#bodhisattvas

[jareckiworld]

Ilona Harima (1911-1986) — Buddha and Two Bodhisattvas [gouache on paperboard, 1947]

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Vladimir Davydenko ( Russia, b.1966) - The Joy of life. Date 2006.

[Guillaume Gris]

* * * *

You are not alone because all the time there are numberless Buddhas and Bodhisattvas surrounding you, everywhere loving you, guiding you, that is what they do. 

Lama Zopa Rinpoche [Buddhist Deities, Teachings, and Prayers]

[alive on all channels]

[apptowonder]

BodhisattvaStars - The Beastars Cast as Buddhas and Bodhisattvas - Pt I

I - Legoshi (Shakyamuni Buddha)

(A being bred to be a warrior learns to understand his heart and chooses gentleness and caring for others)

II - Haru (Kwan Yin/Avalokiteshvara)

(A being often mistaken for weak shows the world her strength through compassion)

III - Louis (Hayagriva)

(A being destroys the “monster” at the heart of his history and takes on its monstrous power compassionately for the greater good)

[wisdom-and-such]

Lotus Sutra

“I see bodhisattvas removing themselves form frivolity and laughter and from foolish companions, befriending persons of wisdom, unifying their minds, dispelling confusion, ordering their thoughts in mountain and forest for a million, a thousand, ten thousand years in that manner seeking the Buddha way.

Or I see bodhisattvas with delicious things to eat and drink and a hundred kinds of medicinal potions, offering them to the Buddha and his monks; fine robes and superior garments costing in the thousands or ten thousands, or robes that are beyond cast, offering them to the Buddha and his monks; a thousand, ten thousand, a million kinds of jeweled dwellings made of sandalwood and numerous wonderful articles of bedding, offering them to the Buddha and his monks; immaculate gardens and groves where flowers and fruit abound, flowing springs and bathing pools, offering them to the Buddha and his monks; offerings of this kind, or many different wonderful varieties presented gladly and without regret as they seek the unsurpassed way.” -- Excerpt from Lotus Sutra

read the full thing:  http://www.pawhitney.com/LotusSutrax.pdf

[yoga-onion]

The Quest for Buddhism (17)

Abhijñā - The uncanny ability of Buddha to work miracles at will

Let us mention the super-normal capabilities "Abhijina” which Buddha used to lead his half-brother Prince Nanda to the Arhat.

Abhijñā (the six divine powers) is a Buddhist term generally translated as "direct knowledge", "higher knowledge" or "supernormal knowledge". Six kinds of super-normal capabilities that are said to be possessed by the Buddha, Bodhisattvas, and the highly accomplished Sramanas (ascetics).

In Buddhism, such special knowledge is obtained through virtuous living and meditation. The Six Divine Powers are attained in the meditation practice of shamatha-vipashyana, when one moves from samadhi to vipassana.

The 6 types of higher knowledges are:

1. "Higher powers" - the power to move freely to and from any place at will, in any form, and to change the external world as one wishes, such as walking on water and through walls;

2. "Divine ear" - the power to hear and distinguish between all voices and sounds in the world, that is, clairaudience;

3. "Mind-penetrating knowledge" - the ability to read the minds of others, that is, telepathy;

4. "Remember one's former abodes" - the power to know all the past events, causal memory, that is, recalling one's own past lives;

5. "Divine eye", the wisdom to know all sentient beings' karma of life and death, and the power to see the reincarnation of all sentient beings. that is, knowing others' karmic destinations;

6. “extinction of the connection”, The wisdom of knowing that one' s vexations have been exhausted and that after this life one will never again be born into the world of the lost. The power to know that there is no more rebirth. upon which arahantship follows.

[Continued in Part 2]

仏教の探求 (17)

六神通（ろくじんずう、梵：アビジュニャー）〜自在に奇跡を起こすブッダの不思議な能力

ここで、ブッダが異母弟のナンダ王子を阿羅漢に導くときに使った超常能力「六神通（ろくじんずう、梵：アビジュニャー）」について、触れておきましょう。

六神通（ろくじんずう、梵：アビジュニャー）とは、「直接的な知識 」「高度な知識」「超常的な知識」のことである。仏教において、ブッダ、菩薩、また高い境地に達した沙門（しゃもん、梵: シュラマナ、苦行者のこと）が持っているとされる6種の超人的な能力（神通力）のことを言う。

仏教では、このような特別な知識は、徳の高い生活と瞑想によって得られるとされる。六神通は、止観（しかん、梵: シャマタ・ヴィパシヤナ）の瞑想修行において、止行（禅定(ぜんじょう、梵: ディヤーナ)）による三昧（さんまい、梵: サマーディ）の次に、観行（ヴィパッサナー）に移行した際に得られる。

具体的には以下の6つを指す：

①神足通（じんそくずう） - 「高次の力」自由自在に自分の思う場所に思う姿で行き来でき、思いどおりに外界のものを変えることのできる力。飛行や水面歩行、壁歩き、すり抜け等をし得る力。

②天耳通（てんにずう） - 「神聖な耳」世界すべての声や音を聞き取り、聞き分けることができる力。

③他心通（たしんずう） - 「心を貫く知識」他人の心の中をすべて読み取る力。

④宿命通（しゅくみょうずう） - 「自分の過去の住処を思い出す」自他の過去の出来事や生活、前世をすべて知る力。

⑤天眼通（ てんげんずう） -「神の目」一切の衆生の業による生死を遍知する智慧。一切の衆生の輪廻転生を見る力。つまり他人のカルマの行方を知ること。

⑥漏尽通（ろじんずう） - 「精神的な酩酊の消滅」煩悩が尽きて、今生を最後に二度と迷いの世界に生まれないことを知る智慧。生まれ変わることはなくなったと知る力。これによって阿羅漢の境地に至る。

[後編に続く]

[malachitelibrary]

Mahayana Buddhism: An Open Asian Religion

Mahayana Buddhism: An Open Asian Religion

“Guanyin be like”. Drawn by the author. Recommended Prior Reading: Contrasting Traditional versus Modern (Western) Views of Magic and Spirit WorkHow Asian Spirituality Differs from Western Occultism Introduction For those who want to delve into Asian practices legitimately, it can be very difficult to find genuine information. You have to navigate the heavily appropriated New Age websites,…

View On WordPress

[modernmonkeymind]

Hello! 👋 Do you believe in God? If so, how does it influence you spiritually? If not, why not? :P

I dont believe in an all powerful God like the Bibkical one, no. I can’t conceive of a world with so much suffering and pain continuing when such a being has the power to fix it. If such a being DID exist, then the only moral act would be to take whatever risk necessary to kill them (and keep in mind I’m saying this as a pacifist). However I’m a Pan(en)theist. I believe in what you might call the Dao or the Force. Basically god is a non-physical being that is or manifests in all of reality but is most accessible via the natural world. This is right in line with Zen and by extension, Taoist teachings, which have seen the natural world as sacred since they began. I also believe in Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and what Yoga calls “Mantra Beings” though this all requires explanation.

I don’t believe in the Second Coming of any spiritual teacher who will magically save us all, though I do have a small painting of Jesus on my altar next to the Historical Buddha, and I consider both men spiritual ancestors. The Plum Village lineage, which I’m most closely associated with, teaches that there have been individual Buddhas in the past, including ours, but that the next Buddha, Maitreya, will likely manifest not as an individual, but the Sangha itself. We can see that potential manifestation in any living thing, but most clearly in sprouts, and especially children. Sure, kids can be horrid gremlins, but that’s more a result of lack of life experience and life skills most adults have that help them manage their moods and emotions. Having worked in childcare off and on for years, I can say from experience that little kids, boys and girls, have an amazing capacity for empathy, compassion, and kindness unprompted. Culturally we just tend to train it out of half the population before they get very old. “The only difference between a Sage and a young child is that the Sage knows “this to, shall pass.” Unknown

I believe in Bodhisattvas, but I don’t worship them as such. These are beings, some of whom were born into this world, like Budhai, the obese monk who is the patron of children and good luck (interesting combo), others, like Avalokiteshvara, Manjushri, Samantabhadra, etc are Celestial Bodhisattvas who never lived on earth. “Praying to/worshipping” these entities is more about cultivating the qualities they represent, which exist in seed form in everyone, whether you’re Buddhist or not, than asking for aid from anything outside.

Mantra Beings are similar. They have no existence outside the stories told about them and the mantras associated with them. Shiva, Ganesh and Hanuman are such beings I still revere and have chanted and sung to and experienced results. The Hanuman Chaleesa helped free me from depression, and one time on hearing it I ran full out for a Mike and a half without getting winded. While I wasn’t out of shape at the time, I’ve never been a long distance runner. Another time singing to Shiva in meditation sent me into a state of altered consciousness that made more than an hour pass like a few minutes. Don’t take my word for it though. Learn about one of these beings, then learn a song or mantra to them, practice it yourself, and see what happens. Ehi Pasiko, my friend. Come and see. Don’t just take my word for it. I have faith in the triple gem and these beings because of the fruit of my own practice, experience, and understanding. I wouldn’t ask anyone to rely on anything less.

[theancientwayoflife]

~ Teaching Buddha and Two Bodhisattvas.

Place of origin: China, Tangut State of Xi -Xia, Khara-Khoto

Date: A.D. 13th -14th century

Medium: Tangka on canvas