The Seventy-fourth Gate:
Read the following, place it in your heart and sleep on it. Then, tomorrow, live it until evening when you can leave a brief comment on what you may have received during the process.
Abandonment, as a part of the state of truth, is a gate of Dharma illumination; for [with it] we [can] turn away from all kinds of lives.
A “Dharma Gate” is a teaching or practice that can lead to spiritual growth: some kind of positive outcome in terms of our practice. A way to approach the truth.
Koan:
“Thus I have heard the World Honored One spoke: 'Monks, I shall show you how the Dhamma is similar to a raft, being for the purpose of crossing over, not for the purpose of grasping. Suppose a man in the course of a journey saw a great expanse of water, whose near shore was dangerous and fearful and whose further shore was safe and free from fear, but there was no ferryboat or bridge going to the far shore. Then he thought: ‘There is this great expanse of water, whose near shore is dangerous and fearful and whose further shore is safe and free from fear, but there is no ferryboat or bridge going to the far shore. Suppose I collect grass, twigs, branches, and leaves and bind them together into a raft.' 'Here monks, when that man got across and had arrived at the far shore, he might think thus: ‘This raft has been very helpful to me, and I got safely across to the far shore. Suppose I were to haul it onto the dry land or set it adrift in the water, and then go wherever I want.’ Now monks, it is by so doing that that man would be doing what should be done with that raft. So I have shown how the Dhamma is similar to a raft, being for the purpose of crossing over, not for the purpose of grasping.
raft.jpg
Most note worthy replies:
Letting go and abandonment allow us to detach ourselves from the cycle of samsara, the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. By releasing attachment to desires, fears, and other worldly things, we can attain a state of inner peace and spiritual liberation.
gassho, Shokai
stlah
Read the following, place it in your heart and sleep on it. Then, tomorrow, live it until evening when you can leave a brief comment on what you may have received during the process.
Abandonment, as a part of the state of truth, is a gate of Dharma illumination; for [with it] we [can] turn away from all kinds of lives.
A “Dharma Gate” is a teaching or practice that can lead to spiritual growth: some kind of positive outcome in terms of our practice. A way to approach the truth.
Koan:
“Thus I have heard the World Honored One spoke: 'Monks, I shall show you how the Dhamma is similar to a raft, being for the purpose of crossing over, not for the purpose of grasping. Suppose a man in the course of a journey saw a great expanse of water, whose near shore was dangerous and fearful and whose further shore was safe and free from fear, but there was no ferryboat or bridge going to the far shore. Then he thought: ‘There is this great expanse of water, whose near shore is dangerous and fearful and whose further shore is safe and free from fear, but there is no ferryboat or bridge going to the far shore. Suppose I collect grass, twigs, branches, and leaves and bind them together into a raft.' 'Here monks, when that man got across and had arrived at the far shore, he might think thus: ‘This raft has been very helpful to me, and I got safely across to the far shore. Suppose I were to haul it onto the dry land or set it adrift in the water, and then go wherever I want.’ Now monks, it is by so doing that that man would be doing what should be done with that raft. So I have shown how the Dhamma is similar to a raft, being for the purpose of crossing over, not for the purpose of grasping.
raft.jpg
Most note worthy replies:
Letting go and abandonment allow us to detach ourselves from the cycle of samsara, the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. By releasing attachment to desires, fears, and other worldly things, we can attain a state of inner peace and spiritual liberation.
With every step we take,
We let go of what's not true,
Abandoning our fears and doubts,
We become awakened anew.
A mind unhindered
Unrestrained
Is free to be free
We let go of what's not true,
Abandoning our fears and doubts,
We become awakened anew.
A mind unhindered
Unrestrained
Is free to be free
gassho, Shokai
stlah
Comment