Truth

Once upon a time, there was a monk who got the Enlightenment.
He argued that anybody could be a Buddha without the Enlightenment.
But, that kind of argument was very shocking and unacceptable at the time,
he was expelled from the temple and had to study alone in a mountain.
Since there was nobody listening to his teachings about Buddhism, he used to
do lectures before a group of stones and rocks. When he asked them about whether
his teachings were right, they gave him a nod of approval.


What is true anywhere is true everywhere.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Fate

Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.
- Carl Jung

Sometimes I am wondering if some the disasters, dissatisfaction , unhappiness I have encountered so far were actually what I wanted in some way before it happened. That feeling is very wiered and unreasonable, but I get that feeling some time after the bad things are gone out of my sight. Haven’t you got that feeling?

Self delusion

Once upon a time in China, there living a farmer, who was raising pigs for his living. One day he found one of his pigs gave birth to a young pig with a white head. Never seen a pig with a white head, he thought it would be very precious one. It could be presented to the king to please him. So he departed for the capital of the county with the pig with white head. After couple of days of travel, he reached another town. Surprisingly, he found all the pigs there have a white head. Now he reallized his newly-born, white-headed pig is nothing but a common pig.

The risk is not in what he does not know.

but in what he thinks he knows.

- Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Love of self

The Movie, “Defending your life” is one of the most interesting and thought-provoking movies regarding the life after death. In this movie, Albert Brooks dies of a car accident and wakes up in a “judgment city”, where some kind of judgment about previous life of the dead people is taking place. The “judgment” is not a type of jurisdiction occurring on the earth. The dead people were given a chance to review his/her life and to proceed to more advanced or newer circumstances based on what he/she has done.

One of the interesting scene of the movie was Albert’s dinner with his reviewer, Michael Durrell. Michael was curious about what his life looked like. To quote:

Michael: Did you give a lot to the charity?
Albert: What do you mean a lot?
Michael: A lot of money, donate thing. This isn’t a good or bad thing. It’s just really out of curiosity.
Albert: I gave a lot to people on the street but never did get a receipt.
Michael: There is really one person you were really cheap with. Over and over again. I wish you were more generous with him.
Albert: Who?
Michael: YOU!

What makes us free?

Knoledge is an antidote to fear.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Truth will set you free.

- Jesus Christ

image: Korean National Treasure #83, http://chang256.new21.net/board/board.php?db=582&no=425&page=1&sm=

Happiness vs Success

Success is getting what you want.
Happiness is wanting what you get.

- Dale Carnegie

image credit: http://exposedplanet.com/index.php?showimage=17

Happy new year. Happy new ear!

New year so we will have new ear for what Buddha has said.

"Rely not on the teacher or person, but on the teaching.

Rely not on the words of the teaching, but on the spirit of the words.

Rely not on theory, but on experience.Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it.

Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. Do not believe anything because it is spoken and rumored by many.

Do not believe in anything because it is written in your religious books.

Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and the benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it."


- Buddha