A Fistful of Sand

For the past three weeks we've been working with the Medicine Buddha Sadhana. Many people when entering into the Sadhana practice are looking for a magical remedy to their problems. That is not the point of the Medicine Buddha. The point is zeroing in on emptiness and so closer to nirvana. Physical healing becomes incidental. If it happens, well, that's wonderful, but understanding is more valuable - after all, everyone becomes ill, everyone dies. Nothing you can do will avoid these. This reminds me of an apocryphal story in which a man came to the Buddha and explained all of his problems and issues with life. He wanted the Buddha to help him make all of these problems and issues go away. The story goes, the Buddha listened quietly and told the man, "Dharma can help you with sixty-two problems and one it can never help you with. You have this sixty-third problem." "What is this sixty-third problem?" The man was astonished as if e were just g...

From the Anguttara Nikaya… The Anguttara Nikaya is one of the five major collections of the discourses section of the Pali Canon, which is the Buddhist scriptures. Anguttara Nikaya is translated as "Numerical Discourses" and includes most of the lists of the Buddha. The Complete Book of Buddha's Lists -- Explained draws primarily from this section of the Buddha's teachings. It is effectively a good summary of the Buddha's teachings due to the many lists which are presented and explained in the Anguttara Nikaya. If you read only one section of the Buddhist scriptures, the best one to read or start with is the Anguttara Nikaya. In addition, some of the best and most profound Buddhist teachings can be found in the Anguttara Nikaya. Here are just a few important passages: Anguttara Nikaya 4.21 The Buddha's Refuge: After enlightenment the Buddha said, " Let me then honor and respect and dwell in dependence on this very Dhamma to ...

Dhamma - in Pali, the language of the oldest, original teachings of Buddha it is a noun and an adjective. Noun 1. The Buddha's teachings. 2. Truth 3. Wisdom 4. A natural condition 5. Mental quality. Adjective 1. Dhammic - acting according the Buddha's teachings, the Dhamma. Some Buddhists take refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha (Triple Gem) to show respect and appreciation for the teachings. Even the Buddha had refuge to go to. For him, it is the Dhamma. After enlightenment the Buddha said, " Let me then honor and respect and dwell in dependence on this very Dhamma to which I have fully awakened ." Anguttara Nikaya 4.21 Since the Dhamma is a term for the all-inclusiveness of the teachings, the Buddha emphasized the importance of Dhamma: " Remain with the Dhamma as an island, the Dhamma as your refuge, without anything else as a refuge. " Samyutta Nikaya 47.13 and also at Digha Nikaya 26.