Buddhism, Religion
by tenpel

Words of Truth – Inspiration from the Dhammapada

Loud is the noise that ordinary men make. Nobody thinks himself a fool, when divisions arise in the Sangha, nor do they ever value another person higher than themselves. – The Buddha, Mahavagga

 
This blog was set up to counter and correct the misinformation of the Western Shugden Society / New Kadampa Tradition. After having seen that the WSS/NKT are increasing their engagement and produce more and more perversions, and that it is impossible to counter their presence and distortion of facts in the internet – including YouTube and Wikipedia – advertisement in magazines and self-published material etc., I asked myself: What to do?

What to do if a group is misled by a wrong spiritual friend, who was expelled by the wise from his monastery, a person who sadly increases the delusions and hate of his followers? What to do if the followers even perceive the own delusions as “the truth” and are so eager to share it with the world – running a world wide character assassination campaign, funded also with British taxes, (ab)using a mass of followers and all modern means to bring these wrong allegations into the public?

This morning I reminded myself, that the Buddha said, you cannot overcome hate with hate, you can only overcome hate with love. —- Well said, but is this truth really in my mind? Not really, I have to confess, so I looked in the Dhammapada to find some inspiration and to allow my mind being touched by the words of the Buddha.

Here are some quotes I found helpful:

All things have the nature of mind. Mind is the chief and takes the lead. If the mind is clear, whatever you do or say will bring happiness that will follow you like your shadow.

All things have the nature of mind. Mind is the chief and takes the lead. If the mind is polluted, whatever you do or say leads to suffering which will follow you, as a cart trails a horse.

“They would harm me. They would embarrass me. They would rob me. They would defeat me.” Those who think in such a way will never be released from their hatred.

“They would harm me. They would embarrass me. They would rob me. They would defeat me.” Those who do not think in such a way will be released from their hatred.

Your enemies will never make peace in the face of hatred – it is the absence of hatred that leads to peace. This is an eternal truth.

We are but guests visiting this world, though most do not know this. Those who see the real situation, no longer feel inclined to quarrel.

and

One who wraps himself in the robes of a monk without first clearing away his worst defilements, one who lacks both self-restrained and truth, is unworthy of the saffron robes.

One who holds tightly to self-discipline and clears away all inner pollution, one endowed with both discipline and truth, is worthy of the saffron robes.

From the Chapter “The Fool”:

Fools and the wicked are their own worst foes. They perform evil actions that bring forth bitter fruit.

Do not perform actions you will later regret: those actions which will ripen into future pain and sorrow.

Perform those actions you will never regret: actions that will ripen into future joy and delight.

Until an evil actions ripens, the fool may find it sweet as honey. But when the evil comes to fruition, then the fool is certain to suffer.

From the Chapter “The Wise”

If you meet someone with wisdom who can tell you what to avoid and what to practice, attend upon this person as upon a revealer of treasure. For good and never evil comes from such associations.

Let them teach you and direct you and turn you from what is unwholesome. The pure in heart will rejoice in them, although the worldly will not like them.

Do not take up with low-minded friends, or associate with worthless people. Depend instead on virtuous friends, and attend on noble beings.

One who drinks deeply of the Dharma with a clear and open mind, rests well. The wise always delight in the Dharma spoken by the saints.

Farmers direct the flow of water; arrowsmiths straighten the arrow shaft; carpenters fashion wood; and the wise work on themselves.

From the Chapter “Anger”

Listen, Atula, here is a bit of ancient wisdom: They blame you for being silent; they blame you for talking too much. They blame you for watching what you say. No one in the world can go unblamed.

There never has been, nor will there ever be, nor does there now exist, a person who is always blamed or always praised.

But the one who is daily praised by the wise, the one who is blameless, is the one with ethics and integrity, the one with fine knowledge.

He is like a coin of the purest gold – who is fine enough to fault him? Even the gods sing his praises; even Brahma applauds him.

The quotes were taken from the Dhammapada, Translation of Dharma Verses with the Tibetan Text, Translated into Tibetan from the Pali by dGe-‘dun Chos-‘pel, Dharma Publishing

Another helpful set of advice by the Buddha with respect to relying on fools or relying on the wise can be found in the Tibetan Dharmapada, translated by Gareth Sparham. The relevant quotes can be read in the chapter Intimate Friends (doc-file). This may be enough material to reflect, think and meditate about.

Happy Xmas.

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