bill....... good explanation..i get it...merle
Mike, I have always believed 'dharma' as used in this 3rd part of the Bodhisattva Vow refers to 'the teachings of Buddha'. I agree that teachings are thoughts, so I do agree the use of the term 'dharma' in this vow refers to thoughts. The 1st part of that vow refers to 'sentient beings'. The 2nd part of that vow refers to 'desires'. The 4th and last part of that vow refers to 'the Buddha way'. I consider all of these thoughts, and I consider all of them illusions. We can 'save all sentient beings', 'put an end to all desires', 'master all the dharmas (teachings) and 'attain/accomplish the Buddha Way' all at one and the same time by doing just one thing - dissolving the attachments we have to these illusions by ceasing the arising of dualism which is the function of our human intellect. This doesn't mean we never have illusions or never use our intellect, or never form attachments again. We do. But now we realize 'sentient beings', 'desires', 'dharmas' and the 'Buddha Way' are illusory and can better resist forming attachments to them. We grow stronger at keeping this balance through continued practice - and that for me means zazen. That's the way this all fits together for me. ...Bill! --- In Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com, uerusuboyo@... wrote: > > Edgar, Bill!,<br/><br/>I don't have much invested in this topic, but just to > clarify a few things I'd like your feedback.<br/>When we make our vows at > every sit, one of those vows is "The dharmas are numberless, I vow to master > them". Applying that to this topic, for me, means that a thought (a dharma) > is real even if the object of that thought isn't. For example, if I said > Edgar is a 20 year old member of a famous boy band, then the thought is real > (a dharma) *even though* it is a delusional thought. > <br/><br/>Mike<br/><br/><br/>Sent from Yahoo! Mail for iPad >
