Epstein Secrets

nities pass you by, to train yourself spiritually. A3 Three Characteristics of the reckless The usual way in which a person's recklessness in the Dhamma expresses itself is to overlook the importance of putting in the appropriate effort in order to get the hoped-for results. Here are some examples o

ail of this particular Blessing, let us examine the nature of the Dhamma, so that we can orientate ourselves in a non-reckless way towards it. The Dhamma can be compared to the spire of a pagoda. A flag attached to the top of the pagoda of the Dhamma could be marked 'non-recklessness' or equally well

ich you maintain the whole of the time. It is also like being constantly 'awake' to one's proper priorities. B.2 Importance of non-recklessness in Dhamma as a whole We have already mentioned the preciousness of opportunities to cultivate oneself — and the Dhamma, or teaching of the Buddha, is the s

n this way the Bodhisattva cared for his "extended family" by making sure justice was delivered to all of his kind. Having convinced the king, the Bodhisattva taught him the The Ten Virtues of a King and to avoid the Four Forms of Bias. Great are the benefactions thereafter made to dogs in the kingdom.

ned in Benares, the Bodhisattva was born as a millionaire, inheriting a fortune of 40 million from his father. Ile had only one child — a son. The Bodhisattva liked to perform acts of charity regularly, giving alms and pursuing other forms of virtues until the end of his life. When he passed away the Bodh

p could hardly be called friends. 6. When free joining up to talk and eat together. When the wise have free time they come together to discuss the Dhamma and to clear up their doubts (not to gossip about the neighbours). 7. Reflection on Dhamma and Getting Down to Earnest Practice. This is one of th

tep, you cannot call it true association. Also, if you do none of the first six but do the seventh one, it is as good as true association, because Dhamma always has the same flavour — it always gives rise to self discipline [sEla]: it always gives rise to concentration [samAdhi]: and it always gives

mmediate environment or neighbourhood- but the more distant environments of his locality or country also have a part to play. A.1 Amenability in Dhamma practice The sort of location to be examined in this Blessing is the location amenable to refining the mind or put another way, the location that

in the guise of good ones: When you have done a good deed, don't go wishing for things that are irresponsible. B3. Exclusively spiritual Even the Bodhisattva himself needed an aim in life when pursuing perfections in preparation for Bud dhahood. Thus it comes as no surprise that on the exclusively spiri

noticeable from the way a monk's accommodation is furnished (excessive luxury or with a television or radio — which are not for helping to practice Dhamma — and accumulating lot of things in their kuti beyond any already outlined for academic teachings in Blessing Seven §E. [The Learning Process]). In

n (A.i.61) what is in fact not the case." This is in addition to what has already been men- tioned in Blessing Three (§D.2) about joking about the Dhamma; 3. to acquire wisdom: Dhamma discussions are in- tended as a way of cultivating wisdom. Above all other things the Buddha praised `wisdom'. Most p

try to transform that reasoning into the reasoning of a striver. F. ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES F. / Er. Loma-kassapa JAiaka (J.433) Many aeons ago the Bodhisattva was born as a hermit called Loma-Kassapa. The hermit trained himself in austerities and asceticism together with meditation (pre-Buddhist). He foc

alking you wherever you are going and that will help to put your life in perspective. However, it is noticeable from this particular tale that the Bodhisattva, even though he had trained himself in the recollection of death to this degree, still was attracted to have a family of his own and not to remain