His whole life for Buddhism
I miss him, but why should I cry?

Realizing that death is inevitable, the one who loves life on earth will go into a devout prayer expressing the hope that his soul will survive in heaven. No man can be happy in such a tempest of fear and hope. Yet it is hard to despise or ignore these manifestations of the instinct for self-preservation. There is however a method of overcoming this fear. Forget the concept of self; turn one’s love of the inward outwards, i.e. provide humanitarian service and to shower love on others. Whoever constantly keeps in mind the fact that he would someday be subjected to death and that death is inevitable, would be eager to fulfill his duties to his fellow human beings before death, and this would certainly make him heedful in respect of this world and the next. Being engrossed in service to others, you will soon release yourself from the heavy selfish attachments, hopes, vanity, pride and self-righteousness.

~By Venerable Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda

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Whoever does wrong to an innocent person 
or to one who is pure and harmless, 
the wrong returns to that fool 
just like fine dust thrown against the wind. 

~Buddha

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As a solid rock is not shaken by the wind, so the wise are not shaken by blame and praise. As a deep lake is clear and calm, so the wise become tranquil after they listened to the truth.

Good people walk on regardless of what happens to them. Good people do not babble on about their desires. Whether touched by happiness or by sorrow, the wise never appear elated or depressed…~Lord Buddha

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Yesterday I was angry with God.
Today I am angry with my anger.
My Lord tells me
That if anger is the problem
In my life,
Then the immediate solution
Is love.

By Sri Chinmoy

Photo source: 
http://images3.alphacoders.com/274/274525.jpg

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Give up anger; renounce pride;
transcend all worldly attachments.
No sufferings touch the person
who is not attached to name and form,
who calls nothing one’s own.
Whoever restrains rising anger like a chariot gone astray,
that one I call a real driver;
others merely hold the reins.
 
Overcome anger by love; overcome wrong by good;
overcome the miserly by generosity, and the liar by truth.
Speak the truth; do not yield to anger;
give even if asked for a little.
These three steps lead you to the gods.
 
The wise who hurt no one, who always control their body,
go to the unchangeable place,
where, once they have gone, they suffer no more.
Those who are always aware, who study day and night,
who aspire for nirvana, their passions will come to an end.
 
This is an old saying, Atula, not just from today:
“They blame the person who is silent;
they blame the person who talks much;
they also blame the person who talks in moderation;
there is no one on earth who is not blamed.”
There never was, nor ever will be, nor is there now
anyone who is always blamed or anyone who is always praised.
 
But the one whom those who discriminate praise
continually day after day as without fault,
wise, rich in knowledge and virtue,
who would dare to blame that person,
who is like a gold coin from the Jambu river?
That one is praised even by the gods, even by Brahma.
 
Be aware of bodily anger and control your body.
Let go of the body’s wrongs
and practice virtue with your body.
 
Be aware of the tongue’s anger and control your tongue.
Let go of the tongue’s wrongs
and practice virtue with your tongue.
 
Be aware of the mind’s anger and control your mind.
Let go of the mind’s wrongs
and practice virtue with your mind.
 
The wise who control their body,
who control their tongue,
the wise who control their mind are truly well controlled.

~Gautama Buddha

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Buddha used to be a rabbit in one of his previous lifetimes

A Tale of Selfless Generosity.

In this lifetime the Bodhisattva was born as an animal, a rabbit. Yet even as a rabbit, he possessed incredible virtue, goodness, beauty, and vigor; so much so that the other animals viewed him as their king. None feared him and none caused him fear. Among his devoted following, three animals in particular became his closest students and companions. They were an otter, a jackal, and a monkey, who through the Bodhisattva's teaching, forgot their lower animal nature and became infinitely compassionate themselves.

As instructed by the rabbit in a teaching one night, it was customary that on the next day, a holy day, to offer alms to anyone who passes through their forest. Later that night, the rabbit was distraught as he realized he had nothing to offer. His three companions had ample means to feed a guest, but the rabbit had nothing but the meager blades of grass he ate to sustain himself, which were far too bitter to offer a visitor. Then he realized he could offer his own flesh as food and without hesitation, decided this was what he would do.

Hearing this, Shakra, the lord of gods, went to test the animals and disguised himself as a weary traveler who had lost his way. Hungry, thirsty, and crying with despair, the four beasts rushed to his aid. The otter was able to supply the man with seven fish, the jackal a lizard and some sour milk, and the monkey some soft ripe mangoes. Seeing that the man had built a fire, the rabbit explained that he was offering his own body and then, without hesitation, lept into the hot coals and swirling flames.

Shakra rejoiced, reached into the fire and pulled out the rabbit and then lifted him up into the heavens and displayed him before the gods.

Then Shakra, having in mind the good of the world and the glorious example of the animal bodhisattva, adorned the top of his own palace, Sudharma, the palace of the Gods, with an image of a rabbit. He also adorned the face of the moon 

Shakyamuni Buddha, Previous Life Stories (Sanskrit: jataka. Tibetan: kye rab)

Source: himalayanart.org

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There are angels all around us,
Angels everywhere;
Sent to us from heaven above
To comfort, console and share
The mercies of Gods' grace and love
Through an encouraging word
A kind-hearted deed
A whispered prayer
On bended knee.
A gentle touch when no one's there
A peaceful presence in the air
There are angels all around us,
Angels everywhere.

~© Lynn Casstevens

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We must put others before us and keep others in our mind constantly: the self must be placed last. All our doings and thinkings must be motivated by compassion for others. The way to acquire this kind of outlook is that we must accept the simple fact that whatever we desire is also desired by others. Every being wants happiness, not suffering. If we adopt a self-centered approach to life by which we attempt to use others for our own self-interest, we might be able to gain temporary benefit, but in the long run, we will not succeed in achieving even our personal happiness, and hope for next life is out of question. ~ H.H. Dalai Lama

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If we cannot be happy
in spite of our difficulties,
what good is our spiritual practice?

~H.H. Maha Ghosananda

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As the world goes spinning round
And everything seems upside down
There isn't any organisation any more
Is nothing everlasting, must we live for just today
Can no-one find the answer, to help in any way
It's just a mixture of joy and sorrow
Of laughter, and of tears
Do we just dream about tomorrow
And about the future years
But the world would be a better place to live in
If everybody just made up their minds
Then we could all live in peace and harmony again
Yes we should all live in peace, and harmony again
Why can't we all live in peace, and harmony again
We should all live in peace, and harmony

~Written by Vance Freeman

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