Interesting/Inspirational Stories, Proverb and Saying

"The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly." Buddha

Great Waves

In the early days of the Meiji era there lived a well-known wrestler called O-nami, Great Waves.

O-nami was immensly strong and knew the art of wresting. In his private bouts he defeated even his teacher, but in public was so bashful that his own pupils threw him.

O-nami felt he should go to a Zen master for help. Hakuju, a wandering teacher, was stopping in a little temple nearby, so O-nami went to see him and told him of his great trouble.

"Great Waves is your name," the teacher advised, "so stay in this temple tonight. Imagine that you are those billows. You are no longer a wrestler who is afraid. You are those huge waves sweeping everything before them, swallowing all in their path. Do this and you will be the greatest wrestler in the land."

The teacher retired. O-nami sat in meditation trying to imagine himself as waves. He thought of many different things. Then gradualy he turned more and more to the feeling of waves. As the night advanced the waves became larger and larger. They swept away the flowers in their vases. Even the Buddha in the shrine was inundated. Before dawn the temple was nothing but the ebb and flow of an immense sea.

In the morning the teacher found O-nami meditating, a faint smile on his face. He patted the wrestler's shoulder. "Now nothing can disturb you," he said. "You are those waves. You will sweep everything before you."

The same day O-nami entered the wrestling contests and won. After that, no one in Japan was able to defeat him.

Makanan yg sedap ataupun yg paling mahal pun hanya dapat dirasai dilidah sahaja.,,Akan tetapi,...selepas 3-4 cm ke dlm lidah..Kita tidak akan dapat merasai apa-apa pun...
Janganlah kita terlalu suka memilih makanan,,makanlah apa yg dihidangkan kepada anda asalkan perut kita boleh kenyang. :pray:

Don't scold at old people cause one day u will also get old.

Coffin are to be used for death people and not for old people,,,so there is no different between old and young...
Most of young people misunderstanding about this concept.

Smile at people who scold you,..then let his angry scolded back at him!

ariyamusafir

Originally posted by cclee at 31-7-2004 15:33:
Smile at people who scold you,..then let his angry scolded back at him!

I shall try not to scoled people. Akan ku cuba

Bunga Teratai amat cantik walaupun ianya tumbuh di kolam yang keruh airnya.
Badan yang kotor tak pe yang penting hati kita bersih...

Ramai orang sekarang telah berfikiran songsang oleh itu,,..marilah kita sama-sama menolong orang yg masih boleh diberikan bantuan......

Acong

Originally posted by cclee at 31-7-2004 02:33 PM:
Smile at people who scold you,..then let his angry scolded back at him!

:setuju:

Acong

my mom said, "Lembu angkat rumput, kuda juga makan!"






hehe! :nyorok:

Raven took his perch on the Assembly Oak and addressed
a special meeting of the Tallspruce community, saying, "It's
time for me to be moving on."
Porcupine asked, "Where will you be going?"
Raven said, "Where cedar roots stand bare in the creek."
A hush fell over the circle. Grouse could be heard sniffling.
At last Porcupine asked, "Do you have any last words for us?"
Raven said, "Trust."

Source: Zen Master Raven

It is impossible to make slaves of the enlightened, for they are just as happy in a state of slavery as in a state of freedom.


When the Greek philosopher Diogenes was captured and taken to be sold in the slave market, it is said that he mounted the auctioneer's platform and loudly said, "A master has come here to be sold. Is there some slave among you who is desirous of purchasing him?"

Daiju visited the master Baso in China.
Baso asked: "What do you seek?"
"Enlightenment," replied Daiju.
"You have your own treasure house.
Why do you search outside?" Baso asked.
Daiju inquired: "Where is my treasure
house?"
Baso answered: "What you are asking
is your treasure house."
Daiju was delighted! Ever after he
urged his friends: "Open your own trea-
sure house and use those treasures."

Source: Zen Flesh, Zen Bones

"Monks, I will teach you the parable of the raft---for getting across, not for retaining. It is like a man who going on a journey sees a great stretch of water, the near bank with dangers and fears, the farther bank secure and without fears, but there is neither a boat for crossing over, nor a bridge across. It occurs to him that to cross over from the perils of this bank to the security of the farther bank, he should fashion a raft out of sticks and branches and depending on the raft, cross over to safety. When he has done this it occurs to him that the raft has been very useful and he wonders
if he ought to take it with him on his head and shoulders. What do you think, monks? That the man is doing what should be done to the raft?"
"No, lord."
"What should that man do, monks? When he has crossed over to the beyond he must leave the raft and proceed on his journey. Monks, a man doing this would be doing what should be done to the raft. In this way I have taught you Dharma, like the parable of the raft, for getting across, not for retaining. You, monks, by understanding the parable of the raft, must not cling to right states of mind and, all the more, to wrong states of mind."

Source: Teachings of the Buddha by Jack Kornfield

I love zen stories a lot. The reason is because you can interpret it based on your own experience. Furhtermore, there isn't any wrong or right interpretation.  The problem with us in this world is that we think our view is the absolutely correct.

"Mother, what is water?" asked the baby fish of the mother fish.

"Water is what you swim in. Water is what you're mostly made of."

"But where is it?"

"All around you."

"But I can't see it," said the baby.

"Of course you can."

"Where?"

"Everywhere."

"And I'm made of water?"

"Mostly."

"And after I die..?"

"You go back to being water," said the mother.

Soyen Shaku, the first Zen teacher to come to America, said: "My heart burns like fire but my eyes are as cold as dead ashes." He made the following rules which he practiced every day of his life.

In the morning before dressing, light incense and meditate.

Retire at a regular hour. Partake of food at regular intervals. Eat with moderation and never to the point of satisfaction.

Receive a guest with the same attitude you have when alone. When alone, maintain the same attitude you have in receiving guests.

Watch what you say, and whatever you say, practice it.

When an opportunity comes do not let it pass you by, yet always think twice before acting.

Do not regret the past. Look to the future.

Have the fearless attitude of a hero and the loving heart of a child.

Upon retiring, sleep as if you had entered your last sleep. Upon awakening, leave your bed behind you instantly as if you had cast away a pair of old shoes.

My interpretation:
Be mindful of the present moment.

Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress.
--Mahatma Gandhi

ANGRY BUDDHA
From "Being Peace" by Thitch Nhat Hahn

"A woman who practices reciting Buddha Amitabha's name, is very tough and recites "NAMO AMITABHA BUDDHA" three times daily. Although she is doing this practice for over 10 years, she is still quite mean, shouting at people all the time. She starts her practice lighting incense and hitting a little bell.
A friend wanted to teach her a lesson, and just as she began her recitation, he came to her door and called out: "miss Nuyen, miss Nuyen!".
As this was the time for her practice she got annoyed, but she said to herself: "I have to struggle against my anger, so I will just ignore it." And she continued: "NAMO AMITABHA BUDDHA, NAMO AMITABHA BUDDHA..."
But the man continued to shout her name, and she became more and more oppressive.
She struggled against it and wondered if she should stop the recitation to give the man a piece of her mind, but she continued reciting: "NAMO AMITABHA BUDDHA, NAMO AMITABHA BUDDHA..."
The man outside heard it and continued: "Miss Nuyen, miss Nuyen..."
Then she could not stand it anymore, jumped up, slammed the door and went to the gate and shouted: "Why do you have to behave like that? I am doing my practice and you keep on shouting my name over and over!"
The gentleman smiled at her and said: "I just called your name for ten minutes and you are so angry. You have been calling Amitabha Buddha's name for more then ten years now; just imagine how angry he must be by now!"

[ Last edited by lyhmsia on 18-8-2004 at 10:33 PM ]

"I just called your name for ten minutes and you are so angry. You have been calling Amitabha Buddha's name for more then ten years now; just imagine how angry he must be by now!"

This is very funny. :lol my bed time story.

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."