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Series: :The Awakening of Silence
Showing posts with label dharma. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dharma. Show all posts

Well what did you expect?


Once the Buddha, in his old age, was resting beneath a banyan tree. It was summer , and after the evening discourse, the Buddha was approached by a traveling disciple, who appeared to be very troubled. The disciple was Ayraputra. Ayraputra approached the Buddha and said:

"I salute The blessed one.
I bring news that saddens me.
I have traveled far, to spread the Dhamma.
I met many people in my journey.

I talked at lengths about the Tathagatha, his qualities.
I talked at lengths about the four noble truths.
I talked at lengths about the eight fold path.
I talked at lengths about the way of out of suffering, about he Dhamma.

But no one respects my message and the deliverance of the Dhamma.
I was humiliated by a king's court.
I was mocked at by a fisherman.
I was beaten by a woodcutter.
I was chased by disciples of another teacher.
I was laughed at by monks."

The Buddha was silent all the while ayraputra described his experience. The Tathagatha then replied....

"Well Ayraputra, what did you expect?"

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It a nice exercise to ask this question every time we find ourselves threading upon Life's banana skins. Some times we work toward a goal and expect things to go as planned. But life being a child with a mind of its own, things often never seem to work out. Instead of watering resistance to the way things are, its nice to ask "well, What did I expect?" and it always brings a smile to my face.

You may be very enthusiastically explaining our beliefs and philosophy to a loved one, and they would call it rubbish and you mad.
You may have invested heavily in a stock , and it tumbles down
You wanted to have a pleasant day, but the very start seems shaky

"Well, what did you expect?"


The Buddha himself couldn't convince the very fist person he met after his enlightenment that he indeed was the Tathagatha.



At Mount Gaya he met a monk named Upaka. At the sight of the Blessed One, Upaka uttered a cry of admiration. My Lord, may I ask who your master was?"

"I had no master," answered the Blessed One. "There is no one like me. I alone am wise, calm, incorruptible."

"What a great master you must be!" said Upaka. "Yes, I am the only master in this world; my equal can not be found on earth or in the sky." "Where are you going?" asked Upaka.

"I am going to Benares," said the Blessed One, "and there I shall light the lamp that will bring light into the world, a light that will dazzle even the eyes of the blind. I am going to Benares, and there I shall beat the drums that will awaken mankind, the drums that will sound even in the ears of the deaf. I am going to Benares, and there I shall teach the law."

Upaka left in disbelief , so Lord Buddha continued on his way.

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Notes:
  • Story of Ayraputra and the Buddha , was inspired by a lesson on Expectations and the Suffering caused by them as taught by Padmavajra in a talk, which i downloaded from freebuddhistaudio.com [i cant recall the title of the talk]
References:
  • Photo and Text of Upaka and Buddha: http://buddhaimages.webs.com/3144postures.htm
Suggested reading:
4:02 PM | Category: , , , | 0 Comments

Dharma and Criticism
Dealing with Criticism and Learning from Dharma


Well how can we handle criticism and negative comments about us? How can we make sure we don’t get angry and just lose our sense of calmness and grace?


Its great when we are making progress in becoming a calmer person, and then just out of the blue there comes the devil, in the form of criticism. And how do we respond?.. Not well. It’s very easy for us to speculate against our usual behavior and anchor ourselves to peace sitting in a retreat center, but the fact is we spend a great deal of our time, with other people, and mostly exist in a place where there is a lot of noise. Noise does not imply there is no silence. Noise just means that we are not capable of perceiving the silence in which the noise originates.


i want to share two stories that i just simply love, i have realized so much by just contemplating on the silence that arises after reading them. Read each of these stories at least three times, i will tell you why. The first time you read it, you will judge it. Don’t respond to that judgment. The second time you read it , you mind will tell you are wasting your time reading it a second time there’s nothing more to learn from it. Don’t listen to this advice from your mind, i.e go ahead and read for the third time. Now the Third time you read it, your mind simply gives up!, and doesn’t talk to you, cause you did not respond to its whims and fancies. Then comes the Silence into your mind.... a silence which is not corrupted by thought, a silence which cannot be described, and it is only in such a silence that any true realization can occur. And you shall be convinced that all the judgments made by your mind about the story and the advices it gave you about the story were all so deceiving! There was something beyond these words that the mind just cant comprehend.


The Buddha’s reply

“A man interrupted one of the Buddha’s lectures with a flood of abuse. Buddha waited until he had finished and then asked him, “If a man offered a gift to another but the gift was declined, to whom would the gift belong?”
“To the one who offered it,” said the man.
“Then,” said the Buddha, “I decline to accept your abuse and request you to keep it for yourself.”




A Sufi tale.

A monkey on a tree hurled a coconut at the head of a Sufi. The man picked it up, drank the milk, ate the flesh and made a bowl from the shell.


Also looking at the situation from the other end also helps. Criticism is a way for the one critiquing to release suppressed anger, frustration , jealousy. Or a way to reinforce that his/her point of view or belief has to be the right one. It’s actually about him/her and Not about something you did. It can have a calming effect to remember this, makes it easier to handle it like Buddha.


The next time some one criticizes you should say ‘Thank you for your criticism of me’. Because he/she has given you an opportunity to practice your dharma. Now it’s up to you to decide if you want to become angry like you had done all these years or you can practice the dharma. Also be grateful to the person who has criticized you for he/she has in fact been to you a teacher of patience and self-control. Thus, you can be compassionate to that person, and also not let the criticism affect you.

Please leave your valuable comments,
observations or experiences...
4:06 PM | Category: , , , , , , | 4 Comments