A Fistful of Sand

…  [A] disciple of the noble ones who is consummate in view, an individual who has broken through [to stream-entry], the suffering & stress that is totally ended & extinguished is far greater. That which remains in the state of having at most seven remaining lifetimes is next to nothing: it's not a hundredth, a thousandth, a one hundred-thousandth, when compared with the previous mass of suffering. That's how great the benefit is of breaking through to the Dhamma, monks. That's how great the benefit is of obtaining the Dhamma eye." Samudda Sutta: The Ocean Samyutta Nikāyas 13.8   One of the first things that attracted me to the Mahayana was the teaching of the bodhisattva as a conceptual agency that could propel one towards enlightenment. The idea sounds very cool and altruistic, and is taken for granted as a fact of Mahayana religious fact. It was something taught but never explained. As a Mahayana Soto Zen monk I have spent years teachin...

     "Monks, I will teach you the All. Listen & pay close attention. I will speak."      "As you say, lord," the monks responded.        The Blessed One said, "What is the All? Simply the eye & forms, ear & sounds, nose & aromas, tongue & flavors, body & tactile sensations, intellect & ideas. This, monks, is called the All.   Anyone who would say, 'Repudiating this All, I will describe another,' if questioned on what exactly might be the grounds for his statement, would be unable to explain, and furthermore, would be put to grief. Why? Because it lies beyond range." Sabba Sutta: The All SN 35.23   Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu There is this age-old question, “Who am I”. Philosophers, theologians and mystics have been trying to understand a rational answer tot his question since human beings first walked the earth. The Buddha answered this qu...