“Baptism is a sign to God, to angels, and to heaven that we do the will of God, and there is no other way beneath the heavens whereby God hath ordained for man to come to Him to be saved, and enter into the kingdom of God, except faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, and baptism for the remission of sins, and any other course is in vain; then you have the promise of the gift of the Holy Ghost.” — Joseph Smith, Jr - History of the Church, 4:553–557
From this quote, baptism shows God, angels and heaven that the baptized does the will of God. Along with faith in the Christ and repentance, it is the only way God has ordained me to come to him to be saved and enter the kingdom of God.
Repentance means that I am committed to not sinning by following Mormon precepts and values. However, there is some leeway here since I am currently an unbaptized prospect.
It is only during times when I am tired or stressed that I might be tempted to sin, but have overcome alcoholic use because I have barely used alcohol for about seven weeks. I stopped smoking completely, and resisted all relapses. Hot drinks require only time for them to cool down; therefore I have kept that Mormon precept. As for dangerous drugs, I currently do not use any of them. Thus I keep the precepts about alcohol, tobacco, hot drinks, and dangerous drugs.
As well, I have even decided to keep chaste, mainly because I am sure that prayer and meditation will help me resist temptation.
Mainly because of prayer and meditation is all of this possible. However, faith in the Christ helps me to maintain repentance, preparing me for baptism in a few years.
Even so, a Buddhist who adheres to Mormon precepts is but a Jack Mormon. For I am not a baptized member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Having attended Sunday meetings at the local meetinghouse, I have become friendly towards Church members and Mormonism, having sympathized with them, and have taken an active interest in their belief system, even though much of how I view Mormonism is seen through Buddha eyes.
Of course, "Buddha eyes" is metaphor for "seeing and understanding life with a caring and compassionate heart".
This comes through regular meditation to develop the calm mind necessary for seeing with the heart until I understand that life is meaningful due to suffering when it inspires us to see the truth about suffering. and reject the vain grasping of desire that is "evil passion", which is merely the act of mental calculation to commit error and thus "sin".
Therefore meditation is heavy duty prayer, and merely giving thanks to God is enough to begin my meditations, which help keep me focused on living like a Mormon. Although it would be impossible for me to completely think like a Mormon, I know that it is not in my nature to be radically conservative.
Indeed, I would rather balance the conservatism of Mormon thought with the liberalness of Buddhist humanism, for the ecumenism of Mormonism does counterbalance its conservative elements.
My path into Mormonism however is not a course in vain. Rather, it is a cautious journey into a religion that not only has conservative elements in it, but also liberal elements. In my heart, I know that Mormonism isn't just a fad for me. It has drawn from my own Buddhist faith to help enlighten my understanding of the Mormon way, which ranges from conservative to liberal.
Returning to baptism, "unbaptized" reminds me of the phrase "the unwashed masses" — I used to be one of them. Even though I remain "unwashed", in my heart all those sins are being washed away by keeping the Mormon precepts.
Perhaps one day when I am baptized the gift of the Holy Ghost that is promised will help prepare me for becoming a full member of the Mormon faith.
Indeed, today I feel like I truly belong, because Mormons have come to know and love me. They even pray for me, and I am thankful for that.
Just as in Mormonism, thanksgiving is a vital part of my Buddhist faith. I know that much of that faith will help "fill in the blanks" where Mormon literature preaches the Christology, though I will tactfully refrain from filling in the blanks for Mormons.
Yes, I admit to adhering to religious pluralism. However, the light that shines before the world is the spiritual light of what Mormons call the Christ. I would call it Buddha Nature, which also may be described in terms of water as the drops of each person's faith that mingle together into an ocean of pure compassion.
For no matter what faith I was born into, the tenets of Buddhism are the core elements that inspire me to yield to what Mormonism wishes of me, provided I continue to purify my mind through meditation so that all that is Mormon fits with all that I know of Buddhism. This means the Pure Land will akin to the Celestial Kingdom as a destination in the afterlife where the faithful Mormons go to receive spiritual guidance from the Christ.
Will I forget about baptism? No, but my continued association with the Mormons will be worth the change of faith. As for now, I am satisfied with my life as a Jack Mormon, balancing Zen and Mormonism.
Reference:
Jack Mormon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Mormon
Showing posts with label precepts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label precepts. Show all posts
20130411
The Pure Land of One's Own Essence of Mind
Hui-Neng said:
"All of you should put into practice what is taught in this stanza, so that you can realize the Essence of Mind and attain Buddhahood directly. The Dharma waits for no one." — Sixth Patriarch Hui-Neng
Reference:
Formless stanza quote: http://www.sinc.sunysb.edu/Clubs/buddhism/huineng/huineng3.html
For a fair mind,
observation of precepts (Sila)
is unnecessary.
For straightforward behavior,
practice in Dhyana (contemplation)
may be dispensed with.
On the principle of gratefulness,
we support our parents and serve them filially.
On the principle of righteousness,
the superior and the inferior stand
for each other (in time of need).
On the principle of mutual desire
to please, the senior and junior
are on affectionate terms.
On the principle of forbearance,
we do not quarrel even in
the midst of a hostile crowd.
If we can persevere until
fire can be obtained through
rubbing a piece of wood,
Then the red lotus (the Buddha-nature)
will shoot out from the black mire (the unenlightened state).
That which is of bitter taste
is bound to be good medicine.
That which sounds unpleasant
to the ear is certainly frank advice.
By amending our mistakes, we get wisdom.
By defending our faults, we betray an unsound mind.
In our daily life we should
always practice altruism,
but Buddhahood is not to be attained
by giving away money as charity.
Bodhi is to be found
within our own mind,
and there is no necessity
to look for mysticism from without.
Hearers of this stanza
who put its teaching
into actual practice
will find paradise in
their very presence.
"All of you should put into practice what is taught in this stanza, so that you can realize the Essence of Mind and attain Buddhahood directly. The Dharma waits for no one." — Sixth Patriarch Hui-Neng
Reference:
Formless stanza quote: http://www.sinc.sunysb.edu/Clubs/buddhism/huineng/huineng3.html
20130219
Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra - A Layperson's Praise for Bodhisattvas
Immediately, the bodhisattva Sarvarupasamdarsana, who was present in that assembly, addressed the Licchavi Vimalakīrti:
"Householder, where are your father and mother, your children, your wife, your servants, your maids, your laborers, and your attendants? Where are your friends, your relatives, and your kinsmen? Where are your servants, your horses, your elephants, your chariots, your bodyguards, and your bearers?"
Thus addressed, the Licchavi Vimalakīrti spoke the following verses to the bodhisattva Sarvarupasamdarsana:
Of the true bodhisattvas,
The mother is the transcendence of wisdom,
The father is the skill in liberative technique;
The Leaders are born of such parents.
Their wife is the joy in the Dharma,
Love and compassion are their daughters,
The Dharma and the truth are their sons;
And their home is deep thought on the meaning of voidness.
All the passions are their disciples,
Controlled at will.
Their friends are the aids to enlightenment;
Thereby they realize supreme enlightenment.
Their companions, ever with them,
Are the six transcendences.
Their consorts are the means of unification,
Their music is the teaching of the Dharma.
The incantations make their garden,
Which blossoms with the flowers of the factors of enlightenment,
With trees of the great wealth of the Dharma,
And fruits of the gnosis of liberation.
Their pool consists of the eight liberations,
Filled with the water of concentration,
Covered with the lotuses of the seven impurities —
Whoever bathes therein becomes immaculate.
Their bearers are the six superknowledges,
Their vehicle is the unexcelled Mahāyāna,
Their driver is the spirit of enlightenment,
And their path is the eightfold peace.
Their ornaments are the auspicious signs,
And the eighty marks;
Their garland is virtuous aspiration,
And their clothing is good conscience and consideration.
Their wealth is the holy Dharma,
And their business is its teaching,
Their great income is pure practice,
And it is dedicated to the supreme enlightenment.
Their bed consists of the four contemplations,
And its spread is the pure livelihood,
And their awakening consists of gnosis,
Which is constant learning and meditation.
Their food is the ambrosia of the teachings,
And their drink is the juice of liberation.
Their bath is pure aspiration,
And morality their unguent and perfume.
Having conquered the enemy passions,
They are invincible heroes.
Having subdued the four Māras,
They raise their standard on the field of enlightenment.
They manifest birth voluntarily,
Yet they are not born, nor do they originate.
They shine in all the fields of the Buddhas,
Just like the rising sun.
Though they worship Buddhas by the millions,
With every conceivable offering,
They never dwell upon the least difference
Between the Buddhas and themselves.
They journey through all Buddha-fields (Pure Land)
In order to bring benefit to living beings,
Yet they see those fields (lands) as just like empty space,
Free of any conceptual notions of "living beings."
The fearless bodhisattvas can manifest,
All in a single instant,
The forms, sounds, and manners of behavior
Of all living beings.
Although they recognize the deeds of Māras,
They can get along even with these Māras;
For even such activities may be manifested
By those perfected in liberative technique.
They play with illusory manifestations
In order to develop living beings,
Showing themselves to be old or sick,
And even manifesting their own deaths.
They demonstrate the burning of the earth
In the consuming flames of the world’s end,
In order to demonstrate impermanence
To living beings with the notion of permanence.
Invited by hundreds of thousands of living beings,
All in the same country,
They partake of offerings at the homes of all,
And dedicate all for the sake of enlightenment.
They excel in all esoteric sciences,
And in the many different crafts,
And they bring forth the happiness
Of all living beings.
By devoting themselves as monks
To all the strange sects of the world,
They develop all those beings
Who have attached themselves to dogmatic views.
They may become suns or moons,
Indras, Brahmās, or lords of creatures,
They may become fire or water
Or earth or wind.
During the short eons of maladies (suffering),
They become the best holy medicine;
They make beings well and happy,
And bring about their liberation.
During the short eons of famine (lack of Dharma),
They become food and drink.
Having first alleviated thirst and hunger,
They teach the Dharma to living beings.
During the short eons of swords (violent conflict),
They meditate on love,
Introducing hundreds of millions
Of living beings to nonviolence.
In the middle of great battles (inner and outer conflict)
They remain impartial to both sides;
For bodhisattvas of great strength
Delight in reconciliation of conflict.
In order to help the living beings,
They voluntarily descend into
The hells which are attached
To all the inconceivable buddha-fields (Pure Lands).
They manifest their lives
In all the species of the animal kingdom,
Teaching the Dharma everywhere.
Thus they are called "Leaders."
They display sensual enjoyment to the worldlings,
And trances to the meditative.
They completely conquer the Māras,
And allow them no chance to prevail.
Just as it can be shown that a lotus
Cannot exist in the center of a fire,
So they show the ultimate unreality
Of both pleasures and trances.
They intentionally become courtesans
In order to win men over,
And, having caught them with the hook of desire,
They establish them in the buddha-gnosis.
In order to help living beings,
They always become chieftains,
Captains, priests, and ministers,
Or even prime ministers.
For the sake of the poor,
They become inexhaustible treasures,
Causing those to whom they give their gifts (meditation,mantra recitation, and skillful means)
To conceive the spirit of enlightenment.
They become invincible champions,
For the sake of the proud and the vain,
And, having conquered all their pride,
They start them on the quest for enlightenment.
They always stand at the head
Of those terrified with fright,
And, having bestowed fearlessness upon them,
They develop them toward enlightenment.
They become great holy men,
With the superknowledges and pure continence,
And thus induce living beings to
The morality Of tolerance, gentleness, and discipline.
Here in the world, they fearlessly behold
Those who are masters to be served,
And they become their servants or slaves,
Or serve as their disciples.
Well trained in liberative technique,
They demonstrate all activities,
Whichever possibly may be a means
To make beings delight in the Dharma.
Their practices are infinite;
And their spheres of influence are infinite;
Having perfected an infinite wisdom,
They liberate an infinity of living beings.
Even for the Buddhas themselves,
During a million eons,
Or even a hundred million eons,
It would be hard to express all their virtues.
Except for some inferior living beings,
Without any intelligence at all,
Is there anyone with any discernment
Who, having heard this teaching,
Would not wish for the supreme enlightenment?
References:
The above text, being the Thurman version, may be subject to copyright. I own no rights on this work.
Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vimalakirti_Sutra
https://www2.hf.uio.no/polyglotta/index.php?page=fulltext&view=fulltext&vid=37&cid=49601&mid=130882
Robert Thurman biography: http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Robert_Thurman
Thurman, Robert. The Holy Teaching of Vimalakīrti: A Mahāyāna Scripture. 1992
"Householder, where are your father and mother, your children, your wife, your servants, your maids, your laborers, and your attendants? Where are your friends, your relatives, and your kinsmen? Where are your servants, your horses, your elephants, your chariots, your bodyguards, and your bearers?"
Thus addressed, the Licchavi Vimalakīrti spoke the following verses to the bodhisattva Sarvarupasamdarsana:
Of the true bodhisattvas,
The mother is the transcendence of wisdom,
The father is the skill in liberative technique;
The Leaders are born of such parents.
Their wife is the joy in the Dharma,
Love and compassion are their daughters,
The Dharma and the truth are their sons;
And their home is deep thought on the meaning of voidness.
All the passions are their disciples,
Controlled at will.
Their friends are the aids to enlightenment;
Thereby they realize supreme enlightenment.
Their companions, ever with them,
Are the six transcendences.
Their consorts are the means of unification,
Their music is the teaching of the Dharma.
The incantations make their garden,
Which blossoms with the flowers of the factors of enlightenment,
With trees of the great wealth of the Dharma,
And fruits of the gnosis of liberation.
Their pool consists of the eight liberations,
Filled with the water of concentration,
Covered with the lotuses of the seven impurities —
Whoever bathes therein becomes immaculate.
Their bearers are the six superknowledges,
Their vehicle is the unexcelled Mahāyāna,
Their driver is the spirit of enlightenment,
And their path is the eightfold peace.
Their ornaments are the auspicious signs,
And the eighty marks;
Their garland is virtuous aspiration,
And their clothing is good conscience and consideration.
Their wealth is the holy Dharma,
And their business is its teaching,
Their great income is pure practice,
And it is dedicated to the supreme enlightenment.
Their bed consists of the four contemplations,
And its spread is the pure livelihood,
And their awakening consists of gnosis,
Which is constant learning and meditation.
Their food is the ambrosia of the teachings,
And their drink is the juice of liberation.
Their bath is pure aspiration,
And morality their unguent and perfume.
Having conquered the enemy passions,
They are invincible heroes.
Having subdued the four Māras,
They raise their standard on the field of enlightenment.
They manifest birth voluntarily,
Yet they are not born, nor do they originate.
They shine in all the fields of the Buddhas,
Just like the rising sun.
Though they worship Buddhas by the millions,
With every conceivable offering,
They never dwell upon the least difference
Between the Buddhas and themselves.
They journey through all Buddha-fields (Pure Land)
In order to bring benefit to living beings,
Yet they see those fields (lands) as just like empty space,
Free of any conceptual notions of "living beings."
The fearless bodhisattvas can manifest,
All in a single instant,
The forms, sounds, and manners of behavior
Of all living beings.
Although they recognize the deeds of Māras,
They can get along even with these Māras;
For even such activities may be manifested
By those perfected in liberative technique.
They play with illusory manifestations
In order to develop living beings,
Showing themselves to be old or sick,
And even manifesting their own deaths.
They demonstrate the burning of the earth
In the consuming flames of the world’s end,
In order to demonstrate impermanence
To living beings with the notion of permanence.
Invited by hundreds of thousands of living beings,
All in the same country,
They partake of offerings at the homes of all,
And dedicate all for the sake of enlightenment.
They excel in all esoteric sciences,
And in the many different crafts,
And they bring forth the happiness
Of all living beings.
By devoting themselves as monks
To all the strange sects of the world,
They develop all those beings
Who have attached themselves to dogmatic views.
They may become suns or moons,
Indras, Brahmās, or lords of creatures,
They may become fire or water
Or earth or wind.
During the short eons of maladies (suffering),
They become the best holy medicine;
They make beings well and happy,
And bring about their liberation.
During the short eons of famine (lack of Dharma),
They become food and drink.
Having first alleviated thirst and hunger,
They teach the Dharma to living beings.
During the short eons of swords (violent conflict),
They meditate on love,
Introducing hundreds of millions
Of living beings to nonviolence.
In the middle of great battles (inner and outer conflict)
They remain impartial to both sides;
For bodhisattvas of great strength
Delight in reconciliation of conflict.
In order to help the living beings,
They voluntarily descend into
The hells which are attached
To all the inconceivable buddha-fields (Pure Lands).
They manifest their lives
In all the species of the animal kingdom,
Teaching the Dharma everywhere.
Thus they are called "Leaders."
They display sensual enjoyment to the worldlings,
And trances to the meditative.
They completely conquer the Māras,
And allow them no chance to prevail.
Just as it can be shown that a lotus
Cannot exist in the center of a fire,
So they show the ultimate unreality
Of both pleasures and trances.
They intentionally become courtesans
In order to win men over,
And, having caught them with the hook of desire,
They establish them in the buddha-gnosis.
In order to help living beings,
They always become chieftains,
Captains, priests, and ministers,
Or even prime ministers.
For the sake of the poor,
They become inexhaustible treasures,
Causing those to whom they give their gifts (meditation,mantra recitation, and skillful means)
To conceive the spirit of enlightenment.
They become invincible champions,
For the sake of the proud and the vain,
And, having conquered all their pride,
They start them on the quest for enlightenment.
They always stand at the head
Of those terrified with fright,
And, having bestowed fearlessness upon them,
They develop them toward enlightenment.
They become great holy men,
With the superknowledges and pure continence,
And thus induce living beings to
The morality Of tolerance, gentleness, and discipline.
Here in the world, they fearlessly behold
Those who are masters to be served,
And they become their servants or slaves,
Or serve as their disciples.
Well trained in liberative technique,
They demonstrate all activities,
Whichever possibly may be a means
To make beings delight in the Dharma.
Their practices are infinite;
And their spheres of influence are infinite;
Having perfected an infinite wisdom,
They liberate an infinity of living beings.
Even for the Buddhas themselves,
During a million eons,
Or even a hundred million eons,
It would be hard to express all their virtues.
Except for some inferior living beings,
Without any intelligence at all,
Is there anyone with any discernment
Who, having heard this teaching,
Would not wish for the supreme enlightenment?
References:
The above text, being the Thurman version, may be subject to copyright. I own no rights on this work.
Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vimalakirti_Sutra
https://www2.hf.uio.no/polyglotta/index.php?page=fulltext&view=fulltext&vid=37&cid=49601&mid=130882
Robert Thurman biography: http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Robert_Thurman
Thurman, Robert. The Holy Teaching of Vimalakīrti: A Mahāyāna Scripture. 1992
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