When you meet the Buddha…..

Posted by Paul Reynolds on Apr 25, 2022 in Blog, Eastern Inspiration, Inspired Readings | Comments Off on When you meet the Buddha…..

“Buddha” means “the awakened one” – that is, someone who has woken up from the dream of being a separate ego in a material universe.  Gautama Siddhartha, whom we affectionately, ridiculously, call the Buddha, taught for forty-five years. In all those years, and in all the hundreds of thousands of teaching words that he uttered, his message was simply this: “

You are all Buddhas. There is nothing that you need to achieve.  Just open your eyes.”

“It is proper to doubt. Do not be led by holy scriptures, or by mere logic or inference, or by appearances, or by the authority of religious teachers. But when you realize that something is unwholesome and bad for you, give it up. And when you realize that something is wholesome and good for you, do it.”

“As a mother at the risk of her life watches over her only child, so let everyone cultivate a boundlessly compassionate mind toward all beings.”

“When you see the unborn, uncreated, unconditioned, you are liberated from everything born, created, and conditioned.”

“…all truths should be used to crossover; they should not be held on to once you have arrived.  You should let go of even the most profound insight or the most wholesome teaching; all the more so , unwholesome teachings.”

“Be a lamp to yourself.  Be your own confidence.  Hold to the truth within yourself, as to the only truth.”

The Sutra says, “To behold the Buddha nature you must wait for the right moment and the right conditions. When the time comes, you are awakened as if from a dream. You realize that what you have found is your own and doesn’t come from anywhere outside.” An ancient patriarch said, “After enlightenment you are still the same as you were before. There is no mind and there is no truth.” You are simply free from unreality and delusion.

The ordinary person’s mind is the same as the sage’s, because Original Mind is perfect and complete in itself.

When you have arrived at this recognition, please hold on to it.

—Pai-Chang

Posted by | Paul Reynolds

“Not Christian or Jew or Muslim, not Hindu, Buddhist, Sufi, or Zen. Not any religion or cultural system…..” - Rumi

For over 30 years Paul Reynolds has collected and shared inspiration from a wide variety of sources. Embracing the philosophy that at the core of all these expressions is the reminder that we are loved and supported every moment. This unending stream of inspiration, imagination and wisdom is posted via his weekly ‘Living the Question Blog’, which has become ‘home’ for those discoveries. If you would like to receive the readings and share them with those you feel will benefit, please fill out the ‘Subscribe’ form to the right and Paul’s selections will come to your email every Friday.