.

10. the boy said “sure, i know.” and invited him to sit on the porch. on his home to Gold.

11. As he sat there, he looked back from where he just came where the sunset turned the windows on his home to Gold.

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there is no standard to measure happiness in life. When others are concerned about you and care for you while you are able to show concern for others and care for them, you are a blessed person living within blessings. in this world, there are always others more unfortunate than ourselves. those able to give their service are more blessed than those who are served by others. to forgive others one more time is to create one more blessing. increase the number of times one forgives and the quantity of one’s blessings increases. We create all the offenses and blessings in our lifetime by ourselves. increase the number of times one forgives and the quantity of one’s blessings increases.We create all the offenses and blessings in our lifetime by ourselves. thus human beings are both the most terrifying and the most beautiful creatures.When there is a kind heart, there are blessings. When there is a vow, there is strength.create you own field of blessings and reap your own superior affinities. By enduring suffering, suffering ends. After going through suffering, there is sweetness. By enjoying blessings, blessings are exhausted. After blessings run out, there is sadness. rather than seek for good fortune and longevity, why not lookfor peace, to have peace is to increase fortune and longevity. We are often advised “ to give”, for giving brings more blessings than receiving. real happiness is the pure, comforting, and delightful feeling that comes after giving and renouncing. What kind of person has the most blessings? the most ordinary person has the most blessings. He has a mind that knows satisfaction. He always cares about society and friendships. He is easily approachable, and thus finds real friendships. this kind of person finds the most blessings in life. the value of worldly materials is determined by the trend of the times: during times of peace, gold, silver, and gems are treasures.

one’s mind thAt knoWs Satisfaction

This kind of person finds the most blessings in life

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greed & desire

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1.My one year old son, one day got sudden interest in the vase which is handed down in the family for genera-tions.

2. He pulled out the flowers and reached his little arm into the vase. He tried hard to search somthing, how-ever he realized that his arm was stuck inside of the vase.

3. He began to cry loudly and i guessed he had no other choices but let me know.

4. i left my housechores and went to check what happened on him.

5. i was curious why he couldn’t pull out his hand since there was the possiblity to put it in.

the stuck hAndby Unknown

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6. As i tried harder and harder to help pulling out his hand, my baby cried loulder and loulder. i guess it was really painful for him.

7. i had no other ways but smashing the vase in order to get his hand out. However, this is a pricy vase even which is handed down by ancestors. i was very strugling.

8. i finally smashed the vase because my little boy’s wrist was swollen.

9. indeed there was a coin he held it tight in his little fist, and because he didn’t want to release the coin, i had to break an valuable vase.

When one has few desires and is able to accord with conditions, then one feels at peace everywhere and every deed fulfills one’s wishes.

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the desire to seek brings about the thought of must have. When there is seeking, there is a mind for gaining. then there will be the suffering of loss. With love, desires, and seeking, there is suffering. in order not to suffer, to attain great fulfillment of one’s wishes, one must have few desires and know satisfaction. When one has few desires and is able to accord with conditions, then one feels at peace everywhere and every deed fulfills one’s wishes. in living a life, those with great ambitions must use a lot of energy to satisfy their needs, while those with few ambitions and desires have few worries and can go through life peacefully. the moral mind is also the reasoning nature. if thoughts of desires continue to expand, it buries the reasoning nature. if the reasoning nature can be enhanced, then it can end desire. After getting rid of greed, everything else is easy. Now the mind can achieve incomparable peace and liberation. What we call affliction is not then measure of matters in life. instead, it is only a differentiation in the state of the mind. if one cannot learn to be satisfied, one will always be in the midst of affliction. Whether poor or rich, of an honorable or lowly status, no one can avoid the suffering and afflictions of life. don’t hassle too much over life. everyone seeks “to have.” What is “to have”? it is to have afflictions.

desire is a bottomless pit, and greed knows no boundaries

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Compassion

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1.there was a men who saw a scorpion floundering around in the water.

2. He decided to save it by stretching out his finger.

3. But the scorpion stung him.

4. the man still tried to get the scorpion out of the water, but the scorpion stung him again.

A scorpion momentby Strickland Gillilan

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5. A man nearby told him to stop saving the scorpion that kept stinging him.

6. But the man said: “it is the nature of the scorpion to sting. it is my nature to love. Why should i give up my nature to love just because it is the nature of the scorpion to sting?”

7. don’t give up loving.don’t give up your goodness.even if people around you sting.

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A compassionate heart is a clear and cool place.Mercy is “giving happiness”, giving all living beings joy and happiness.compassion is sym-pathy. the most fortunate thing in life is being able to forgive and sympathize with all living beings. in the same way that a value without a figure is a “limitless amount”, not counting the effort one puts out is “Great compassion”. to give one’s labour and service happily is more than “ Joyous Giving”. though we have no causes or affinities with other living beings, their suffering is our suffering, and their pain is our pain. though the suffering is on their bodies, there is concern in my heart. the wound is on their bodies, but there is pain in my heart. this is called “ great compassion for those of the same substance.” regard others with a compassion-ate heart and give the abstract a form by turning theories into action. At every moment, bring forth the compassionate spirit of: “ if we don’t save them, who will?” By the being able to do thus, even this impure world can turn into the Pure land of ultimate Bliss*

*Pure Land of Unlimited Bliss: Paradise, the Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha in west created through the fervor of his vows, where living beings can be reborn simply by constant mindfulness and recitation of his name.love, humanity, and morality are the structures of the compassion that the Buddha speaks of, and sincerity, virtuousness, and friendliness are the functions. those who can save others are called Bodhisattvas. if what you give in one day has come to good use, then for that one day you are a Bodhisattva*.

* Bodhisattva: A Bodhisattva is an “Enlightened Being”, one who has resolved to attain enlightenment for himself and for all living beings.Bodhisattva spirit means to be constantly in accord with others. in order to always keep the Bodhisattva spirit present in the world, we cannot only depends on theories, but we must also have actual practice. compassion and the strength of vows are theories, and the work of saving people is true action. We must turn formless compassion into durable and eternal deeds. Give compassion a form with concrete actions!!!

The compassionate heart is able to forgive, be patient, and express

love, humAnity, And morAlity

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repentAnce

the fence

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1. there once was a little boy who had a bad temper.

2. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.

3. the first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down.

4. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

5. finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father about it.

by:Jonathan Lockwood

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6. then father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.

7. the days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.

8. the father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence.He said, “You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence.

9. the fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one.

10. 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. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.”

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Because of self-awareness, people grow. due to self-satisfaction, they fail and retrogress. Admitting our mistakes and criticizing ourselves are the first lessons of being a moral person, a step in improving our characters. in the first instance of forgiving oneself, one begins to get lazy. Be alert at every moment. courage and responsibility are interconnected energies. to courageously shoulder the responsibility of the mistakes one makes superior characteristic. do not be scared to get involved because of past mistakes. instead, correct the mistakes, confront them again, and surpass them. it is easy to repent and examine one’s great mistakes, but very difficult to abolish small habits.repentance is a confession of the mind and spirit and also a major clean up of inner pollution. How can a person dignify his life and respect himself? there are only two words: “humility and shame.” Humility is to quickly acknowledge one’s faults and not to commit the same mistakes again, which brings hope and salvation to the person. it also means having a sense of shame and remorse for one’s mistakes. With a mind that knows shame, one can always self-reflect; with a mind that knows repentance, one will not make mistakes again. then, one is also able to leave all the evils and gossips behind. to repent is to dispose of the foremost evils. to regret is to reform and cultivate for the future. everyone has Buddha-nature. if one is able to face reality courageously,, to self-examine and repent, then one can be aware of the mistakes made. sincerely and frankly confess, vow to reform, and do the utmost to walk on the proper path. doing thus, one can enlighten the mind and realize the pure and perfect Buddha-nature immanent in all beings. Who can avoid going through the stage of being a common human being? we are all ignorant and do not perceive the world with our Buddha-nature. Wether one has committed past mistakes intentionally or unintentionally, repent them all. repentance brings purity, and purity can extinguish afflictions. every movement of the mind , every thought, creates karma. open the mouth and move the tongue, raise the hand and kick the feet --- every movement is easily an offense. in learning Buddhism, we should not conceal past evil deeds. instead, carefully prevent making the same mistakes again. At every instance, dispose of faults and repents, and reform yourself by mending old ways. Attain liberation and peace. Always have quiet thoughts of self-reflection. Push aside whirling waves in the mind and discover the origin of wisdom. there is not one principle of action that does not function in this world and outside of this world, and not one phenomena that cannot be understood. When a person is unable to educate himself, he also cannot accept others’ teachings anymore. His development gradually ceases.

Repentance is a Confession of the mind & spirit also a major Clean up of inner pollution.

To forgive others is a virtue, while to forgive oneself is to damage virtue.

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design & illustrations byAiki Chen

contents byDharma Master Cheng Yen

from “Still Thoughts”

stories byJoseph Sica, Leo Hallan, Strick-land Gillilan, Jonathan Lockwood

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Enjoy!

buddhism gives me wisdoms, peacefulness, happiness; it teaches me positive thoughts when i am in distresses and teaches me the meaning of life.

this book simplifys the complexness into five principles; delivers words from “Still thoughts” by dharma with the comic style illustrations.

stories of

buddhism5 principles for the beginners