Multimedia
The Barrier of the Mind
- How to break down the barriers of our mind?
- Why does Buddhism compare our mind to an ox?
- Where exactly are the pure lands?
- Teachings in the sutras for cultivating the mind
How to break down the barriers of our mind ?
The barriers of our mind come from our five mental afflictions: greed, aversion, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. If we can transform the five mental afflictions into the mind of cultivation by being sincere and maintaining a warm and caring attitude, respecting people and treating them with dignity, concern, understanding and compassion rather than seeing others as enemies, then we wouldn't need our mental defenses.
Where exactly are the pure lands?
Although the idea of rebirth in Amitabha Buddha's Pure Land is much encouraged in Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings, the fundamental philosophy of pure land all comes down to the cultivation of a pure mind, a state of mind that is free of greed, hatred, and ignorance.
Why does Buddhism compare our mind to an ox?
The ox is an important symbol in Buddhist texts, representing both a wayward mind that needs to be disciplined and also the Buddha Vehicle, which carries all sentient beings toward supreme Buddhahood.
Teachings in the sutras for cultivating the mind
According to the Heart Sutra, the meaning of "mind" has two parts: one being temporal—the connection from thought to thought, and also the continuity from this life to the next; the other being spatial—phenomena and our environment as perceived by the mind. "No mind" is a liberated state of mind, an unobstructed mind, without any marks and traces, free of all attachments.
Recommend
Enlightenment vs. seeing the true nature of one's mind
Enlightenment means the development of wisdom, the perfection of character, and the eradication of the afflictions, and it all lies in whether we are willing to let go ouf our ego or self. To achie...
04 Practices of Guanyin Bodhisattva: the Dharani of the White-robed Bodhisattva
Reciting the Dharani of the White-robed Bodhisattva can help reduce our karmic obstacles. But the most important is that we come to study and learn the Dharma ourselves.
How to Cultivate Compassion to Become Wisely Compassionate?
Compassion is both nature and nurture. We are all born with some degree of compassion, which should be tempered with reason, and nurtured like a seedling so it won't wither. And it will grow if...